Northern California Hauntings

From LoveToKnow Paranormal

Although it is a stunningly beautiful location, filled with rugged mountains and beautiful rock-strewn beaches, there are few regions that produce so much paranormal activity as northern California hauntings do.

There Are Countless Northern California Hauntings

Northern California is strikingly different than the Southern part of the state. This part of the state is a much more natural setting where you can find cattle ranches and vineyards throughout, such as in the famous Napa Valley. The quiet country roads and isolated highways, such as U.S. 101, provide visitors a taste of towering forests and rolling hills. Northern California is a natural cathedral where thousands of visitors come to relax and escape from life, and apparently many ghosts do as well.

Battery Point Lighthouse

The Battery Point Lighthouse sits on the northern tip of California in Crescent City. It was first built in 1856 at the height of the local logging boom when San Francisco was rapidly growing. The station's first keeper was Theophilus Magruder from 1856 through 1875. In 1875, Captain John Jeffrey and his wife took over duties at the lighthouse and lived there for 39 years. While they suffered through a number of storms and difficulties to be expected when living off of the mainland, as far as anyone knows, no one ever died at the lighthouse. The lighthouse was decommissioned by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1965, and visitors today report that the light house is haunted by several ghosts. Guests who tour the lighthouse report being touched by an unseen presence and objects moving, as well as the sound of large boots walking up and down the lighthouse stairs.

Mendocino Hotel

The Mendocino hotel is a beautifully restored hotel in the heart of Mendocino, a historic lumber port along the same shipping route as Crescent City. The Mendocino was opened in 1878 and was known as the "Temperance House" at the time. It began as a decent hotel, but in time it blended in with the surrounding culture and became a brothel. Today, the hotel is haunted by the ghost of a Victorian woman. Her ghost is reported to especially haunt tables six and eight, and her face occasionally appears in the various mirrors. Guests even report being visited by her ghost in their rooms.

Red Castle Inn

The Red Castle Inn is a large brick mansion built in 1860 overlooking Nevada City. Laura Jean is the famous ghost here. It's believed by staff that she was the young woman who looked after the 11 children of the Williams family. As the story goes, Laura Jean died a fairly sudden death from a high fever. Guests and staff report that when her ghost materializes, she is mistaken for a real person until she walks through a solid wall or a door.

The Groveland Hotel

The Groveland Hotel was created during the Gold Rush in 1914. It was used heavily during the creating of the Hetch-Hetchy dam. One of the ghosts that allegedly roams this hotel is named Lyle. Local historians believe he was a gold prospector who died in his sleep in the hotel, but laid there for several days before he was found. The room where he died is known as "Lyle's Room". Reported phenomenon created by this ghost include women's cosmetics getting knocked off of his dresser, and the water in the bathroom turning off and on. The Northern California Paranormal Investigators performed an investigation and determined that the hotel is home to two other ghosts as well.

The Brookdale Lodge

Tucked away within the towering redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains sits the Brookdale Lodge. This lodge's history begins in the 1950s when a number of famous visitors, including celebrities and mobsters, visited the lodge. These visitors included the likes of James Dean and even Marilyn Monroe. This famous lodge is rumored to house a number of ghosts. The most common apparition is the ghost of a little girl in a dress who runs into the lobby and disappears. Guests report hearing phantom voices in many of the lodge's rooms. Brookdale Lodge remains one of the most popular haunted locations in Northern California.

Are you Haunted in Northern California?

While tourists and visitors often intentionally stay at one of the haunted lodges and inns that are scattered throughout Northern California, some people live in private homes that are also haunted. Many times these hauntings are unwanted and troublesome. Northern California is lucky to have several paranormal organizations that can help someone in such a situation.

Whether it's a lodge, forest, graveyard or a private home, the isolated forests and mountains of this region seem to create just the right atmosphere for numerous northern California hauntings.

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