The Haunted Castle of Lake Worth

If you're driving around Lake Worth in that eponymous North Texas city, and you find yourself following the sinuous, shadow-laced trail of Heron Drive, you'll see many lovely lake homes. Then suddenly you turn a bend to discover something monstrous that practically begs you to scream, "Dammit, Janet!" Oh, how I wish it were a dark and stormy night right now.

 

Alternately known as Inverness, The Castle at Heron Bay, or simply The Castle is a rambling structure of towers and turrets that has crouched derelict among the shadows of Lake Worth for years. The 6500 square foot crenellated stone structure that rests upon 14 acres of lake shore property was said to have been constructed in 1940 to enshroud a much older home dating back to the 19th century, yet there isn't much in the way of data to support this and there are many conflicting "facts."

 

According to the real estate website Zillow, it only has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, a surprisingly large footprint for a home that sleeps so few. Next door is small guest cottage from where a fearsome dog bays at anyone who wanders too close. Additionally, a daunting chain link palisade topped with concertina wire further cordons the property from unwanted intrusion.

 

According to some records, the property first belonged to Ulrich Cannon, who purchased the land in the early 1860s. Then Julian Field took on the land. After his tenure, Charles Turner and his family took up residence from 1873 to 1894. Twenty years later, a large portion of the land was deeded to the city for the construction of Lake Worth in 1914.

 

Legend tells that the owner and builder of the original structure found his betrothed floating dead in the lake. It was never clear whether she drowned accidentally or not, but the groom was curiously undeterred in his marriage plans and proceeded to wed her sister only a month later.

Since that time, a woman in a long white dress has been spotted fleeing the house like the tragic heroine of a gothic novel only to disappear at the edge of the lake.

The Samuel Whiting family occupied the estate in the 1920s after he won it in a poker game, if you can believe such things. It was this family, lore tells, that began the slow process of crafting the original structure into a Texas castle, which was completed around 1940. This might explain why real estate information lists the construction date as 1940, the timeframe of its last incarnation.

The story goes that the Whiting's youngest son committed suicide in the castle and he also is believed to haunt the location. A neighbor, Carmen Montoya, claimed to spy a young man in one of the windows, but before she could draw her husband's attention to the curious spectacle, the fellow had vanished.

After the suicide of their son, the Whiting family leased the house to the Vultee Aircraft Corporation as a lakeside retreat for businessmen and clients. Among those rumored to have enjoyed its luxuries was Jimmy Stewart during the filming of "Strategic Air Command," which was partially shot at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth. Side note: This is the air base to which the Roswell debris was taken in 1947. Just saying.

In the 1970s, Tony and Marian May worked to restore the Castle, but their efforts were in vain: a fire destroyed much of their hard work.

Throughout the years, there were other owners here and there. None stayed too long. Was the old, expansive structure just too much upkeep? Was its unique design and layout simply too outmoded for a time when newer was better? Or maybe, like that tragic bride, something dark and frightening chased them away from their dreams of a castle on the lake.