The history of Shafter's Green Hotel and its ghosts.

The Green Hotel, located in Shafter, California, has a rich history dating back to the early 1900s. Originally known as the Shafter Hotel, the building was constructed in 1913 and served as a popular stopover point for travelers along the Southern Pacific Railroad. The hotel was later purchased by the Green family in 1945, who renamed it the Green Hotel and operated it as a family-owned business for over half a century. 

During its heyday, the Green Hotel was a hub of activity in the small town of Shafter. The hotel's bar and restaurant were popular gathering spots for locals and visitors alike, and the hotel's 32 rooms were almost always occupied. In the 1950s, the hotel even played host to famous guests such as Clark Gable and Carol Lombard, who were traveling through the area. 

Today, the Green Hotel still stands as a testament to Shafter's rich history. Although the hotel is no longer operational, the building has been beautifully restored and now serves as a popular venue for weddings, events, and photo shoots. The hotel's unique architecture and vintage charm continue to draw visitors from all over California and beyond, and the Green Hotel remains an important landmark in the town of Shafter.

Along with its rich history, the Green Hotel in Shafter, California is also rumored to be haunted. There have been several reports of strange occurrences and apparitions within the hotel's walls. Some guests have reported feeling a cold presence or hearing unexplained noises, while others have claimed to have seen the ghostly figure of a woman dressed in white roaming the halls. 

Legend has it that the woman in white is the ghost of a former guest who died under mysterious circumstances at the hotel. Others believe that the hotel's bar is haunted by the ghost of a man who was killed in a fight many years ago. Despite these eerie tales, however, the Green Hotel remains a popular destination for those seeking a glimpse into the history of Shafter, and many visitors still flock to the hotel in hopes of experiencing a supernatural encounter.

Sacramento river boat said to be haunted

Perusing the internet for ghost stories I came across this interesting one up in Sacramento (yes I know the website isn't called Weird Sacramento, but bear with me). The location is actually an old paddle wheel boat docked on the banks of the Sacramento River in Old Town.

The boat is named the Delta King of Sacramento and was built sometime in the 1920's and plied the Sacramento River between San Francisco and Sacramento from 1929 to 1940 and was used as a troop transport ship during World War II. After the war the boat fell into disuse and roamed the Delta without any purpose. In 1982 the boat sank near Richmond in San Francisco Bay and was there for over 18 months. Finally in 1984 the Delta King was brought back to Sacramento and underwent a $9 million restoration. Today it is a floating hotel with two restaurants, two fully functional theaters, and facilities for wedding use.

But like any old structure that has its share of history, the Delta King is said to be haunted. Patrons have reported hearing a little girl singing "ring around the rosey" and some have seen her running up and down many of the ship's hallways. She's said to be around 8 or 9 years old and has blonde hair and to have died on the boat in the early days of its use, sometime in the late 20's or early 30's.

One of the other ghosts that haunts the boat is said to be one of the former captains who committed suicide on the boat. Not much is said about the male ghost except that he likes to mess with employees from time to time and the few times he has been seen he was wearing a white shirt and dark pants and cap.

Ghosts have also been seen in the Delta King's two theaters. Not much is known but some speculate that it's either former performers or audience members that for some reason have decided to attend another show.

One of the things that I love about this location is the history involved with the boat and how even after it feel into disuse the city of Sacramento decided to restore it and make it a destination for people. The fact that it's haunted just adds to the history of it.

Is Yosemite's Wawona Hotel haunted?

The Wawona Hotel in Yosemite Park is said to be haunted by the

ghost of a pilot who died there in the 1920's.

Photo courtesy of Joe Shlabotnik from Flickr.

Legend has it that the Wawona Hotel, built in 1876 and located just four miles from the park's south entrance, is rumored to be haunted.

Sometime during the 1920's there was a small plane crash just outside the hotel grounds and the seriously injured pilot was taken to Moore Cottage, one of the hotel's guest units. A local doctor was called to treat the pilot, but unfortunately by the time he got there the pilot had succumbed to his injuries.

