After everyone else has gone home, regulars at Sons of Hermann Hall say there’s still a presence inside that historic building.
Haunted houses are always popular this time of year, decked out with people in scary costumes jumping out from dark corners.
But there’s a building in Deep Ellum that some people say is haunted year round. However, the spirits that live within its walls aren’t necessarily something to be afraid of.
It’s an average Wednesday night at historic Sons of Hermann Hall.
Couples and singles of all ages dance on the wooden floor as the announcer says, “Welcome to Texas boys and girls, that’s fantastic!”
For more than a hundred years, this building has been a hub for happy events.
“It’s Halloween time and so there’s all kinds of cool stuff that happens,” said the announcer to the crowd.
On Halloween night, it’s providing a platform for the undead, as a group of costumed dancers take the floor to perform the choreography to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”
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But what if the undead were here all year long?
“I have noticed some very interesting things,” said Kathy Warwick, who teaches dance lessons at Sons.
After everyone else has gone home, she said there’s still a presence inside the building.
“We’ve heard the children running around up here the chairs moving the tables moving,” said Bobby Wilbanks, volunteer and board president at Sons.
“I have seen flashes of shadows, flashes of light,” said Warwick.
But wait until you hear what Glenn Marvin saw.
“I mean, to this day, it still just raises the hair on the back of my neck,” said Marvin.
One afternoon, Marvin and five other people watched a seemingly normal, Victorian-dressed couple, casually walk by them inside Sons.
“Watched them go up the stairs and we were like ‘well that’s really cool, they’re doing a Victorian wedding rehearsal,’” said Marvin.
But about 30 minutes later, they went upstairs to check it out.
“Doors are all locked, nobody up here," Marvin said. "We searched this whole place over and there was nobody here.”
Super spooky, but all of the ghostly encounters that we heard happened at Sons have been peaceful.
“There’s a lot we don’t understand about what we cannot see right in front of our face. It doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. It just means we don’t understand it yet,” said Warwick. “In the meantime, enjoy it.”
This is where you need to watch the video version of this story, because just as Warwick said, “enjoy it,” the lights flickered behind her.
Maybe the undead aren’t so scary after all.
