Tag Archives: california

Sacramento Theater Company

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About the Sacramento Theater Company

The Sacramento Theater company was founded in 1942. The company now has two theaters in its complex and has over 300 performances a season.

Ghost Stories

The most well known ghost that is said to be haunting the various stages of the Sacramento Theater Company has been nicknamed Pinky. In our research, we uncovered reports of as few as five and as many as six other ghosts inhabiting the theater. There are a few consistent details about the ghosts from the multiple reports. Pinky is a prankster ghost that is most often identified as female. Pinky sometimes manifests as a pink orb. She is often seen in the costume shop. According to accounts, three clairvoyants visited the site in 1991 and uncovered five more ghosts, although the reports that discuss the clairvoyant’s visit only mention two specific additional spirits. One is a tall thin man who sports a mustache and an ascot. One account calls him Jim and another states that he is the ghost of a former volunteer. The other ghost is that of a woman sometimes described as a Hungarian woman, sometimes as a Polish woman named Madame Modjeska. She is described as sad and as a struggling actress who never succeeded. .

 

Our Review

While we didn’t actually see a performance here, my wife did wander into the theater during an intermission and explored. The theater complex is very nice looking, with a pleasant plaza. Not really much of a review beyond that I am afraid.

Old Governor’s Mansion

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About the Old Governor’s Mansion

The house that would become the Executive Mansion of the state of California was built in 1877 for Albert Gallatin. It was purchased by California in 1903 for $32,500, and served as the Governor of California’s residence until Ronald Reagan became the 33rd Governor in 1967. The exterior of the building was being renovated at the time of our visit.

Ghost Stories

Our tour guide, Joe, had worked in the mansion 20 years had experienced some strange phenomena on the staircase between the dining room and the kitchen. He has been alone in the house and heard footsteps on that staircase.

According to the tour guide, Earl Warren Jr, son of California’s 30th Governor, Justice of the Supreme Court, and head of the (in)famous Warren Commission had heard these footsteps during his stay in house during his father’s term. Earl Junior’s bedroom was near the stairs.

Another second hand account from this tour guide was of a female guide who had gone to the second floor to put up the red cords to keep visitors out of certain rooms. She went around the mansion from right to left putting up the cords, but when she turned around from the blue room, the last on her circuit, all of the other cords were undone. She redid them and then something grabbed her rear end. She quit.

Our Review

The tour itself was more about the people who lived in the mansion than anything else. While the tour guide tried to make it interesting for the kids and adults by asking how people would view the place if they were going to buy the place, or be invited to live there with the governor and his family. I found that his asking for people’s names, cities, ages, and political affiliations a bit too personal. We could only tour the first two floors, so there really wasn’t much area to cover. Perhaps asking people questions and initiating the idea of role-playing imagining yourself invited to live there was his way of getting the crowd involved in a what would otherwise be a very short tour.

California’s Great America

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Originally opened in 1976 for the U.S. bicentennial by the Marriott company in Santa Clara, CA. (with its sister park near Chicago IL). The theme park has been under several owners. In the mid 80’s Marriott was selling off its amusement parks, but could not find a buyer for its park in Santa Clara, so it was just going to shut it down and sell the land. Santa Clara residents did not want to see their beloved park torn down so they dug deep into their own pockets so the city could buy the amusement park. They contracted out with King’s Entertainment (the company that owned King’s Dominion and King’s Island) to manage the park. King’s Entertainment eventually bought the park from the city and they in turn were eventually bought by Paramount. While the park was originally themed after different eras of American past with a patriotic bent, Paramount has totally removed the theming convention and just stuck rides named after movies all over the place. Both Kryis and Bryan at one time worked in this park, so some of the stories you are about to read are 2nd hand accounts. The park was purchased in 2006 by Cedar Fair, the same company that owns Cedar Point and Knott’s Berry Farm, and renamed California’s Great America.

Ghost Stories

In 1983 a 13 year-old boy died when he stepped off of the ride and another train ran into the back of his train. It is said that he now wanders the now unoccupied spot where the ride (The Willard’s Wizard) once stood. One Graveyard shift employee had reported hearing footsteps crossing the wooden bridge that crosses over the splash zone of Whitewater Falls, which occupies one half of the old Whizzer ride area.

For coaster enthusiasts as well as ghost hunters: The reason that the train had not stopped before it rammed into the station-parked train, was that the electric eyes did not register that the space was already occupied.

