Texas – Headless Horseman, South Texas
Back in 1850, in the literal wild west, a man named Vidal was a cattle thief, who mistakenly stole a herd or horses containing some prized mustangs belonging to a well known Texas Ranger. When Rangers found thieves, merely killing them was not good enough. Vital was beheaded and his body tied upright in the saddle to a wild pony, attaching his sombrero adorned head to the back of the horse.
Stories abounded about the headless horseman who eventually became known as El Muerto. Eventually, the pony was caught, and Vidal was laid to rest, but people never stopped seeing El Muerto roaming South Texas on clear nights.
You missed the boat on New Jersey! THE JERSEY DEVIL is most definitely the official haunting creature of the Garden State. Long before NJ was even a state, the legend of the Jersey Devil began. It was the 13th child of Mrs Leeds, who had no desire for another baby. According to legend, she cursed the baby even before it was born. At its birth, the creature assumed otherworldly dimension and flew up the chimney of the home. Since then, the Devil regularly haunts the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, frightening all it encounters. On the eve of a National tragedy, the Devil is said to appear at many varied places in the state to warn of evils to come (most notably in December 1941, just before Pearl Harbor.)