Cachibatches
06-09-2008, 04:29 AM
10 Days of Haunted Fun in Northern California
Inspired by the “Do you believe in ghosts” thread, I thought I would post this for those who live in Northern California or are planning a visit, and have an interest in the Fortean.
I have never seen anything incontrovertrably supernatural, and remain a skeptic, but I have had a ball investigating some of these allegedly haunted spots- they are cool for what they are regardless of supernatural activity, or lack thereof. Here goes.
JACK LONDON PARK. In Sonoma county, up North in wine country an hour and a half Norht from, San Francisco. This place is a hiking ground that has the burned out stone frame of Jack London’s former mansion, and, his actual grave nearby. After you see these historical things, you can spend the day hiking through the hills- lots of trees and shade. The place is allegedly haunted not only by London, but by the manifested characters from his works!
BLACK DIAMOND MINES. In Antioch, Contra Costa County, and hour North East of San Francisco. This place is outstanding! Once a series of Welsh mining towns in the 19th, this state park has a partially restored graveyard up on a hill from which nearby residents have sworn to have heard anguished crying. Accoring to local legend, exorcisms were performed. During certain times of years, a huge, main mine is open to the public for tours, and any time of year, there are partially restored mines that you can hike to and go a few hundred feet into. Bring sunblock, these hills haven’t a lot of trees. The main “ghost” is a Sarah Norton who was the daughter of one of the town’s prominent men, and is referred to as “The White Witch.”
MOUNT DIABLO. Right next door to black Diamond. As you Spainish speakers may know, “Diablo” means devil. The local legend is that the natives summoned a diabolic entity from a cave here to attack the Spaniards. Supposedly, you can find the cave. This is a big mountain with some neat geological features, and of all the places that I have been, this is the most sinister. I almost stepped on a rattler that, contrary to accepted snake behavior, refused to move from the path.
OLD SACRAMENTO- Our state capitol, an hour and a half Northeast of San Francisco, this old-fashioned looking part of the city is built over an even older part of the city that flooded, creating an underground city that was used by smugglers, pirates, illegal Chinese, etc. EVERYONE HERE HAS A GHOST STORY! Walk into a bar, order a beer, ask around. Lots of business can still get into the tunnels through their basements. There is also a haunted record store nearby, a haunted cemetery (called Old City), and a number of other easily found alleged haunts.
MARIN HEADLANDS/GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE/SF PARK. Man, this is a fun day. On the Marin county side of the Golden Gate, there is a 1 lane tunnel (5 minute wait each way) that takes you to a series of hills on a peninsula littered with old batteries from the WWII era. I have found on the internet accounts of them being haunted by diabolic forces. I have never seen said forces while visiting myself, but go anyway. Besides the batteries, there is the coolest light house ever in Point Bonita (you can go enter in weekend). You hike through a tunnel in another mountain, emerging onto a tiny peninsula/island, and cross a suspension bridge to a lighthouse that connects the oceans with the bay. Gorgeous, and great view of the Golden Gate. Also there is beach, and lots of coyotes that will walk right up on you. The Golden Gate itself is reputed be haunted, both by its thousands of suicides, and a phantom ship. Cruise up the street to San Francisco Park, reportedly haunted by a phantom cop that gives our tickets. Stay to see the achademy of science and the museum.
ACATRAZ/BAY BRIDGE- If ever there was a place that should be haunted. Considered bad medicine by the local Indian tribes, the famous prison on the island actually sits on top of an older civil war prison. That is a lot of years of awful pain and suffering. This place is reputed to be haunted by Al Capone, Machine gun Kelly, and a number of others. They tours where they take you out on a ship and walk you around, and I cannot stress enough how overwhelming and unique this place is. Pear 39, where you embark on the tours, is right next to the Bay Bridge, which is a beautiful engineering marvel, and reportedly haunted by a man dressed in archaic clothing- a car crash.
COLMA, CA, 20 minutes south of San Fran. Ironically, this place has no haunting that anyone knows of. Ironic, because it is a literal necropolis of 15-20 graveyards. The dead outnumber the living hear something like 10,000 to 1. This is where early San Franciscans buried their dead. There are famous residents in the graveyards like Wyatt Earp (I go visit Wyatt a couple of times a year) and some of the most exquisite and exotic graveyard architecture you can imagine- Pyrimids, sphinxes, weeping angles, giant orbs, etc. Some of the headstones and tombs are quite old. Like I said, no haunting, but it should be, and it is very worth seeing. Somehwere in Colma, Jack Johnson fought, I think, Stanely Ketchel, since boxing was semi-legal, and Colma was at the time away from the reach of the law.
