Now that my Ghost Hunter's Guide to California's Wine Country is finished and staged for publication in September of 2008, I am currently investigating several haunted locations in Gold Rush-era towns scattered throughout the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Much the material gathered from these investigations will appear in my 2009 book, Ghost Hunter's Guide to California's Gold Rush Country. 

Bartholomew Park Winery, Sonoma, CA, September 17-through October:

    This investigation started weeks ago with research. Tonight (September 17), I started on-site surveillance with EVP work, still photography, and long-run video. Over the next few days I'll be filling in this space with reports of my findings. Later today, I add information and more photographs from my investigation.

Below: The Bartholomew Park Winery in Sonoma, CA, occupies a building that served as an asylum for the mentally infirm and delinguent girls.  Built in 1923, its colorful history has generated a lot of spirit activity, including that of Indians who may be buried here in unmarked graves.

       Right: the entrance to this historic winery   building has a spooky look, enticing ghost hunters and others looking for spirits.
             Below right and left; my colleague, Sally Aquino took these photographs consecutively in the morgue on September 24. A horizontal shadow seen along the wall, to the left of the shute opening, in the left picture, does not show up in the right picture. This could be an indication of something paranormal. We are currently analyzing these photographs and reviewing EVP gathered during this visit to the Bartholomew Park Winery in Sonoma.  

              
            Below: the shute in the right wall was used to lower empty caskets and retrieve full caskets from the morgue. 
                          Below, left: Landowner and matron, Kate Johnson sits on the steps of her mansion, surrounded by Sonoma's elite ladies in the late 1800s. The mansion burned mysteriously in 1922. Below, right: A carriage sits in the winery museum. It once carried Kate Johnson around the sprawling estate that is now planted with wine grapes.     Below: the basement of the Bartholomew Park Winery was once a morgue. When I first entered the room, I got the impression it was filled with unseen beings. The first pictures I shot came out blurred, as if several spirits were moving rapidly across the camera's field of view.  To the left, you can see the space after spirits moved out of the way. I got the impression the room "cleared out" after my first shot.  

   

H.M.S. Queen Mary, Long Beach, CA: June 10

    On June 10, I was on board the magnificent ocean liner, Queen Mary, docked in Long Beach, CA., to film a TV special for Comcast. With a great production crew, I did paranormal investigations at three locations; water-tight door number 13 where a sailor was crushed to death in 1966, the first-class swimming pool where ghosts of two women and a little girl appear, and a former kitchen where angry soldiers protested bad food by stuffing a cook into an oven, killing him. The ship may have as many as 600 ghosts making this a great destination for ghsot hunters who visit southern California.

Below: The gracefull bow of the Queen Mary, launched in 1934.

 The art deco interior of the Queen Mary is a museum of the 1930s, displaying the elegance that delighted royalty, movies stars, and politicians.

Ghost Hunting at China Camp, San Francisco

Bay, May 3

    Jeff Dwyer spent the day re-visiting a historic but little known part of San Francisco Bay called China Camp. As a teen-ager, Jeff sailed the Bay in a 28 foot boat, landing at historic spots mentioned in Jack London's books about oyster pirates, shrimp fishermen, and smugglers. Below: China Camp was established by Chinese fisherman after the Civil War. The enclave sometimes concealed pirates and other criminals from the law, resulting in raids. Most of the camp's buildings were destroyed in a great fire in 1911. 

Below: Some of the shreds used for storing nets and other equipment are weathered but  remain standing after more than a century of use.

Below left: Interior of a net shred. Ghost hunters hear boot-clad feet walking on the plank floor when one one else is in the room. Below right: the remote setting, surrounded by hills covered with thick brush, did not not protect the Chinese from frequent raids by rival fisherman and members of the Fish patrol, fore-runner of the state's Fisher and Game Department.

