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Writer's pictureSam Kroft

The Haunted Cabin of Dogwood Canyon


The existence of ghosts, spirits, and outside forces dwelling within our realm of existence is a topic heavily debated. So regardless if you believe in ghosts, the Cabin atop the steep hillside trails of Dogwood Canyon park in Cedar Hill, Texas is still a fascinating and eerie location. Standing in solitary disarray shrouded by the overgrown trees nearly a mile into the dense forest, a cabin has been barricaded so that none may enter. With a warning not to enter due to unsafe conditions posted on the fence, once can only look inside to view the remains of a tiny dwelling. A chair is bolted to the floor on the far side, a barrel keg stands on stilts to the right of it, on the right and left walls are tiny cabinets hanging open and empty of contents, on the floor in front of the chair is a plastic bucket and what appears to be a wash basin or sink, on the right on the floor is a large metal mattress spring. The floor boards are badly damaged and the metal roof is rusted.


While hiking the trails of the Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center park for the first time, my husband and I stumbled upon this cabin. Finding it was unexpected and the location seemed random since it was so deep in the woods and inconveniently placed. We speculated that it was perhaps utilized by the boy scout troops in the area, or that it could be an emergency storm shelter for hikers. But the large bed spring in the corner is what confused us the most. Or why the chair in the corner was bolted to the floor. Upon examining the photos of the cabin later that evening I discovered that a photo I had taken of the entrance contained an glowing orb and a translucent blur, neither of which were visible to the naked eye or present in any of the previous or subsequent photos. The open window directly beyond my camera could be the cause for the light distortion, but these blurs did not appear in any of my other photos of the interior of the cabin. This is hardly conclusive evidence that this cabin is haunted, but it certainly leaves one's imagination to wander.


The cabin is a strangely located, crumbling, inexplicable relic that stands on the high hilltop of the Dogwood Canyon park trails. What ever it had been used for, it is obvious that the cabin has outlasted its usefulness. It now stands in crumbling ruin against the backdrop of an overgrown forest. It is a haunting reminder of what it once might have been, and a mystery to hikers who stumble upon it for the first time like we had.


So whether you believe that we have captured the images of lost spirits still residing in the cabin, or if you believe that the cabin is merely a broken down shack which will wither away with time and be forgotten, it was still a bizarre to encounter and certainly memorable. See the cabin for yourself if you would like to investigate this more, visit the Dogwood Canyon park in Cedar Hill. And don't forget to sign the log book at the check-in center, they like to keep an accurate record of how many hikers are in the forest. I will leave my readers to speculate what could have happened here to prompt park officials to ensure that everyone enters in and out of the park safely.

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