History and fantasy rolled into one. Every old town or city will have its share of history, legends, and ghost stories along with it. Each place is the subject of legends of old and these legends make up the core of ghost tours that thrive on the fascination of a lot of people with folklore. Austin is no exception and has its share of Austin ghost tours.

With its old buildings and structures, Austin is not only historic, it can even be legendary, and with legends, expect ghosts and monsters along with them. For the thrill seekers, there are Austin ghost tours that take them to the historic buildings of Austin to see and ?feel? for themselves the legends behind the facts. From the founding of Austin as the capital of Texas, it has had its share of stories, folk lore and legends that inevitably point to ghosts and spirits that continue to haunt to this day. The colorful past metamorphosing into the present, with exciting and even frightening stories, these are the attractions of the Austin ghost tours.

Austin ghost tours are walking tours that take you through the oldest and most historic of Austin's buildings where you retrace history with tour guides and ?the spirits?. A regular stop is the Driskill Hotel on the corner of Sixth and Brazos. More than a century into its opening in 1886, the ghost of its founder Colonel Driskill remains to care-take the building. Watch out for that smoke wafting along your way; it's probably from Colonel Driskill's trademark cigar. Sharpen your senses to hear and feel the bouncing ball that the ghost of a four-year old girl who died in the hotel is playing with. Watch as goose-bumps sprout all over you as you sense the spirits hovering as you tour the hotel's aisles and rooms.

The ghost tour will take you on the Capitol Tour, too, which covers the Capitol, even the Driskill Hotel, and the Governor's Mansion. Feel the presence of the late leaders of the State who used to work on these structures and have not abandoned them even after their deaths. There is the Ghosts of the Warehouse District Tour; this takes you through the oldest city buildings especially those that have been the site of some of Austin's most mysterious murders in the 1800s. You are led on a tour of ancient buildings with the Sixth Street Pub Crawl tour, through the entertainment district which naturally had its share of chaos and mayhem in the past, with bar brawls ending in killings and the ghosts remaining there. Then there is the Servant Girl Annihilator Tour, based on the story of the serial murders of maids and servants in the late 1800s.

If you are up to it, there are combination tours that take you through the most chilling of sites and legends, sampling each of the aforementioned tours. These combo tours are usually fully booked on Halloween nights so be sure to reserve in advance.

Check out the Austin registry at (512) 853-9826 for these Austin ghost tours or go online searching for the ghosts of Texas for more info and bookings.