RED OAK, Texas — In Red Oak, at the end of a new road is an old haunt.
Reindeer Manor is the oldest haunted house in America, according to co-owner Alex Lohmann.
“Yeah, this is our 49th season here,” Lohmann said.
What sets Reindeer Manor apart from other haunted houses is that it is haunted, potentially.
“Not potentially,” Lohmann said. “It is.”
That’s hard for Lohmann to admit. He used to do paranormal investigations just to prove ghosts don’t exist.
“To disprove,” he said. “To prove that this isn’t really a thing.”
So what changed? He bought Reindeer Manor.
In 1915, the original house on the property burned down and killed the entire family.
It was rebuilt a few years later, which is the house that still stands today.
It was in that house, in 1929, the owner poisoned his wife before hanging himself in the barn.
Now part of the haunted attraction, the spot in the barn where it happened has been a site where several guests claim to have had the same experience.
“An orb of light pushed them against the wall and choked them,” Lohmann said.
Employees have heard stuff, too, like footsteps in the attic.
“And there’s just never anybody there,” Lohmann said.
It’s often a surprise to the staff because it’s not the kind of information Lohmann includes in the job listing.
“No, you never lead with that,” he said. “That’s when somebody will go, ‘ok, I will seek employment elsewhere.’”
People are free to seek employment elsewhere, but someone at Reindeer Manor is never leaving.
Lohmann claims he once was working outside when a dark, shadowy figure walked right past him. He was so rattled that he tried reassuring himself.
“You’re gonna pretend this isn’t a thing and you’re gonna go on with your life,” Lohmann said.
And that’s what he did, moved on, until his 7-year-old saw the same dark figure.
“And I said, ‘what about his face,’” Lohmann said. “And my son said, ‘oh, Dad, this guy didn’t have a face,’ which is the most chilling thing to hear from a 7-year-old child.”
Staff members claim to have seen the dark figure too.
“There’s still a lot of the staff that doesn’t like to be here alone,” Lohmann said.
Whatever they’ve seen, they won’t see it much longer.
Lohmann and his wife, Jennifer, have sold the property. This is Reindeer Manor’s final season at the current site before it re-opens in a new location nearby next year.
The house and barn will likely be torn down and new buildings constructed on the site.
So will that finally get rid of the whatever’s haunting the place?
“Will that go away,” Lohmann asked. “I don’t know if that’ll just vanish with the buildings.”
Reindeer Manor is open now through Halloween. For more information, visit their website here.