Writer Relates Tales of Restless Spirits

CANYON LAKE Texas — When Bert Wall moved into his ranch on top of Devil's Backbone in 1977, he knelt down and said a prayer to protect the land he lived on. And for more than 20 years, Wall claims he has received help in fulfilling that promise . . . from ghosts. "This area has a lot of history," Wall said, taking a long puff from his cigarette and blowing the smoke slowly out. His eyes narrow: "A lot of stuff has happened here."

From the Apaches and Comanches who roamed the thin stretch of hills seeking spirituality, to the Spaniards seeking gold and silver in the 1750s to battles fought between Confederate and Union troops in the Civil War, the Devil's Backbone cries out with the spirits of lost souls, Wall said. Not convinced?

For the past 10 years, book publishers, as well as local and national media have had no doubts about the authenticity of Wall's claims. He has published four books on ghost stories and appeared in a 1996 airing of NBC-TV's "Unsolved Mysteries." Papers such as the Houston Chronicle have even published excerpts from his work. Wall has recorded more than 100 ghost sightings, either by himself or by others who have visited his ranch, during his 20-year stay there. All of the ghosts are united by the misfortune of never having completed what they started, Wall explained.

One of the most reported sightings involves a young woman with a child who walks up and down the backbone wailing for her lost husband. "I found out that there was this woman from San Antonio who moved here with the first group of miners," Wall said. "The message came through that the mineshaft blew up and she had wanted it dug out because the miners were buried there. They never did it, so I think she just wants a Christian burial."

Another popular sighting is "Drago," the American Indian warrior. Wall said many ranchers see the face of Drago as they are herding cattle along the Backbone, and are then surprised to see a painting of him hanging in Wall's home. "The painting was done in the 1840s, and we selected it before we started hearing all these stories," Wall said. In the painting Drago's eyes are painted so that they follow the observer all around the room. "They go nuts when they see him here, because they know they've already seen him," Wall said.

In addition to the wailing woman and Drago, Wall said he has seen a ghost he calls "the Spanish Monk" on his front porch, and some of the land's original cowboy ranchers. But none of those sightings compare to the one that turned Wall into a believer.

When Wall was 27 years old, he stood on top of the Backbone and witnessed what he claims was an entire Civil War battle. "All these cannons started going off and I heard screams and saw blood and I saw Confederate soldiers being blown down," he said. "And I looked next to me, and, as God is my witness, there was a plaque that stood there saying 'R.N. Wall died saving his troops on this hill in 1862.' " Years later, Wall discovered R.N. Wall was his great-grandfather.

In addition to sightings, Wall said he hears his name called out and hears doors open and shut for no apparent reason. For Wall, the ghosts are guardian angels of sorts, protecting him and his family from unexpected danger. He even credits spirits with saving his life.

"One day I was walking along the Backbone with my dog," Wall recalls. "I heard my name called out and I answered out loud, but, of course, there was nobody there. Then I looked down and saw a rattlesnake with his rattler buzzing like a dozen beehives and his jaws wide open ready to strike. I yanked out my shotgun and blasted him about five feet."

Perhaps what makes Wall so convincing is that he doesn't claim to have all the answers for the supernatural presence that surrounds his ranch home. He started putting the stories down on paper only a few years ago, when he realized they were too compelling to simply dismiss. Wall said the days of defending his stories are long gone. "I used to put up with skeptics, but I don't have time for that," he said. "My books are my books, and people drive me crazy coming up (to the ranch) for ghosts." Some of the ghosts, Wall claims, are here to protect the Backbone from "the white man."

"This was never his land to begin with," he said. "They just took it." Wall said he has never doubted his belief in ghosts, because that would be "disrespectful."

"I bet 75 percent of people have seen something or felt something, but only 25 percent will tell you because they don't want people to think they're crazy. The fact of the matter is," he said, pausing to take one last puff from his cigarette, "is that ghosts can happen to anyone at anytime."