For years after the accident, if the ride had been stopped for an emergency, the ride computer would show “ghost trains.” (The electric eyes registered trains on the track where it was not physically possible for there to be one, especially in the helix.)

The Theater in Orleans Plaza is said to be haunted. Most stories tell of cold-spots.

Katie, an 8 year old blonde girl has been seen going into the one time Fort Fun maze, only to never be seen coming out again.

There is also a tale of a 10 year old boy, Doug, who died in a house/barn fire that took place when the area was a ranch. That spot was supposedly where the Tidal Wave/Greased Lightning once stood. He has been know to cause things to knock over in merchandise shops in Yankee Harbor & New Orleans Place. (when the park actually had themed areas)

One report read that an employee had seen a little boy and a little girl walking into light, then vanishing in Orleans Place.

It is also said that these two children were brother and sister.

Our Review

As a rollercoaster nut (Bryan) and a theme park enthusiast (Kryis) this park is a big bitter disappointment to us. We also both used to work here, and it was much better then. The park has substandard roller coasters (They took out their one breakthrough coaster the first “true flying” coaster to put in a waterpark). The only semi-good coaster left is “Top Gun.” It is a shame that they just cannot seem to get good rides. Now with the competition from Marine World (which has much better rollercoasters, and theirs aren’t even that good) I hoped Paramount would get the clue and do something right. Oh well. So much for that. I would rather drive for 5 hours and go to Magic Mountain. Hopefully now that the park is owned by Cedar Fair its rides and theming will improve.

Moss Beach Distillery

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About Moss Beach Distillery

Originally established as a speakeasy during prohibition, The Moss Beach Distillery is a restaurant in Moss Beach, California overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The restaurant offers exquisite views of the Pacific Ocean and high quality food. The restaurant has a very tongue in cheek way of celebrating its resident ghost (see Our Review at the bottom of the page for more information). The ceiling art of a bull and bullfighter in the bar is original from the buildings days as a speakeasy.

Ghost Stories

The “Blue Lady” is the most famous guest of the Moss Beach Distillery. She is called the Blue Lady in reference to the blue dresses she is often seen wearing. Her haunting has been featured on several television shows including Unsolved Mysteries. Her identity is a mystery as is her cause of death, but there are a few theories. Loyd Aurebach, a prominent parapyschologist, has investigated the hauntings at the Distillery many times with different psychics and come up with several names. Some have picked up on the name Elizabeth, while others Cayte. There is also a story of a Mary Ellen who was in love with a piano player who worked there. She was already married and had a child while she was having her affair. She died tragically in an automobile accident. Another story connected to the piano player involves a woman who threw herself off the cliffs near the Distillery when she discovered that the piano player had other lovers.

In our interviews with the staff we were told that none of them knew of anyone who had seen her apparition in recent years, although they mentioned several unusual occurrences involving strange sounds and bottles behind the bar moving from one place to another when no one was looking. Doors have also spontaneously locked themselves.

Matt, our waiter, mentioned that a bartender’s sister went downstairs only to come back up into the main part of the building to see a mist shape in the bar room.

The bartender told us that when he was new and still just a busboy that he folded up all of the patio blankets and arranged the benches as he was supposed to do. When he came back inside the manager told him to go fold the patio blankets. When he went back outside one set of the chairs had moved against the shed and all the blankets were unfolded. He locked them in the shed.

The Manager reported that he was cleaning up behind the bar moving bottles around, he went downstairs to the storage room only to return and find all the bottles moved back to their original positions.

Our Review

He Says:

The food was excellent, with prices ranging from $30.00 to $60.00 for most dishes. The decor is nice, and the view is excellent. The bar is set up with numerous simulated paranormal activities in a kind of tongue in cheek way. If you take a seat at the bar, do not be surprised if your stool suddenly seems to be shrinking, or if the lights above the bar begin to sway. These are all mechanical effects not the supernatural. In the woman’s bathroom the image of a blue woman will appear in the mirror as well. They used to have a video loop that appeared to be old black and white film footage that would interrupt the television, but guests started to complain when this would happen in the middle of sporting events so that effect was removed. They also used to have tables that would vibrate, but things would fall off of the tables so they go rid of that trick. I did find it odd that a restaurant with such a high class menu and a rich paranormal history would have such a tongue in cheek way of celebrating it. I guess it is almost a Chuck E. Cheese’s and a 4 star restaurant rolled into one.

