October 23, 2025 • 17 mins
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From San Antonio’s mysterious Chinese Graveyard to the heartbreaking legend of Baby Head Cemetery and the chilling tale of Elize Alberti in Galveston’s Old City Cemetery, this episode explores Texas’s most haunted resting places.
Each grave holds a story — of forgotten workers, lost children, and love turned to despair.
Join Michelle and Zoe as they uncover the history, mystery, and legends behind Texas’s most haunted burial grounds.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hello, and thank you for listening to Texas History
(00:03):
for Kids.
I'm your host, MichelleGallegos, an educator, writer,
history nerd, and noviceinvestigator.
Each week on the show, we willlearn about interesting parts of
Texas history, from battles andhistorical figures to the odd
and enchanted.
Hi, and welcome back to TexasHistory for Kids.
(00:24):
Before we start, teachers andhomeschool families, make sure
that you grab the HauntedCemeteries companion kit on the
link in my show notes.
It's filled with readingpassages, vocabulary, and
spookies and stem fun.
Or you can just visit my websiteat com.
(00:46):
Our story begins with today'sartifact.
(01:32):
And it whispers the samequestion we'll be asking today.
SPEAKER_01 (01:37):
Why do some cemeteries seem more haunted
than others?
SPEAKER_00 (01:50):
Today we're talking about three separate graveyards.
The first one is called theChinese graveyard in San
Antonio, Texas.
I think the reason why somecemeteries are more haunted than
others is because the history ofthose who have been laid to rest
(02:13):
there.
Who were they in life?
The circumstances that may havesurrounded their death, and
let's be honest, it could bebecause of the imaginations that
tend to run wild in the dark ofthe night.
So on the south side of SanAntonio, hidden between homes
and overgrown mesquite trees,lies a small plot surrounded by
(02:37):
rusted bars.
Locals call it the Chinesegraveyard, but its actual name
is Lona China Cemetery, where ithas been the home of private
graves of the Guzman family fornearly 120 years.
However, about 30 years beforethat, Chinese immigrants arrived
(03:02):
in Texas, working long hoursbuilding the railroads that
connected the state together.
They faced discrimination, lowwages, language barriers, and
isolation.
So when they died far away fromhome, few of them had families
nearby to bury them.
(03:24):
So did they send them back toChina?
No, Zoe.
They had to come here to workand they tried to make a living
in Texas, but most of theirfamilies were in China.
They did not get to send themback.
Instead of sending them home,officials buried them with
little care or knowledge oftheir culture's traditions.
(03:46):
In Chinese tradition, familyrituals guide the soul to peace.
Without them, legends say theseworkers were trapped, their
souls doomed to an unpeacefulafterlife.
That's the historical version ofthe cemetery's past.
But there's another story that'smost often believed.
(04:08):
One of love and lost.
Legend has it that a member ofthe prestigious Guzman family
was having a forbidden affairwith a Chinese woman.
One night lightning struck theman and his horses, killing them
instantly.
Both were buried in thecemetery.
Over the years, people begandaring each other to park by the
(04:33):
fence, flashing their headlightsfive times and wait to see what
comes out.
Some claiming glowing orbs floatfrom among the graves.
Others swear they've heard soft,rhythmic chanting like distant
prayers.
SPEAKER_01 (04:51):
Maybe the lights are just reflections, right?
SPEAKER_00 (04:56):
Maybe.
Or maybe it's the past remindingSan Antonio to remember those
who built its railway but nevermade it home, and maybe it could
be that of a love story twistedso far in the roots of the trees
that neither lover could leave.
(05:16):
Alrighty guys, we're moving onto cemetery number two called
Baby Head Cemetery in Llano,Texas.
Drive the lonely stretch ofHighway 16 through the hill
country, and you'll pass a smallsign green with white letters
(05:37):
Baby Head Cemetery.
The name alone sends chills downyour spine.
How in the world could acemetery get a name like that?
Well, according to frontierlegend, a settler's young
daughter disappeared in the1850s.
Searchers later found herremains at the base of a hill.
(06:01):
Her head was placed on a stake,a testament to the cemetery's
terrible name.