Ever since then both employees and guests have reported seeing the ghostly figure of the pilot; complete with leather flight jacket, head gear with goggles and a white scarf, inside Moore Cottage walking down the stairs.

The ghost of the pilot isn't the only strange thing to happen at the Wawona Hotel. In 1985, while watching television, a group was surprised as a 10 foot section of carpet started to float 3 inches above the ground and move towards them. Even more recent was when a manager was alone in the hotel for the night when the fire alarm suddenly sounded. The manager went to the front office to check which pull station had been activated and to his surprise it was the pull station in the kitchen, located only eight feet from where he was standing when it had sounded.

The question has to be asked: why is the ghost of the pilot still lingering around the hotel? Perhaps he doesn't know he's dead and is walking down the stairs trying to get back to his airplane? But what of the incidents in the main hotel, could they be related to the pilot's ghost? Or could something else be haunting the century old hotel as well?

The ghosts and legends of Sierra Sky Ranch

Sierra Sky Ranch during winter.

Image courtesy of sierraskyranch.com

I've been mentioning both on Facebook and Twitter (which you should be following me and if you aren't for shame!) the past few weeks about my trip up to Sierra Sky Ranch to do a live tweet of the investigation conducted by Central California Paranormal Investigators and the Paranormal 101 class from the Fresno Adult Education Center. I'll be doing some other things during the day (mostly shooting video and doing some investigating of my own) but my hopes is to have you dear readers interact with me on both social networks as I shadow the students and CCPI as they investigate and give you live updates as the group investigates the ranch. That being said, I wanted to give a brief history of the Sierra Sky Ranch. Granted I did a piece when I first started writing for Weird Fresno, but I wanted to update that with what I know now.

The Ranch was founded sometime in the 1870's and was the area's largest cattle ranch. The original ranch house was built sometime in 1900 and over the years piece by piece the land was sold off to pay off debts. Finally the last of the property was sold and that is where we get our first ghost from. There's a story of an old ranch hand that haunts the back portion of the property that went by the name Elmer's. There are two different versions of Elmer's untimely demise. One says that as he was chopping wood one day under the back tree, the ax slipped from his hands and severed the main artery in his leg. He called for help but his cries went unanswered and bled to death. The other story states that distraught over his home being sold off and having nowhere else to go, he hung himself from the back tree. Whatever the case may be, Elmer now haunts the area around the tree where he died. Some have seen Elmer himself, but most have felt a presence watching them.

Sometime in the 1930's the ranch was converted to a tuberculosis hospital (this is the time that the hotel wing was built onto the original ranch house). It's from this time period we get our next group of ghosts. A woman named Sarah, who was a nurse at the hospital, was in charge of two young children (rumored to be siblings) who had contracted the deadly disease. Unfortunately both children died from the disease and soon after Sarah followed (it's not known if she died from the disease, but given how contagious it could be this is highly likely). Guests have reported hearing children running up and down the halls late at night only to find out from the hotel staff that there are no children guests there. Others have witnessed what felt like a child's hand tugging at them, as if wanting to play. The children aren't the only ones seen. Witnesses have reported seeing a woman peering out from both the ground floor and the loft windows, as if she is watching someone. When asked who the woman is, the staff claims no one. Perhaps Sarah is still watching her two chargers she lost almost a century ago.

During World War 2 the property was converted to a rehabilitation hospital for wounded Army soldiers. There have been recent reports of a soldier seen in the hotel's library area, still in uniform. If this person was a patient here it's hard to say and more investigation needs to be done to find out.