She Says:

AWESOME SCALLOPS!!! It is odd the way that the food is First Class, but the fx are played up about their ghost… The Bathroom mirror is just cheesy. The lamps and stools are kind of neat though!

Oh, if only this place were closer to home!!!

Stokes Adobe Restaurant and Bar

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About Stokes Restaurant and Bar

Originaly built as a single room adobe in 1833 by Benjamin Day, the adobe was purchased in 1837 by James Stokes, a druggist, doctor, and former sailor. He marries Josefa Soto de Cano, a widow with four children, in 1840. They soon have two children of their own, and need for more room. James expands the adobe into a seven room two story house with a wing for the kitchen and storage rooms. A wall and several shacks surround the building. One of these shacks held the printing press for California’s first newspaper. Stokes serves for a time as mayor of Monterey.

The property is sold in 1856 to Honore Escolle. Escolle installs a large oven used for his bakery business and uses it as a kiln. He uses it to bake bread and make pottery. The property goes through several owners until Mortimer Gragg purchases the home in 1890. He lives in the home with his wife Harriet, who is known as Hattie. The property has a bustling social scene until Hattie’s death in 1948.

In 1950 it is converted into the Gallatin Restaurant by Mr. and Mrs. Gallatin Powers. It closes in 1980. Through the mid 80s to the mid nineties several restaurants occupy the space until 1996 when it is opened as Stokes Adobe Restaurant by Kirk and Dorothy Probasco with Brandon Miller as the restaurants chef. After an extensive remodeling, the restaurant is renamed Stokes Restaurant and Bar.

Ghost Stories:

The history of ghostly encounters goes back to the building’s time as Gallatin’s Restaurant when the first reports of the figure of a man in 1800s style clothing and an apparition of a beautiful woman are seen by the employees. It is believed they are the ghosts of James Stokes and his wife Josefa. It is also believed that the ghost of Hattie Gragg also haunts the building.

According to the employees we talked to there are several manifestations on the property. In the main room if you stand in front of what used to be the front door to the building, you will sometimes get tapped on the shoulder. People sitting in chairs on the left side of the main room will sometimes complain that someone keeps moving their chairs. In the booth to the right cold spots can be felt sometimes. On the staircase to the upstairs parts of the building a ghost in period costume can be seen. The mirrors in the upstairs room that used to be the main bedroom are original and sometimes get nudged to the side. People will also experience a disembodied female voice that will call you name when no one else it around.

Our waiter reported a few personal experiences that he has had on the property. He has been tapped on the shoulder, and heard his name. One night, after closing, he heard a woman’s voice say “Excuse me, cna you help me?” He went to the front of the restaurant, but there was no one there. He and a female coworker heard the voice a seocnd time, this time she went, but also did not see anyone. The heard the voice a third time and they both went to check it out, and again there was no one there.

Our Review:

He Says:

The food was decent, and the waiter was excellent. We did not have a lot of time to explore the building as we were late for the Halloween Party at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but it was a nice restaurant that I would definitely go to again if I was in the Monterey area. Especially because I would like more of a chance to look around.

She Says:

The food was fine but our Waiter was Great! I, for a change, agree with my husband completely!

Bella Saratoga

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About Bella Saratoga

Bella Saratoga is a restaurant in Saratoga California. Converted from a private residence long before its current incarnation. It was the former site of the restaurant Bella Mia (which is now located in downtown San Jose), and before that it was the location of the Saratoga News. There were reports of ghostly activity in the building as far back as its use a news office.

Ghost Stories

The ghost of a woman is said to haunt Bella Saratoga. Most of the supernatural activity happens on the second floor. The woman’s bathroom and second floor office in particular are sites of activity. Doors open and close on their own and an eerie or uneasy presence has been felt.

Our Review

We have been to Bella Saratoga three times in the past year. The morning after the evening of our first visit on Friday the 13th of January, I came down with a case of Transient Global Amnesia. As a result, my recollection of the experience is a cloudy. Luckily I was there with two other people. Our meals have always been very good here, and the service has been excellent. It is not the fanciest or most prestigious restaurant in the area (Saratoga’s little restaurant row), but it is a good meal and on most days you can walk in without needing a reservation.

