Reindeer Manor

The grounds and buildings of what is now Reindeer Manor Haunted House have experienced a unique, mysterious, and somewhat stormy history. While documented facts are sketchy, by talking to various people who were around at the time, we have been able to piece together what we feel is a reasonably accurate history. It really is a haunted house as you will soon see.

In the early 1900’s, a two story wooden house stood on the site of the current house. The owner of the house was James Sharp, a prominent Texas oil pioneer and banker. He leased the house and property to a family of Swedish immigrants. Sometime around 1915, a tragic fire destroyed the house, killing the entire family of sharecroppers.

Upset by the death of his tenants, or maybe just mad because of the loss of property, Mr. Sharp decided to rebuild the house making it as fireproof as possible. This explains the unusual construction of the current house: virtually all concrete, brick, and steel.

However, Fire was not the only tragedy looming. Mr. Sharp either shot himself or was shot by his mistress in his bedroom at his second house in Oak Cliff just before the Manor was finished. With his wife and kids still in New York awaiting the completion of their palatial estate, the only person in the house at the time of the incident was his mistress and there is some suspicion that in fact


it was she who pulled the trigger. The details are vague at best because of the bare semblance of an investigation at the time; the Widow Sharp didn’t want her husband’s infidelity widely known. The coroners report states that the cause of death was due to “the loss of 2-3 ounces of brain substance”.

In 1917, shortly after the death of his father, James Sharp’s eldest son, James Jr. moved into the newly completed Manor, but the legacy of misfortune soon continued. He developed quite a prosperous operation farming the land, ranching, and breeding horses for harness racing. Between 1918 and 1928 many other buildings were added to the grounds, from servants quarters to a carriage house, all constructed in the same way as the main house; with brick, concrete, and steel. However, James Junior’s stewardship of the property was cut short with the onset of the Great Depression in October of 1929 which thrust the once wealthy family into abject poverty. With ever falling income and creditors threatening, he began to act strangely. As the rumors of insanity spread within the staff he receded more and more into himself, shunning those with whom he had formerly been quite open. The final Sharp family chapter in the history of Reindeer Manor ended with the discovery of James Junior’s wife dead by poisoning in the main dining room and his lifeless body swinging from a noose strung from the rafters of the barn. To this day it is not clear who killed whom or if it was a suicide pact.

After that tumultuous period the Manor fell into ruin. Since then a few brave souls have tried to turn this house of disaster into a home, but all have failed. The construction of the house proved too difficult to remodel and make livable. Thus, the house stood vacant and abandoned until 1974 when it became The Haunted House at Reindeer Manor.

(the following is not true)

Today, the manor is truly possessed by such devious figures as Vlad Tepes of the Order Dracule, perhaps better known to you as Dracula. Displaced from his homeland by Turkish invaders long ago, the legendary leader of the dark forces brings to the manor his own legacy of tragedy and death.

Enter the manor at your own risk. Your terror will become real as the house itself discovers what you fear most. Beware as you encounter the unseen forces that have bestowed their legacy of tragedy and death upon the grounds. Who knows what fate awaits you at Reindeer Manor?