After the war in 1946 the ranch was turned into a luxury resort and catered to such Hollywood celebrities such as John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe. There are several other ghosts that are associated with the ranch, and no one knows when they were here just that they decided to stay even in death. The first is the ghost of a young man who, for whatever reason, likes to stay in the honeymoon suite and usually in the bedroom area. Psychics have sensed a very paranoid man crouching in the corner, almost like he is trying to hide something. No one knows who is he or what is his name, but many have felt his presence. It's known for people sleeping in the bed to be woken up by a gentle nudge. Why the ghost is doing this is uncertain, perhaps he wants there attention for some reason.

The final two ghosts reside in the kitchen and make it apparent that they don't like anyone else in their area or each other for that matter. Kitchen utensils are always missing (once an entire cutting board was reported missing and never found again) and kitchen equipment will turn on by itself, even when shut off for the night. One ghost tends to hang out in the main prep area, while the other tends to stay mostly in the pantry. The negative energy from both of them is easily felt as there is always a heavy presence in the kitchen and on several occasions arguments have broken out among the kitchen staff.

So that's just a bit of the legend of Sierra Sky Ranch. I've heard other stories, from a night staff person seeing a couple dancing in the main lobby only to disappear when seen, to a person peeking through a dining room window despite the fact the window is at least 7 feet off the ground, to a pear tree with such a strange energy to it that people's electronic equipment always seen to malfunction around it, the ranch has it all. The Ranch is open to their paranormal history and with it being only an hour drive away, is a great spot to have dinner and maybe even spend the night. For more info you can find their site here.

Check back both on my Facebook and Twitter pages (you can find links to them on the right) on Saturday to find out what's going on.

The ghosts of Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park is known for many things. Half Dome, El Capitan, and Bridalveil Falls to name a few. Millions of people have visited the park since it was first established in 1890. And it's not surprising then that some have decided to stay there, even after death.

Is a tent, similar to these in Curry Village, haunted by the ghost of a man who hung himself?

Photo courtesy of Trip Advisor.

One story involves Camp Number 6. Story has it that one lonely night, a camper hung himself (for reasons unknown) from the wooden frame of his tent. Sometimes late at night you can see his corpse swinging from the tent frame. As I was researching this one particular story, I came across an account of someone saying that the area is used as day parking now and the best time to see the ghost is between the hours of 11:00 pm and 3:00 am. How credible this particular story is I'm not certain, but wanted to share it none the less.

Rumor has it that a couple that drowned here at Stoneman Bridge haunt it.

Photo courtesy of Jacqueline Poggi from Flickr.

Another tale involves Stoneman Bridge that crosses the Merced River. Reportedly back in 2005 a young couple drowned and have been spotted sporadically ever since. I searched a bit for any records of someone drowning, yet I was unable to find anything. Still people report seeing this couple on or near the bridge, so I'm curious as to what really happened.

Another rather obscure story involves a location called California Pines. Not much is said about the exact location and the closest I could find to anything was a Yosemite Pines RV resort. Still I wanted to share the story in the hopes of maybe someone that reads this might know about it and be able to add to the story. All that is said about this spot is that people have seen apparitions here of Native Americans from the 1800's and some have even interacted with them.

Do ghosts from WW2 haunt the Ahwahnee hotel?

Photo courtesy of Bryce Edwards from Flickr.

And finally we have the Ahwahnee Hotel. Built in the 1920's, this hotel has seen numerous guests and was used by the Navy in 1943 as a convalescent hospital for veterans. Spirits have been seen in various locations throughout the hotel, but most sightings seem to happen on the mezzanine level and third floor. No one is really sure who is haunting the place, but some speculate that it may be some of the guests from when it was a convalescent hospital.

Haunted bar in Bozeman, MT is remodeled using timber from Fresno

This rumored haunted hotel was remodeled using materials

from Fresno.

