Ghost Stories

Designed by architect Harry E Weiner, this 1925 Los Angeles mansion was once owned by German silent film director/producer Frederic Zelnik. While Los Feliz Mansion may look like a thing of beauty, it bared witness to a tragedy. On December 6, 1959, a Dr. Harold Perelson struck his wife Lillian with a ball-peen hammer, leaving her to drown in her own blood. Then proceeded to his teenage daughter Judye's room. He struck her in the head as well but in such a way she wasn't seriously injured. She managed to flee and call for help. Her two siblings were left unharmed. By the time police and an ambulance arrived, Dr Perelson was dead, committing suicide after swallowing pills. Supposedly, he had attempted suicide several times before but was stopped by his wife. The reason behind the murder-suicide is unknown. However, some believe it may have been because of financial troubles. Since then, the house has changed owners a few times, but no one has really lived in it. Well...until ...

Many of you know of the Aokigahara Forest in Japan as the location to take their lives. Here in the United States, we have The Colorado Street Bridge a.k.a. The Suicide Bridge in Pasadena, California. Since being built in 1913, over 150 people have relinquished their lives from this structure. The bridge spans 1,486 feet over the Arroyo Seco and sits on the original Route 66. It's known for its distinctive Beaux Arts arches, light standards, artistic supports and railings. A suicide barrier was added to reduce the number of suicides. After the Loma Prieta earthquake in Northern California of 1989, the bridge was declared a seismic hazard and closed to traffic but reopened in 1993 after a substantial retrofit. The Suicide Bridge was thrown in to the spotlight thanks to film, music, and TV. It's first onscreen appearance was in Charlie Chaplin's The Tramp and was later used in Alias, Seabiscuit, NCIS and The Mentalist. A monument with so much history makes one wonder, wh...

Many flock to the Taj Mahal to lay eyes on one of the most grand romantic gestures a man could do for his wife. In 1877, John Wells Snowball, an English businessman, had a beautiful mansion built for his new bride Lucy Ann Knight, daughter of William Knight who founded Knights Landing. John made his fortune as a merchant (opening the first store in Knights Landing after a previous store burned down), gold miner in 1850, Associate Justice of the Court of Sessions and land investor, He married Lucy in 1853 and their fairy tale life began. Unfortunately, their blessed existence would meet with tragedy. One night, Lucy discovered her child not breathing. It had died of unknown causes. Lucy fell into a deep depression. Despite living well into her 70s, she never recovered from the lost of her child. John died on February 6, 1906. The mansion remained in the Snowball family until 1944. The Fuhring family converted the Snowball Mansion into a Bed & Breakfast. For $145, you stayed ...

California State Historic Landmark #65 also known as The Whaley House is one of the most important historical homes in San Diego. The house has been transformed into many different businesses including a ballroom, school, polling place and even Thomas Whaley's General store. The Whaley House, at one time, was also the Country Court House and San Diego's first commercial theater. Since 1960, the house is now a museum. It is safe to say that The Whaley House has been the home for many things including tragedy. The Travel Channel's America's Most Haunted had dubbed the house the number one most haunted house in the United States. Of course, America's Most Haunted isn't the only television program the Whaley House has been featured on and probably won't be the last. It's history of hangings, violent death and the seizure of court documents is enough to make someone interested in it, for paranormal reasons or not. Is it haunted? No one can say for sure but...

Image from weirdus.com The Dark Watchers sounds like the title of some spirit-fueled horror movie. In reality, they are shadowy spirits seen on the Santa Lucia Mountains in California. Their exact origins are unknown. According to legend, the Chumash Indians were among the first to witness their presence and supposedly carried them in their legends and drew them on cave walls (all of which is up for debate). However, in 1937, John Steinbeck described them in his short story "Flight" and poet Robinson Jeffers mentioned the Dark Watchers in his poem "Such Counsels You Gave to Me". It's uncertain if either had a personal encounter with the phantom shadows or only heard about the tale. Their legend has been circulating for years but what are they? These spirits are described as being large in size, but human in shape. Some have reported seeing them in robes and hats and as their name suggest, they are pitch-black in color. Some believe they are only a form o...

