Phantoms of The Donner Party

A brutal storm hit the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 1846. Twenty-two feet of snow accumulated.

In November of this same year, a group of 87 pioneers—the Donner Party-- heading from Springfield, Illinois to the gold fields of California took an ill-advised shortcut and found themselves stranded in this ferocious mountain snowstorm.

Traveling across the Great Plains.

As hypothermia set in and their food supplies ran out, starving and delirious this group resorted to the greatest human taboo—cannibalism.

We know this because of their journals and from the survivors who later gave interviews.

One female survivor when questioned about how this experience affected her stated—

“What would you do if you were a mother watching your children starve and freeze to death? You’ve already eaten the horses and oxen, and boiled their hides into a horrible gelatinous concoction; you’ve eaten field mice and finally cut the throats of your beloved family dogs and eaten them, paws and all. But you know that there’s protein that will keep you alive in those snow banks.”

She refers to the people who had already died . . .

A train in more recent years
stranded in the snow at Donner Pass.

The snow was so deep the first rescue party was not able to reach the Donner Party until February, the rescues continued through March and April. Less than half of the party survived the winter.

That summer, Union Army Gen. Stephen Kearny had the grim task of cleaning up the Donner Party’s debris.

Donner Pass photo from 1870.

He and his men gathered up all the remnants they could find—including human remains—they placed them in one of the hastily built shacks and set the whole thing ablaze.

The local Truckee residents and many others believe the site where the Donner Party was stranded is haunted.

Memorial Statue--top of
 the pedestal is exactly 22 feet
to show the depth of snow
in 1846.

This area today is the Donner Memorial State Park. Nikko Combs, a park interpreter states that the area just might be haunted. She points to the fact the park brought in a cadaver dog, that indicated one specific area holds human remains.

People believe that one ghost that haunts the park is Tamsen Donner. She was one heroine of this tragic story.

Tamsen Donner

At the time the Donner Party was stranded, Tamsen’s husband, George—the leader of the group, injured his hand. She refused to leave her husbands’ side, which resulted in her own death.

When the first rescue party arrived, she sent her children with them but remained with George, who was unable to move for his hand and arm was now gangrenous. This ultimately claimed his life.

Today people visit the park to hike, camp and, cross-country ski. And then there are what Combs calls the “spooky history buffs.”

One of these visitors, Elizabeth, found herself getting a warm feeling as she drove toward Donner Pass. She felt she was about to see an old friend, this confused her for she had no plans to do this.

As she neared the park, tears sprang to her eyes unbidden. As she parked, she smelled a campfire burning. She felt someone was watching her, but she was the only one around.

She walked to a cabin the Donner Party used, she heard voices, but no one was there and no fire was burning at this site.

Another witness was not looking for a paranormal experience.

He was out skiing alone at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort, close to where the Donner Party camped when he became disoriented and realized he was lost.

A woman approached him, dressed strangely. She led him to a camp where several other people were. He then found the trail he needed to be upon.

He returned to this camp to thank the woman, but there was no trace of her or the campsite. Nothing was there to indicate that it had been full of people just minutes before.

Bannack: A Ghost Town with Ghosts

Bannack

Bannack, Montana was established in 1862 when gold was found along Grasshopper Creek.

Like other gold rushes, miners flooded into this settlement in search of their fortunes. It was not long before the hills surrounding the community were filled with as many as 10,000 miners.

With this large population came violence.

In 1883, a fast-talking, handsome, well-dressed newcomer, by the name of Henry Plummer, impressed several leading community members. It wasn’t long before he was elected sheriff.

Henry Plummer

But what the unsuspecting citizens of Bannack did not know is Plummer was actually the head of a secret band of road agents called the “innocents.”

They began to terrorize travelers between Bannack and Virginia City, robbing and killing more than 100 men within a few short months.

In December of 1883 the miners formed the Montana Vigilantes and during the next 42 days they hanged 24 gang members, including Henry Plummer.

Later, the authenticity of this story was questioned by historians—some believed it was just a cover the vigilantes used to mask their own nefarious activities in the area.

Today the ghost town of Bannack is a state park. Many people believe that the ghost of Henry Plummer—wrongly hanged—haunts the area. His motivation is said to be the need to clear his name.

Hotel Meade

Another ghost that resides in Bannack is seen on the second floor of the Hotel Meade.

This structure built in 1875 was originally used as a courthouse. In 1881 when Bannack lost its county seat status to nearby Dillon the building was abandoned until 1890.

It then was remodeled and reopened as a plush hotel. It remained a hotel for many years—in its final reincarnation it was used as a hospital.