The searchers buried the rest ofher there, and the hill became
known as Babyhead Mountain.
That's awful! Did they ever findout what really happened?
(06:24):
Well, no one knows for sure.
Some historians think the storymight have been created later
on, but locals swear by itslegend.
The oldest documented gravethere is that of a child.
Her name was Jodi May McNeely,and she died on New Year's Day
(06:44):
in 1884.
The cemetery is the lastphysical reminder of the
babyhead community, which oncehad numerous farms, homes, and
even businesses.
Visitors have reported hearing achild's laughter that turns into
crying or seeing a small figurevanish between the stones.
(07:08):
One traveler once left a doll atthe fence, and when they
returned days later, it wasgone, but it was replaced by a
single wildflower.
A fair.
(07:56):
Although the cemetery is stillvisited by those who mourn their
loved ones, paying them care andspecial attention after they've
passed.
Alright, Zoe, we're moving on tocemetery number three, Old City
Cemetery in Galveston, Texas.
Galveston, the island of stormyseas, salty sand, and scary
(08:22):
stories.
Among its tangled oaks and stoneangels lies Old City Cemetery,
founded in 1839.
There lies the remains ofsoldiers, sailors, and thousands
of people who lost their livesto yellow fever and the most
(08:42):
devastating hurricane to hitTexas in the year 1900.
Because the island's soil is soshallow, graves were sometimes
stacked three people deep, layerupon layer of history.
Galveston is a barrier island,which means it's mostly made up
of sand and soft sediment, notsolid ground.
(09:07):
The island sits barely above sealevel, just a few feet in most
places.
And that causes two big problemsfor burials.
Number one, it's shallow watertable, and number two, limited
land space.
So the ground in Galveston issaturated with water.
(09:27):
Dig down just a few feet deepand you hit moisture or even
standing water.
During heavy rain or storms, thewater level rises so high it can
literally push coffins upwardabove the ground.
So to prevent caskets fromsurfacing or shifting or moving,
(09:49):
cemeteries began reinforcinggraves and sometimes stacking
them to use less vertical depthand more controlled space.
So in the 1800s, Galveston wasbooming.
It was one of the busiest portsin all of Texas.
Then came a series of yellowfever epidemics.
(10:10):
Then the cholera outbreak, andlater the 1900 hurricane, which
was the deadliest naturaldisaster in all of U.S.
history.
Cemeteries filled quickly, butexpansion was limited by both
geography and flooding.
So their solution was to stackcoffins, two or even three
(10:34):
people deep, in family plots oreven shared vaults.
Some families built above groundvaults or concrete liners to
protect against the island'ssoggy soil.
So these acted like undergroundbunkers, allowing multiple
burials within a small sealedstructure.
(10:55):
So today when you walk throughOld City Cemetery in Galveston,
you'll see headstones closetogether and raised plots that
almost look leared.
It's not just because of space,it's a reminder of how islanders
adapted to burial practices to aland that constantly battles the
(11:17):
sea.
One of the most famous legendsis that of Elise Romer Alberti,
who is remembered as theDemented Mother.
In 1894, Elise stunned theisland community of Galveston
with the most unthinkable act.
She poisoned her four youngchildren before taking her own
(11:41):
life.
The reasons are lost to time.
People don't know why she didit.
Some whispered of mentalillness, others of unbearable
sorrow, or even a mind that wasovercome by darkness.
What makes her story live onisn't the tragedy itself, but
what came afterwards.
(12:03):
Elise and her children were thenburied together, mother and
children, side by side, in onegrave.
For over a century, this sitehas drawn both curiosity and
quiet dread.
Imagine being buried right nextto the person who killed you.
(12:27):
Visitors speak of anoverwhelming sadness that
settles over the plot, a suddenchill even on the most humid
Gulf nights.
Some say they've heard weepingor the soft laughter of children
drifting through the air.
Newspapers like the GalvestonDaily reported on the tragedy in
(12:49):
1894, describing the island'sshock and confusion.
Historians now see the case asone of the earliest recorded
examples of maternal mentalillnesses in Texas, which is a
heartbreaking reflection of atime when despair was
misunderstood and help was rare.
