ALICO Building

The Amicable Life Insurance Company Building was one of the few structures to remain intact during the devastating 1953 tornado that killed 114 people in downtown Waco. The 22-story skyscraper withstood 260-mile-per-hour winds while buildings around it were destroyed.

The ALICO Building—Texas' first skyscraper—has towered over downtown Waco since its completion, a 22-story monument to ambition that has weathered tornadoes, fires, and accumulated a supernatural population that refuses to vacate. Designed by celebrated Waco architect Roy E. Lane, the building stands as both an architectural triumph and a repository of tragedy, its upper floors home to spirits that have been spotted by employees for decades.

The defining moment in the building's haunted history came on May 11, 1953, when an F5 tornado—the deadliest in Texas history—tore through downtown Waco at catastrophic speeds. While over 100 local businesses were buried in debris, the ALICO Building survived, becoming both a command post and a makeshift morgue. Medical forces assembled on the first floor while search parties coordinated rescues from the tower above. 114 people died that day, and nearly 600 were injured. This cataclysmic event is said to have created a spirit world that now infests the area.

Employees working late have spotted a faceless man staring from the upper floors, his form visible in windows before vanishing when approached. The scent of old cigar smoke lingers in empty offices—perhaps a long-departed businessman who refuses to clock out from his eternal shift. But the most disturbing manifestation is the Wailing Woman, an unfortunate soul whose blood-curdling screams terrify passersby on the street below.

According to legend, she is a grieving wife who lost her lover in the 1953 tornado, her sorrow echoing through the city as she haunts the street in front of the skyscraper. The piercing shrieks have been reported for decades, always near the ALICO Building, always carrying the weight of unimaginable loss. Local paranormal investigators consider Waco one of Texas' most active cities, and the ALICO stands at the center of its supernatural landscape.