Spooky Point Sur Lighthouse

This lighthouse, first built in 1889, was fully automated by the Coast Guard in 1972.

Point Sur Lighthouse

It sits high atop a large volcanic rock on a remote location, just north of Big Sur, California.

Today, this lighthouse is a California State Park and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Despite its strong intense beam many ships wrecked, as they tried to navigate along this rugged section of the California coastline.

But this is not the reason midnight haunted tours are offered in October at the lighthouse.

Instead, it is the spirits of family members of the lightkeepers who linger on this beautiful spot.

Many believe these spirits stay because the keeper’s house affords spectacular views of the wild coastline and the Pacific Ocean on three sides.

This house has ocean-view windows in every room, including even the closets and bathrooms.

Several volunteers who help out at the fully restored lighthouse have encountered these ghosts.

Julie Nunes, states the lighthouse has a peaceful, “Shangri-La” feel. She states the ghosts she has encountered are not malevolent in nature.

Kitchen a Point Sur.

Before entering the light keeper's house Nunes, always knocks and greets one ghost, named Ruth, that resides in the house.

Ruth was one light keeper’s wife. She likes to hang out in the house’s kitchen. Smells of cooking are reported, and it seems Ruth likes her privacy for she often swings the kitchen door shut.

Nunes has recorded another female spirit’s voice stating-- “Now she wants you to go home.” And “Pokey, go to bed.”

It is believed this is the voice of Catherine Ingersoll, a Danish immigrant who married one of the lightkeepers.

She is telling her daughter, Pokey, to go to bed. On this recording, the listener can hear the faint sound of the little girl’s voice responding.

Another volunteer, Sheila Fraser was alone in the keeper’s house cleaning. As she put a vacuum away, she heard something downstairs.

Stair landing where
Fraser saw the ghost.

She looked down from the stair landing and saw a woman who looked real.

“She wore her hair up, her sleeves were puffy, and she wore a long skirt. As Fraser watched, she just disappeared.

Fraser has also seen a male ghost watching her from the keeper house's living room window.

In the following video, Nune places an Ovilus down on the kitchen table next to a pair of skeleton arms. She asks, “Pokey, are you here?”

Watch closely, for the skeleton hand on the left—near the coffee mug—moves. I didn’t see it the first time I watched—but it makes a slight movement.

Besides the October tours, year-round tours are offered at Point Sur Lighthouse.

Haunted Beringer Winery

Fog over Beringer vineyards.

In Napa Valley, a running joke is if a winery is known to be haunted--it then has “more than one kind of spirit to offer.”

There is so much paranormal activity at the Beringer vineyard located at the northern edge of St. Helena that the staff keeps a running log of the encounters.

Beringer vines.

Beringer has a history of firsts. It was one of the first wineries in Napa, founded in 1876. It was the first to offer tours to the public in 1934—which began Napa Valley’s lucrative tourist trade. And it was the first winery to win recognition for both its white and red wines in the 1980s and 90s.

It was also one of the first wineries to use cellars and caves to store and age its wines.

It is California’s oldest continually operating winery. The wine was made even during Prohibition—Beringer sold its bottles to the church for religious purposes.

Beringer brothers.

Two brothers, Jacob and Frederick Beringer, emigrated from Germany. They purchased 215 acres and established a genuinely stunning vineyard that easily competes with the beauty of the French Bordeaux countryside.

Jacob made the wines and managed the winery, and Frederick acted as the financier and promoted the wine.

The late Kathleen Kernberger, a local Napa historian shares the vineyard’s first ghost story—told to her by her aunt.

Jacob brought in Chinese laborers in 1877, to hand-dig tunnels in the side of Spring Mountain—so the wine could be stored in a cool place.

Beringer Winery cave

Rumors abounded for years that some of these workers were killed when cave-ins buried them. Numerous reports were given that people heard the “wails and moans” of these unfortunate workers on windy nights.

This haunting, however, was debunked years later when the winery had liquid cement sprayed on the tunnel walls. This effectively filled the cracks—so no more moans were heard.

There are also not any records that indicate laborers died in this tunnel.

