9 Infamous, Spooky Texas Legends
With its expansive and complicated history, it’s no surprise that Texas is home to some of the creepiest legends on this side of the Mississippi River. The Lone Star State, with its wide-open spaces and bustling cities, is the perfect setting for chilling, imagination-sparking tales, ranging from broken-hearted brides and a “donkey lady” to black-eyed kids and lost, wandering soldiers.
There’s one thing that’ll unite skeptics and believers alike. These alluring legends of Texas lore haunt, delight, and make you think twice.
Black-Eyed Children, Abilene
A newspaper reporter’s chance encounter in an Abilene parking lot in the late ’90s was the first sighting of what became a worldwide curiosity. A group of pale-skinned, eerie adolescents — notably with pitch-black eyes — had a seemingly simple, monotone request for a ride. Since that fateful encounter, reports of these children have surfaced in many countries, allegedly with catastrophic events following in their wake.
La Llorona, South Texas
The distraught, weeping woman from Mexican folklore is said to wander along South Texas’ rivers, lakes, and canals crying for her missing children — whom she drowned while in a devastated state after being forsaken by her lover. Although her origin story shifts, the threat of her presence is a warning to disobedient children: “Come inside, or La Llorona will get you.”
El Cucuy, Central Texas
Known as the Hispanic version of the boogeyman, El Cucuy has been used as a deterrent for children’s bad behavior for generations, blending Mexican folklore with Texas-sized storytelling. The monstrous, shadowy, shapeshifting figure’s influence has spread across the state — even up to Denton, where a food truck named El Cucuy Burritos serves up the “scariest burrito in Texas.”
Donkey Lady, San Antonio
Though her origin story varies, the prevailing myth is that this cryptid was once a woman living on San Antonio’s South Side. Injuries from a fire left her head and hands resembling a snout and hooves. Now she haunts trespassers to her once home. Tejana writer and performance artist Marisela Barrera has brought the city’s Donkey Lady to life through a novella and even a talk show. To Barrera, the Donkey Lady is simply lonely and misunderstood. “She’s essentially the heart of the city,” Barrera told Texas Monthly.
The Lady of White Rock Lake, Dallas
The story varies, but the overarching details remain the same: A young woman in a wet, white dress (some say from iconic Dallas shop Neiman Marcus) is seen wandering along White Rock Lake. A couple picks her up and takes her to an address on historic Gaston Avenue. Once there, the couple turns around — only to see that the woman has vanished, leaving behind a wet seat.
Houston Batman, Houston
Three Houstonians were sitting outside on a hot, humid June night in 1953 when they spotted a tall, manlike figure, standing about 6.5 feet tall with bat-like wings attached to its back. Surrounded by a halo of glowing light, the creature swayed on a nearby tree branch before vanishing. More like West Virginia’s Mothman and less like DC Comics’ cloaked-and-masked vigilante, the Houston Batman is still talked about more than 70 years later.
Lake Worth Monster, Fort Worth
In July 1969, there was one story in North Texas eclipsing Apollo 11’s lunar landing: sightings of a 7-foot, 350-pound half-man, half-goat creature with ram horns and scaly skin. A group of witnesses at Greer Island claimed to have seen the “goatman,” who was lurking on a nearby ridge, hurl a tire approximately 500 feet at a crowd of people. More than half a century later, thrill-seekers still head to Lake Worth every summer in hopes of catching a glimpse of the behemoth.
Wampus Cat, Statewide
What started as a Cherokee legend in Appalachia has become a playful, enduring cultural Texas icon, and a derivative of the beloved slang term “cattywampus.” In the early 1900s, a frontier journalist in Rotan (northwest of Abilene) satirically popularized the creature — part-wildcat, part-badger, part-lobo wolf with 2-inch fangs. Locals were on to the hoax, but visitors often dreaded a run-in with the creature. The beast leaped from ruse to reality with an alleged spotting in Sherman, along the Oklahoma border. Today, you’ll find the wampus cat hiding in plain sight as a mascot at schools across the state.
Vampiric Chupacabra, Central Texas
The first reports of this murderous, dog-like creature surfaced in 1995 in Puerto Rico, where ranchers blamed the animal for killing and draining blood from goats, sheep, and other domestic animals. Sightings of the chupacabra, Spanish for “goat-sucker,” surged throughout Central Texas in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Onlookers noted the creature’s glowing red eyes, vicious teeth, and scaly skin with a raised ridge on its back.
Throughout the years, a handful of Texans have claimed to have seen a chupacabra on their property. A Cuero rancher even taxidermied the carcass of an alleged chupacabra. In 2014, a family in Ratcliffe claimed they’d captured a live one. But a wildlife diversity biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife weighed in, saying it was likely a small canine with mange. So, what do you think: canine or chupacabra?
Haunted Texas Road Trip
Hunt down your next thrill on an eerie jaunt through some of the state’s most compelling haunts.
The Alamo, San Antonio
Remnants of one of Texas’ most pivotal battles for independence remain through echoes of explosions and screams, as well as apparitions of a sorrowful general, a blond-haired boy, and phantom soldiers.
Devil’s Backbone, Wimberly
The scenic, winding route off State Highway 281 runs deep through Texas Hill Country from Wimberley to Blanco. The area’s violent history invites tales of otherworldly encounters with Confederate soldiers and Native Americans.
The Driskill, Austin
The grandiose hotel is home to the ghosts of two jilted, forlorn brides seen wandering the halls and a young girl, heard giggling and bouncing a ball, who died after falling down the hotel’s grand staircase.
Ghost Lights, Marfa
Look out for one of Texas’ greatest mysteries as large balls of light sporadically dance over West Texas’ Chinati Mountains outside of town. Speculations of their origin have ranged from UFOs to lost ghostly Spanish conquistadors to car headlights. But no one really knows.
The Thrill of Fear
Our love of fear is a mix of biology, psychology, and culture. A safe thrill in a controlled environment triggers an adrenaline rush, boosts oxytocin, and helps us process real-life horrors in a manageable, low-risk way. Long-held legends, such as those of La Llorona and El Cucuy, pass down valuable lessons from generation to generation while reflecting a living, breathing, expanding culture.
There’s nothing quite like the spine-tingling jolt of a scary — yet presumably true — campfire tale, no matter the format. (Even the lowest-budget horror films are a sure bet in Hollywood!) So, lean into the known unknown as the temps drop, the days shorten, and the lore lingers.
There’s no shortage of supernatural thrills in Texas, whether you’re heading out to look for La Llorona in canals and rivers or just enjoy a chilling helping of fun folklore. These legends are part of the cultural fabric of Texas, stirring up curiosity. This season, take a haunted tour and lean into the local lore. Just remember to check the back seat.
Looking for more Lone Star-inspired lore? Explore Texas’ best Halloween towns.