Hill House Manor, Gainesville TX: Ghosts, Legends and Ghost Hunts

Hill House Manor stands in Gainesville, the Cooke County seat, about an hour north of Dallas and Fort Worth near the Oklahoma border. Owner Linda Hill bought the house in 2004 and gave it its name, borrowing her own surname because no one could tell her who had built it. It is no relation to Shirley Jackson’s fictional Hill House, though its fans would say it is just as busy.

Hill first rented the house out as apartments. She says nobody stayed: “the longest anyone stayed in this house was six months.” So she opened it to paranormal investigators instead, and it has become one of the best-known haunted houses in Texas, featured on A&E’s My Ghost Story and in national news coverage of its famously flirtatious ghosts. Haunted Rooms runs public ghost hunts here. This guide covers what is known of the house, the stories, and how to visit.

History of Hill House Manor

Gainesville was founded in 1850 on land donated by Mary E. Clark and named for General Edmund Pendleton Gaines. During the Civil War it was the scene of the Great Hanging of October 1862, when 41 men accused of Unionist sympathies were hanged by order of an unofficial citizens’ court.

Hill House Manor’s own history is much harder to pin down. The owner and event descriptions date the house to the early or mid-1800s, but no deed, census or newspaper record of its construction has been published, and with Gainesville founded in 1850 the earliest dates are unlikely. Inside, it is far bigger than it looks from the street, with rooms opening into rooms. Investigators describe a furnished downstairs living area, a semi-finished side with storage rooms and an old well now enclosed under plexiglass, and an upstairs with its own kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms.

Over the years, the story goes, the house served as a private home, a bordello and a speakeasy before being split into small apartments. The bordello and speakeasy chapters are local tradition rather than documented history: our own event listing says plainly that there is no confirmed history behind the best-known murder story. What is documented is the recent past. Linda Hill bought the house in 2004, tenants kept leaving within months, and since then it has been rented to paranormal teams and events, and has appeared in national news and on paranormal television.

The ghosts of Hill House Manor

The Fireplace Room

Upstairs, a room with a decorative fireplace is said to have been one of the rooms where clients were “served” in the house’s bordello days, and investigators name it as the most active room in the house. Recordings made here are famously X-rated, and men have reported the feeling of being touched on the face, arm or shoulder.

Linda Hill has told national media that the most common ghosts are the women of the bordello era. “They try to stir up business,” she told Fox News in 2022, “but they can’t figure out a way to conclude the transaction, so nothing ever happens.” She also says she once saw a dark figure through her shower curtain that whispered “Lookin’ good!” when no one else was home.

The Murder Room and the Dead Area

Part of the downstairs is nicknamed the Dead Area, simply because no electricity runs to it. Inside it is the Murder Room, where legend says two men fought over a woman during the bordello years and one killed the other. There is no record of any such killing. People who sit in the room describe hostility and the feeling of being watched, and visiting teams still aim their cameras there.

The Cowboy

An upstairs kitchen is said to belong to an unpleasant old man nicknamed the Cowboy, who is said to dislike women in particular. Women have reported sudden nausea or unease in the room, and some say they found scratches afterward.

The cat in the Windows Room

Upstairs is a large room with windows on both sides, called the Windows Room. It is said to be the favorite haunt of a cat that once lived in the house. Visitors report the feeling of a cat brushing their legs, and recorders have picked up meowing. On a 2025 visit, one team member heard a cat’s meow when there was no cat in the house.

The children

Two children are reported: a boy known as Charlie and an unnamed girl, seen around the house and said to gather upstairs, where a dollhouse and toys are set out for them. Former caretakers told of their own children making friends with ghosts in the house and of a baby’s crib rocking by itself. A visiting team in August 2025 recorded light-up cat toy balls flashing on the stairs and an upstairs table with no one nearby.

Where to look

• The Fireplace Room: the most active room, according to investigators.
• The Murder Room: in the unpowered Dead Area downstairs.
• The upstairs kitchen: the Cowboy’s room, with a card table set for gambling.
• The Windows Room: for the cat.
• The toy room upstairs: where the children are said to play.

Visiting Hill House Manor and joining a ghost hunt

Hill House Manor is a private house, so it is only open for booked investigations and events. Please do not knock on the door or wander the property. The exact address is given to ticket holders.

Haunted Rooms runs public ghost hunts here from 8 PM to 2 AM. Our team brings professional ghost hunting equipment, runs group vigils and EVP sessions, and gives you time to explore the house in small groups. See the event page for dates.

Paranormal teams can also contact the owner about renting the house for a private investigation. Whichever way you go, remember that it is someone’s property and treat it with care.

• Visiting Private house, open only for booked investigations and ghost hunt events
• Tours Booked overnight investigations and ghost hunt events
• Ghost hunting Yes: the owner rents it to investigation teams, and Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunts here (8 PM to 2 AM)

Tips for your visit

• Spend time in the Fireplace Room early in the night, before the house gets busy.
• Bring a recorder for the Windows Room: the cat is said to be heard more than seen.
• Bring a flashlight: part of the downstairs has no electricity at all.
• Stay over in Gainesville or drive back to one of Dallas-Fort Worth’s haunted hotels.

More haunted places nearby

• Baker Hotel, Mineral Wells: the famous haunted hotel under restoration
• Miss Molly's Hotel ghost hunt, Fort Worth: another former bordello, where we run ghost hunts
• Goatman's Bridge ghost hunt, Denton: North Texas’s most famous legend, where we have run ghost hunts
• Haunted hotels in Dallas-Fort Worth: where to stay
• Haunted places in Texas
• Haunted places in Dallas-Fort Worth

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the official website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as staff, visitors and investigators tell them, and we say where records contradict a story.

• Haunted Rooms: Hill House Manor Ghost Hunt, Gainesville
• WFAA: Haunted places in Dallas-Fort Worth
• Fox News: Texas homeowner says ghosts have taken over rental property (2022)
• Sebourn Paranormal Investigations: Hill House Manor (Aug 2025)
• Wikipedia: Gainesville, Texas