Cameron Park

Waco's crown jewel, Cameron Park spans 416 acres along the Brazos River with trails, cliffs, and natural beauty. However, it is also reportedly the most haunted place in Waco, with Jacob's Ladder - a steep staircase cut into the cliff - being particularly notorious for paranormal activity.

Cameron Park, Waco's 416-acre crown jewel of urban green space, is also considered the most haunted location in the city. Within its gnarled trees, limestone cliffs, and winding trails lurk spirits from centuries of tragedy—from Civil War-era vigilante justice to star-crossed Native American lovers to a Victorian nanny who still patrols her domain.

The Witch's Castle—a ruined stone house marked by a decrepit archway—reeks of decaying flesh according to those brave enough to approach. Legend holds that a witch once kidnapped people who strayed into the park and got lost. The truth may be stranger: the "witch" was actually a Victorian nanny to the Cameron children who would chase vagrants off the family's land with such ferocity that they called her a witch while she still lived. After her sudden death, the homeless who camped on the property continued to see her ghost walking through the trees, chasing after them.

Lindsay Hollow Road takes its name from the Lindsay brothers, cattle thieves captured by vigilantes shortly after the Civil War. Both were killed and buried on the site, and drivers along the road report seeing their bodies hanging from the trees, swaying in a breeze that doesn't touch the living.

Jacob's Ladder, a treacherous stone staircase, harbors a "grabbing ghost" that clutches at the clothing of climbers—especially women—as if trying to break an eternal fall. At Lovers' Leap, where two Native American lovers from enemy tribes chose death together rather than separation, their figures can be glimpsed on the limestone cliffs when the Bosque River runs high, and their romantic murmuring echoes in the rush of the waters below.

Even the motorcycle tar pits hold a modern ghost—a young rider killed in the 1970s whose spirit still races across the park.