The Double Eagle Steakhouse

• Double Eagle Steakhouse was once a bathhouse.
• It occupies the former site of Hell's Half Acre.
• One man was murdered in the bathtub.

An award-winning steakhouse is bound to have a high profile. The Double Eagle Steakhouse just so happens to have a harrowing, haunted high profile. Visitors report suspicious energies, spectral sightings, full-bodied apparitions, and phantom footsteps. Patrons detect cold spots in otherwise warm rooms. What's lurking on the property?

One entity is particularly prominent, linked to the building's bathhouse days. Legend says that a gambling man was shot in the back of the head by a greedy killer. Some think the gambler may have won a big pot that night, so the killer followed him inside... After the killer located the gambler's tub, he took him by surprise.

Visitors have spotted the ghoulish gambler in turn-of-the-century men's attire. He's frequently witnessed in the banquet halls and upstairs bar, where he stalks the perimeter. Others hear his phantom footsteps or feel his gentle tap against their shoulder. Maybe he seeks vengeance against his killer. Perhaps he's just sticking around.

Stephen Acker, a wine steward at the steakhouse, told CBS Dallas-Fort Worth about some unexpected spectral activity. Acker reported that "one of the lights was witnessed to be swinging back and forth violently while others stayed still" before adding that "a wine glass was thrust off a shelf when no one else was around."

Was this the gambling man?

In 2019, Mystic Ghost investigated the haunted property. With their SLS camera, they were able to detect a human-like figure in the upstairs dining room. The investigator alleged that there was spiritual energy within the area... Diners confirm the same.

Built in 1890, the Double Eagle Steakhouse was originally a bathhouse. Patrons could drop in to wash the dirt from their dusty expeditions. Yet it particularly catered to Fort Worth's upper class, who benefited from the property's ease-of-access to the business center.

The region eventually earned the moniker "Hell's Half Acre," befitting its infamous reputation as Sin City. Rowdy patrons replaced their once well-to-do clientele as brothels, saloons, and gambling halls began to populate the district. That explains why an upscale bathhouse saw the likes (and death) of a gambling man.

At the time, Hell's Half Acre covered Seventh to Fifteenth Street. Their brothels and gambling halls brought infamous faces like Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.

Even Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were rumored in Hell's Half Acre.

Fort Worth has since given the historic district an overhaul. No longer known for its rough-and-tumble terrors, Hell's Half Acre is now a pleasant shopping stroll.