Free April Slaughter by Ghosthunting Texas Page B

discuss the events we had experienced.
    The Iris Theatre and its bookstore have a positive energy about them that is definitely inviting, and it is my belief that whoever spiritually visits the old theatre is happy to have people around. Perhaps they are pleased with the fact the theatre, although downsized, still remains to provide a glimpse into a nostalgic past. Maybe the ghostly inhabitants are book lovers, thrilled with the prospect that they can share their literary favorites with others. Whatever the case may be, I was pleased to meet the spirits of the Iris and I am sure they would be more than pleased to meet you.

CHAPTER 11
    Catfish Plantation WAXAHACHIE

    Catfish Plantation restaurant exterior (April Slaughter)
    IF THERE IS ONE FOOD BESIDES BARBEQUE that Texas is famous for, it would be catfish. I had eaten catfish only a couple of times in my life before moving here, and I hadn’t thought it was all that great. The look of shock on my husband’s face when I told him that was priceless. I grew up fishing for and eating rainbow trout, straight from the rivers and lakes of Utah, my home state. We didn’t eat a lot of catfish in Utah, so Allen made it his mission to introduce me to a proper catfish meal.
    As with many other unexpected finds in Texas, I came across the website of the Catfish Plantation restaurant while doing a little searching online. It was relatively close to home, so I thought Allen and I would try dining there one evening. As it turned out, the restaurant was reportedly haunted. Not only would I have the chance to enjoy a good southern catfish meal, I’d be eating it in a haunted restaurant! What more could I ask
for?
    We made the trip out to Waxahachie with our good friend Jerry Bowers one Saturday afternoon for lunch. The restaurant sits in a residential neighborhood, far removed from the main drag of the town. I immediately fell in love with the place, as it had a humble charm about it.
    Ryan Rodriguez—one of the owners of the restaurant—greeted us as we walked in the front door. We chatted for a moment about making the trip over from Dallas for lunch, and I explained to him that Allen and I ran a paranormal investigation team that would love to come in and document activity there sometime. He didn’t seem open to the idea at first, as they had already had another team come in just the weekend before, but we soon won him over and we scheduled an investigation of our own.
    While we were waiting for our table, I noticed that the restaurant’s logo incorporated cartoon-like ghosts, and t-shirts were for sale at the register. On an entry table close by sat a large binder, nearly busting at the seams, with hundreds of personal ghost stories involving restaurant patrons. I took a quick glance through the stories, but did not yet study them because I wanted to investigate the building without knowing too much beforehand about what had happened there.
    Allen and I were seated in one of the quaint dining rooms and presented with our menus. After placing our order, we both began pointing out the little intricacies around us as we waited for our meals to arrive. The walls of each dining room were colorfully adorned with different Victorian-style wallpapers, and beautiful pieces of stained glass delicately hung in all of the windows. It felt as if we were sitting in someone’s personal dining room rather than in a restaurant, which made us feel welcome and comfortable.
    The Catfish Plantation has not always been a restaurant. As
might be guessed by its location, the 1895 Victorian was originally a personal residence. It was purchased in 1984 by Tom and Melissa Baker, who remodeled it into a restaurant. Before it was completed and opened to the public, Melissa had several experiences that led her to believe something paranormal may be happening at the Catfish Plantation. For example, a tea urn with cups stacked inside of it had been moved from its proper location on a shelf to the middle of the