The Haunted Alamo
By Robert Wlodarski and Anne Powell Wlodarski
Copyright ©1996 G-HOST Publishing, ITF

John Wayne was born Marion Michael Morrison in 1907 in Winterset, Iowa. I legendary star, his Hollywood career spanned over 40 years. In the late 1950s Wayne decided to direct a movie which embodied his philosophy. Prior to directing the movie, The Alamo, in Brackettville, a few miles from San Antonio and the "real" Alamo, Wayne resolved to make his movie as historically accurate as possible, extensively researched the historical backdrop to the battle. He was also determined not to create a false-front film set: rather, he spent over $1.5 million dollars recreating the Alamo and, with his production designer and set designer, set out to make an exact replica of the original structure.

He consulted the actual blueprints as well as documents relating to the sequence of events which led to the fall of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. In a bigger-than-life spectacle, Wayne, as director, his talented technical advisors, crew, all-star cast which included Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey, Chill Willis, Frankie Avalon, Patrick Wayne, Linda Crystal, Richard Boone, and extras, re-enacted the famous battle for Texas Independence. Because of the success of the movie, the replica set of the Alamo became a highly regarded and much-visited tourist attraction. According to some individuals, Wayne gave so much of himself in making the epic movie that he may have left a little of himself behind - as a ghostly visitor at the "real" Alamo.

From B.C. of San Antonio comes a story pertaining to the legend of John Wayne. According to B.C., legend has it that John Wayne, while filming The Alamo, became obsessed with the area, the history of the battle, and its heroic defenders. His obsession drove him to spend a fortune on recreating the Alamo for the movie of the same name he directed for the purpose of historical accuracy. It is rumored that after his death, his spirit was seen at the Alamo, apparently visiting and talking with the fallen defenders, a journey he still takes today although his ghost is seen infrequently. Furthermore, B.C. recalls that a psychic was brought in to confirm the story, and she apparently communicated with some of the spirits who remain within the Alamo. The psychic, through her spirit contacts, said that Wayne visits the Alamo about once a month. There was no answer forthcoming as to his whereabouts between visits to the Alamo.

In an article in the Sunday edition of the San Antonio Express News dated January 27, 1991, Charles Long, the former curator of the Alamo museum, took John Wayne on a tour of the historic mission when Wayne was filming his epic movie, The Alamo. Pilar, Wayne’s widow, wrote in his biography that the story of the Alamo was the epitome of everything Wayne stood for - stamina, courage, and patriotism; therefore, it would not surprise her if his spirit visits the place where so many brave men gave their lives for such a noble cause.

The article continued by saying that San Antonio psychic, Joe Holbrook, was called upon to see what he could "pick up on" inside the Alamo. Agreeing to visit the sacred landmark with newspaper reporter, Craig Phelon, Holbrook, while driving in his car, reportedly began communicating with the spirits of the Texian defenders and sensing images of the battle before reaching the landmark. He was able to focus on one defender in particular. He identified himself to Holbrook as a bootmaker and defender named Morgan, with the nickname "Boots." He was responsible for tending to the Alamo wounded.

Holbrook related certain information to Phelon regarding the trapped Alamo spirits by saying, "They don’t just linger around the same place all the time." Holbrook felt that in any place where people have died, there will usually be spirit sightings from time to time. Upon entering the chapel, Holbrook picked up so much energy that it was hard for him to focus; however, he was drawn to the room just left of the main entrance, stating that, "There are six of them right in here." The irony, according to Holbrook, was that spirits were not of the Alamo defenders but belonged instead to Santa Anna’s men and were still wearing their Mexican uniforms.