HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
+ 3 further entries on record
Beachfront Corpus Christi seafood restaurant operating since 1991 whose staff have documented decades of poltergeist-like activity and a 2007 apparition recorded on video by local investigators.
3117 Surfside Blvd, Corpus Christi, TX 78402
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Operating seafood restaurant; standard menu pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Beachfront restaurant, paved parking and accessible dining areas
Equipment
Photos OK
One of the oldest buildings on the North Beach spit · Operating continuously since 1991 under same family ownership · Hurricane Ike survivor (2008)
Blackbeard's on the Beach sits across the street from the Gulf shoreline on the North Beach spit of Corpus Christi, within sight of the USS Lexington memorial and the Texas State Aquarium. When the current owners acquired the building in 1991, it was already one of the oldest structures on that stretch of beach — a low-slung commercial building that had weathered years of coastal weather before becoming a seafood restaurant.
Founder Steve Bonillas built the business over more than two decades. His death in 2012 marked a turning point in the restaurant's documented ghost history: his wife Paula, who has continued operating Blackbeard's, noted that paranormal activity increased noticeably following his passing, suggesting to staff that Bonillas himself may have become part of the building's resident presence.
Hurricane Ike made landfall in September 2008 as one of the most destructive storms to hit the Texas coast. Blackbeard's was closed and locked during the storm. When the general manager arrived the following morning, she found the sound system blasting at high volume and an empty shot glass sitting at the bar — with no authorized personnel having entered the building overnight.
The restaurant has operated continuously since 1991, maintaining its reputation as the most documented haunted dining establishment in Corpus Christi. In 2007, the Corpus Christi Ghosthunters group conducted an after-hours investigation and recorded what they described as an apparition in the back dining area, followed by the sound of whistling and then shattering glass behind the bar.
Sources
The haunting at Blackbeard's on the Beach does not hinge on a single dramatic event. Instead, staff accounts over more than three decades describe a consistent, low-grade pattern of anomalies that the owners have come to treat as a permanent feature of the restaurant.
The reported activity falls into several categories. Physical disruptions — doors opening without anyone near them, salt shakers moving along the bar, chairs shifting position — have been reported by multiple staff members across different eras of the restaurant's operation. Electronic anomalies have also been documented: videotapes have been observed starting and playing without manual input, the thermostat in the owners' adjacent space has adjusted itself, and the sound system activated at full volume inside the locked, storm-shuttered building the morning after Hurricane Ike in September 2008.
The 2007 Corpus Christi Ghosthunters investigation produced the most specific piece of claimed evidence: investigators recorded what they described as an apparition appearing in the back dining area after hours, followed by audible whistling and then the sound of glass shattering behind the bar.
Following owner Steve Bonillas's death in 2012, staff reported an increase in activity and began attributing the presence partly to him. The restaurant's nightly tradition of leaving a drink at the bar for the resident entity reflects how thoroughly the ghost has been incorporated into the operational culture of the business. No historical fatal incident at the property has been documented in available sources.
Notable Entities
Blackbeard's on the Beach operates as a full-service seafood restaurant. The ghost lore is embedded in the staff culture — bartenders traditionally leave a drink at the bar each night for the resident entity — making an ordinary dinner here an ambient paranormal experience. Security cameras throughout the restaurant regularly record what staff describe as orbs.
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