The Civil War Museum in Old Town Spring is one of the haunts
on the ghost tour. Chris Pennell is holding an EMF meter in
his left hand and a dowsing rod in the other while Kourtney
Franks is contacting spirits.
By
KEVIN KOLOIAN
Published:
10.20.09
The response to Spirit Quest’s Ghost
Quest, which starts on the eve of Halloween, has been
overwhelming.
Run by the Spirit Quest Center, paranormal investigators
Chris and Ginger Pennell and psychic medium Kourtney
Franks will take groups of 15 on tours of the many
haunts in Old Town Spring.
Wunsche Bros. Café is probably the most well known place
that is haunted in Old Town Spring, said Chris Pennell,
who co-owns the center along with his wife Ginger.
“The spirit of Charlie, one of the Wunsche family
members who died there, is upstairs and has been known
to move things around,” Pennell explained. “Wunsche
Bros. rarely let people upstairs because they think
something is going to happen.”
Pennell said there are quite a lot of ghosts of children
in Old Town Spring.
A spirit of a young girl named Sarah has regularly been
reported to be felt in a shop, which used to be a barn,
located in Doering Court.
“The story goes that the young girl was playing in the
barn and fell and broke her leg,” Pennell said. “With
the medicine of that time, it didn’t heal very well. She
got gangrene and ended up dying. After her death, she is
still playing in the barn.”
Along the tour, psychic medium Franks will allow the
group to talk with spirits through her.
The group is just starting to take people on ghost
tours, although it has done paranormal research in the
area since 2000.
The tour that takes place on the night before Halloween
is already sold out and the one on Halloween is a near
sell out as well.
Spirit Quest plans on hosting the tours every month. The
next one will be on Friday the 13th in November, which
is already filling fast.
The two to three hour tour starts at 7 p.m. and costs $22 per
person in advance. The minimum age to attend is
12-years-old.
Participants take part in an informational class right
before the tour where they learn how to use dowsing rods
and EMF meters. People will also see evidence that the
group has found, and even listen to audio captured of
the ghost girl Sarah.
After the tour, people can see the pictures they took on
a big screen to see if they captured anything.
Pennell doesn’t think people’s interest in the tour will
wane after Halloween. He said there are ghost tours all
over the country that are extremely successful and have
run for years. There are two in San Antonio that are
very well known, he added.
“There used to be several ghost tours around Houston and
there not around anymore and I’m not sure why,” Pennell
said. “But I think people are always interested in going
on a ghost tour. Part of the reason why people like them
is because they can go to a place that is supposed be
haunted and not be scared with professionals with them.”
