Goliad, Texas - The thought of ghosts and spirits roaming through town may scare some and others may doubt, but it is what prompts residents in Goliad to go to Bill Corey, the city’s unofficial paranormal investigator.

Born on the south side of Chicago, Corey said he did not always believe in the paranormal.

“I’m from Chicago, you have to see it,” said Corey, who moved to Rockport to escape the cold and open his own business.

Corey began to volunteer at the hospice following his wife’s death. “It changes your outlook on life,” said Corey.

He began helping patients deal with death in their last days, he said. “You just go on to the the next level,” said Corey.

He recalls a patient asking where he was from, and she simply said “Bethlehem” as she passed away.

Corey has explored the Presidio La Bahia for paranormal activities and taken photos to look for orbs.

“I always have my camera,” said Corey, who carries his disposable camera everywhere.

The paranormal investigator also uses an electronic voice phenomena recorder to detect sound that may not be able to be heard by the naked ear, he said.

Corey is a character, said Debra Barker, events coordinator, and Mona Foust, managing director for the Goliad Chamber of Commerce.

“He brings us breakfast when we’re working on Market Days,” Barker said.

Barker said she remembers Corey from when she was younger. “My brother and his son used to be in a band together,” said Barker, who has grown accustom to his visits.

Corey, who gave up his car after the price of gas increased, rides his bike to the chamber.

“He has been riding a bike for five years,” said Jodi Farrior, Corey’s daughter.

Barker said many know Corey because of his bike and his investigations of the paranormal. “He’s got a lot of good stories,” Barker said.

Foust, however, knows Corey for his polished rocks.

“He sometimes leaves us polished rocks in the paper if he gets here before I do,” said Foust.

He started buying polished rocks when his wife was in the hospital dying of cancer. He would give them to her caretakers in gratitude for their work.

Since her death almost six years ago, he has continued to give rocks to friends.

It’s part of Corey’s personality.

“I try to make one new friend a day,” said Corey.

Barker adds that his charisma comes from his humor, but wasn’t sure what to say recently when he called with a serious message.

“He called me and left me a message saying he was having quadruple bypass surgery,” said Barker.

Corey suffered a heart attack while at church more than a month ago, but has not let that slow him down.

“He’s free spirited,” his daughter said.

Corey said you have to know your own limits and listen to your doctors.

The 68-year-old told his late wife he wants to live to be 120 because there are many people he wants to meet.

But there is one person Corey says he wants to meet most of all.

But who that is, he keeps to himself. - Lourdes Vazquez

History of Hauntings at the Presidio La Bahia

Source: Ghosts Along the Texas Coast by Docia Schultz-Williams

Some of the haunting occurences reported at the presidio include:

* Cold spots in the living quarters

* Sounds of babies crying near the chapel

* Sounds of a woman’s choir also near the chapel

* A short friar appears in front of the chapel doors and wanders the quadrangle

* A woman in white appears in front of the chapel and searches the unmarked graves

* A soprano voice has been heard singing in the museum and strange organ music has been heard

* A woman in black has been spotted by the candle offerings inside the chapel

* Passersby in automobiles have reported seeing a ghostly form in their vehicle as they cross the nearby San Antonio river

* The lights have been seen burning late at night

* Strange mumbling voices have been heard outside the chapel

The most violent activity in the presidio’s history occurred in the quadrangle where General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna executed so many Texan revolutionaries on Palm Sunday in 1836 that their restless spirits are said to roam the chapel yard.

Source - http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/