Did you know? Many stories of ghosts and the paranormal are based on Texas legends. That’s no surprise since so many attacks and battles occurred across the state.
One story is based around a notorious horse thief called Vidal. In 1848, he made the mistake of stealing horses from the Texas Ranger Creed Taylor.
Taylor and infamous Bigfoot Wallace–another Texas Ranger–went on a hunt for the bandit.. Late one night, the Rangers discovered Vidal and his bandits. The infamous Bigfoot wanted to make an example of Vidal. So he decapitated Vidal, tied his body on the saddle on the back of a wild mustang, and drove the horse away. He knew this would send a message to other horse thieves.
For many years, the wild horse roamed South Texas, with Vidal’s head and body still strapped to the saddle. The horse and rider were named “El Muerto” by the natives and were blamed for all kinds of evil and bad luck. Eventually, an armed posse found the wild horse and cut the head of Vidal from the horse. Bullet holes and arrows riddled Vidal’s head and the horse’s body. Even now, there are stories of people seeing a headless horseman riding on clear and moonlit nights.
It has been said that on a clear full-moon night that you can see and hear the headless horseman roaming the grounds of Thrillvania Haunted House Park. Come see for yourself, if you dare…