As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas. That includes the legends and hauntings with which the state is filled, thanks to a long past peppered with tales that range from sweet-natured to downright scary. According to Amanda Eagleton, team founder of Haunted Texas Paranormal, it is exactly Texas’s deep, rich, and complex history that comes in to play with hauntings.

Many idioms and colorful expressions are often credited to the South, and Texas is no exception. However, many of these colloquialisms stem from much older parables, proverbs, history, literature, or simply the facts of everyday life. But, add a good ol' Texan accent, and each adage sounds more Southern than the next. Many of these phrases reference animals, not surprising as the South, and particularly Texas, is largely agricultural. If not native to the Lone Star State, learn these down-home phrases and let the fun begin.

Some people are legendary because of what they have done, but others and perhaps the most important ones, are legendary because of who they are. Grace Dobson, also known as Lady Grace, is the famous face behind the Whataburger empire.

In June 1954, a father and son strolled along a cliff, surveying the land and breathing in the fresh sea air. As fathers often do, this man shared stories of years gone by, and the son listened and was transported back to a day when the beach was not so calm. The father spoke of the events of another June morning on that very same cliff where the 2nd Ranger Battalion of the U.S. Army set foot on French soil.

The title of Audie Murphy's famous autobiography, To Hell and Back, referred to his experiences in World War II, but it could just as easily have been about his childhood.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Lonesome Dove to books like Horseman, Pass By and The Last Kind Words Saloon, America has seen the Old West through the eyes of Larry McMurtry. McMurtry’s lifelong pursuit began with just an inheritance of a small sack of books.

Resting 20 miles south of the City of Austin sits a three-roomed house in the quaint town of Kyle, Texas, where a small child and her five-membered family moved as the result of a tragic death. This now-motherless child, Katherine Anne Porter, filled her days in this home with dancing, singing, drawing, and playing piano, experimenting with finding her given talents.

Roy “the Judge” Hofheinz, former mayor of Houston and the man who built the Astrodome, was an extravagant, boisterous personality, a man whose life accomplishments matched perfectly his outsized character and quirky genius.

From the top of the panhandle to the tip of Texas, from the plains in the West to the pines in the East, there are opportunities, wherever you are, to catch a glimpse of the wild cats of Texas.

Though this company began by selling butter, it quickly evolved into the beloved Texas staple it is today. The Kruse family has helped Blue Bell deliver into stores and homes across the state for over a century, bringing homemade goodness to all. They have led the company through hardship and much success and Blue Bell continues to thrive in the Lone Star State.

Born in Refugio, Texas, in 1947 as the youngest of six children, Lynn Nolan Ryan was no stranger to hard work and hand-me-downs. At six months old, his father, Lynn Nolan Ryan, Sr., who worked for Hastings Oil Field was transferred to Alvin, Texas, where Ryan spent the rest of his childhood and much of his adult life.

“As I exited the hatch, I understood that I was getting an opportunity that few people ever have – to see with my own eyes an unobstructed view of Earth from space, to view the beauty and majesty of God's creation in an awe-inspiring panorama.

Texans have a reputation for being many things: proud, friendly, and perhaps a bit brash, just to name just a few! They also are known to be extremely resourceful, as dozens of important  discoveries have been made right here in Texas. From the first frozen margarita machine to Liquid Paper, to the original handheld electronic calculator, here are some of the stories behind just a few life-changing inventions!

  This probably isn’t news to you, but Texas is a really big place. Like, really big. Did you know that El Paso, Texas is closer to San Diego, California than it is to Houston!? Or that the DFW airport has a larger geographic footprint than Manhattan? With Texas being as big as it is, […]