Rumor has it that over the years, nine people have died in the Bozeman Hotel and its annex. “I don’t know how much truth there is to that, but we definitely hear some weird noises around here,” said Chad Yurashak, owner of Bar 9, a new bar and restaurant scheduled to open this spring. The name, Bar 9, pays tribute to the rumor, to the fact that this is Yurashak’s ninth business, and to the nature of the Western-style branding logo. The business will be housed in two storefronts of the old hotel at Main Street and Rouse Avenue. The space is already being remodeled and filled with copper, steel and old wood. The fir timbers that form the bar were reclaimed from a World War II bunkhouse in Fresno, Calif.

“I’m calling it a ‘Western-industrial’ look,” Yurashak said. “It has a rustic feel, but still caters to the modern day.” The space will be split between the restaurant and bar, which will also include a stage for live music. But it is still a work in progress. “We’ve had a few concepts, but none have come to fruition,” Yurashak said. Outside Bar 9, Yurashak is setting up a patio directly behind the building, under the large trees, with Bozeman Creek babbling beside it. “I feel it’s unparalleled in Bozeman,” Yurashak said. “It’s going to be a very interesting and unique place.” Once open, Yurashak said he hopes Bar 9 will help enhance a downtown demoralized by the March 5, 2009, explosion. “Anything being down here will help increase foot traffic and boost downtown,” he said.

Original story can be found here. And thanks to Kiel over at Archop for sending me the story.

The ghosts of Springville Inn

Located east of Porterville in Tulare County, nestled in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, is the small town of Springville. Since 1911 the Springville Inn has been at the heart of the town. The town itself has been around since 1849 when pioneers settled the area. The Inn itself was built with the coming of the railroad to Springville. At that time it was known as the Wilkinson Hotel. Unfortunately during construction, the owners went broke and were forced to sell the property. An addition was done to the building in 1972, which holds all the rooms of the hotel. The original building is now a restaurant on the bottom floor and a bar/ dance hall on the second.

The Springville Inn has four ghosts that wander only the original building built in 1911. They have not been seen in the hotel nor in an addition to the restaurant that was done in 1979. A local historian states that there was no coroner or morgue in Springville, so bodies were placed upstairs on ice before being transported to Porterville.

No one truly knows the identities of the ghosts as records from the area are incomplete. But the workers at the Inn have given them nicknames. There is the "Young Man" who appears to be a handsome logger in his twenties. There is the "Little Girl" who is around eight years of age and wearing an old fashioned clothes. The "Woman", very beautiful with long blond hair and wearing a dress. And finally the "Old Man".

The "Young Man" is seen mostly around the bar and what was the location of the original staircase. He is known to be a flirt, and will brush up against women to make his presence known. Not much is known about him, other that he was a logger and was said to have been shot outside the Inn. He was carried into the hotel where he bled to death. He had also been seen walking hand in hand with the "Little Girl" but not recently.

As for the "Little Girl", she was last seen by an employee who was washing dishes. The employee saw the girl watching her from a mirror. She turned around and no one was there. Frightened, she ask the owners to remove the mirror and the "Little Girl" hasn't been seen since.

The "Woman" is usually seen floating on the balcony surrounding the penthouse or seen wandering the second floor hallways in the main building. Not much is known about her.

Finally, the "Old Man" mostly keeps himself to the kitchen, but has had the most contact with past and current employees. He has been seen staring up or down into the dumbwaiter joining the lower and upper kitchens. The staff feel that he is watching over them and is not shy as he frequently makes himself seen.

I had a chance to investigate the Springville Inn several years ago with a group and had a great time there. I actually had a few experiences of my own when I was there. While having dinner in the restaurant, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a blond woman walking outside. She walked past one window, but did not appear in the second one after the three feet of wall separating the two. Not really sure what happened, but the walkway that she was on is several feet above the street and the windows where I saw her were nowhere near the stairs to get to the street. This could have been the "Woman", but I honestly didn't get a good look at her.

