"He's coming to see us!" -- Is the Moore Home haunted?

Unexplained lights turning on in the middle of the night. Rumors of tragic deaths during childbirth. Beds looking as if someone had been sitting on them. 

While the 1883 Moore Home and the 1855 Long-Smith Cottage are primarily peaceful abodes, a few persistent spooky stories still make the rounds here at the Fort Bend Museum.

1883 Historic Moore Home

We know for sure that there have been several deaths in the home -- but all were from natural causes. "This was common in the old days," said Site Manager Shereen Sampson. "There were no hospitals in the area, and family members died in their own beds. Once they had passed, the body would be laid out for viewing in the parlor, and then brought to the cemetery. This tradition did not change until well into the 20th century."

​Rumors have circulated that one of John Moore's daughters haunts the house after a tragic death during childbirth. However, both of Moore's daughters lived to a ripe old age, so those rumors are definitely not true.

​On the other hand, there IS a story that has been verified as true by several reliable sources:

A four-year-old child came to tour the house with her mother. When the Museum docent brought them in to the front entryway, the little girl’s attention was drawn to the front bedroom. She interrupted the docent by telling her mother to look at the man in the rocking chair, as she was pointing to the chair in the corner of the room. Then she said, “Oh, he’s coming to see us!”  Her mother and the docent both looked at each other, and then back at the empty room. The docent then shuttled them quickly into another area of the house, and the little girl never mentioned him again. It was the room that John Moore Jr. died in.​​

On some days, staff members describe a  “feeling” in the air that is a little eerie. "This sensation is most often felt in the upstairs back bedroom, which used to be Dorethea’s room," Sampson said.

According to a neighbor, lights come on in that room in the late hours of the night, and the motion sensor alarm often detects movement in that area. "However, we do sometimes get a rogue bat flying around the empty house - but I doubt a bat can turn on the lights..." Sampson said.

​COMING NEXT WEEK: Is somebody or some thing sitting on the bed in the Long-Smith Cottage?

Want to learn more? Join us on October 20 at 6:30 p.m. for a second reading of the lecture, "Spooks, Spectrals and Spirits: Hauntings in Richmond, Texas." RSVP by calling 281-342-6478.

​You can also join us on October 29 and 30 for All Hallow's Eve Tours at the Moore Home and a Ghost Walk Tour of historic downtown Richmond.