Perhaps she would have been agreat candidate for one of the
(13:12):
insane asylums that we discussedin episode number 95, Zoe.
Today, Elise Alberti's storylingers in Galveston's folklore
alongside tales of the 1900storm and the island's grand
Victorian homes.
Ghost stores are still talkingof her name.
(13:32):
Some visitors leave flowers forthe lost children, and even for
the mother who, even in death,could not find peace.
Now, whether her spirit trulywalks among the gravestones or
not, the tale of Elise RomerAlberti remains one of Texas's
most haunting reminders of loveand grief that echo beyond the
(13:55):
grave.
So people actually see her.
Well, they say a woman in blackappears in the fog, kneeling at
her child's grave, and when youblink, she's gone.
So whether she's a ghost or justa tale, she's become part of
Galveston's story, a reminderthat love and lost can outlast
(14:18):
even the storms.
It's quiz time.
SPEAKER_01 (14:26):
Question one.
SPEAKER_00 (15:21):
Well, that's sort of A and B are both correct.
Because a lot of people did dieduring the 1900 hurricane and
they died of yellow fever andcholera.
That's one of the reasons whythe Galveston graves were
stacked.
But another main reason isactually answer B because the
island soil is shallow.
(15:43):
To prevent caskets from moving,cemeteries began racing the
graves by stacking them to usemore controlled space.
Every cemetery tells a story oflives lived, struggles they
faced, and memories left behind.
Some stories are carved instone, others are just whispers
in the wind.
SPEAKER_01 (16:03):
So are you sure that a grey stony sound doesn't glow
at night?
SPEAKER_00 (16:11):
Well, only under a flashlight, Zoe.
But each name, each fadedletter, glows with history, and
that's haunting enough.
I hope you enjoyed the thirdepisode of this scary story
series.
Next week, we're uncovering themystery of the haunted ghost
tracks in San Antonio, Texas.
(16:33):
You won't want to miss that one.
Thank you for listening to TexasHistory 4K.
Hit that subscribe button andfollow the show.
More importantly, share it withothers who might find it
interesting too.
If you have any questions,always feel free to email me at
Michelle at TX History4Kids.
(16:54):
And don't forget the best Texasstories live just beyond the
lessons in your classroom,waiting for you to explore.
Take care.
Hello, and thank you for listening to Texas History
(00:03):
for Kids.
I'm your host, MichelleGallegos, an educator, writer,
history nerd, and noviceinvestigator.
Each week on the show, we willlearn about interesting parts of
Texas history, from battles andhistorical figures to the odd
and enchanted.
Hi, and welcome back to TexasHistory for Kids.
(00:24):
Before we start, teachers andhomeschool families, make sure
that you grab the HauntedCemeteries companion kit on the
link in my show notes.
It's filled with readingpassages, vocabulary, and
spookies and stem fun.
Or you can just visit my websiteat com.
(00:46):
Our story begins with today'sartifact.
(01:32):
And it whispers the samequestion we'll be asking today.
SPEAKER_01 (01:37):
Why do some cemeteries seem more haunted
than others?
SPEAKER_00 (01:50):
Today we're talking about three separate graveyards.
The first one is called theChinese graveyard in San
Antonio, Texas.
I think the reason why somecemeteries are more haunted than
others is because the history ofthose who have been laid to rest
(02:13):
there.
Who were they in life?
The circumstances that may havesurrounded their death, and
let's be honest, it could bebecause of the imaginations that
tend to run wild in the dark ofthe night.
So on the south side of SanAntonio, hidden between homes
and overgrown mesquite trees,lies a small plot surrounded by
(02:37):
rusted bars.
Locals call it the Chinesegraveyard, but its actual name
is Lona China Cemetery, where ithas been the home of private
graves of the Guzman family fornearly 120 years.
However, about 30 years beforethat, Chinese immigrants arrived
(03:02):
in Texas, working long hoursbuilding the railroads that
connected the state together.
They faced discrimination, lowwages, language barriers, and
isolation.
So when they died far away fromhome, few of them had families
nearby to bury them.
(03:24):
So did they send them back toChina?