In Banta east of Tracy, California, Banta Inn was originally built as a two-story saloon and inn in 1892 by Frank Gallegos, reputed former member of Joaquin Murrieta's band. Gallegos Saloon was also a sporting house where the "sporting" continued in the upstairs inn rooms used as the bordello. The building was destroyed in 1937 by fire. It is unknown how the fire was started but two people, supposedly a mother and child, were reported to have died. The structure was rebuilt using some of the timber from the original building as a general store. It retained no bedrooms but kept the name of Banta Inn. In the 1960s, Frank's youngest daughter Jenny and her third husband Tony decided to turn the store back in to a bar and restaurant. Her third husband Tony suffered a heart attack and died instantly behind the bar. The Inn remained in the Gallegos family until 1981 when, at the age of 92, Jenny sold the establishment. Today, it continues to operate as a bar and resta...

Strange Phenomenon: Woodland Opera House from Rob Blake on Vimeo . I was contacted by Rob Blake who put together the above documentary with friend Ray Tarara about the Woodland Opera House in Woodland, California. The Opera House was designed in 1885 by Thomas J. Welsh for $28,000. It was the first opera house to serve the Sacramento Valley. Seven years later, a fire destroyed much of what is now the Downtown Woodland Historic District, including the Opera House. A fireman named William Porter died in this fire when a back wall collapsed on him. David N. Hershey purchased the site and the Opera House was rebuilt between 1895 and 1896 using many of the materials from the original building were used including some of the partially standing walls. Over 300 touring companies had appeared on its stage. However, the growing popularity of motion pictures and a lawsuit filed by an event attendee who mistook a loading door for an exit, falling three feet and broke their arm, forced the...

Many of you know of the Aokigahara Forest in Japan as the location to take their lives. Here in the United States, we have The Colorado Street Bridge a.k.a. The Suicide Bridge in Pasadena, California. Since being built in 1913, over 150 people have relinquished their lives from this structure. The bridge spans 1,486 feet over the Arroyo Seco and sits on the original Route 66. It's known for its distinctive Beaux Arts arches, light standards, artistic supports and railings. A suicide barrier was added to reduce the number of suicides. After the Loma Prieta earthquake in Northern California of 1989, the bridge was declared a seismic hazard and closed to traffic but reopened in 1993 after a substantial retrofit. The Suicide Bridge was thrown in to the spotlight thanks to film, music, and TV. It's first onscreen appearance was in Charlie Chaplin's The Tramp and was later used in Alias, Seabiscuit, NCIS and The Mentalist. A monument with so much history makes one wonder, wh...

The time is here. After several seasons, Ghost Hunters have reached their 100th episode. According to some, this is a milestone very few TV programs ever reach. What location does one investigate for such a huge night? Alcatraz of course. Tonight we will be honored with an hour of the Alcatraz investigation followed by another LIVE hour with Josh Gates returning to his hosting duties. Allow me to dive in to the history of Alcatraz and why so many people believe it is haunted. Native Americans discovered the island 10,000 to 20,000 years prior to the Europeans. It is believed the Miwok and Ohlone tribes used the island as a camping spot for gathering food and marine life. Long before one single stone was laid of the believed "inescapable" prison, tradition implies the island may have also been used as a place to banish tribal members who violated tribal law. Unfortunately, oral histories have been lost and not much can be validated. Spaniard Juan Manuel de Ayala spent sever...

I have received a few inquiries concerning the status of Snowball Mansion. Information had suddenly fallen silent…that is until now. Mike and Nancy Stevens bought the house a few weeks ago. About three years ago, the mansion was involved in a little real estate scam. The Fuhrings who ran the establishment as a bed and breakfast put it on the market for $1.9 million, initially. The expected buyer put down $1 million on the Snowball Mansion and financed the remainder with two loans. She never made a payment on those loans nor moved in. It turned out the buyer was part of a multimillion-dollar real estate fraud scheme, and the house was tied up in an F.B.I investigation. Those involved were arrested and charged. Finally, earlier this year the mansion was returned to the lender and placed on the market. So for three long years it sat vacant, waiting for new life. Vandals broke windows and doors. The copper wiring and air conditioning unit was also taken. Graffiti covered the wal...

