Ghost Hunters: Shades of History camp ties together local legends, culture

If you live in Brownsville you have may have heard local ghost stories about the phantom policeman on Paredes Line, the haunting of Camp Lulu or maybe the apparitions of dead soldiers wandering aimlessly around the city.

With its captivating and significant history, it's no surprise that Brownsville has acquired numerous stories and legends, many of which claim certain places are haunted.

The Brownsville Heritage Complex is offering the Shades of History Junior Ghost Hunting Camp for children 8-14. The camp is for children who want to learn to explore the history of artifacts and families who lived in Brownsville's historical buildings, a number of which have a reputation for strange happenings.

"We want to engage children getting interested in history," said Jessica Villescaz, curator at the Brownsville Heritage Museum. "We want to base it more in history than the paranormal."

The program ties together history, legends and folktales of the region, and explores how these stories grow and become ingrained in the local culture. Participants will get to meet ghost hunters from various local groups, and learn the basics of a historically based paranormal investigation with the staff of the Brownsville Historical Association.

"We want to get the children to be able to interview people and be able to collect the stories they hear," Villescaz said.

Aside from researching various archives, people, and experimenting with some paranormal investigative tools, the children will embark on a downtown Brownsville tour with Joe Gavito, heritage officer for Brownsville.

"The kids can use him as a resource and collect his oral history," added Villescaz.

This will be Gavito's first downtown tour with the camp, although he has conducted tours of the cemetary and variuos other "haunted" locations in town during Halloween. He plans to tell the kids ghost stories and point out specific buildings downtown where mysterious incidents have occurred.

"People like to be scared when they're in a safe environment," Gavito said. "You try not to scare the kids too much."

Villescaz is confident the Shades of History Junior Ghost Hunting Camp will be successful and provide an enjoyable and educational activity for children to participate in this summer.

IF YOU GO:

What: Shades of Junior Ghost Hunting Camp

When: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on July 23- 25

Where: The Brownsville Heritage Complex; 1325 E Washington St., Brownsville

Admission: $15 for BHA members, $20 for non-members; space is limited, reservations and payments required to reserve a place in the camp.

For more information: (956) 541-5560 or info@brownsvillehistory.org

LOCAL GHOST STORIES:

Camp Lulu - Camp Lulu was a camp for young children until it was shut down after a deranged counselor raped and killed the girls. People say if you go at night you can hear the the girls crying. Supposedly if you are caught trespassing, you might get chased down by the owner, who allegedly tries to preserve the souls of the girls.

The University of Texas at Brownsville and Southmost College - UTB-TSC sits on land that was Fort Brown during and after the Civil War. Legend says it's haunted by dead soldiers, cavalry officers, lost children, horses and other people of that time period. People have experienced strange occurrences in many of the buildings, and say you can hear screaming, gunshots and other mysterious noises late at night.

La Llorona - La Llorona, sometimes called "The Weeping Woman," is a figure in Hispanic folklore. Legend says the ghost of a woman, dressed all in white, cries for her dead children that she drowned. She is said to lurk near bodies of water and that her appearances are sometimes held to presage death.