No, Zoe.
They had to come here to workand they tried to make a living
in Texas, but most of theirfamilies were in China.
They did not get to send themback.
Instead of sending them home,officials buried them with
little care or knowledge oftheir culture's traditions.
(03:46):
In Chinese tradition, familyrituals guide the soul to peace.
Without them, legends say theseworkers were trapped, their
souls doomed to an unpeacefulafterlife.
That's the historical version ofthe cemetery's past.
But there's another story that'smost often believed.
(04:08):
One of love and lost.
Legend has it that a member ofthe prestigious Guzman family
was having a forbidden affairwith a Chinese woman.
One night lightning struck theman and his horses, killing them
instantly.
Both were buried in thecemetery.
Over the years, people begandaring each other to park by the
(04:33):
fence, flashing their headlightsfive times and wait to see what
comes out.
Some claiming glowing orbs floatfrom among the graves.
Others swear they've heard soft,rhythmic chanting like distant
prayers.
SPEAKER_01 (04:51):
Maybe the lights are just reflections, right?
SPEAKER_00 (04:56):
Maybe.
Or maybe it's the past remindingSan Antonio to remember those
who built its railway but nevermade it home, and maybe it could
be that of a love story twistedso far in the roots of the trees
that neither lover could leave.
(05:16):
Alrighty guys, we're moving onto cemetery number two called
Baby Head Cemetery in Llano,Texas.
Drive the lonely stretch ofHighway 16 through the hill
country, and you'll pass a smallsign green with white letters
(05:37):
Baby Head Cemetery.
The name alone sends chills downyour spine.
How in the world could acemetery get a name like that?
Well, according to frontierlegend, a settler's young
daughter disappeared in the1850s.
Searchers later found herremains at the base of a hill.
(06:01):
Her head was placed on a stake,a testament to the cemetery's
terrible name.
The searchers buried the rest ofher there, and the hill became
known as Babyhead Mountain.
That's awful! Did they ever findout what really happened?
(06:24):
Well, no one knows for sure.
Some historians think the storymight have been created later
on, but locals swear by itslegend.
The oldest documented gravethere is that of a child.
Her name was Jodi May McNeely,and she died on New Year's Day
(06:44):
in 1884.
The cemetery is the lastphysical reminder of the
babyhead community, which oncehad numerous farms, homes, and
even businesses.
Visitors have reported hearing achild's laughter that turns into
crying or seeing a small figurevanish between the stones.
(07:08):
One traveler once left a doll atthe fence, and when they
returned days later, it wasgone, but it was replaced by a
single wildflower.
A fair.
(07:56):
Although the cemetery is stillvisited by those who mourn their
loved ones, paying them care andspecial attention after they've
passed.
Alright, Zoe, we're moving on tocemetery number three, Old City
Cemetery in Galveston, Texas.
Galveston, the island of stormyseas, salty sand, and scary
(08:22):
stories.
Among its tangled oaks and stoneangels lies Old City Cemetery,
founded in 1839.
There lies the remains ofsoldiers, sailors, and thousands
of people who lost their livesto yellow fever and the most
(08:42):
devastating hurricane to hitTexas in the year 1900.
Because the island's soil is soshallow, graves were sometimes
stacked three people deep, layerupon layer of history.
Galveston is a barrier island,which means it's mostly made up
of sand and soft sediment, notsolid ground.
(09:07):
The island sits barely above sealevel, just a few feet in most
places.
And that causes two big problemsfor burials.
Number one, it's shallow watertable, and number two, limited
land space.
So the ground in Galveston issaturated with water.
(09:27):
Dig down just a few feet deepand you hit moisture or even
standing water.
During heavy rain or storms, thewater level rises so high it can
literally push coffins upwardabove the ground.
So to prevent caskets fromsurfacing or shifting or moving,
(09:49):
cemeteries began reinforcinggraves and sometimes stacking
them to use less vertical depthand more controlled space.
So in the 1800s, Galveston wasbooming.
It was one of the busiest portsin all of Texas.
Then came a series of yellowfever epidemics.
(10:10):
Then the cholera outbreak, andlater the 1900 hurricane, which
was the deadliest naturaldisaster in all of U.S.
history.
