Ghost Hunter's Guide

This handbook of the hauntings of California's Gold Rush Highway, the historic stretch of land along State Route 49, provides a thrilling tour of the paranormal activity in some of the Golden State's most historic and remarkable sites. Designed for locals, tourists, area newcomers, and paranormal enthusiasts, the book offers a unique way to experience the area's past in the present. From the serene Coloma Valley in the heart of the Sierra foothills to the lively capital city of Sacramento, the Gold Rush Country boasts an extraordinary history and is home to thousands of spirits, specters, and phantoms waiting to make their presence felt. Sightings reported in the book include a gathering of the spirits of more than twenty miners roaming the bar at the Willow Steakhouse in Jamestown, the haunting of the Leland Stanford Mansion in Sacramento, ghostly apparitions in the old Masonic Hall in North San Juan, and the captivating Lady in Gray, who haunts the Red Castle in the once wild Gold Rush town of Nevada City. Cemeteries, theaters, mansions, hotels, courthouses, restaurants, abandoned mines, and parks are among the destination highlights. Addresses are included for each site, and guidelines and tips about organizing and conducting a ghost hunt encourage readers to seek out the ghostly specters themselves.

Serving as a guide to one of America's most treasured lands, the Ghost Hunter's Guide to California's Wine Country takes readers to the rolling hills, old wineries, and beautiful vineyards of the California Wine Country. With more than eighty haunted locations described in great historical detail, experienced and novice ghost hunters alike can search this famous region for encounters with ghosts of explorers, Indians, soldiers, and others. Recommended locations include the famous novelist Jack London's homestead, where apparitions and other phenomena have been experienced. Many believe London's ghost still haunts his beloved ranch. After traveling the vineyards and wineries, the counties of Napa and Sonoma offer more ghostly adventures. The Cinedome movie house in Napa is said to hold the ghosts of an older couple who were often found cuddling in the back of the theatre. In Sonoma, hauntings have occurred in the popular park known as the Plaza. Sem-Yeto, one of the last Pomo Indian chiefs, is buried in the park's northwest corner, and some have witnessed the spirit of his ghost wandering the site.

Ghosts and spirits abound in western Oregon. The imprints of pioneers, soldiers, prostitutes, and murder victims haunt the places they trod in life, searching for loved ones, reliving joyful times, protecting favorite haunts, and seeking revenge. This guide, history, and comprehensive how-to offers tantalizing information about the lives, deaths, and locales of the Portland area's lingering past. Areas include Central Portland, East Portland communities, Vancouver and North Portland, communities south of Portland, and Oregon's coastal communities. The infamous Shanghai Tunnels have long reverberated with the screams of kidnapped victims, doomed to a brief life of forced servitude. Lone Fir Cemetery is visited to this day by the spirits of the Chinese laborers, mental asylum inmates, and Civil War veterans who rest there. Thelma Taylor can sometimes be felt in Cathedral Park, under the St. John Bridge. Historical hotels still host the spirits of guests who died, sometimes by their own hand. Opera houses and ballrooms tell a happier story: the imprints left by decades of entertainment and energy can be felt even now. These sites, and many others, are vividly described, and entries include locations and contact information. Informative sections cover what a ghost is, how it can manifest, ideal ghost sighting conditions, and types of imprints. Techniques included are preliminary historical research, physical and mental preparation, and the two primary schools of ghost hunting: the technical and psychic methods. The technical method section covers equipment use and suggestions, and the psychic method section discusses using your intuition and sensitivity to sense phenomena. Helpful appendixes include a sighting report form; suggested readings, videos, and websites; a list of tours and events; and a collection of area museums and historical societies.

"Fans of hauntings and ghost stories who are heading towards San Francisco will love this comprehensive guide to the Bay Area's most eerie spots." -Fabuloustravel.com Ghost-hunting hobbyist Jeff Dwyer has devised a guide that allows the phantom-seeker in all of us to add spirit sleuthing to our list of typical tourist activities. Ghost Hunter's Guide to the San Francisco Bay Area highlights more than one hundred haunted spots in and around San Francisco, all accessible to the public, where you can research and organize your own ghost hunt. Complete with handy checklists, procedural tips, and anecdotal evidence of previous sightings at each location, the guide is an inquisitive and informative supplement to-or replacement for-traditional tourist guidebooks of the Bay Area. Whether readers visit familiar haunts such as Alcatraz, Angel Island, Fisherman's Wharf, or lesser-known locations such as the USS Hornet, the Old Bodega Schoolhouse, or the First and Last Chance Saloon, all are sure to encounter places and consider possibilities unexplored by the average visitor. With advice on what to do with a ghost, what to do after the ghost hunt, and other telekinetic tidbits, this guide encourages travelers to be attentive and imaginative, willing to take that extra spirit-sighting step. For the curious armchair traveler, it is lively twist on Bay Area history and landmarks. "While sometimes scary, [the ghost stories] more often serve as reminders of the sometimes quirky, and oftentimes tragically haunting, history of the people of California." -The Reporter (Vacaville, CA) "I thought I knew everything about the wine country, but I apparently overlooked the protoplasmic 'walk by night' world." -Mick Winter, author of The Napa Valley Book

