Visitors can take a trip back to the 16th century once again this fall as the Texas Renaissance Festival celebrates its 40th anniversary.

"Charlie was upstairs with somebody, and his wife came in and found him and killed them both," O'Brien said.

But Schultz said one fact proves that story false.

"He never married," she said.

O'Brien also said Charlie never married. She speculates that the woman in the story may have been someone else's wife.

Schultz had another hunch about the rumors of the building being haunted.

"That all was marketing," she said.

But O'Brien said she and others have indeed seen supernatural beings in the building, which is more than 100 years old.

"It is haunted," O'Brien said. "It's definitely haunted but nothing bad. We have good ghosts—a couple of kids and their mom. Charlie is their protector."

O'Brien said a new ghost has been spotted.

"Most recent is a lady in a white dress," she said. "Many customers during lunch and one of our other managers saw her walking down the stairs in a white dress. She is full-bodied like you and I. She's real but not real. She's made her presence known over the last nine months."

Old photos and family portraits serve as dcor in the caf that may add to the ghostly ambience, O'Brien said. On one occasion, even a portrait became the main topic of spooks happening in the caf, she said.

"All of a sudden in the family portrait, there came another picture—like a picture inside a picture," O'Brien said. "The picture started moving around in the picture."

O'Brien said the unworldly visitors are familiar to her now, even the young ones.

"We get the normal shadow children," she said.

Haunted or not, the caf has become a popular spot over the century, attracting guests and even celebrities, O'Brien said. Its menu features an American cuisine, including chicken–fried steak and Cajun-grilled catfish. Children age 12 and under eat free on Mondays, and occasionally the restaurant features live music.

Wunsche Brothers Caf, 103 Midway, Spring, 281-350-1902, www.wuschebroscafe.com