Today visitors experience cold spots and see the apparition of a teen-age girl on its second floor. Others report hearing the sounds of children crying. One investigator caught these sounds during an EVP session.

The first sighting of this ghostly girl happened over 100 years ago. It is said she is Dorothy Dunn a 16-year old resident of Bannack who drowned while swimming in a dredge pond along Grasshopper Creek.

Shortly after her death, Dorothy’s ghost first appeared to her best friend who was with her at the time of her death.

Since this initial encounter numerous witnesses have reported seeing a teen-age girl wearing a long blue dress on the second floor of the old Hotel Meade.

Children most often see her. One 7-year old saw Dorothy and she states this ghost tried to talk to her. She saw Dorothy’s mouth moving but heard no sound.

Others have seen Dorothy’s ghost standing at an upstairs window as they stood in the street below.

Yet other witnesses have seen ghostly women dressed in their best finery in various places around the old town.

When the mines played out in Bannack it quickly was abandoned. By the 1940s it was a ghost town.

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks stepped in to save the town from the elements and vandalism by making it a state park in August of 1954.

Today, over 60 structures remain and the staff gives tours—as well as allowing individuals to explore this historic site on their own.

The following photograph was taken at Bannack’s General Store. Two photos were taken one right after the other. In the second photo this mist appears—it is believed to be paranormal in nature.

Oregon’s Heceta Head Lighthouse

This is a well-known Oregon Coast ghost story.

What was once known as Devil’s Elbow State Park, is now called Heceta Head Lighthouse Scenic Viewpoint State Park.

This lighthouse is located just north of Florence, Oregon. It sits 205 feet above sea level, on the west side of 1,000-foot-high Heceta Head. It is situated in a cove at the mouth of Cape Creek.

This lighthouse is one of the most photographed spots in Oregon, and is considered one of the most beautiful in the world.

Heceta was first illuminated in 1894 and has a 56-foot tower. It was named after a Spanish sailor Don Bruno Heceta, who discovered the area in 1755.

Heceta Head Lighthouse was automated in 1963, and is the strongest light along the Oregon Coast--it can be seen 21 miles from shore. It was renovated in 2013.

The Assistant Lighthouse Keeper’s house--built in 1893-- still sits near the tower. Today this building is known as Heceta House. It is run by the U.S. Forest Service, and today is a bed and breakfast.

Visitors staying at this house can see the grey whale migration as they travel to and from Alaska to Baja California. This 549-acre park offers day campers, seven miles of trails, of varying degrees of difficulty, spectacular viewpoints, tide pools, natural caves, a variety of wildlife, and a pristine sandy beach.

Needless to say, this bed and breakfast is a popular spot, and there is a 3-month waiting list for reservations. More information can be found about it here.

Both the Lighthouse and Heceta house, are on the National Register of Historic Places. “Heceta” is pronounced by most as “ Ha--SEE--Ta,” others pronounce it “HECK--ah--Ta.”

The Grey Lady

Heceta House

Unlike most hauntings near a lighthouse, this ghost is not seen in the Heceta Head tower. Instead, The Grey Lady or “Rue” resides in the Assistant Lighthouse Keepers home--Heceta House.

It is believed that Rue’s spirit stays because the grave of an infant girl was discovered on the Lighthouse grounds. It is said Rue still watches over her baby girl.

Rue was dubbed the Grey Ghost because she is seen as a grey mist, with a human form. Her ghost is considered friendly, and sometimes mischievous.

She often moves items and opens and closes cabinet doors. She is heard walking upstairs in the house.

Many encounters with her have been reported since the 1950s.

At one time a volunteer crew was sent out to paint Heceta House. This crew spent the night but did not get much sleep.

Throughout the night, the fire alarm kept going off--no fire was discovered. Tired of being woken up, a member of this crew removed the batteries from this alarm. It did not work, the alarm sounded again.

It seems Rue didn’t like the color of the new paint.

Her ghost is most active when construction or renovations are taking place in the building.

Another encounter with Rue was when a workman came face to face with her in the home’s attic. He was so startled, he fled the house and refused to return to the attic.

A few days later, he accidentally broke the attic window, while working on the exterior of the building.

Refusing to go into the attic, he instead repaired this window from the outside. As he did this, he pushed the broken glass into the room and it scattered.

That night other workers heard scraping sounds across the attic floor. When they inspected the room the next morning, they found the glass neatly swept into a pile beneath the repaired window.

Rue is most often seen peering down at people from the upstairs.