The other incident happened after dinner while I was waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. I was watching TV in one of the rooms, when suddenly a cabinet door swung open. I got up to investigate the door, thinking maybe the hinge was broken. I open and closed it several times but the hinge was in working order. I thought maybe someone was trying to say hi to me, but remembered that the ghosts haunted the original building only. I mentioned this later to one of the employees and they said that people have had strange experiences in the rooms. One even complained of seeing sparkling lights on the ceiling. They thought it was coming from cars outside, but upon checking there were none there. Even after closing the curtains the strange lights still were seen. The person then left the next morning after canceling the rest of their stay there.

The Springville Inn is a great place to visit and the staff was more than accommodating and if not busy will gladly tell you any stories they might know. If you are looking for a weekend getaway and want something different I'd definitely recommend taking the two hour drive to Springville and staying at the Inn. Not only is it a wonderful little town, but it's nestled in the Sierra Nevadas and minutes from the Giant Sequoia National Monument. For more info on the Inn as well as a bit of history of the surrounding area, here's the Inn's website.

Sierra Sky Ranch

I was privelaged to be able to accompany a group of students last Saturday, Oct. 4, up to the Sierra Sky Ranch. A friend of mine, Jennifer who took the class two years ago, went with me and we arrived there around 6:30 or so. Most of the students were already there and were wandering the ground taking pictures and getting a feel for the place. I ran into the instructor, Jackie Meador, in the main room and asked her if there was any recent activity. She told me that the security cameras had been picking up balls of light ascending and descending the stairs in the main guest area. They haven't put it on tape yet, but I'm hoping to get a copy soon. Also there was a new night desk person who had a recent encounter. One night he was sighting at the desk doing some paper work when he felt a presence behind him. He called out for it to either show itself, or to "get the hell out of there". As soon as he said that the paper shredder turned on and the lights began to flicker on and off. Frightened he left his post.

After hearing the latest news, I went to the main living area where a group of students were gathered listening to one of the night workers tell some of the things that happen to her.

Phylis the head night person recounts some of her stories. The
decorations are Halloween only, not year round.

The things she has witnessed were voices, movement out of the corner of her eye, nothing extraordinary. But these occurrences are pretty constant.

Unfortunately dinner was pushed back a few hours due to a sudden dinner rush and the staff being down a person. This did allow people to investigate the grounds some more, though nothing worth noting happened. Finally at 11:00 we were ready to meet and go over things for the night.

Meador going over instructions before she sets the groups lose.

The group I was with started off on the outside. We started in the front first and I let the group investigate on their own, not wanting to taint their findings with what I had found in the past. After about ten minutes I got a call that someone's camera batteries were now dead. I noticed the person was in front of the pear tree. This tree has had a lot of weird occurences in the past trips up there. I was with one group and all four of their cameras failed at once at this tree. Three batteries were drained and one just shut off and had to be restarted. Reason I mention this, is that there is a theory that ghosts will sometimes drain batteries for energy to make their presence known. I myself didn't get anything in front of the tree that night, but hopefully someone else did. Also, for what it's worth, there was a sensitive with us and she said she was feeling some sort of energy around the tree.

The pear tree.

After we left the pear tree I took the group around the rest of the front of the grounds. When I was hear last fall there was a guest staying at the Ranch the same time we had the group up. She was interested in the subject and was allowed to tag along. She told me she was sensitive, but as always I'm a bit skeptic. We were in the front by a huge tree with a swing hanging from a branch. She said she was feeling something and to start taking pictures. Few people got some mist in their photos. And no it wasn't breath, we tried to recreate it and couldn't. So the group I was with, I told them what happened and we started taking photos. I myself didn't get anything, but wanted to post a picture of the swing. I can imagine the ghost of a child swinging on this late at night.

The swing.