HIGHWAY 92/MOSS BEACH DISTILLERY. Half moon bay in San Mateo County is one of the most beautiful places imaginable. Right by the ocean, you have to cross over a range of hills to get there. Lots of trees all over the hills and on the coast. Gorgeous. The highway to get over the hill is 92 West. There is a beautiful reservoir on the mainland side to start you out, you go up the hill, and on the way down, it is lined with all of these unique wineries, shops, a Santa’s Village attraction, a ranch decorated with huge dinosaurs of metalworking- all kinds of stuff. At the summit of the hill, however, is a hidden graveyard, beautiful in its own way, but you won’t see it unless you know its there. Local legend is that if you drive over 92 at 300AM (a harrowing expierince in and of itself, given the dark, the trees, the lonely felling) you will see an old woman from the graveyard in your back seat. In Half Moon Bay itself there is a restaurant called the Moss Beach Distillery right on the coast. It is reputed to be haunted by a jilted lover, “The Lady in Blue” who threw herself from the cliff on which the restaurant sits into the ocean. Sadly, I believe the establishment has rigged some things so you might see her if she is there or not. Still, eat at this fine restaurant, sit on the beach, and try going back over 92 at 3:00.
THE WINCHESTER HOUSE. San Jose, Santa Clara county There is nothing else like this place anywhere. Built by the crazy widow of the Winchester who invented the gun, she believed that the spirits were forcing her to keep adding on. This Victorian Mansion is huge and unsettling, built with very strange features like staircases that don’t go anywhere, doors that open up to rooms with no floors. It is a tortuous maze that folds back on itself in strange ways, with the number 13 encoded all over the place. Tours are daily, and some of the docents will give you their own personal ghost stories. Highly, highly recommended that you see this place. Also a very neat gun museum on property.
4 CITIES, 4 QUICK THINGS TO SEE IN THE SOUTH BAY- Head down highway 101, you will pass these 4 cities in about 15 minutes. Start in Menlo Park, you can drive past the Penninusla school, once Colemen Mansion. As it is a school, you can only drive by, but it’s a nice look, and to this day, the residents will tell you ghost stories. Stop in Palo Alto, and see by Stanford College the Frenchman’s tower. It’s not haunted, but it’s a mystery: the strange stone tower built by a French exile for purposes unknown predates American/California. Next, head up the road to Mountain view, and get a guided tour of the RENGSTORFF MANSION, which was abandoned for years because the residents were unsettled by hauntings, and because passersby saw mysterious faces in the window, even when it was abandoned. Finally, end up in Sunnyale, and look for a famous, beloved ghost in a TOYS’R’US once featured on THAT’S INCREDIBLE. I have not yet seen a couple of these myself.
Inspired by the “Do you believe in ghosts” thread, I thought I would post this for those who live in Northern California or are planning a visit, and have an interest in the Fortean.
I have never seen anything incontrovertrably supernatural, and remain a skeptic, but I have had a ball investigating some of these allegedly haunted spots- they are cool for what they are regardless of supernatural activity, or lack thereof. Here goes.
JACK LONDON PARK. In Sonoma county, up North in wine country an hour and a half Norht from, San Francisco. This place is a hiking ground that has the burned out stone frame of Jack London’s former mansion, and, his actual grave nearby. After you see these historical things, you can spend the day hiking through the hills- lots of trees and shade. The place is allegedly haunted not only by London, but by the manifested characters from his works!
BLACK DIAMOND MINES. In Antioch, Contra Costa County, and hour North East of San Francisco. This place is outstanding! Once a series of Welsh mining towns in the 19th, this state park has a partially restored graveyard up on a hill from which nearby residents have sworn to have heard anguished crying. Accoring to local legend, exorcisms were performed. During certain times of years, a huge, main mine is open to the public for tours, and any time of year, there are partially restored mines that you can hike to and go a few hundred feet into. Bring sunblock, these hills haven’t a lot of trees. The main “ghost” is a Sarah Norton who was the daughter of one of the town’s prominent men, and is referred to as “The White Witch.”
MOUNT DIABLO. Right next door to black Diamond. As you Spainish speakers may know, “Diablo” means devil. The local legend is that the natives summoned a diabolic entity from a cave here to attack the Spaniards. Supposedly, you can find the cave. This is a big mountain with some neat geological features, and of all the places that I have been, this is the most sinister. I almost stepped on a rattler that, contrary to accepted snake behavior, refused to move from the path.
OLD SACRAMENTO- Our state capitol, an hour and a half Northeast of San Francisco, this old-fashioned looking part of the city is built over an even older part of the city that flooded, creating an underground city that was used by smugglers, pirates, illegal Chinese, etc. EVERYONE HERE HAS A GHOST STORY! Walk into a bar, order a beer, ask around. Lots of business can still get into the tunnels through their basements. There is also a haunted record store nearby, a haunted cemetery (called Old City), and a number of other easily found alleged haunts.