The Delta Queen is an American sternwheel steamboat turned U.S. National Historic Landmark. It is 285 feet long, 58 feet wide, and draws 11.5 feet. The boat weighs 1,650 tons, with a capacity of 176 passengers. Its cross-compounded steam engines generate 2,000 indicated horsepower powering a stern-mounted paddlewheel. The hull, first two decks and steam engines were ordered in 1924. The Delta Queen and her sister boat Delta King were shipped in pieces to Stockton, California two years later. There the California Transportation Company assembled the two vessels for regular service between San Francisco and Sacramento, and excursions to Stockton, on the San Joaquin River. At the time, they were the most lavish and expensive sternwheel passenger boats ever made. However, they were decommissioned after a highway was built connecting Sacramento and San Francisco in 1940. Then, they were purchased by Isbrandtsen Steamship Lines for service out of New Orleans. During World War II, the ...

What place could even come close to comparing to the insanity of Winchester Mansion? Mission Inn Hotel. This building began as a 12-room adobe boarding house called the Glenwood Cottage, built by civil engineer Christopher Columbus Miller in 1876. After his death, Miller's son Frank took over the business. He gave it a new name, Mission Inn, and gradually expanded the hotel until the day he died in 1935. The 12-room structure grew to 239 rooms extended over an entire city block. His vision for the building extended many styles including Moroccan, Mediterranean, Chinese, Turkish, Babylonian, Spanish, Oriental, Italian Renaissance, and Gothic-Hawaiian. The building contains narrow passageways, exterior arcades, a medieval-style clock, a five-story rotunda, innumerable patios and windows, castle towers, minarets, a Cloister Wing (with Catacombs), flying buttresses, Mediterranean domes and a pedestrian sky bridge. The reason for some of the complexity was tailored to Frank...

Preston School of Industry also known as Preston Castle or The Castle was built between 1890 – 1894 as a school to rehabilitate juveniles in Ione, California. The Castle stands on 230 acres bought from the Ione Coal and Iron Company at $30 per acre with 100 acres donated. The sandstone bricks were made at San Quentin and Folsom prisons and delivered via railroad at 6,000 bricks per car. The original plans consisted of five floors and seventy-seven rooms. It officially opened for business on July 1st, 1894 and remained so until 1960. It fell in to disrepair until 2001. The Preston Castle Foundation received a fifty year lease for the property and restoration began to convert it in to an arts college. The Castle has seen its share of death. Seventeen boys lost their lives in the hospital to diseases such as tuberculosis and typhoid fever. Sam Goins was shot in the back by a prison guard in 1922 during his third escape attempt. He was only 20. Starvation, isolation, and public paddling ...

In last weeks episode of VH1's Charm School, they featured the Linda Heights Hospital as a challenge location. The purpose was for the girls to face their fears while earning money for charity. This isn't the first time the hospital has been used for entertainment purposes. It was the backdrop for the pilot episode of ER and Moonlight TV series. In movies such as End of Days, Pearl Harbor and Outbreak. Garbage and Duran Duran used it for the setting in their music videos. But allow me to get in to the history of the building. Linda Vista Hospital was built in 1904 of the Boyle Heights neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. Originally named Santa Fe Railroad Hospital, it's primary purpose was to service railroad workers and the community. There is a rumor floating around that Howard Hughes often visited the hospital during his time in Los Angeles, occupying the entire top floor. The hospital closed in 1990. The reasons vary: high death rate, doctors murdering their pati...

This post was initially going to be about a ghost town, but my search led me to this juicy find. I was looking for information on a Dead Man's Hole in Oklahoma. I came to find there's one in about every state including California. We've all heard about Bigfoot, Yowie and Nessie, but there was a monster that pre-dated all of them. Dead Man's Hole is located near Oak Grove, California and was a stop of the Butterfield stage line. When the line was established, it ran right by a sparkling water hole. The stage often stopped there to refresh men and horses before continuing their trip. It was on one of these stops in 1858 that a legend was born. The driver got out for a drink. He leaned over the water just to meet face to face with a dead man, the first known victim of the hole. Several reports circulated San Diego of the disappearance of men but were dismissed. A French sheepherder was found dead at the hole in 1870. Six years later, a stage passenger claimed to have s...