Winchester Mystery House

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Sarah Winchester was the wife of William Wirt Winchester (3rd president of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. They married in 1862 and a few years later had a baby daughter that they named Anne Pardee. Unfortunately their daughter died only a few days later. They never had another child. Sarah’s tragedy did not end there. Her husband died young in 1881 and inherited a vast fortune and shares of the Winchester company. She sought the advice of a medium who told her that the ghost of her late husband wanted her to know that there was a curse on their family that was responsible for his death and the death of their daughter. The medium told her that in order to appease the spirits of those killed by the Winchester rifle, she sell her home in New Haven, Connecticut, move west, and buy a house that Sarah would have to continually build. Sarah moved to Santa Clara Valley in California (in present day San Jose) and bought an unfinished six room farmhouse and the 162 acre property on which it rested. For the next 38 years she had workers constructing and reconstructing 24 hours a day 365 days a year. When she died and the construction ceased, the house had a grand total of 160 rooms. The house is constructed oddly, with rooms that have no entrances or exits, stairs that lead to the ceiling, windows in the floor, and doors that lead to a one floor drop. The house was state of the art for the time, with many water saving innovations.

Ghost Stories

it is said that Mrs. Winchester held seances in the special “seance room” in her home to consult with the spirits over the design of the home. She either built the odd home as a way to appease the spirits or to confuse them. She was obviously worried about the spirits, she never slept in the same room for two nights in a row. The home was built as a way for Mrs. Winchester to appease the ghosts of people who were killed by Winchester Rifles.

A few groups on tours have been said to have seen ghosts roaming the halls. Footsteps and other noises have also been heard.

There is a story of a tour guide that saw Mrs. Winchester reach out towards her.

The tour only shows you a very small portion of the third floor. It is said that is because the third floor is the most haunted. There is supposedly (and we got this from a tour guide as well as other sources) a room on the third floor with a rocking chair in it that will rock without any one touching it.

There is an odd story from the days when Mrs. Winchester was alive about how she would go down into the wine cellar every night to pick out a bottle of wine, until the night she saw a black hand print on the wall of the wine cellar and had it sealed up. It is said that when it was sealed up there was a vagrant or an employee sleeping in there, and he died. He now wanders the basement searching for the sealed up wine cellar.

Our Review

If you are ever in San Jose and can only do one thing:
Go to the Winchester! It is my Dream Home. If it were possible, I would live here. Spiderweb themes, the number 13 is incorporated throughout the home. However, I am biased towards most anything spooky.

On a more objective note: The story of the house is wonderfully entertaining. Finding out the -reasons- behind why certain things are made the way they were and what her motivations were. At one point in the tour, you see a picture of the home as it stood before 1906 earthquake. It is a reminder of the true age and mutability of the place. It is truly spectacular.

Our Winchester Mystery House Gallery

Knott’s Berry Farm

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About Knott’s Berry Farm

Starting in the 1920s Walter Knott and his family sold berries from a small stand on California State Highway 39. He was the first person to successfully cultivate the Boysenberry developed by Rudolf Boysen. Starting in 1934 Knott’s wife, Cordelia, began serving fried chicken dinners and boysenberry pie for dessert. Their location alongside a major north-south thoroughfare became a popular rest stop. In a few short years the restaurant became so popular the wait for a table lengthened to several hours. In an effort to entertain his waiting guests, Walter Knott built a ghost town by transplanting buildings from Calico California and Prescott Arizona. Eventually, Knott started adding attractions such as a train ride and a mine ride.

In 1968 the family built a fence around the attractions and began to charge admission. Knott’s Berry Farm currently claims to be the world’s first theme park.

In 1997 the Knott family sold the amusement park to Cedar Fair (owners and operators of Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky Ohio) There has been a shift since then to more thrill rides and rollercoasters, but the park still has plenty of connection to the past. There still is a fired chicken dinner restaurant and a ghost town.

Ghost Stories

Strange noises and eerie feelings have been described by employees of the Peanuts Playhouse in camp snoopy. It has also been reported that lights turn themselves on and off with no one else present. The old Dinosaur Ride (which was in the area now occupied roughly by the Johnny Rockets in Boardwalk) was also said to be haunted by a former maintenance employee and a young boy. We have not uncovered any reports of those hauntings continuing now that the ride has been torn down. The upstairs of Virginia’s Gift Shop on the exterior of the park is said to be haunted as is the Bird Cage Theater and Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant. The lady that was working in the Teddy Bear store told a story about the building when it was still the old Print Shop (when we were there you could still see the faded word print underneath the word shop on the sign to the Teddy Bear store). Apparently there were stamps (not the kind you mail) on display on shelves on the wall and for no apparent reason some of them started falling off of the shelves.