But to this day, employees at the vineyard claim they hear phantom whispers that are believed to be the voices of the Chinese laborers in this cave as well as feeling freezing, isolated cold spots.

Photographs taken have captured strange lights—which is curious for this tunnel is normally kept in soft light.

Fog over Rhine House.

The most active spot at the winery is the Rhine House that Frederick Beringer built.

The home is the vineyard’s showplace. It is a seventeen bedroom Victorian mansion.

Incidents include, shoved furniture, flying objects, phantom footsteps heard descending the stairs, missing items that turn up later in another part of the home, unexplained noises, and doors opening and shutting on their own.

And a full-bodied apparition is seen—which is believed to be Frederick who died in 1901.

One evening as two employees cleaned the first floor, they heard a loud crash coming from upstairs. They each took a separate staircase, but no one passed them.

Tasting Room

They entered the Founder’s Tasting Room—which was Frederick’s bedroom. They found a large silver tray had been flung across the room. There was also broken stemware covering the floor.

It seems Frederick does not like his private quarters being used as a public space.

It is not unusual for employees to be so frightened they just quit. Many have seen Frederick’s spirit in the hallway upstairs—he is also spotted walking through walls.

Rhine House

The Rhine House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Jacob’s great, great grandson, Mark Beringer is the wineries Chief Winemaker today.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Haunted Schoolhouse

A scene from Alfred Hitchcock's', "The Birds."

In an iconic scene in the Alfred Hitchcock’s 1962 film, The Birds terrorized school children run away from their schoolhouse as crows chase and attack them.

The ominous building used in this scene, located in Bodega, California, was actually used as a schoolhouse for 86 years.

The Birds cast and crew, all felt there was something strange about this old building—several even refused to re-enter the old Potter Schoolhouse where they were filming in one of the classrooms. They felt something unseen had watched them.

As it turns out, their gut feelings were right. For this building is haunted by a variety of ghosts.

Bodega was a thriving mill town in 1873 when this school was constructed out of virgin redwood and named after Samuel Potter who donated the land. The school had two classrooms downstairs and a big community hall upstairs.

But as the years passed, the lumber mills closed down, and by 1959, the school closed.

Hitchcock rented the property in 1961, from a private owner who was about to have the abandoned school dismantled so he could sell its’ lumber for profit.

Potter schoolhouse today.

In 1966, Tom and Mary Taylor, both teachers bought the 6000-square–foot building, for $10,500. They and their children spent the next two years restoring the old school.

Today, the classrooms are a guest suite and a second family room. Upstairs is another living room, dining room, and bedrooms.

Leah Taylor, their daughter, states that as soon as they began work, the family experienced weird and frightening activity.

Leah Taylor in one classroom. She had crows
stenciled along the wall. Notice the film posters.

The first morning they spent in the house, they were all in sleeping bags on the second floor, when the whole family heard someone scream, ”it’s Sunday Morning.”

Over the months and years, they continued to hear strange sounds.

Sometimes it was a large group of people all talking at once. Other times, it is a crowd of people who sounded as if they were enjoying a rowdy party.

Renovated room.

The family also heard the sounds of children’s footsteps and laughter.

The Taylor's nicknamed one of the younger ghosts “Tricky Tom” for this spirit would stick its wet finger in their ears.

Leah Taylor and her husband, Rick Williams still live in the home. They both have seen apparitions.

She mentions that most of the spirits remind of her of “heat shimmering off the hot pavement in the summer.” They move quickly across the rooms, diminishing in size.

The ghost of a woman, dressed in Victorian clothing, has been photographed in the home.

Clavin Keithly stands in the
center with students, outside
schoolhouse.

A tourist taking pictures in front of the house captured the image of a man standing at one of the second story windows. The man in this picture looks just like Calvin Keithly, who was a teacher at the school in the early 1900s.

Taylor recounts one sighting that startled her. She spotted the apparition of a small girl levitating in the doorway that leads to the kitchen. This child offered her a resounding, “Hi.”

Taylor does open her home for special events, but the tourists that approach the house regularly often overwhelm her and her husband. Her son does not want to live in the home because of this.

