HAUNTED COUNTRY ROADS | AUSTIN, TEXAS
The Driskill Hotel: A little girl who supposedly never left the staircase. A painting that appears to watch its visitors. And a cattle baron whose spirit, according to legend, still keeps an eye on the hotel he built.
In downtown Austin, one of Texas's grandest landmarks has accumulated an extraordinary collection of ghost stories.
A Texas Landmark Born in 1886
The Driskill Hotel opened on December 20, 1886, after cattleman Jesse Lincoln Driskill invested in an extravagant hotel at Sixth and Brazos streets.
Designed by Jasper N. Preston and Sons, the building combined ornate masonry, massive arched entrances and the sort of elaborate hospitality that reflected Austin's ambitions as a growing capital city.
Its first years were turbulent. Financial setbacks and changes of ownership followed the grand opening. Yet the Driskill endured.
Governors celebrated there, politicians gathered there, and generations of travelers passed beneath its distinctive arches. In 1934, future president Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Taylor had their first date at the hotel.
Its survival through periods of financial trouble and threats of closure is a real historical drama in its own right.
The Phantom Little Girl and the Bouncing Ball
One of the hotel's most widely repeated legends centers on a young girl sometimes called Samantha Houston.
The tale says she was chasing a ball when she fell on a grand staircase and died.
In later accounts, visitors say they have heard faint giggles, small footsteps or the bounce of a ball when no child is present.
Some stories go even further, describing a little girl in old-fashioned clothing who disappears when approached.
It is a haunting image, but it belongs to local folklore, not verified history.
Researchers have not established reliable records confirming the alleged fatal fall or the girl's identity. That uncertainty matters: a gripping ghost story should not be presented as a documented child's death.
Yet the legend continues to attract visitors intrigued by the possibility that a playful presence might still inhabit the staircase.
The Painting Called Love Letters
Perhaps the Driskill's strangest attraction is a painting of a young girl holding flowers and a letter.
Guests and ghost-tour storytellers associate the fifth-floor artwork with feelings of dizziness, unease and the impression that its subject's expression changes.
Some visitors say the girl's gaze seems to follow them. Others describe an unsettling feeling when standing nearby.
In some versions, the girl in the painting is said to be Samantha herself.
There is an intriguing real-world twist: the Driskill painting has been identified as a reproduction by Richard King of Love Letters, a work by British artist Charles Trevor Garland.
It is not an authenticated portrait of a girl who died at the hotel.
Its unsettling reputation, however, has made the artwork central to the Driskill's paranormal mythology.
Does Jesse Driskill Still Walk His Hotel?
Another legend gives the founder a permanent room, so to speak.
Visitors have described an inexplicable scent of cigar smoke or a sense of being watched near public areas, and some storytellers attribute those experiences to Jesse Driskill.
The real cattle baron died in 1890, only a few years after his ambitious hotel opened.
His elaborate vision for the property cost an enormous sum, and financial difficulties eventually forced him to surrender ownership.
The reports cannot establish a supernatural presence, but the story has emotional weight: the man who poured so much into a landmark is imagined still lingering within it, unwilling to abandon his dream.
From the Early Days to Modern Austin
The building's physical history is every bit as compelling as its folklore.
Its rooms were remodeled, a major annex opened in 1930, and preservation efforts in the twentieth century helped keep this architectural treasure standing.
Over the decades, the Driskill has been associated with Texas governors, presidents, performers and countless visitors drawn to downtown Austin.
Today it remains an operating hotel at 604 Brazos Street, Austin, Texas.
Where History Meets the Unexplained
There is no verified evidence that ghosts haunt the Driskill. But the stories have become part of the way Austin remembers this storied place.
The documented past and the unproven legends exist side by side.
A child's laughter on an empty staircase. A mysterious expression in an old painting. The unmistakable scent of a cigar where nobody is smoking.
For believers, these stories suggest that the past is still present.
For skeptics, they show how folklore can transform an already fascinating landmark into something even more memorable.
And perhaps the uncertainty is what invites visitors to look a little longer into the shadows.
Would You Spend the Night?
Would you book a room at the Driskill and listen for footsteps in the hall, or would you prefer to appreciate its grandeur in daylight?
Share your answer, or tell us about a historic hotel where you experienced something unexplained.
Editor's note: Haunted Country Roads explores historical sites, folklore and reported unexplained experiences. Legends and witness accounts are identified as such; they are not presented as scientific proof of paranormal activity.
Sources and Further Reading
- Texas State Historical Association — Driskill Hotel
- The Driskill — Official History
- Austin Monthly — Haunted History: Fact vs. Fiction
- Austin Monthly — Ghost Stories
Country Road Entertainment | Haunted Country Roads — Where History Meets the Unexplained.
