School Spirit: Haunted Metz Elementary (Campfire)

School Spirit: Haunted Metz Elementary (Campfire)

Author: Night Owl Paranormal Research Society August 12, 2019 Duration: 1:04:32

Metz Elementary is one of Austin ISD’s oldest schools, established in 1916 on Willow Street in East Austin. At that time, this area was considered to be on the outskirts of East Austin. The School Board that year decided that Spanish-speaking students in that area should attend a separate school where their needs could be better met. In an unprecedented move, many of the Mexican-American parents protested this decision and appealed to the school board to change their decision. The other school was several miles away making transportation extremely difficult and the parents felt that if segregated, their children would not have the same opportunities as the English-speaking students. The School Board quietly dropped the issue and Spanish- speaking students were allowed to attend Metz Elementary School.Metz Elementary continued to serve students in the community for the next 7 and a half decades. Just imagine, this school was educating our youth during the First World War, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. This school was witness to 14 different Presidents during that span of time.In 1989 the school was deemed to be too small and too dilapidated to fit he needs of the community. The old school was demolished in September 1990 and a new school was built in its place and opened in 1992.Today, Metz is rumored to be the most haunted school in Austin. So much so that when you search Metz Elementary on the internet, some of the first things you’ll see pop up are the articles detailing it’s long-standing haunted history. Tonight we’ll hear from former teachers, students and even those who once stepped foot in the old building, and the countless unexplained experiences they had in this historic school.Photo Info: Metz Elementary School, photograph, Date Unknown; https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth125274/University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.


There’s a particular chill that comes not from the air, but from a story told in a quiet voice by someone who lived it. The Night Owl: True Ghost Stories, from the Night Owl Paranormal Research Society, is built on those voices. Host Stephen Belyeu doesn’t just recount spectral legends; he journeys to the very places where they persist, weaving together history, personal journals, and firsthand accounts to understand why a memory might refuse to fade. This monthly series lives in the intersection of society, culture, and the deeply personal, treating each location and narrative with a researcher’s curiosity rather than simple sensationalism. You’ll hear from people who have encountered something inexplicable in their homes, on their travels, or in the shadows of historic sites. The result is an intimate and grounded exploration of the paranormal that feels less like a campfire tale and more like a conversation with a friend who’s piecing together a fascinating, unsettling puzzle. New episodes arrive on the last Monday of each month, offering a regular dose of authentic atmosphere and human connection to the unseen. It’s for anyone who wonders about the stories etched into old walls and the quiet moments that defy easy explanation.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 87

The Night Owl: True Ghost Stories
Podcast Episodes
Live Campfire Tales at the Spirit Social 2025 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:04
On Halloween night 2025, inside a packed room in Austin, Texas, members of the Night Owl community stepped up to the microphone to share something deeply personal… their own encounters with the unexplained.In this specia…
Spirits of Moonshine - Part V [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:11:40
Returning for one final overnight inside one of Austin’s oldest and most haunted locations, the Night Owl team pushes deeper into Moonshine Bar & Grill — testing what’s emerged so far and introducing new experiments desi…
Spirits of Moonshine - Part IV [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:52:43
The investigation at Moonshine Bar & Grill continues as the team returns to one of Austin’s most storied locations. What began as fragments and impressions now deepens, as previous findings are tested, challenged, and ex…
Spirits of Moonshine - Part III [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:39:12
Tonight, the team returns to one of Austin’s oldest and most notoriously haunted locations, Moonshine Bar & Grill.After months of interviews, they’re finally handed the key and granted full access to the property.For the…
Spirits of Moonshine - Part II [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:33
In Part II of this Moonshine investigation, the activity escalates. More voices come forward — current staff, former employees, and even contractors — each describing new incidents inside one of Austin’s oldest and most…
Spirits of Moonshine - Part I [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:34:38
Tonight, The Night Owl Podcast takes listeners inside one of Austin’s most storied and allegedly haunted landmarks — Moonshine Bar & Grill. Built on the foundations of the old Waterloo Compound and layered with nearly tw…
The Villisca Axe Murder House - Part III (Campfire) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:18
More than a century ago, in the quiet town of Villisca, Iowa… a horrifying crime shattered a sense of small-town innocence: two adults and six children were brutally murdered in their sleep with an axe. The case remains…
The Villisca Axe Murder House - Part II (Campfire) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:32
In Part I of this Campfire Series, you heard from a range of voices connected to the site of one of the most notorious unsolved crimes in American history — the 1912 Villisca Axe Murders.You heard from the current tour g…
The Villisca Axe Murder House - Part I (Campfire) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:30
Prepare yourself to venture into one of the most chilling true crime cases in American history — the 1912 Villisca Axe Murders.This is part of our Campfire Series — a storytelling format where we gather firsthand account…
Haunted Freddo ATX - Part III [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:07:19
In tonight’s episode, the Night Owl team returns once more to Freddo ATX — the historic Victorian café where unexplained activity continues to raise questions. In their last visit, three psychic mediums were brought in s…