San Francisco’s Angel Island

The largest island in San Francisco’s Bay is Angel Island. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese, Japanese and Indian immigrants from Asia were processed at the Angel Island Immigration Station from 1910 until the early 1940s.

Angel Island is called “the Ellis Island of the West.” But unlike immigrants that were greeted by the welcome sight of the Statue of Liberty in New York and then most often processed within 2 to 3 hours the immigrants held on Angel Island were treated as prisoners and sent the message “Stay away. We don’t want you.” *

The reason for this began in the years following the California Gold Rush when the demand for railroad labor spiked-- a huge number of Chinese immigrated to the U.S. to fill this need. But soon native-born Americans spurred by racism and fear started to resent the competition for jobs these immigrants posed. This anti-Chinese movement was agitated further by newspaper articles and by state and federal politicians.

As a result Congress passed the “Chinese Exclusion Law” in 1882, which prohibited more Chinese laborers from entering California. That same year 40,000 Chinese immigrants entered the United States in order to beat this ban before it took effect in 1883. This law was finally repealed in 1943 after 60 years of exclusion. It wasn’t until the early 1980s that Chinese immigration came close to the numbers before 1883.

Before the Angel Island Station opened in 1910 detained immigrants were held in cramped facilities along San Francisco’s wharf, even worse some were held in “floating prisons” on various merchant ships that were docked close to shore.

The Angel Island facility was supposed to be an improvement but conditions on the island were almost as bad. The new facility “was found to be a fire trap, with poor ventilation, terrible bathrooms and a lack of fresh water.” The food was worse. Graft took over and money for this purpose was skimmed off the top.

The Immigrants were kept for months on end in barracks that housed triple bunk beds. They were put through rigorous interrogations, which included denial of entry  or long delays if various family members answers differed even slightly. Despite this many of the immigrants on Angel Island eventually were able to stay.

Many of these immigrants embarrassed and “shamed” by this treatment did not discuss their experience while on the island afterward--even with their families-- so for awhile this history was lost. This was compounded by the fact that the Angel Island administration building burnt down in 1940 destroying all the records. 

Many immigrants wrote poems
on the Station's walls
expressing their feelings.

The Chinese who would talk about their experiences while being held at the Angel Island Station often mentioned that the two worst things about their stay were “the ghosts and the starving.”

Shortly after the Station first opened a young Chinese bride-to-be was told after her interrogation that she was not going to be allowed to enter the U.S. She was told she was going to be sent back to China. She then returned to her dormitory were she put on her wedding dress. In despair, she entered the woman’s shower room and hung herself with a “twisted bed sheet.”

Many female immigrants that stayed in this dorm in the following years claimed that it was evident that her spirit never left this shower room. These Chinese woman reported feeling her presence in this area on a regular basis.

In this bathroom the lights would flicker and it was felt this was proof this young brides’ ghost remained. One witness, years later reported that she and others were afraid to enter this bathroom alone and that they always would bathe with others and never alone.

Another witness had a direct encounter with this ghost when she was detained at Angel Island. She was 16 years-old at the time and was waiting to be admitted to America where her Chinese-American fiancé lived.

One night as she lay in her bunk trying to fall asleep, an unseen force attacked her. She stated she felt “an intense pressure on her chest.” She said because of this pressure she had trouble breathing. She managed to look around and realized the room was quiet and everyone was sleeping.

She tried to scream but the pressure on her chest intensified and she felt a great deal of pain. She was only able to stop the pressure when she managed to say a prayer out loud. 

Today Angel Island is a California State Park. It is a popular spot for people to camp, hike and bike. Access to the island is by ferry--either from San Francisco or Tiburon--or private boat. What remains of the old Angel Island Immigration Station can be seen after an 11 mile plus hike from Ayala Cove. Tours are given. 

The yellow painted barracks are still perched atop a bluff. The old white Station hospital underwent renovations this year.

* An example of this--one female Chinese immigrant was detained on the island for more than 600 days. At first they did not believe she had a husband already living in the U.S. She was finally released. In contrast, the European immigrants that passed through Angel Island were processed quickly. The Station was dubbed, Guardian of the Western Gate-- its purpose was to keep the Chinese out.

Here is a video about the Angel Island poetry.