Cemeteries filled quickly, butexpansion was limited by both
geography and flooding.
So their solution was to stackcoffins, two or even three
(10:34):
people deep, in family plots oreven shared vaults.
Some families built above groundvaults or concrete liners to
protect against the island'ssoggy soil.
So these acted like undergroundbunkers, allowing multiple
burials within a small sealedstructure.
(10:55):
So today when you walk throughOld City Cemetery in Galveston,
you'll see headstones closetogether and raised plots that
almost look leared.
It's not just because of space,it's a reminder of how islanders
adapted to burial practices to aland that constantly battles the
(11:17):
sea.
One of the most famous legendsis that of Elise Romer Alberti,
who is remembered as theDemented Mother.
In 1894, Elise stunned theisland community of Galveston
with the most unthinkable act.
She poisoned her four youngchildren before taking her own
(11:41):
life.
The reasons are lost to time.
People don't know why she didit.
Some whispered of mentalillness, others of unbearable
sorrow, or even a mind that wasovercome by darkness.
What makes her story live onisn't the tragedy itself, but
what came afterwards.
(12:03):
Elise and her children were thenburied together, mother and
children, side by side, in onegrave.
For over a century, this sitehas drawn both curiosity and
quiet dread.
Imagine being buried right nextto the person who killed you.
(12:27):
Visitors speak of anoverwhelming sadness that
settles over the plot, a suddenchill even on the most humid
Gulf nights.
Some say they've heard weepingor the soft laughter of children
drifting through the air.
Newspapers like the GalvestonDaily reported on the tragedy in
(12:49):
1894, describing the island'sshock and confusion.
Historians now see the case asone of the earliest recorded
examples of maternal mentalillnesses in Texas, which is a
heartbreaking reflection of atime when despair was
misunderstood and help was rare.
Perhaps she would have been agreat candidate for one of the
(13:12):
insane asylums that we discussedin episode number 95, Zoe.
Today, Elise Alberti's storylingers in Galveston's folklore
alongside tales of the 1900storm and the island's grand
Victorian homes.
Ghost stores are still talkingof her name.
(13:32):
Some visitors leave flowers forthe lost children, and even for
the mother who, even in death,could not find peace.
Now, whether her spirit trulywalks among the gravestones or
not, the tale of Elise RomerAlberti remains one of Texas's
most haunting reminders of loveand grief that echo beyond the
(13:55):
grave.
So people actually see her.
Well, they say a woman in blackappears in the fog, kneeling at
her child's grave, and when youblink, she's gone.
So whether she's a ghost or justa tale, she's become part of
Galveston's story, a reminderthat love and lost can outlast
(14:18):
even the storms.
It's quiz time.
SPEAKER_01 (14:26):
Question one.
SPEAKER_00 (15:21):
Well, that's sort of A and B are both correct.
Because a lot of people did dieduring the 1900 hurricane and
they died of yellow fever andcholera.
That's one of the reasons whythe Galveston graves were
stacked.
But another main reason isactually answer B because the
island soil is shallow.
(15:43):
To prevent caskets from moving,cemeteries began racing the
graves by stacking them to usemore controlled space.
Every cemetery tells a story oflives lived, struggles they
faced, and memories left behind.
Some stories are carved instone, others are just whispers
in the wind.
SPEAKER_01 (16:03):
So are you sure that a grey stony sound doesn't glow
at night?
SPEAKER_00 (16:11):
Well, only under a flashlight, Zoe.
But each name, each fadedletter, glows with history, and
that's haunting enough.
I hope you enjoyed the thirdepisode of this scary story
series.
Next week, we're uncovering themystery of the haunted ghost
tracks in San Antonio, Texas.
(16:33):
You won't want to miss that one.
Thank you for listening to TexasHistory 4K.
Hit that subscribe button andfollow the show.
More importantly, share it withothers who might find it
interesting too.
If you have any questions,always feel free to email me at
Michelle at TX History4Kids.
(16:54):
And don't forget the best Texasstories live just beyond the
lessons in your classroom,waiting for you to explore.
Take care.
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