"A vivid read and well-researched guide for serious ghost hunters that also makes a handy travel companion for California history buffs." -Library Journal When you combine three centuries of exploration and settlement; Spanish, Mexican, and Yankee influence; a handful of natural catastrophes and manmade disasters; and vast swaths of eerie and desolate shoreline, you have an environment ripe for a haunting. From Moss Beach south along Highway 1 to Santa Cruz and down the coast through Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Lompoc, expert ghost hunter Jeff Dwyer guides locals and tourists alike through the most haunted and historic sites in the area. Praise for Jeff Dwyer's Ghost Hunter's Guide to the San Francisco Bay Area "While sometimes scary, [the ghost stories] more often serve as reminders of the sometimes quirky, and oftentimes tragically haunting, history of the people of California." -The Reporter (Vacaville, CA) "I thought I knew everything about the wine country, but I apparently overlooked the protoplasmic 'walk by night' world." -Mick Winter, author of The Napa Valley Book

It's not hard to find restless spirits in the Big Easy. Let the popular paranormal investigator guide you through its winding streets and history. Newly revised and updated, this installment in the much-acclaimed Ghost Hunter's Guide Series is designed for locals, new residents, and travelers seeking the haunted history of the Crescent City and nearby locations. Detailed descriptions and historical background for more than two hundred locations guide readers to sites where they might encounter ghostly apparitions. Sites and spirits in the Garden District and French Quarter include the ghosts of voodoo priestesses, victims of yellow-fever epidemics, several well-known French Quarter restaurants, and the famous Lalaurie Mansion, thought to be the most haunted house in New Orleans. A section on City Park, the Faubourg Marigny, and nearby Chalmette, the site of the Battle of New Orleans, is also provided. A chapter dedicated to day trips suggests the paranormal possibilities awaiting travelers destined for the famous River Road plantations and Baton Rouge. Praise for Jeff Dwyer's Ghost Hunter's Guide to the San Francisco Bay Area "While sometimes scary, [the ghost stories] more often serve as reminders of the sometimes quirky, and oftentimes tragically haunting, history of the people of California." -The Reporter (Vacaville, CA) "I thought I knew everything about the wine country, but I apparently overlooked the protoplasmic 'walk by night' world." -Mick Winter, author of The Napa Valley Book

The renowned paranormal investigator and ghost hunter shows tourists, residents, and even nonbelievers where to encounter spirits in the City of Angels. As useful to the paranormally curious as to locals and adventurers seeking new and unusual spots, Ghost Hunter's Guide to Los Angeles shows you how and where to seek out the supernatural in Los Angeles and surrounding areas-from Hollywood to Long Beach as well as destinations in nearby San Diego and Santa Barbara. Suggested stops include familiar locations such as Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Catalina Island, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Lookout Mountain, and missions like Mission San Juan Capistrano, Mission San Buena Ventura, and more. Many other suggested adventures refer to sights where ghosts of movie stars like Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, and Howard Hughes have been seen. There are also numerous anecdotes and leads for exploring more obscure supernatural entities like the "murdered waitress," the "ghost protester," "indigenous ghosts," and many other seemingly anonymous spirits around the Los Angeles area. The appendix is full of references for further exploration, including a list of local ghost tours, historical societies and museums, and an exhaustive list of suggested books, Internet resources, films, and national organizations relating to ghostly communications. A handy sighting report form is included to assist witnesses in the case of an encounter. "Jeff Dwyer has done it again. Easily one of the best Ghost Story writers working today. You will never look at the City of Angels the same way." -Ray Couch, Southern Ghosts

This guide is designed for locals, new residents, and travelers seeking encounters with area apparitions. With this book, paranormal adventurers can learn how to see beyond the surface of various locations throughout Seattle, including locations near the Puget Sound. Detailed descriptions and historical background guide readers to sites of various natural disasters, tragedies, criminal activities, and ghostly legends and lore. A suggested stop includes a stay at the Manresa Castle, noted to be one of the most haunted buildings in America. Another consists of a stroll of the parade grounds of Fort Worden Park in search of ghostly orbs and spectral odors. Jeff Dwyer explores the ghost of Eddie Hammond, guiding the reader along as an ethereal play unfolds. He also visits with the spirit of Catherine at the E.R. Rogers restaurant as she dines with the patrons. Dwyer's extensive knowledge and research guarantees the reader many spectacular, well-informed accounts that will leave them spellbound.