witches' hastle

So having heard a variety of rumors of its existence and especially from reading about it in Weird Texas, Lisa and I decided to go to Cameron Park in Waco and look for Witches' Castle ourselves.

The lore is that in abandoned part of the 400+ acre park along the Brazos River in Waco lies hidden an area of stone forms and structures carved into the heavily wooded hillsides which played, and supposedly still plays, host to such nefarious behavior as witchcraft, satanism, and miscellaneous other misbehavior.

The idea is that the area is well hidden deep within a wooded part of the park way off the off-beaten path and that one finds the beginnings of stone steps quite unexpectedly, which then lead down into a complex of sorts, composed of various stair sets, pools, and something of an altar-like structure. The urban myth is that the place is well hidden and deeply evil - and that it stinks like death and is filled with evidence of the occult and other wrongdoing.

Having researched it, I've come to believe that Witches' Castle is just the contemporary term for a remote part of the park originally known as Proctor Springs. According to Waco newspapers, from the beginning of the 20th century through the 1970's the clear, cool water of Proctor Springs offered a public swimming and bathing grounds where families went to relax. Then during the 80's tax flow to the park stopped and the area was essentially abandoned.

We did find many intriguing stone structures, including steps and a small pool, as well as small, but still flowing, natural springs. However, after some six hours of exploring the park and other parts of the city, and following directions found online, we were unable to find anything that truly lived up to the sinister concept of Witches' Castle that drew us there in the first place.

None of this, however, is to say that our trip was unpleasant or fruitless. We explored parts of Waco neither of us had ever visited and found the remains of a massive early 1900's three story school burned almost entirely to the ground. In our exploring of Cameron Park, we found it to be absolutely beautiful; it was March and the new warmth of spring had made the area extremely lush with tropic vegetation.

TRAVIS'S PICTURES:





















LISA'S PICTURES:














Pictures 03/09