Haunted Titanic Exhibit

One of the most tragic maritime disasters happened on April 15, 1912. The passenger ship Titanic was on its maiden voyage crossing the North Atlantic Ocean when it struck an iceberg and sank.

More than 1,500 hundred passengers and crew members perished with the ship. * In the years since this tragedy many strange stories have been told. The most recent involves the belief that the Titanic Exhibit is haunted.

This exhibit is housed in the Georgia Museum. It contains over 5,000 artifacts taken from the ocean floor. In recent years, 125 artifacts from this exhibit have been on tour across America.

As this exhibit has toured, more and more witnesses have come forward to report the unusual activity they experienced while they viewed this exhibit. Many have reported hearing disembodies voices, others state they felt an eerie presence around them as they moved from one artifact to the next.

It is not uncommon for spirits to attach themselves to objects. Considering the trauma these passengers and crew faced, it is not surprising that some of these items might be haunted.

One female visitor who brought her daughter and grandson to the Titanic exhibit agrees. While they viewed the display of the 1^st class quarters, her grandson pulled on their hands and questioned, “Who is that lady?” He then asked. “What is she doing?” 

The two women at first thought he was just referring to a dress that was displayed across a loveseat. Later hearing other people’s stories, they realized that he most likely saw a ghost.

Many others have reported feeling as if someone watched them as they moved around the various exhibits. They reported that they felt this presence strongest when they stood next to specific items. 

Later in comparing these reports, it was discovered that the same artifacts had been the cause for these feelings. An old leather bag was just one of these.

The TAPS team on Syfy’s Ghost Hunters visited this exhibit on the 97^th anniversary of the disaster. Their evidence included an interesting EVP. 

The two investigators, Jay and Grant asked the spirit, “Do you want to leave?” The reply they heard later was, “Now--please, …wait.”

I toured this exhibit this past summer. I did not pick up on anything unusual other than--like most--a general feeling of sadness within the rooms I entered.

* There were 2,229 souls onboard the Titanic. 719 people survived. 1,516 perished, and only 333 bodies were recovered.

East Tennessee Ghost Folklore

Old Apple Tree
Alexander Koltakov

Randy Russell and Janet Barnett in their book entitled, The Granny Curse, present a wonderful collection of ghost folklore from East Tennessee. * 

These legends have been passed down from one generation to the next for well over 200 years. They are some of the most entertaining I have ever read.

One of my favorite stories in this collection is entitled Growly Apples. This story is based upon an old superstitious belief that that the oldest apple tree in a mountain hollow is always haunted.

This tale is about a boisterous loud-mouthed man by the name of Sud. 

One Sunday afternoon after church, he is showing off for “the children” with various apple tricks when he catches half an apple in his mouth that he threw up in the air. Unfortunately, this large apple then lodged in his throat, and he chokes to death.

His family buries him in his favorite spot in the yard and promptly moves away. A few years later, his widow, who has remarried visits his grave to find the marker they placed on it is gone, and instead, a young apple tree stands in its place.

She informs the new owners that the roots of this tree probably grew right out of his mouth and eye sockets being as he was buried with the fruit still stuck in his throat.

When this tree matured several years later, the new owners soon discovered that if they picked apples from this tree, it would growl day and night until they returned the apples they chose to the ground under it. 

The apples themselves would growl and if anyone dared to eat one of them, their stomach would growl non-stop.

Sud’s old cabin is gone now but tourists today claim that this old apple tree still stands and people always hear it growling if they pick its fruit. It is said that if they are smart, they know they have encountered a ghost.

Another story from this collection I really like is about a “ghost horse.” This story is entitled, Ghost in the Fireplace.

An Irishman named Higgins, and his horse, named Cloud are inseparable.  But unfortunately,  a man who lives in a filthy shack on a nearby mountaintop murders him for his fine stallion. 

Cloud then tries to take revenge on the man who murdered his master.

An old belief in Tennessee is that if a person hears the crackle and pop in a fireplace, it is Satan snapping his fingers. After hearing this, one must be careful the house doesn’t burn down.

For years after this murder, people who lived in this mountaintop shack claimed they saw a shocking sight--Cloud’s thunderous hooves would be heard then he would emerge right out of the fireplace in search of his beloved master’s killer.

One of my all-time favorite ghost blogs is written by Fairweather Lewis. He has an interesting summary of the above story--which he calls, “Cloud Walks” on his blog. Click on the link to read it. Fairweather doesn't write anymore.

