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The haunted Emily Morgan Hotel in San Antonio
The Emily Morgan Hotel, a 13-story wedge-shaped Gothic building.
Don’t freak out if you see something in the corner of your eye. | Photo by @primapixvisuals
When you think about haunted places, what comes to mind? Hospitals? Sanitariums? Hotels? At the Emily Morgan, you don’t have to choose.

The Emily Morgan Hotel is one of the most haunted hotels in the US — most recently, it took No. 4 overall and No. 1 in the “demonic” genre (a la “The Exorcist”) in a Hotels.com list. Let’s see if you have have what it takes to last the night.

Once upon a time

Before the Emily Morgan was anything, its plot adjoined a battlefield where 600 men lost their lives in the Alamo’s Long Barracks.

The building began its life in 1926 as the most advanced medical facility west of the Mississippi. It had a morgue in its basement, and a psychiatric hospital, surgery, and crematorium on higher floors.

Rumor has it

These days, the building is a Doubletree Hilton — but if you believe, you might find remnants of its grim past.

Residents + staff report mysterious phone calls, rattling sounds, and antiseptic smells. On the seventh floor, some have seen a woman in white, fleeting shadows, or a rickety gurney.

We’ve even heard that the swimming pool is lined with the old surgery’s steel tables. And that the elevator might just lock you in and send you to the morgue, where you’ll hear whispering voices. (We can’t confirm these last two, though.)

Business is boo-ming

How has the hotel dealt with its supernatural reputation? Well, the “Room With Your Boo” package lasts until the end of October, where you can receive a special Halloween gift + a boo-berry pancake breakfast in bed.

Let’s face it: ghost stories are meant to draw us in, not keep us away. As the saying goes, “If you build it” — “it” being a hospital-turned-hotel on the site of an 1830s battlefield — “they will come.”
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Today
  • The Beach Boys | Mon., Oct. 3 | 7 p.m. | Majestic Theatre | $55+ | With half a century of music under its belt, the iconic band will visit SATX for its “Sixty Years of the Sounds of Summer” tour.
Tuesday
  • Fall Festival & Pumpkin Patch (with Alpacas!) | Tue., Oct. 4 | 10 a.m.-7 p.m. | Black Barn Alpaca Farm, 3915 US Highway 181 South, Floresville | $10+ | Head out to the country for the opening day of this month-long fall festival.
  • Weird Al Yankovic | Tue., Oct. 4 | 7:30 p.m. | Majestic Theatre | $40+ | Weird Al is going back to basics with just his small band on “The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour.”
Wednesday
  • Art in Conservation: Drawing from Nature | Wed., Oct. 5 | 10 a.m. | The Herff Farm at the Cibolo | $50 | Observe the natural world and practice basic drawing skills like blind contour and proportion.
Thursday
  • Dawson Hollow | Thu., Oct. 6 | 8:30 p.m. | The Rustic | Price of purchase | Spend an evening with the five-sibling indie folk rock band.
  • Halloween Pop UP (Crafts, Snacks, and Music) | Thu., Oct. 6 | 3:30 p.m. | Westside Community Center, 2932 S. IH 35 Frontage Road, New Braunfels | Enjoy October-themed crafts, tasty treats, games, and music.

We have a monthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

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Weather
  • 87º | Mostly cloudy | 0% chance of rain
Edu
  • UTSA will receive $300,000 over three years via a grant from the DOJ. In particular, the money comes from a $10.7 million program by the Office of Violence Against Women to reduce domestic + dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus.
Arts
  • $1 million in COVID-19 relief will be divided among 136 individual artists in payments of $7,200 to $7,500, and 46 nonprofits in payments of up to $262,000. Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center received the most funding. (San Antonio Express-News)
Open
  • The San Antonio Public Library Encino branch opened is new ADA-accessible playground this week. Play equipment + areas are designated for different age groups, and designed with all levels of ability in mind. (KSAT-12)
Try This
  • Visit Paintball Knights every Friday + Saturday in October between 7:30-10:30 p.m. for some good old-fashioned zombie hunting. The zombie hikes will take you through a “haunted” village where hikers will repel zombie invaders with low-impact gellyballs. (KSAT-12)
Trending
History
  • The United States Mint is looking back on its release of the 2019 San Antonio Missions National Historic Park Quarter — you may have one in your piggy bank. Hear what Chief Engraver Joe Menna and artist Chris Costello have to say about the project.
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Oh, and happy World Architecture Day

The haunted Emily Morgan Hotel in San Antonio
SATX Emily Morgan 2
Gothic architecture is known for its towering height. | Photo by @barelyrestedmedia
The Medical Arts Building (the former name of the Emily Morgan) wasn’t just the most advanced medical science facility west of the Mississippi in its day — it was the tallest skyscraper in the West, if briefly.

Gargoyles look down from the hotel in the New York Gothic style. Reflecting the building’s original purpose, the monsters are twisted in agony from various medical conditions, from toothaches to stomach bugs.

Did these architects know that they were setting up for an uber-haunted hotel? Unlikely, but their creativity wound up paying off big time.
THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by Dayten.

Editor’s pick: I’m not too freaked out by ghosts — although you won’t catch me in any abandoned morgues any time soon. My worst fear is bats. Bracken Cave is, let’s say, not at the top of my places-to-visit.

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Editorial: Ivan Briones, Dayten Rose, Emily Shea, Ashlea Hearn, Josh Kranzberg | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

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