MARIN HEADLANDS/GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE/SF PARK. Man, this is a fun day. On the Marin county side of the Golden Gate, there is a 1 lane tunnel (5 minute wait each way) that takes you to a series of hills on a peninsula littered with old batteries from the WWII era. I have found on the internet accounts of them being haunted by diabolic forces. I have never seen said forces while visiting myself, but go anyway. Besides the batteries, there is the coolest light house ever in Point Bonita (you can go enter in weekend). You hike through a tunnel in another mountain, emerging onto a tiny peninsula/island, and cross a suspension bridge to a lighthouse that connects the oceans with the bay. Gorgeous, and great view of the Golden Gate. Also there is beach, and lots of coyotes that will walk right up on you. The Golden Gate itself is reputed be haunted, both by its thousands of suicides, and a phantom ship. Cruise up the street to San Francisco Park, reportedly haunted by a phantom cop that gives our tickets. Stay to see the achademy of science and the museum.
ACATRAZ/BAY BRIDGE- If ever there was a place that should be haunted. Considered bad medicine by the local Indian tribes, the famous prison on the island actually sits on top of an older civil war prison. That is a lot of years of awful pain and suffering. This place is reputed to be haunted by Al Capone, Machine gun Kelly, and a number of others. They tours where they take you out on a ship and walk you around, and I cannot stress enough how overwhelming and unique this place is. Pear 39, where you embark on the tours, is right next to the Bay Bridge, which is a beautiful engineering marvel, and reportedly haunted by a man dressed in archaic clothing- a car crash.
COLMA, CA, 20 minutes south of San Fran. Ironically, this place has no haunting that anyone knows of. Ironic, because it is a literal necropolis of 15-20 graveyards. The dead outnumber the living hear something like 10,000 to 1. This is where early San Franciscans buried their dead. There are famous residents in the graveyards like Wyatt Earp (I go visit Wyatt a couple of times a year) and some of the most exquisite and exotic graveyard architecture you can imagine- Pyrimids, sphinxes, weeping angles, giant orbs, etc. Some of the headstones and tombs are quite old. Like I said, no haunting, but it should be, and it is very worth seeing. Somehwere in Colma, Jack Johnson fought, I think, Stanely Ketchel, since boxing was semi-legal, and Colma was at the time away from the reach of the law.
HIGHWAY 92/MOSS BEACH DISTILLERY. Half moon bay in San Mateo County is one of the most beautiful places imaginable. Right by the ocean, you have to cross over a range of hills to get there. Lots of trees all over the hills and on the coast. Gorgeous. The highway to get over the hill is 92 West. There is a beautiful reservoir on the mainland side to start you out, you go up the hill, and on the way down, it is lined with all of these unique wineries, shops, a Santa’s Village attraction, a ranch decorated with huge dinosaurs of metalworking- all kinds of stuff. At the summit of the hill, however, is a hidden graveyard, beautiful in its own way, but you won’t see it unless you know its there. Local legend is that if you drive over 92 at 300AM (a harrowing expierince in and of itself, given the dark, the trees, the lonely felling) you will see an old woman from the graveyard in your back seat. In Half Moon Bay itself there is a restaurant called the Moss Beach Distillery right on the coast. It is reputed to be haunted by a jilted lover, “The Lady in Blue” who threw herself from the cliff on which the restaurant sits into the ocean. Sadly, I believe the establishment has rigged some things so you might see her if she is there or not. Still, eat at this fine restaurant, sit on the beach, and try going back over 92 at 3:00.
THE WINCHESTER HOUSE. San Jose, Santa Clara county There is nothing else like this place anywhere. Built by the crazy widow of the Winchester who invented the gun, she believed that the spirits were forcing her to keep adding on. This Victorian Mansion is huge and unsettling, built with very strange features like staircases that don’t go anywhere, doors that open up to rooms with no floors. It is a tortuous maze that folds back on itself in strange ways, with the number 13 encoded all over the place. Tours are daily, and some of the docents will give you their own personal ghost stories. Highly, highly recommended that you see this place. Also a very neat gun museum on property.
4 CITIES, 4 QUICK THINGS TO SEE IN THE SOUTH BAY- Head down highway 101, you will pass these 4 cities in about 15 minutes. Start in Menlo Park, you can drive past the Penninusla school, once Colemen Mansion. As it is a school, you can only drive by, but it’s a nice look, and to this day, the residents will tell you ghost stories. Stop in Palo Alto, and see by Stanford College the Frenchman’s tower. It’s not haunted, but it’s a mystery: the strange stone tower built by a French exile for purposes unknown predates American/California. Next, head up the road to Mountain view, and get a guided tour of the RENGSTORFF MANSION, which was abandoned for years because the residents were unsettled by hauntings, and because passersby saw mysterious faces in the window, even when it was abandoned. Finally, end up in Sunnyale, and look for a famous, beloved ghost in a TOYS’R’US once featured on THAT’S INCREDIBLE. I have not yet seen a couple of these myself.