Twelvetide is also the name of the 12 days of Christmas, which we are in now. As today is December 30th, this would be the 6 geese a-layin’ day if you are in to buying traditional gifts for your significant other. I inadvertently kicked off Twelvetide with the story of Kitty Leroy which ended in a murder-suicide, so what the hell, I am going full on goth and sticking with untimely death angle to celebrate the holidays.
Joe Brunshaw was a bartender at the Oriental Hotel which is where the AT&T building now stands in the West End of Dallas. (More on the Oriental Hotel in upcoming posts because it deserves several posts of it’s own.) Joe came from Denver specifically to help open the swanky bar at the hotel (1893), but he turned in his notice that he would be leaving and heading to San Francisco in January of 1894.
A few days before he had a chance to pack up, Joe died by falling in to the cellar of the hotel. He was sitting outside (on his break?), perched on a railing that was designed to keep people from falling from the sidewalk in to said cellar – the railing was more than 4 feet tall with another 14 feet down to the cellar (this area was usually used to load goods in to storage). He lost his balance, broke his neck/skull and shoulder blade and lived for less than an hour afterwards.
Quite a few folks claim that the Adolphus hotel across the street is haunted by a jilted bride who committed suicide – there is zero evidence of that in the newspapers. If you are a ghost hunter, my money is on the basement of the AT&T building where you can find Joe Brunshaw’s unfulfilled dreams of gold in California.
Feel free to dress like Lydia and join us on a tour.
