Why Are We Fascinated With Mortuaries?
When we entrust our dearly departed to the funeral home during services and remembrances, we feel comforted that they are in safe and respectable hands. The unsettling truth, however, is that dishonorable acts and vile conduct have led to strange phenomena at mortuaries across the U.S. Join us as we explore some of the country’s most Haunted Mortuaries.
Haunted Funeral Homes in Texas
Texas became a state way back in the 1840s and has always been a vast, rugged territory, where only the toughest survived. That long history came at a cost. Wars and diseases forced communities to be built atop generations of loss. The Victorian era encouraged the study of death, which eventually became a big business. So, it’s no surprise that mortuaries across Texas have a deep and dark history, with many housing the lingering spirits of the undertaker’s business.
A North Austin Mortician in Trouble
In April 2025, Adeline Ngan-Binh Bui, the owner of Capital Mortuary Services in North Austin, was accused of forging multiple death certificates and unauthorized use of body parts from almost 15 corpses. Austin’s KXAN reported Bui was arrested and is being charged with abuse of a corpse, without legal authority, and tampering with government records.
Texas Funeral Service Commission (TFSC) conducted an independent investigation into Capital Mortuary Services and The Eternal Peace Funeral Home & Crematorium (both owned by Bui). It revealed even darker secrets:
Bui told APD she “directed her employees to conduct experiments on bodies to study the effects of embalming fluid with and without formaldehyde,” which included “cutting heads, arms and spines from remains sent to her facility while acting in the licensed capacity as a mortuary,” according to her arrest affidavit.
A former employee first tipped off the TFSC with a complaint about the owner’s fraudulently initiating and obtaining at least 10 death certificates under his name. His complaint also stated that he was aware of “experiments” she was allegedly conducting with corpse arms. The TFSC then issued a cease-and-desist letter to Bui, prompting her to turn herself in to the authorities.
During the investigation, they discovered 128 cases in which the former employee’s name was used to complete or amend death certificates. The same former employee showed police a screenshot from a work computer, where Bui posted photos and updates on a thread titled “Freedom Art Experiment.”
Could this be the origin story of some future haunted happenings? It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise! In ghost lore, a peaceful transition requires dignity. When bodies are desecrated and treated as unauthorized experiments, traditional paranormal belief says the spirits are tied to their earthly remains, left
restless and unable to cross over. The living might have left, but the wronged spirits may still be wandering the halls, seeking justice.
Brownsville’s Haunted Old Morgue
Battlefields and military sites are often haunted by the souls who never made it home. But what about a mortuary at an old fort – is it extra paranormal!? The “Old Mortuary” at Fort Brown in Brownsville is certainly a case to support this theory.
Fort Brown was built circa 1870 and played an important role in the Mexican-American War. The “Old Morgue” building was originally two separate spaces for the Post Hospital: one a mortuary and the other linen storage.
It was in the original morgue where Dr. William Gorgas famously conducted his pioneering research on yellow fever and malaria in the 1880s. The hospital itself was later renamed in his honor.
An ambulance garage was added in the 1940s, uniting the two buildings. It has served many purposes over the years, and in 1946, the entire fort was acquired for a junior college. The “Old Morgue” is still used today as an administrative building for Texas Southmost College.
But what about those hauntings?
Tour guide Mark Rodriguez has done his homework and knows not just the site’s extensive history but has also experienced some of the hauntings firsthand.
In an interview with KRGV, Rodriguez says, “They have chairs there in the front, and it could be the wind, it could be something else, but late at night sometimes you’ll see them rocking back and forth.”
Legends and lore have convinced many locals that those same chairs are “invitations for guests that never checked out.”
Phantom lights, cold spots, and whispers from the old morgue have added to the eerie mystery of the unexplained happenings inside it. And with all of the curious reports of hauntings, The Old Morgue has attracted ghost hunters from all over.
If you’re down in the Brownsville area, you can book a guided tour through The Brownsville Historical Association.
Houston’s National Museum of Funeral History
We’ve touched on a couple of Texas mortuaries, so it makes sense to highlight the next step for most: Funerals.
The National Museum of Funeral History is located in Houston, TX, and has the world’s largest collection of funeral service artifacts, featuring renowned exhibits on one of humanity’s oldest cultural customs. Part of the museum’s mission is to “educate the public and preserve the heritage of death care.”
The Texas-sized 30,000+ square-foot building is located north of downtown and opened its doors in 1992. The museum provides an experience like no other, and I am just dying to visit someday myself. (nope, not sorry)
From famous farewells to elaborate Papal and Presidential funerals, visitors get an up-close look at what it was like to witness these grand departures. The museum’s collection includes historic coffins and caskets, perfectly preserved death masks, historical hearses, embalming methods, and an extensive, multicultural overview of all things related to death.
Many visitors say you can ‘feel’ the dead when observing all of the artifacts. In fact, some guests have reported hearing voices, whispers, and cries near exhibits – especially around the coffins and caskets that are on display.
There are additional reports and conversations about “feeling eerie sensations” and witnessing unexplained phenomena while visiting the Funeral History Museum.
The Museum doesn’t promote itself as a haunted location, but they do offer a haunted house attraction every October. I mean, why wouldn’t they?
Historically Haunted Mortuaries
Texas is only one chapter in a much larger story. Across the country, funeral homes and mortuaries with dark histories share eerily similar patterns: unethical practices, forgotten victims, and buildings that seem to remember more than they should. These places remind us that when the dead are denied dignity, something always answers the call.