Our Review

He Says:

I miss the Haunted Shack that had to be removed. Apparently the old management company did not do a very good job maintaining the park, and the Haunted Shack was in such a state of disrepair when Cedar Fair purchased the park that they could not refurbish it without having to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act which would have ruined the optical illusions that made the attraction what it was, so it was removed. The coin artist was very neat, and informative about the history of the park. If he is still there, I highly recommend you spend some time viewing his wares and watching him work at his shop/store in Ghost Town. The rollercoasters here are also very good, but I miss some of the simpler older rides that have been removed and replaced such as the old Soap Box Racer ride.

She Says:

By this time, I was pretty much burnt out at the end of our vacation. I don’t recall having ever been to Knott’s before, so I cannot compare old vs. new, but I did enjoy some of the more natural scenery as well as talking to the man at the coin-carving booth. Considering that I tend towards motion sickness, I stuck to the ground, with the exception of Montezuma’s Revenge. It is almost identical to Great America’s Tidal Wave ( Now gone 🙁 .) I felt I had to ride it for old time’s sake.

And don’t forget… The candy shops had chocolate covered boysenberry truffles!!!
Yummm… Suuuugaaaarrrrr….

Now that Cedar Fair owns both Knott’s and Great America, I am hoping for both parks to have a true revitalization and many Great years to come…

Queen Mary Hotel

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About the Queen Mary

The keel was laid for the RMS Queen Mary in 1930 at Clyde, Scotland, but was not completed until 1936. She made her maiden voyage on May 27 of that same year. She served three years as a passenger liner carrying passengers across the Atlantic until war broke out in 1939.

When the United States entered the war, she was converted to a troop ship. Painted grey to make her more difficult to detect, she was known as the “Grey Ghost.” She ferried troops from the U.S. to England in preparation for D-Day. During this time she set the record for the most people on an ocean voyage at one time with 16,683 people.

After the war she continued to serve the military by transporting war brides and the children from Europe to the United States. She made 13 voyages in this capacity before she was refurbished and returned to passenger liner service.

By the 1960s ocean liners were falling out of fashion with the rise of air traffic between the continents. She made occasional luxury cruises before being sold to the city of Long Beach in 1967. She made her final transatlantic crossing she was permanently docked. Her boilers were removed and she was rendered unable to move under her own power. She was converted into a hotel and museum.

Ghost Stories

There are numerous ghosts and hauntings reported on the Queen Mary.

Stateroom B340 is no longer rented out because the the volume of paranormal activity. Some people claim that it is haunted by the ghost of a murdered purser, but we found that information on other ghost websites and not on any of the tours conducted by the Queen Mary. The faucets are supposed to turn on by themselves, and sheets from the bed are said to have flown across the room. The room is now stark white with very little furniture in it.

One of the most famous ghosts of the Queen Mary is believed to be that of John Pedder, a fireman in the engine room who was crushed by the infamous “Door 13” in the part of the ship known as “Shaft Alley.” Apparently during emergencies, the watertight doors would be closed to seal off sections of the ship to avoid sinking. The legend goes that crew members would hop back and forth through the doorways as many times as they could before the door would close. John Pedder apparently tried one too many times and was crushed by the closing door.

A man seen wearing blue overalls sometimes described as having a beard has been seen walking down shaft alley and disappearing at Door 13. On the Ghost and Legends tour they refer to this man as “Half Hatch Harry,” but that was not the real name. John Pedder is listed on the sign in the infirmary of crew members that died.

The First Class Swimming Pool is another famous haunted location on the Queen Mary. Some reports claim that it is haunted by the ghost of people who drowned in the pool, but the Queen Mary’s own sign detailing the causes of death for passengers on the liner does not list a single death due to drowning. The ghosts seen in the first class swimming pool seem to be exclusively female. There are reports of at least one adult woman and a little girl that haunt this location. The little girl is said to have drowned in the second class swimming pool (which has since been removed). Her name is reported to be “Jackie,” and she is seen in many places across the ship.

The changing rooms at the back of the swimming pool are said to hold a vortex of negative energy, or perhaps a gateway between dimensions. One story suggests that this is due to a woman having been raped in the changing rooms at one point. There is a live ghost webcam that continuously films the swimming pool. The pool is also part of the special effects tour Ghosts and Legends of the Queen Mary which includes smoke and light effects.