* Russell and Barnett’s book, The Granny Curse is available on Amazon.

Kent’s Blue Bell Hill Ghost

This story has received a lot of press attention since the mid 1960s. It involves Kent’s most famous road haunting. * A female ghost is seen along the A229 in England on Blue Bell Hill --a stretch of road between Maidstone and Chatham. Motorists have seen a woman running or jumping out in front of their cars for the past 48 years.

Witnesses to this scary event state that this ghost locked eyes with them just before their vehicles hit her. These motorists were literally in a panic feeling they must have injured or even killed her. But what is odd none of them were able to find her, her body or any evidence of these collisions afterwards.

This woman just disappears or vanishes after these accidents. This is why many feel she is a ghost.

In 1965 a tragic car accident involving a Mark 1 Ford Cortina and Jaguar occurred near a bridge that crosses Old Chatham Road. The accident happened along a dangerous bend in this road. Tragically 3 of the 4 females in the Ford died. The driver of the Jaguar walked away unscathed his passenger was injured but survived.

One of the three females that died was taken to a local hospital were surgeons couldn’t save her. She was a bride-to-be, her marriage was scheduled for the day after the accident. Her fiancé was at her bedside when she passed.

This tragic accident happened so near the wedding not all the wedding guests were informed. Many showed up at the church in Gillingham the day after the accident only to be turned away.

How this tragic accident was reported.
Judith Lingham was the bride-to-be.

Many feel this bride is the ghost that haunts Blue Bell Hill. As well as reports of a woman jumping out in front of cars there have also been reports from people who pick up a female hitch-hiker by Blue Bell Hill that just vanishes after entering their car. But this ghost has been seen since the 1930s.

As mentioned this haunting is famous so there are many stories that surround this ghost. ** Here are just a few that have been written about in newspaper articles etc.

Four years after the accident, in 1969 a man from Rochester was driving along the A229 near Blue Bell Hill late at night when he spotted two pedestrians walking toward him. He was shocked to see both just vanish. Later that same year as he passed Blue Bell Hill he spotted these same two pedestrians but this time he watched as a car drove right through them as they crossed the road.

In July of 1974 Maurice Goodenough, a brick-layer from Rochester was driving past Blue Bell Hill when he saw what he later stated was a “young girl.” He recounted:

“The girl just walked out in front of me from the edge of the road. My car hit her with a hell of a bang.”

When Goodenough jumped out of his car he found her lying on the road. She had a cut on her forehead and scraped knees. He covered her up with a blanket and then tried to flag down another car--but no one stopped. Afraid to move her he went to the Rochester Police Station to tell them what happened.

They quickly returned to the scene with him but only his blanket was found. A search was arranged but nothing turned up. No one of her description had been admitted to a hospital etc.

Soon after, Goodenough told a newspaper reporter he was still shaken up about the incident. He was adamant he had seen this girl. He stated, “I’m not mad.”

Many felt that Goodenough saw the Blue Bell Hill ghost. The facts seem to concur.  He saw a girl-- and where he hit her was near where the accident occurred in 1965. Also the fact his car was not damaged gave credence to this belief.

Yet another encounter happened in November of 1992. Late one Saturday evening, Ian Sharpe a coach driver was on his way home to Maidstone when a young woman appeared directly in front of his vehicle. He was near the Aylesford southbound turn-off of the A229 at Blue Bell Hill.

Aylesford recounted that this woman stared directly at him just before he hit her. He saw her body go under the bonnet--hood of his vehicle. Mortified he jumped out to help her. He stated:

“You can’t imagine how it felt. I was so scared to look underneath, but I knelt down and straight through--there was nothing there.”

He then searched the area around his car and along the road but he found no one. He also went to the Rochester Police Station to report this accident. The police now familiar with the legend told Sharpe the story.

They then went back with him to where this incident occurred. But their search was fruitless. This 54 year-old man later stated that this experience was the most terrifying of his life.

Later that same month, another motorist and his passenger reported hitting a woman wearing a red-scarf near the Robin Hood Lane junction at Blue Bell Hill. They had searched the area but yet again they told police no body was found.

* This ghost story has been featured in hundreds of newspaper articles, books, magazines and TV shows. 

** These stories have been circulated so often that they have reached mythical proportions--hence some state the real story behind this haunting has been overshadowed by local folklore.