Copyright The Austin Chronicle
The Faust Hotel has been called one of Texas’ most haunted hotels. At nearly a century old, New Braunfels’ hotel certainly has its share of ghost stories. While most guests to the hotel, including this author, have spent restful nights at the hotel, some have not. Guests have reported hearing furniture scraping across the floor in the night and appliances turning on by themselves. An 8-year-old girl on the second floor is probably the hotel’s most famous apparition. She is possibly the ghost of a girl who died in a fire at the hotel in the 1920s or maybe the granddaughter of the original owner. Guests and staff have reported hearing children playing in the hallway or looking out a window late at night. Others have reported her laughing while running down the hallway or standing at the end of the hallway like a vision out of The Shining. All of the ghosts are friendly, other than prompting nightmares. In fact, Anna, the spirit who was a former maid at the hotel, is known to tuck guests in and leave little treats on the nightstand. Walter Faust, the hotel’s former owner who died in the Thirties, returns occasionally as an elevator operator or riding the lift in a top hat and tails. Night clerks have reported an empty elevator opening and closing late at night. Built in 1929 as the Travelers Hotel, the structure was renamed after Walter’s death. The four-story brick hotel is currently undergoing renovations that will reduce the number of rooms from 64 to 45 and add a new restaurant. Plans call for it to reopen in spring 2026. All the construction doesn’t seem to have chased the ghosts away, says Ian Anderson, a project manager. His crew has reported things moving on their own, cold spots, and strange noises. “I think they’re still here,” he said. 1,778th in a series. Everywhere is a day trip from somewhere. Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/day-trips. This article appears in October 31 • 2025.
