ween
olor pigM®
mv varied pie
able. Oneol 'con
ation purp; i 'Bd
mall sugai take
's very gooiait's
>est kind (ci "It
hssixtoeigl 8>out
inches in
iwer, sniK'agy,
t has a high ^an
pumpkin!
aer varietifi toore
for jack ing-
said thei f for
I ,
■ pumnpB.'|ked
is of way Mis
pumpkin [kTOad
fall. TheNi*rys-
d candy d ,,v ith
kins. AnliKis,
i are high i* are
as snacks. I : :
probably fel role
; poumpb^'O'-
tradition
ns was te»ed
during lhtj?gra-
n the 1'- J'rld
hideous :;..P of
rollowed test'd
es — puniiipsil-
- and wd®m
mdles.li';' ! P art
Irish's r I? 115
md saysfer' 0, ‘
lantern" comes an man named jack,
who was notorious for drunkeness and
stinginess. One evening when Jack
was at a local pub, the devil appeared
to claim his soul. Jack invited the devil
to have a drink.
When the devil turned himself into a
coin to pay for the drink. Jack snatched
it up and put it into his wallet which
had a clasp shaped like a cross. The
devil was trapped. Jack let the devil go
only after Satan promised Jack would
be allowed one more year on earth.
When the year was up. Jack again play
ed a prank on the devil and gained
another year.
And so it went until finally Jack's
body wore out. Barred from heaven
because of his sins and from hell be
cause of his pranks. Jack, in despera
tion, begged the devil for a live coal to
light his way out of the darkness. Jack
put it into a turnip that he was chew
ing, and as the legend goes, walks the
earth with his lantern held high, wait
ing for Judgement Day.
As Jack roams, pumpkins are grow
ing all across the United States.
Longbrake said most of the pump
kins sold in Texas also are grown in
Texas. Almost every state grows it's
own pumpkins, he said, because of the
high cost of shipping the bulky veget
able.
The pumpkin is a close relative of the
squash and belongs to the same family
as squash, watermelons, canteloup,
honeydew and gourds. It is native to
the Americas — primarily the tropics.
Tlosts of nuns
bin B-CS home
Mser
W/
fgoblins and
5:•No 1 -' around
H, |Verv town
i«fc
|Ptipn.
of town,
IjjJI dirt road,
tiicp. Only the
gjiNe to ven-
tgf and then
„.Jwus house
“ght not be-
l It lories of this
LMough su-
p'many from
l this:
Ursuline
,,,,1 of nuns,
at the site.
ScHcome by
• tmats, nap-
fifor the com-
wm
of the 58-
K had their
afl ;| those who
f : 'he house. A
ted as their
g* ft.
house
in William
#jetary in the
H c "jhFrance for
A 1 ®:.Ps, returned
.tb 1 !
to Bryan and purchased the
land. When they left, the sisters
took the bodies of those buried
in the graveyard with them.
Many feel the spirits of those
bodies remained, however, to
haunt those who passed the
sacred grove of trees.
One gardener at that time,
while trimming the grass
around the trees, swore he saw
three nuns sitting beneath one
of them whispering. They flew
after him, but disappeared
when he screamed.
After that time, the grass in
the grove would never be cut for
fear of disturbing the nuns'
spirit.
Another story that originates
from this house is that German
Nazis hid in the basement dur
ing World War II. They were
sent there by Adolph Hitler, the
story goes, to decipher mes
sages sent from Allen
Academey, which was an Air
Force Academy at the time.
Whatever the story, the
house seems to frighten many
who get within a witches cackle
of the area.
The estate has remained
abandoned, so it seems the spir
its have been doing their job,
and doing it well.
Horror stories don't have to
come from abandoned houses,
however. In Galveston, the staff
At Ease, The Battalion
Friday, October 29, 1982
staff photo by Jorge Casari
Even Bryan-College Station has haunted houses window of this house was seen at dawn. This
and ghosts. The supernatural force in the upper deserted — maybe haunted — house is in Bryan.
at the historic Ashton Villa has
been telling its own ghost stories
for quite some time.
A bedroom in the restored
1859 house contains a rose-
colored taffeta bedspread which
seems to have a mind of its own.
It refuses to stay made up. No
matter how many times the staff
straightens the spread, it is mus
sed the next time they check it.
Some believe that Bettie
Brown, a vivacious, flamboyant
resident of the house during the
late 19th and early 20th century,
is the cause of the strange
occurrance.
It seems that the bedspread
lies on a bed which is not part of
the original furniture of the
house. The bed belonged to
another estate down the street
before it was donated to Ashton
Villa.
Some say that Brown might
be expressing some ghostly
negative feelings about having a
neighbor's bed in her home.
The spirited bedspread isn't
the only strange happening in
the house, which is now a
museum and tourist attraction.
While alive. Brown poured
much of her energy into de
veloping herself as a painter,
and the Villa is filled with her
works. One of her larger paint
ings contains a gravestone.
And, if you are patient enough,
the staff claims, you can see dis
tinct images appear on it. The
one most often seen is of a Sata
nic looking demon.
Added to the puzzling paint
ings is another Ashton Villa
mystery — a photograph that
shows a "ghost image." Taken
in 1901 the picture shows a por
tion of the grand Ashton Villa
dining room, displaying a fami
ly servant stepping into the
room with a tray. Perched in the
air seven feet above the servant,
is a face, stem and solemn and
seemingly floating in air.
Like most ghost stories, this
one has many theorys, but none
can be documented.
People still believe in spirits,
and among them is Judy
Schiebel, administrator of
Ashton Villa. She admits a close
"something" with Brown. It's
nothing fearful, she says, it's
just a sense of shared fun and
devilment.
The bedspread caper may be
the work of a mischievous ghost
or just the result of a lumpy mat
tress. The demon in the painting
may have been a revelation of
Brown's fiery personality, or, a
trick of the paintbrush. The
"ghost image"? A reflection, a
photographer's whimsy? Who
knows?
The mystery may never be
solved. But, as long as there is
Halloween their will be ghost
stories. And like spirits they will
live on forever.