Are the grounds of the old Kerman High School haunted?

The grounds of the old Kerman High School. You can see rubble

in the background of what used to be the main building.

Image courtesy of Google Maps.

The site of the old Kerman High School, located on Clinton and Madera Ave, has been rumored to have been haunted for years. Strange lights have been seen floating between rooms even though the property has been fenced off for several decades.

The original Kerman High School was built in 1912 and served the Kerman area until a larger high school was needed and the current campus was built in 1967.

The property fell into disuse and was fenced off to keep trespassers out. Unfortunately this wasn't enough as on December 30, 1998 an arsonist set fire to the main building and it burned to the ground.

No one knows what these strange lights are, if there are spirit lights or something else. One has to wonder what would cause someone or something to haunt a school. Perhaps whatever it is feeds off the emotions from the students that walked the halls over the years. And it's possible that it still roams the debris of what used to be the old Kerman High School.

Interesting side note here. In 1995 several friends, having heard of the stories and wanting to check them out , went to the old school at night. As soon as they parked their car and got out several sheriff's cars pulled out and the officers drew guns on them thinking they were going to trespass. One has to wonder how many other people went to the school looking for ghosts.

Let me also preface this. Please don't try to go here at night and search for ghosts. There's a fence around the property for a reason. Don't be that ghost hunting group who likes to hop fences late at night just to get a thrill. If you really want to investigate this location, find out who owns it and try to get permission. Don't ruin it for those out there who are actually serious about this.

Strange things going on at Lost Lake

Photo courtesy of Richard Johnstone from Flickr

I've recieved several stories regarding some rather interesting things happening at Lost Lake. The Fresno County recreation area, located on Friant Road just north of Fresno on the way to Millerton Lake, has been the site of some rather odd sightings recently.

One witness and their sister in-law were fishing late one evening alone at one of the day beach areas. The witness reported that as they were shining their flashlight on an island across the water, they saw a dark figure moving in the brush. At first they figured it was a coyote or something, but then realized it was too big to be an animal. Just as they were about to turn off their flashlight, the light hit the figure. It appeared to be a young Asian boy, perhaps four feet tall, pale, and only wearing swim trunks. Right as the flashlight was turned off, the person heard a large splash like something heavy was thrown into the water. The witness claims it couldn't have been a fish as whatever it was made a loud splash. They then turned the flashlight back on and searched the area for the little boy, but found nothing. Spooked by this incident, both parties left in a hurry and have never gone back.

The second incident comes from the same two people mentioned before, but this time at a different location in the park. Once again they were fishing late one night, this time off of the broken bridge. Both were talking as their poles were in the water when they looked down towards the water and noticed a large figure in the water swimming to shore. When it reached land, it beached itself and stayed motionless for several minutes. What happened next terrified the two witnesses. Whatever it was, it then stood up on two legs and began to walk around as if it was searching for something. They estimated it was about five feet tall, but couldn't really make out any features as it was so dark. The creature then crouched down on all fours, layed on it's belly and then slithered back into the water and disappeared. Both witnesses were terrified and needless to say, got the hell out of there.

So here we have two seperate types of incidents at the same (generally) location and by the same witnesses. Two possibilities here. One is that whoever told the story is fabricating it, but given the ghost sighting and the stories I've heard about Lost Lake I'm not sure. There's been stories of a young hmong boy hanging himself from one of the trees there as well as several other suicides. Could the ghost they saw have been the same little boy that hung himself?

But what about the strange creature that they saw near the broken bridge? Rumors of a "vortex" of sorts and the land used to be an Indian burial ground have been told for years, but they don't really explain this creature. Granted it was dark that night and maybe they mistook some mundane animal for the thing they saw. But what creature swims onto land, walks around on two feet only then to lower itself back onto all four before sliding back into the water and dissapearing? Plus the fact that whatever they saw was about five feet tall when it stood up. I think Lost Lake needs to be added to the list of places that I need to investigate, so I can hopefully figure out what's going on.

Architect sees ghost and is now a believer

I love stories like this. A professional who has no belief in the paranormal has an encounter with a ghost and suddenly his view on things change. Apparently the architect that is working on the remodel of a thetear in Bristol, England has seen the original manager, Sarah Macready, who had worked there over two hundrend years ago and has haunted the place ever since her death.