Fans of ghost towns pay close attention. High in the Inyo Mountains lies a town known as Cerro Gordo a.k.a. "Fat Hill". First discovered by Mexican miners led by Pablo Flores in 1865 soon became the go to spot for silver. It produced 4.5 million ounces of silver in the 1870s and 1880s. As it was popular for mining silver, it also received a reputation from the multitude of deaths, approximately a murder a week. By the early 1900s, the price of silver dropped and soon converted into a ghost town. The town once known for silver is now known for its ghosts. The stories range from ghostly cats to women. One of Cerro Gordo's most famous ghosts is that of Alphonse Benoit. He worked as a woodcutter at a nearby lumber camp during the late 1800s. Now as to what happened to him is a bit sketchy for me. I've read conflicting accounts (feel free to correct me). Some say he was murdered in the mine. Others say he murdered several people and escaped to the Inyo Mountains (there w...

If you watched last night's Ghost Hunters episode then you're probably upset with the "evidence" they found at the Moss Beach Distillery. I know I was. I could have logged on today and written a long rant about this but instead, I searched around the world wide web to see what else I could find about this place. The story of the "Blue Lady" begins with a married woman falling in love with a man who isn't her husband in the 1930s. The guy is a piano player (or someone associated with it) at a speakeasy called Frank's Place, now known as Moss Beach Distillery. She would leave her husband and son to often meet with this gentleman. Now, the details of this story are a bit sketchy. Some say the "Blue Lady" died in a car accident on her way to the speakeasy. Others recite the husband as her murderer. No matter how she died, she supposedly haunts the place now and if your a fan of Sylvia Brown then you may believe she isn't the only one. Bro...

It was 1967 when Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin filmed an alleged Sasquatch at Bluff Creek. After 40 years, the Bigfoot footage is still regarded as the most popular and controversial. Was it a hoax? Quite possibly. While Gimlin had his doubts, Patterson was a believer. Many who knew him say he wasn't the most reliable. You add that to inconsistencies in stories (interviews printed in various magazines) and the fuzziness in the film could convince any skeptic of its invalidity. This wasn't some random outing where they just happen to spot the mythic creature. Patterson was filming a Bigfoot documentary. According to Grover Krantz, the two even agreed they should have shot the creature not just to silence naysayers, but also for financial gain. So, what would have stopped them from staging the whole thing? New species of animals are discovered all the time. I believe it is possible some mythical creatures really do exist. Do you think the Patterson-Gimlin footage is proo...

Many flock to the Taj Mahal to lay eyes on one of the most grand romantic gestures a man could do for his wife. But the little guys pleased their new brides on a much smaller scale. In 1872, John Wells Snowball had a beautiful mansion built for his new bride Lucy. Their fairytale life continued with the birth of their first child. Unfortunately, it would all soon come to an end. One night, Lucy discovered her child not breathing. It had died peacefully of unknown causes. Lucy fell into a deep depression. She lived well into her 70s, but she never recovered from the lost of her child. Today, the Snowball Mansion located in Knights Landing, California has been turned into a Bed & Breakfast. For $145, you can stay in one of three luxurious guest rooms each equipped with a private bath and fireplace which comes with a gourmet breakfast and access to a private lake and gardens. However, if you're looking for a quiet night in a gorgeous mansion, you might be disappointed. It is...

Black Diamond started as a coal mining town in the 1800s. Now, it is considered a ghost town inhabited by two spirits sharing the same nickname, Mary and Sarah. There's conflicting stories about Mary though I believe the second one. The first states she was hired by a family to be their nanny, but she didn't disclose to her employers that she practice witchcraft. When they found out, they immediately fired her. The next day she was found dead in the mines. How she died is still unknown. The other has her not only a nanny but one that looked after all the children in the town of Nortonville. Then, all the children died suddenly of mysterious illnesses. The town quickly accused her of witchcraft and was hanged. Many witnesses over the years have reported seeing a floating bright white apparition near the entrance of the mines. It is believed that she protects children from the dangers inside it. The reports on physical features differ but the similarities have always been t...