Spooky season is here, and it's the first one at the abandoned Yorktown Memorial Hospital for San Antonio company Curious Twins Tours & Events. For them, Halloween is every day, and in they purchased the property in July; it was touted by no less an authority than Texas Monthly to be one of the most haunted buildings in the state.
The Felician Sisters of the Roman Catholic Church opened the Yorktown Memorial Hospital in 1951 to serve the tiny South Texas town of the same name — about a two-hour drive south of Austin — now with a population of less than 2,000. In the mid-80s, the facility became a drug treatment center before being abandoned in 1992.
The granite and concrete structure could double as a set for horror anthology series American Horror Story. A coffin sits front and center in the chapel, another room features long-lost dolls, and an organ sits unplayed — or at least visitors hope it does. Fred Garza-Guzman, who owns the company with husband Stephen Garza-Guzman, says they don't plan to interfere with the hospital's spooky charms.
Who dares to walk these darkened halls?Photo courtesy of Yorktown Memorial Hospital
"We want to keep it very much the same," says Garza-Guzman. "It's an abandoned property still."
Yorktown Memorial is purportedly home to several spirits. As the stories go, the hospital had poor standards, resulting in multiple patient deaths. The most famous spirits said to roam the halls include a little girl named Stacey, former addict TJ, stern nuns who scratch at anyone with visible tattoos, and a snarling black mass. Zoinks!
The Garza-Guzmans have been leading tours of the hospital for a few years, but the purchase will save the "very raw property" from fading away into history. Their goal is to eventually restore the building for commercial use. Eventually, the business will open an online gift shop to raise funds for the repairs.
Dauntless Austinites who want to take a peek inside the building, and risk a few unsettling dreams, there are several opportunities coming up in October. (To browse, check Yorktown's website, which has significantly more options than the Curious Twins' main calendar.) The outings range from short walkthroughs to overnight stays. There's also a special tour for Halloween night, although the website does not specify how it will differ from other nights.
If visitors want to stop by San Antonio and maximize the spookiness of their trip, they might consider staying at the stately Gunter Hotel, which was just ranked among the top 25 most haunted hotels in the United States by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Guests can also stop by a haunted cathedral, which was bestowed a similar ranking by Condé Nast Traveler, or enjoy a less fraught drink at a Halloween cocktail pop-up.
Photo courtesy of Yorktown Memorial Hospital.
The hospital is located about 100 miles from Austin and 80 from San Antonio.
"I would give a trophy to the person who made each expertly made cocktail I guzzled," said Condé Nast contributor Allison Bagley in her review.Photo by Grant Pifer