The encounter was during lunch and he saw a woman with black hair wearing a white dress as he climbed the back stairs. As soon as he said something she disappeared. The architect, Andrzej Blonski, had never believed in ghosts before this experience, but does now. He also believes that the she is pleased with the work since she smiled at him when he first saw her.

But this isn't the only occurnece that happened to Blonski. He's also caught a whiff of a woman's perfume that smelled like lavender. Others have smelt this and some of those who have seen Macready associate the scent with her.

Macready isn't the only spirit who haunts the theater. There is also the ghost of a boy who died in the paint shop in an accident in the 1950's and an 18th Century actress, Sarah Siddons, has also been seen in the theater.

Full source: BBC Bristol

By Robin Markwell

The ghost of Sarah Macready appeared to Andrzej Blonski as he climbed the back stairs at lunchtime.

He says she was wearing a long, white crinoline dress, had black hair and a pretty face. When he tried to speak to her she vanished.

Mr Blonski told the BBC that he has never believed in ghosts and - prior to their meeting - was not aware of her legacy at the Bristol Old Vic.

"The thing that really got me was that she smiled - she was a friend and then she vanished," he said.

"But then I was really very, very happy - at the moment I'm quite emotional about it because I think that if there is a ghost, it's someone who cares about this building."

The architect believes that her smile is a sign that she approves of the current redevelopment work taking place in the theatre.

Andrzej Blonski says he has sensed ghostly presences on the stairs before, and caught a whiff of lavender perfume.

This distinctive scent has also accompanied some of her previous appearances since her death.

A security guard in the 1980s smelled lavender in the air while on patrol along the passageways below the auditorium. The Alsatian dog by his side froze and started barking.

The guard also says he heard a woman's voice tell him to "get out" and he felt her breath on his face.

Andrew Stocker, who gives tours of the Bristol Old Vic, said Sarah Macready's hard work was part of the key to the theatre's early success.

"She was an actress originally - she had an affair with William Charles Macready. He married her and he basically gave her the keys to the theatre and she worked here for over 10 years.

"She was a lady that ran this building seven days a week and she was an incredible lady."

The project manager from the team redesigning the Bristol Old Vic had a more shocking experience. Mr Blonski says that he was physically pushed. He ran away and now will not use the "haunted" staircase.

Sarah Macready is not the only spirit said to haunt this old playhouse. The ghost of a boy who died in an accident in the paint shop in the 1950s has been spotted as well as the 18th Century West End actress Sarah Siddons.

Mr Blonski says he feels the building is alive with its past: "It's got a very strong spirit - the spirit of the people who have passed through it and I connect to that. Somehow this place has got to me."

Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson had ghostly encounter.

Oscar winning director Peter Jackson claims
he saw a ghost years ago in an apartment in
Wellington, New Zealand.

Wellington film-maker Peter Jackson says he saw a real ghost once.

In London for the premiere of The Lovely Bones - a film he has directed from Alice Sebold's story in which a murdered teenage girl gives her viewpoint from heaven - Jackson said he did not know what a real soul was like.

But he told Britain's Channel 4 TV that while he could not swear the spirit in the movie was 100 percent accurate, he had seen a real ghost.

"It was genuine," said Jackson, who made a 1996 ghost movie, The Frighteners - co-written with his wife Fran Walsh - starring Michael J Fox.

His sighting was in an apartment he and his wife had in Wellington's Courtney Place opposite the St James Theatre, when they first met 20 years ago.

"I woke up one morning and there was a figure in the room, she was very scary, she had a screaming face, very accusatory, she was a lady about 50 years old," Jackson said.

"It was terrifying actually, a very scary image and she was at the end of the bed and she glided across the room and disappeared into the wall.

"I sat in bed and thought, have I really seen that?" said Jackson.

"Then Fran came in. I told her about it and the first thing she said was: 'was it the woman with the screaming face?"' he said.

"Fran had seen the same woman in the same room about two years before."

Jackson said that when the St James Theatre was being restored a few years ago, people talked about the legend of the woman who committed suicide after being booed off the stage after a bad show in vaudeville days.

"They say she manifests herself in the theatre with a screaming face. Sometimes she's seen - the same ghost. She needs to learn to smile a little."

Original story can be found here.