Whiskey-loving ghost reportedly roams fields

(7/24/07 - KTRK/BAILEY'S PRAIRIE, TX) - A small town in Brazoria County has a big ghost story. What will you find if you find yourself in Bailey's Prairie?

It's a little community between Angleton and West Columbia that only has about 600 residents. But the census probably didn't count Bailey's Prairie's most famous resident -- a ghost who's been wandering the streets for more than 100 years.

Life-long resident Patrick Hall tells the story of Brit Bailey, the namesake of the town.

"At the time of his death, he had written out a will saying he wanted to be buried with certain things," Hall explained. "It's believed that the will contained his whiskey, his rifle and a lantern that he wore on his head."

But the whiskey was never buried, and Bailey has not been able to rest ever since.

Resident Larry Baiz said, "I just heard that he walks up and down the river looking for his bottle of whiskey. People have seen him around, but I've never seen him."

Baiz, whose nickname just happens to be 'Boo', doesn't have to see to believe. But Hall knows exactly what the ghost looks like. He first saw it as a young man.

"It was crossing a field that I saw something that was out of ordinary and didn't make sense," Hall said. "It was like a bouncing light."

And then there's the cowboy, also nicknamed after the ghost.

Bailey's Prairie Kid told Eyewitness News, "I've seen his light. I've seen a light down there. But that could just be imagination, you know."

The next time you drive through Bailey's Prairie and see a light, remember what Hall says.

"He did everything they said that light would do," Hall recalled. "It was moving around and then came to a standstill right over my head. That's about the last I remember."

The light supposedly chases motorists who drive up and down Highway 35. Some people say it only appears once every seven years, but others say it appears a lot more often than that.