Neighbors, it’s almost Halloween. No doubt you’ve noticed the plethora of giant plastic skeletons and fake tombstones displayed in yards. But have you considered the possibility that Dallas, with its long history, has true, spooky tales to tell? Maybe it’s time you learned more about the spirits that haunt our city. And maybe East Dallas couple Mark Roberts and Cari Weinberg can fill you in.
Mark and Cari, residents of Casa View, have owned and operated I See Dallas Tours since 2018. With Mark’s background in advertising/marketing and Cari’s as a TV news reporter, they found their skills transferred quite seamlessly to the new venture. They both love a good city tour, especially those that delve into the paranormal, and they’ve enjoyed ghost tours in London, Charleston, Philadelphia, Savannah, New Orleans, Galveston, Brooklyn, Vancouver, Detroit and other cities.
“When traveling, I’ve always loved collecting books of local ghost stories,” says Cari. “Ghost tours encompass stories with things we can all relate to — feeling like you’ve hit it big, feelings of deep loss, true love, heartbreak, etc., but it’s processing through the lens of specific eras and locations that make these tales unique.”
And in case you’re wondering: “Mark is the more skeptical half of our duo, but we both love a good yarn,” Cari laughs.
It was in 2017 that the couple began to think of conducting tours themselves. “While recovering from surgery,” explains Cari. “I had to stay still. My body was tired, but my brain was not. To entertain myself, I decided to use the Dallas Public Library’s online newspaper database and tried to read every single relevant local ghost story that had run in The Dallas Morning News archives. I also read local ghost story books, neighborhood histories and asked everyone I knew to tell me any ghostly stories they had.”
All the research led to a lightbulb moment. “On a lark, Mark and I put together the ghost tour and have been rolling ever since.”
At the beginning, they conducted tours from Mark’s 1978 longhorn-adorned Cadillac limo, with Mark driving and Cari narrating. They eventually transitioned to a school bus, but they now transport curious clients in a new passenger van.
Tours meet up at Lakewood Growler and generally wind their way through the White Rock Lake area, down Swiss Avenue, through Deep Ellum and Downtown. Note that traffic and other issues may affect the route on any given night.
The first order of business, of course, is everyone’s favorite local spirit, The Lady of the Lake. “We take guests to the dock by The Filter Building and share her story there,” Cari says.
She explains that The Lady first made news back in the 1950s when Texas journalist and author Frank X. Tolbert wrote about it in one of his books and in his Dallas Morning News column, telling stories of people who had encountered the ghostly hitchhiker.
The tour usually stops next at Cox Cemetery where Cari and Mark tell the story from 1967 about a radio DJ who invited listeners to ghost hunt at the lake. Without giving too much of the story away, let’s just say a riot squad was called out.
Cari might even mention a famous actor who lived in Dallas at one time and saw The Lady. Plus, Cari has her own story from a close friend who saw the spirit.
In between stops, you might hear about the Lakewood resident who, decades ago, placed a real estate ad in the newspaper to sell his home, describing it as “formal and haunted.”
As you make your way Downtown, expect to hear stories of the former cover girl and model for the statues at Fair Park. She was the toast of Dallas society long ago and refused to leave her beautiful Swiss Avenue home even as her health failed – and might linger there after her death.
The next stop is likely Sons of Hermann Hall in Deep Ellum. More than one person has seen a bride and groom in Victorian-style clothing walking in the building. But are they of this world? Cari and Mark will also relate tales from some of the staff at the hall who’ve heard footsteps behind them and upstairs when they’re alone there.
Mark and Cari like to tell a couple of other stories which fall under the unsettling/creepy category instead of paranormal. “The tour also encompasses sordid tales of Dallas’s past,” says Cari. One of the stops is at a lot where a café used to be, one that Bonnie Parker worked at. You might recognize her name from Bonnie and Clyde notoriety.
Another of their stories, though not ghostly, concerns “The Amazing Petrified Man.” It’s the shameful, creepy tale of a man who died in Dallas in 1913 after a fall from a boxcar. His embalmed body went unclaimed, and it eventually ended up in the wrong hands. You’d better believe there’s so much more to the story.
Our city has tales to tell, neighbors, and some not so pretty. “I do love a good city tour,” Mark says. “And it’s fun to show Dallas with more context than the ‘Eat Shop Play,’ which our city seems to focus on.” Maybe a better motto, at least around Halloween, is “Haunt Scare Beware.”
