The Haunted Littlefield House

Posted: 04.04.2025 | Updated: 04.04.2025

No place attracts ghost enthusiasts like a city devoted to keeping it weird, and that’s Austin. It’s a stunning city with plenty of history and even more haunted locations swarming with downright spooky stories. One of them happens to be right on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. 

It’s known as the Littlefield House, a red-brown Victorian-style house, tucked away at the corner of the campus. It’s inaccessible to the public, but rumor has it you don’t need to be inside to hear the unsettling sounds of its spectral resident at all hours. 

Are you prepared to see what spirits lurk in the shadows of Austin? Visit our website today, and book a ghost tour with Austin Ghosts for an up-close spine-chilling experience in some of the city’s most haunted locations. Don’t forget to also check our blog for more chilling stories surrounding Austin’s most haunted sites!

Is the Littlefield House Haunted?

The Littlefield House is the University of Texas’s most cherished and arguably feared landmark. It was a family home for one of its earliest benefactors. But not all was what it seemed in the Littlefield home, and it may be why one of its former residents decided to remain. 

History of the Littlefield House

The Littlefield House was designed and built for Major George Washington Littlefield and his wife, Alice, in 1894 on the corner of Whitis Avenue and West 24th Street. The cattle rancher, a businessman, already had a strong sense of family when he lost two of his children in infancy years prior. By the time his new Victorian house was built, he wanted a home for not just him and his wife, but for future generations. 

At least 30 nieces and nephews stayed in the home throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s when they attended the University of Texas at Austin. Littlefield served on the Board of Regents during this time and fully paid for their education. 

He was also a generous benefactor to the university – the most generous in its first 50 years, helping fund projects such as the John Henry Wrenn Library, the Littlefield Fountain, and the Alice P. Littlefield Dormitory. 

His last donation was what’s referred to today as the Littlefield House. His wife, Alice, outlived him by 15 years and bequeathed it to the university upon her death. The Littlefield House still stands today, nestled in the northwest corner of the sprawling campus at the edge of its original 40 acres. 

It also remains as beautiful today as it did over a century ago with its red-brown brick facade and stunning intricate details. A tree Littlefield imported from the Himalayas also gracefully stands watch, growing beyond its front steps. 

The Littlefield House remains closed off to the public — used only for offices and campus-related events. However, persistent rumors and sightings claim that someone still takes up residency here, albeit someone who is no longer among the living. 

Hauntings at the Littlefield House

The Littlefield House at the University of Texas at Austin is so haunted that even a child can detect it. One story goes that a woman who worked at the house came home one day and was hugged by their grandchild. “Grandma smells like a ghost,” the child said upon hugging her. 

Just stepping into the home, one feels like they’re being watched as they’re greeted by the portrait of George Littlefield. His left eye – as the legend goes – follows you wherever you go. But that’s only the start, as witnesses have also experienced objects being inexplicably moved, and seeing faces peering out of the windows.

There have also supposedly been sightings of the apparition of a former housekeeper who passed away in the house. One more ghost lingers in this historical home, believed to be behind its much more hair-raising activity. 

Alice Littlefield

Alice Littlefield rarely left her beloved home in the time she lived there. Those on campus believe she still hasn’t. One reason has to do with the strange mellifluous tunes of a piano reverberating throughout the house and, at other times, singing.

No one in the house could be found doing anything of the sort when witnesses have gone to investigate. It’s strangely coincidental that Alice, an intellectual in life, had many passions, among which was the piano. 

An even darker chapter of the Littlefield House has to do with Alice’s debilitating mental health. Alice suffered from nervous fits of hysteria brought on by the belief that someone was going to kidnap and kill her and her family. George eventually hired three at-home nurses to tend to Alice, who at one point ran down the stairs screaming for her life. 

Alice’s mental anguish led to the modern day legend that she was locked away in the attic for her own safety. No truth has been found proving this rumor, and Littlefield’s descendants have denied it. 

Yet personal encounters persist, such as seeing her apparition on the second floor. Disembodied footsteps can also be heard scurrying up and down the staircase, accompanied by blood-curdling screams in the middle of the night. 

Haunted Austin 

There’s a darker side to Austin underneath its vibrant cultural scene. Where the droning stories of the dead pierce the deafening silence of the night air, whispering through every alleyway and crevice. 

They bid welcome as they turn this stunning city into a beacon for restless spirits who take up residence in its most haunted locations. Among them, one stands tucked away on campus at the University of Texas at Austin — the Littlefield House. 

Once a family home, it now stands vacant, closed off from the public, with memories of times past smothered by an imposing eerie silence. Yet one can’t help but feel as though they’re being watched when gazing at its red-brown facade, but why? It’s what adds a touch of mystery to a house once filled with love, now echoing with screams of terror in the darkness of night. 

Live music, good times, and a boatload of chilling ghost stories await you in Austin! Visit our site today and get ready to join Austin Ghosts through some of this city’s most haunted sites on a ghost tour you have to see to believe. Be sure to catch up on our blog as well, for more chilling stories surrounding America’s spookiest spots. You can also stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Sources:

• https://austinghosts.com/
• https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/littlefield-george-washington
• https://thedailytexan.com/2019/10/03/mysteries-of-littlefield-home-unveiled/
• https://thedailytexan.com/2024/10/14/haunted-houses-the-littlefield-huse-and-dormitory/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6hyvima9QA
• https://www.npiweb.com/Blog/Posts/haunted-places-series-the-littlefield-house
• https://texashillcountry.com/alice-littlefield-haunts/