While all of the boilers have been removed from the ship when it was docked at Long Beach, the massive rooms that once housed them remain. The forward boiler rooms are now used as part of the Ghost and Legends special effects show, the massive middle boiler rooms have been converted into conference space, and the aft boiler rooms are included on the regular tour and the late night paranormal tours. The boiler rooms were dangerous places, and it is not surprising that these locations may have there own ghost stories. Jackie is sometimes seen in the boiler rooms, as well as a male ghost that is thought to have been a crew member that worked on the boilers. The rooms are very massive and have a creepy feeling to them.

During World War II when the Queen Mary was known as the Grey Ghost, she accidentally rammed one of her escort ships causing it to sink. At the point on the bow of the Queen Mary where she collided with the escort screams can sometimes be heard. The public is normally only allowed to visit this part of the ship on the Ghosts and Legends tour.

There are many other parts of the Queen Mary that are said to be haunted. It seems the whole ship is a beacon for paranormal activity. The infirmary and the Lounge are other parts of the ship with their own tales of ghosts. In our interviews with various members of the crew, we got reports of strange feelings fairly often. The only crew-member who reported seeing a possible apparition related this story to us.

One waitress at the Chelsea restaurant states that she had been
working the host podium and saw three guests walk towards her through the long hallway that leads from the deck to the restaurant. She looked down at the reservation book for a party of three, but when she looked back up there were only there people. She asked the guests whether or not they prefer to wait for their third member before being seated, but they said that there were only two of them. She also reported that the faucets in the nearby woman’s bathroom go on and off by themselves.

Our Review

He Says:

The Queen Mary was an excellent place to visit for a few days, if not a bit overpriced. When we were there there was not a lot to do after dark, but taking a romantic walk on the decks while viewing Long Beach across the harbor is nice and romantic (and a little chilly). I would have preferred more to do that did not involve a tour. While it is a vast ship with a lot to do, it can easily be done in a single day with good planning. We spent three nights at the QM, but we spent one of our days visiting Disneyland, and part of another day driving around downtown Long Beach. There are also limited choices for breakfast, as there is only one restaurant that serves it and it did not have the greatest hours. Our accommodations were fair, but we did not spend a lot of time in our room.

She Says:

There were several tours available for the daylight hours. We bought the Haunted Encounters Passport. The Ghosts and Legends tour was all flash, but no substance. Much like your average Haunted House complete with spooky lighting, sound, and fog machines.

The Haunted Encounters tour was very informational and took you thru more rooms inside the ship. As you go through the ship, you also find small plaques that list ghost sightings. These are part of the self-guided scavenger hunt. The Paranormal Ship Walk, with psychic Erika Frost, was not included in the passport. Being the only evening tour we took, more lights were dimmed down, adding to the ambiance. This is the only tour that gave us access to the front of the ship, the brig, the pool dressing rooms and some other roped off areas. We did pass on the Paranormal Investigations tour and the Burlesque show. We ran out of time and money.

The dinners were quite tasty, the rooms were cozy, but most of all I loved the atmosphere. It was just very welcoming in general.

You do NOT need reservations to dine in the three restaurants or tour the many attractions. If the hotel room prices are out of your range (as they are a bit pricey.)

I strongly recommend at least making a day trip out of the Queen Mary!

Olivas Adobe

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About Olivas Adobe

Don Raymundo Olivas was granted 4,670 acres by the Mexican governor of California in 1847. Don Raymundo Olivas named his ranch Rancho San Miguel and built a house on the property for his large family. This house was later expanded to be two stories, and is the structure seen today. Don Raymundo raised cattle on the land and profited greatly from the gold rush. Don Raymundo died in 1879 and his land was parceled off to his heirs. The house was sold outside the family in 1899 but some portion of the Rancho remained in family hands until 1968. The adobe was purchased and restored by Max Fleischman in 1927 and gifted to the city of Ventura upon his death and opened as a museum in 1972.

Ghost Stories

The most famous supernatural inhabitant of the Olivas Adobe is the Woman in Black. She has been seen wandering the grounds and passing from room to room at all times of day by numerous people. The most common theory as to her identity is that of Teodora Olivas, Don Raymundo’s wife.

A man’s face has been seen looking in to a second story bedroom window. The window is to the room known as the “children’s room.” The face is said to resemble that of Nicolas Olivas, Don Raymundo’s eldest son. The Lady in Black has been seen looking out of the window onto the courtyard below.

Our Review

Unfortunately the Adobe was closed when we stopped by to visit, so we were unable to conduct a thorough investigation and review of the site.