After the swing, we were done in the front area and proceeded to the back part of the Ranch. The only real area of interest in the back is a tree that has been labeled "Elmer's Tree". The story has been pretty much the same over the years. When the Ranch was still an actual cattle ranch, it began to sell of it's land to pay for debts. Finally the ranch itself was sold and the story goes that a ranch hand by the name of Elmer was distraut over this and was out back by said tree one day chopping wood. Mid swing he slipped and the ax hit his leg, severing the artery. His cries for help were never heard and he died on that spot. In death though, Elmer wanders the ranch, making sure the place is still being kept and everything is in order. Some people have felt a cranky pressence, but nothing bad or ill tempered. Just like someone is wondering who they are. We took photos and did a bit of EVP but I didn't get anything.

Elmer's tree.

Before we headed back inside I took the group back around to the front where the dining room was at. One time a patron said they saw a person peek their head up from underneath the window, then moved back down to hide again. This happened several times, and each time it happened someone would go out to look but never find anything.

Outside the dining room.

Finally we were able to back inside and the group decided to head to Sarah's Room first. The story behind this room is that during the early part of the 20th century when the Ranch was a TB hospital (this was after it had been sold off as a ranch) and there was a nurse by the name of Sarah. In her charge were two children who eventually succumbed to their illness. Soon after Sarah herself passed away. Several people over the years (including my sister), who knew nothing of Sarah, would see a woman peeking out of the window. Was she looking for the children? Or is she watching over who is staying at the Ranch now? It's hard to say really.

Sarah's room, newly renovated.

Most of the spirits at the Sierra Sky Ranch don't stay in one space, and the children are no exception. Several guests have complained over the years of hearing children running up and down the hall in the middle of the night. The guests would complain the next day to the front desk to find out that there were no children staying there that night.

The hallway to most of the rooms at the Ranch.

We then decided to check out the Honeymoon Suite, which is directly under the library. The first time I was at the Ranch, there were two psychics with us and the both picked up a man in the bedroom portion of the suite. He was hiding in the corner and seemed very anxious. Not much else was discovered about him, but over the few times I've been back up there people have felt anxious in the room. When I was there with the group, the sensitive in the group didn't feel anything in the bedroom portion but did feel something in the living area. Perhaps the spirit had decided to move.

The corner where the spirit is supposed to be hiding.

After we were done with the Honeymoon Suite it was about 1:00 in the morning. It was at that time that we were asked to go back up to the front lobby area. Turns out that the kitchen, which is the main hot spot for activity at the Ranch, was still being cleaned up from the long dinner rush. They wouldn't be done until after 1:30. As neither myself nor Jen were staying the night decided to end our part of the investigation at this time. I was a bit dissapointed as I was looking forward to taking the group into the kitchen and seeing what they got.

The first time I was at the Ranch, the group I was with was resting in the dining room when we heard this banging coming from the kitchen. We rushed into the kitchen, where all the equipment had been turned off for the night, to find the deep fryer had somehow been turned on. Apparently this had happened before and the owners had the wiring checked to make sure it wasn't faulty. Even now the equipment sometimes turns itself on at night when no one is around.

The kitchen is an odd area. The first time I went in there, the air was heavy like there was a presence in there. I was soon told there were two spirits in there and it is believed they are two cooks and they do not like each other. One stays in the main kitchen area and is very territorial. The other stays mostly in the pantry area and doesn't like it when anyone goes back there. I went back there once ahead of my group and felt a pressure on my chest as well as losing my balance. It was an odd sensation, but I stayed steady. Others have felt the same there.

The Sierra Sky Ranch is definitely haunted. I didn't get much evidence, though I did get this possible mist photograph which I am posting. The only problem is that it was extremely cold that night and breath was an issue. But I make a conscious effort to hold my breath during shooting to be sure. I even did a photo where I purposely breathed to check and it was different. This shot was taken at the infamous pear tree. Honestly I think it's just breath but wanted to post anyways.

A ghost or just me breathing?

I hope to go back again, I know the next trip is in March. But honestly I would love to investigate with a group of six or so. I always seem to get better results in a small group. The nice thing about this place is they are very open to their paranormal history, and if the staff aren't busy they are more than happy to answer any questions. Plus it's a nice place to have dinner and spend the weekend.