They have had to build a fence around the property and they rarely go out in their front yard--to avoid tourist's questions.

The Office of Scientific Investigations and Research declared the Potter Schoolhouse an official haunted place in 1997.

Southern California’s Convict Lake

Sportsmen state the fish do not bite when the ghosts are near. . .

A mile and a half up in the High Sierra Mountains in California sits a Lake named after escaped convicts.

Nevada State Penitentiary at Carson City

Convict Lake was named after a group of six convicts that escaped from the Nevada State Penitentiary in September of 1871. 

Twenty-nine men convicted of stagecoach and train robberies escaped this prison in the Nevada desert and headed west. They crossed the border into California.

This group of convicts split up and headed into the High Sierras, which was not a wise decision, for the first snowfalls in late September were already hitting these mountains.

Convict Lake

Six men from this group headed south toward the lake that is now named after them. They found themselves without shelter or supplies.

Along the trail, they encountered a local mailman, William Poor. Poor immediately recognized them from the wanted posters in his office. The convicts seeing the fear in his eyes killed him in cold blood.

When word about this murder reached the locals, they became enraged and formed a posse. 

On September 24^th they found the convicts’ hideout near the lake. A bloody gun battle ensued. Deputy Sheriff Robert Morrison was killed. 

When the fight was over three men were taken into custody, the other three escaped further into the mountains and died of exposure. 

Two of the men captured were hanged. The third man who testified against the other two convicts was returned to prison. He was stabbed and killed by fellow prisoners for being a snitch.

Ever since three ghosts have been seen near this lake. Two wear nooses around their necks, the third has a knife sticking out of his back. It is believed he was the one who was the informer.

All three ghosts are seen covered in snow with icicles hanging from their eyebrows. Witnesses state these men have “lifeless” eyes.

These three ghosts are seen near Convict Lake year-round, but they are seen more often in the fall months. 

The locals and fishermen state that the trout in this lake do not bite when these ghosts are seen.

Witnesses state they present a gruesome sight.

Haunted B-29 Bomber

Located in the San Joaquin Valley in northern California is the Castle Air Museum. This museum is nearby the closed Castle Air Force Base.

The Castle Air Museum displays over 50 historic aircraft from the World War ll, Korean and Vietnam War eras.

Raz'n Hell

One restored aircraft at this museum has a reputation for being haunted by a ghost named Arthur. This ghost is called Arthur because of a set of dog tags found in the plane when it was first brought to the museum.

This aircraft is a B-29 Superfortress—the kind used to drop the Atomic bombs on Japan. It is called the Ran’z Hell.

Crew standing in front of
intact Raz'n Hell
during Korean War.

No one knows for sure who Arthur is because when this Boeing B-29 was restored it had to be pieced together from 3 seperate aircraft of the same model. All had served in the Pacific theater during World War ll.

One common report from witnesses is this aircraft’s landing lights are seen on at night. The problem with is all the Raz’n Hell’s wiring has been removed.

Other witnesses have reported seeing its propellers rotating even though they are locked in place.

Several visitors and workers have seen a shadowy figure moving around the cockpit area. Others have reported seeing a dark figure sitting in the cockpit.

During the time the plane was being restored, one employee while working in the cockpit stated he asked a friend to hand him a wrench. Without looking up he felt this wrench placed in his hand.

Seconds later, he looked out one window and saw his friend outside the plane. He looked around but no one was in the B-29 with him.

Other activity involving tools includes ones that are moved without explanation and others that have disappeared.

One former Castle Museum worker states that he often worked on a plane directly across from this Superfortess. On more than one occasion he noticed the co-pilot window open only to see it closed minutes later. This was when no one was working on the Raz’n Hell.

A tradition among the workers at this museum is to request permission from Arthur before they enter this B-29 bomber.

Several paranormal groups have investigated the Raz’n Hell. They have walked away with some interesting evidence.

One team recorded what they feel is the sound of Morse code. This has led many to believe that Arthur must have been a radio operator.

Other teams have heard and recorded distinct knockings on the plane’s fuselage when no one was near this area.

Here is a report done by a local news show about this haunting.