Headed to that spooky Halloween “party” at 3015 Fuqua St. tonight all the kool kids are daring each other about today on Twitter? Here are a few things you should know about what might rank as one of Houston’s eeriest properties still standing, one complete with both its very own murder and a ghost video.

Our chilling tale begins in early February 2008, when the property was last on the market. Back then vandals held sway at the decrepit 11,640-sq.-ft. mansion in Minnetex Place. Was it Swamplot’s showcasing of the home’s skanky indoor pool, 5-acre lot, decorative graffiti, and grand, red-carpeted staircase that made it move? It had languished on the market for 7 months, but just 2 weeks later, the property sold — to an entity controlled by a pair of Houston investors. They snagged the 1950 mansion for just $265,000 — greatly reduced from its original $451,900 listing.

Since then, visiting vandals have been joined by a new, possibly otherworldly tenant.

***

A mere month after the sale, HPD announced that a man had been found beaten to death — “struck in the head and face with a piece of board,” per HPD’s terse news release — in the home’s front yard. The man was not identified in the release, nor had police gleaned a motive or suspect at the time.

Since then, the 64-year-old property appears to have become a haven for teenage partiers and a magnet for paranormal buffs. Shot 2 years ago, the “ghost” video at the top of this post purports to show a phantom (or several?) appearing in the window upstairs at far right. Ever-reliable Youtube commenters have since chimed in with accounts of their ventures inside. Some claim to have seen (and smelled) its now-utterly rancid indoor pool and walls now adorned with “Satanic” scrawlings. There is even a legend of a large, savage pit bull dwelling upstairs. (Call it The Hound Of the Minnetexvilles?)

Photos: NuHabitat



Fuqua’s Ghost?