The city of Shreveport was founded in 1836. The land was settled by the Shreve Town Company, which was created to establish a town on the land where the Texas Trail and the Red River met. Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana, and as of 2008 is the 99th largest city in the United States of America. It is also the center of the area where the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas all meet. Thanks to Louisiana having the third largest film industry in the country (behind only Los Angeles and New York), Shreveport has seen a number of notable movies filmed in the area in recent years. Among the titles include the 2007 thriller "The Mist" starring Thomas Jane and written and directed by Frank Darabont (who previously shot to success with "The Shawshank Redemption), and the Oliver Stone biopic of George W. Bush titled "W."
One famous haunted location in the city is the Logan Mansion, located at 725 Austin Place. In 1908 a small girl who lived across the street from her property fell to her death from a top floor window in the mansion. Since then, there have been several reported "sightings" of this girl, notably during times when the mansion was unoccupied either by residents or businesses. During the mid-1980s, a radio station occupied the building. Those who worked for the station were said to have noticed strange occurrences with the window shades and light fixtures. Legend has it that the radio station operator went out in front of the house and "challenged" it, which caused the lights to flicker on and off and the radio station signal to go out. Paranormal investigators have researched at the location and gotten "positive" results.
Another seemingly haunted location in the city of Shreveport is the Old Elerbe Road School. Noted for the disappearances of several people, including one said to be a "beloved janitor." Supposedly when school children went looking for him, they too disappeared. They now are said to haunt the school, which has since closed down and been left to decay. The building is on private property, and the police have been known to show up and shoo away anyone "ghost hunting" in the middle of the night.
In West Shreveport the Caddo Detention Center has long been rumored to be filled with the spirits of the undead. Now an operational facility belonging to the Caddo Sheriff's Department, the building was once home to a maximum security prison. It has long been said that before the facility reopened, security guards were quoted as having seen figures walking amongst the halls once populated by hardened criminals. One guard even claimed to have seen more than one headless figures walking in the sight of security cameras. Supposedly there are even areas of the building that animals will not enter, due to their ability to detect ghosts.
Something to consider about "haunted houses" and other locations of a similar type are whether or not they are public or private property. Some areas that are famously said to be haunted and heavily trafficked are public areas, and are free for anyone to visit. Others, however, are private property. Even if the location is, say, in the middle of the woods, always be mindful of who owns the land and of whether or not there are any neighbors nearby. Especially at Halloween when the number of visitors increase, people leaving near these places may become increasingly hostile towards people who aren't supposed to be there. Always be respectful and mind people's privacy.
