Ghosts along the Texas Coast by Docia Schultz Williams Page A

showed us the old live oak hanging tree that was used to put more than one desperado out of business. It has a huge limb that sort of stands out, and this was probably the hanging limb. Charlie says it’s hard to get a horse to ride by the tree. In fact, he says, there are lots of places on the ranch that just naturally spook a horse, sensitive as those creatures are to otherworldly beings!
    Charlie loves to talk about his rambling old wooden ranchhouse and the surrounding land, which he inherited and in which he takes great pride. He says it is strange, but his feeling for the old house is like the house owns him, and he is sort of possessed by it and the ties it has with his ancestors. Well, it is very old. And very charming. And not many people can boast of living in a house that so many generations of their family have lived in, and died in, as well. Charlie said if his old bed could talk, it could tell lots of stories, as it came by wagon over 135 years ago from Georgia, and was where the colorful Tobe died of pneumonia in 1890, and where his grandmother, Isabel, was born in 1901. There are pictures and mementos everywhere depicting important events in the Reeves’ family history: old photographs, portraits, and memorabilia of all kinds.
    The house wasn’t always a homestead, however. Charlie says for a time it was sort of abandoned and used to store feed and hay. Six generations just sort of wore it out, but Charlie, of the seventh generation, is doing all he can to keep up the place. That’s why the spirits which Charlie thinks are peaceful and just kind and gentle presences are there,because they are happy he is looking after the place. He also revealed that the house was placed atop the hill overlooking the creek where once the family slaves had been buried in unmarked graves. He thinks his office and bedroom are probably located right over the old slave cemetery!

    Reeves Thicket “hanging tree”
    Charlie told me that Union soldiers once rode right through the house on their horses, and once the roof caught fire during an Indian attack. There’s still a lead bullet embedded in the front porch banister, and there are also three bullet holes in the dining room wall. A large section of the house was destroyed by a storm in 1942.
    Today, Charlie believes that UFOs make regular visits to Reeves Thicket. His cousin Susan Purcell, with whom I later spoke, believes this as well. Not in the realm of ghosts, but very fascinating nonetheless, Charlie says the big attraction at the ranch, besides his pet llamas, is frequent sightings of what must be described as unidentified flying objects. The bachelor owner of Reeves Thicket Ranch and his frequent visitors enjoy sitting on the long front porch of the ranchhouse to watch the hovering lighted objects. They will hover for quite a long time, sometimes, and then dart off with great speed, into space. Various law enforcement agencies have been told of the sightings, and they are interested, but what could they do, other than show interest? It would be difficult indeed to arrest anything that elusive or that fast moving, and what would the charges be, anyhow, other than “trespassing on Reeves Thicket Outer Space?”
    Yes, Reeves Thicket is a very fascinating place. The old ranch house is interesting, and the owner, Charlie Faupel, is a unique and interesting young man. So why wouldn’t any watchful spirits out there be pretty fascinating, too?

A Strange Visitor to Reeves Thicket
    Over at Reeves Thicket, Charlie Faupel’s cousin Susan Purcell and her husband, Kim, have reported some might strange things, too. The thickly wooded ranch land holds many mysteries. The thicket used to be the hangout of a lot of unsavory characters, including Sam Bass and his band of outlaws. When somebody got crossways with Bass or one of his gang, that somebody usually got shot! Susan says she’s sure that there are lots of unmarked graves scattered all