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Reported phenomena, as catalogued
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Founded in 1718 as a Spanish mission, the Alamo became the site of the 1836 battle whose defenders are said to still walk its grounds.
300 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, TX 78205
Research updated October 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
General admission to the Alamo church and grounds is free; advance reservation of a free Church ticket required. Premium guided tours are paid.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved plaza and walking paths; mostly flat. Historic structures have some thresholds.
Equipment
Photos OK
Founded 1718 as Mission San Antonio de Valero, one of San Antonio's five Spanish colonial missions · Site of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution · State-designated shrine and component of San Antonio Missions UNESCO World Heritage Site (2015) · Administered by the Texas General Land Office through the Alamo Trust since 2015
Mission San Antonio de Valero was founded in 1718 by Father Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares as the first of the Spanish missions along the San Antonio River. The mission was moved to its current location in 1724, and the iconic stone church — now the most recognized building on the site — was begun in the mid-1700s but never fully completed during the Spanish colonial era. The mission was formally secularized in 1793 and its lands distributed.
In the early 1800s the compound was occupied by the Second Flying Company of San Carlos de Parras del Alamo, a Mexican military unit from which the name 'Alamo' is most commonly derived. In December 1835, during the Texas Revolution, Mexican General Martín Perfecto de Cos surrendered the post to Texian forces.
From February 23 to March 6, 1836, a small Texian garrison commanded by William B. Travis and including James Bowie and David Crockett held the fortified mission against the army of Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna. The assault on the morning of March 6 ended in the deaths of nearly all the defenders. Mexican casualties were heavy, with most modern estimates ranging in the several hundred. The cry 'Remember the Alamo' became a rallying call at the subsequent Battle of San Jacinto.
The Catholic Church sold the chapel to the State of Texas in 1883. From 1905 until 2015, the site was administered by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas as custodians for the state. In 2015, custodianship was transferred to the Texas General Land Office, which operates the property today through the Alamo Trust. The Alamo is the most-visited historic site in Texas and a state-designated shrine.
Sources
According to widely retold San Antonio folklore, days after the fall of the Alamo on March 6, 1836, Mexican soldiers ordered by General Andrade to burn the chapel were said to have fled in terror after seeing six robed figures — sometimes called the 'diablos' — wielding flaming swords from the chapel walls. The earliest written accounts of the story date to the late 19th century, and it is most fully developed in Texas folklore collections and tour-operator histories (Legends of America; Ghost City Tours; US Ghost Adventures).
Later reports collected by Alamo staff and ghost-tour operators describe an apparition resembling Davy Crockett, in buckskin and coonskin cap holding a flintlock, seen near the chapel and the Long Barrack. A figure of a small boy is occasionally reported in an upper window of the gift-shop building (the former Long Barrack annex), where some visitors say he watches the plaza. Park rangers and overnight workers have described disembodied footsteps in the chapel, whispered voices in Spanish, and cold spots near the south wall and the area believed to have served as a chapel infirmary during the battle.
Most paranormal accounts at the Alamo are folkloric or tour-driven rather than independently corroborated, but they form one of Texas's oldest sustained haunting traditions, intertwined with the memory of the men who died there in 1836.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Walk the chapel, Long Barrack, and Plaza area. Audio guides are available through the Alamo Trust. Entering Alamo Church requires reserving a free ticket in advance; the reservation requirement is specific to Church entry.
Daily docent-led walking tours interpret the 1836 siege and battle. Schedules posted on the Alamo Trust site.
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This San Antonio tour includes The Alamo (Mission San Antonio de Valero) on its route.
This San Antonio tour includes The Alamo (Mission San Antonio de Valero) on its route.
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