Denton's most infamous haunted house just also happens to be a museum!
The Bayless-Selby House in Denton's historic park near downtown has a haunted history written in betrayal, murder, and a lingering Phantom Farmer.
Mr. Sam A. Bayless arrived in Denton County from Tennessee with his wife Elizabeth in 1881, purchasing a two-room farmhouse for them and their children in 1884. Bayless operated a nursery and landscaping operation, which was successful enough for him to contract expanding the modest Myrtle Street house into a two-story Queen Ann-style Victorian home for his family in 1898. As was pretty typical of larger operations during that period, Bayless employed several sharecroppers or itinerant laborers to tend, maintain, and move his greenery from the nursery farm. It was in November of 1919 that a heated argument with one of his laborers over payment quickly escalated into shouted threats and then a brawl in the yard of his home. According to court documents, the quick-tempered Bayless stormed into his house to retrieve a shotgun from his second-floor bedroom but, when he returned downstairs, his wife expressed alarm over the amount of blood that was now staining his workshirt. Stabbed during the skirmish and bleeding profusely, Farmer Bayless died in his own home before a doctor could be retrieved to minister aid. The grief-stricken Widow Bayless sold the home to friend and fellow-nurseryman R.L. Selby, whose family lived in the house for the next half century. The scandalous murder trial against the laborer made local headlines for almost a year and still fuels local rumors of paranormal activity.
You can read more at the Denton County Museums blog, but be sure to sign-up to attend their popular PARK AFTER DARK tour on October 10 to hear the tales of other perhaps-haunted artifacts they have!
Museum PARK AFTER DARK event
Travel through the Bayless-Selby House, located at 317 W Mulberry Street, to hear the accounts of key witnesses and town gossips on what transpired between Samuel Bayless and Joseph Spears that night in 1919. Visitors will also hear from our own volunteers who have experienced more than a few unusual instances inside the house...
FREE event but cash donations are always accepted. Recommended for ages 8 and up. Don't miss this chance to experience the PARK AFTER DARK!
