Unique Haunts of California

During the fall, most people's thoughts turn to the strange and unknown. The nights get longer and there is an otherworldly feel in the air, turning a person to seek out ghosts and the strange. Most know of the more famous hits such as Hotel Del Coronado, the Whaley House and even the Winchester Mystery House, but there are others that are lesser known, but still can send a shiver down the spine.

The Screaming Tree of Lakeside, California: Off Highway 67 on Willows Road in a feedlot, though some believe it is a slaughterhouse, just a little over a mile off the paved road, stands a lone tree. It is believed that if you drive out there in the dead of night when all is quiet and honk three times, you can hear the disembodied scream of a young woman that was murdered. While most of the citizens believe that all the trees are haunted, it does not deter brave drivers from finding the screaming tree.

The Nob Hill Ghost of San Francisco: Between the streets of Powell and Jones, a ghostly woman appears. She was Flora Sommerton and she is looking for the social party that she missed in 1876. She went missing, some say she ran away to avoid an arranged marriage. Her body was found in 1926 in Montana. Although her body may rest in Montana, her young soul still wanders Nob Hill, looking for her coming out party.

The Spirit House on K Street: In San Diego, California, a Victorian home was built in 1825 and became known as Villa Montezuma when it was declared a historic landmark in 1970. The home was the center of the spiritualist society during the 1880's, becoming a refuge for those who believed. Today there are claims of ghostly footsteps, people becoming "possessed" and taking on the personas of those who had become spirits, as well as a strange occurrence of a ghost in the nude, posing on any one of the lounging couches that decorate the home.

Mission San Juan Capistrano: Founded in 1776 by Father Serra and had become one of the most well known missions in California. The swallows may return and their flight turned into song, but no one has sung about the ghosts that call the mission their home. In 1812, an earthquake destroyed the chapel and the worshippers inside met their untimely demise and since then reports of long unused church bells have been heard ringing and a monk seen wander through the old chapel and disappearing into the air. Other reports have included ghost lights in the eastern cemetery and an Indian woman seen wandering the second floor, holding a candle, looking for a place to confess her sins.