| The "Death" of the Pike Fraternity House, San Marcos, Texas |
| On April 9, 2007, two arsonists (or should we say "jack-asses") set fire to the historic Pike house. The Pike House in San Marcos, Texas, has something of a 'haunted' reputation and has always been a favorite place for urban explorers, ghost hunters, local students and anyone else interested in often "spooky" allure of this once magnificent building. Rumors surrounded the place for many years, everything from sacrifice, murder, to ghosts still haunting the grounds and interior. According to the story on KXAN.com's website, The Pike House was constructed as part of The Coronal Institute, a boys' military academy in the early 1900s. It was later converted into a memorial and/or county hospital in 1923 (accounts vary). A Baptist Academy took possession of it forty years later, turning it into a boys' dormitory. In either 1968 or 1969 (again, accounts vary), the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity bought the building and it became known as the "Pike House" after that. In 1997 it was sold and abandoned, although it is owned by a developer who, again according to some reports, had planned to turn it into a private residence. Other accounts pinpoint the Pike House as being a hospital for Civil War soldiers, an Insane Asylum run by a doctor who did "strange" experiments on patients, including stories that it had burned down and killed some kids. We can't forget the tales of dead pledges either....nailing their burned pledge books to the walls, smeared blood on walls (or other places), and other "spooky" stuff that went on there. The Pike House is located in a historical neighborhood on Belvin Street, and has been featured in the book "Weird Texas". No matter what rumors or horror stories about the place abound, we believe it to be a still-beautiful testament to fine architecture, and are deeply saddened that such a lovely building was wasting away unused, abandoned, and finally burned by fools who most likely felt they had nothing else better to do . You won't find anything horrific or 'spooky' in these photos, but only the remains of a formerly majestic building. We gratefully thank Amy for submitting the excellent photos below ! |
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| Texas Hauntings Society Home Page Texas Abandoned Places, Hospitals Texas Cemeteries ~ haunted, not so haunted Texas Haunted Hotels Texas - area Paranormal Groups Photos from our Friends Links to the Paranormal Texas Hauntings Society's Investigations, Explorations, Visitations Email Texas Hauntings Society 2000 - Infinity, Texas Hauntings Society/Massachusetts Hauntings Society, all rights reserved |
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