Ghost Hunting in the northern Gold Rush Country: April 2008

Jeff Dwyer spent most of the weekened re-visiting some of his favorite haunted locations in the towns of Grass Valley, Neveada City, and North San Juan. Situated on California's famous Highway 49, north of I-80, these vintage 1850s town have done a lot to preserve hundreds of buildings from the Gold Rush era.  

Below: the Bourn mansion at the Empire Gold Mine in Grass Valley was one of the richest hard rock mines ever discovered. The wealth it produced enabled the Bourn family to build an opulant house they called a "cottage." The place is haunted by William Bourn, Jr. and a woman whose style of dress has been described as "Edwardian splendor."  

Below: William Bourn, Jr. inherited the mine from his father and, with his cousin, expanded trhe shaft depthg to 11,000 feet with 367 miles of tunnels and drifts. Inside his house, a strange fog hovered in the dining room. 

Below: St. Mary's Convent, in Grass Valley, was founded in 1856 as an orphanage. My gradmother spent some of her childhood years here as her father searched for gold in Alaska. The ghosts of nuns and some of the childen who died here still walk the halls.

 Below: the most haunted Holbrooke Hotel is in the heart of Grass Valley. While wandering about the second floor I ran into members of Haunted and Paranormal Investigators (HPI) of Northern California. They captured orbs in digital images in several rooms.

Below: The Holbrooke was standing (at left, behind the trees) in 1865 when this photograph was taken.

Below: The National Hotel in Nevada City is also haunted. I've stayed in the place several nights and always encountered something paranormal.

Below: when my mother was a little girl, she spent part of her summers in old North San Juan. The exposed foundation beams of the old church, built in 1856, reveal marks left by the hand tools of the church's builders. Inside (right), hand-hewn pews give the impression that parishioners of the 1800s are still attending services.  

Below: Nevada City's Firehouse Number 1 stands as a fine example of Victorian architectural styling adapted for a public utility. Today, it is a museum that houses some haunted relics of the Gold Rush era.

Ghost Hunting in Georgetown, March 24, 2008

    The winding road from Placerville to Coloma is a little tough on some people, but on March 24, Jeff took on a tougher road, 16 miles of hair-raising asphalt, clinging to steep mountainsides, just to get to the tiny Gold Rush-era town of Georgetown. Aside from cars and trucks, this town makes visitors feel as though they've time-traveled to the nineteenth century. Two large buildings on Main Street are great destinations for ghost hunters who want to get off the beaten track and see something most haunted.

Below: Built in 1853 over a collapsed mine that trapped sveral miners, the American River Inn is open (and for sale) as a B and B. The beautifully restored interior has retained the nineteenth century ambience that has trapped at least two ghosts here.

 Below: The American River Inn in the 1870s. A man was murdered on the steps, at the far right end of the porch. His ghost haunts this spot and room 5, on the second floor at this corner of the building.

Below: Left, the long second floor hallway where guests hear unseen beings whisper their name. Right; room 5, where a lady of the evening used to live. She as her boyfriend sometime appear before astonished guests. The hooker threw herelf off the balcony to her death.

 

Even as recent as 1903, the Georgetown Hotel catered to miners and outlaws. The third floor  housed a brothel.

Ghost Hunting in Coloma, March 2008 

Jeff Dwyer and his son, Sam, visited several haunted spots in the Gold Rush town of Coloma, including the very sight where James  Marshall discovered gold in 1848. The mill where Marshall first spotted the yellow metal is represented with a reproduction, but it is chilling to walk around the site, marveling at the beauty of the the place and the impact of the gold discovery on the American West.

At the old Wah Hop Chinese Store, the atmosphere inside the building was thick with spirits. Photographs made with flash failed to show much illumination. It was as if the energy of the flash was absorbed by the spirits present inside the store.

Jeff had the pleasure of interviewing the owner of the Argonaut, a natural food cafe in Gold Discovery Park. The building was constructed in 1916 for a woman named Daisy , pictured below with a friend. This place was given a certificate of authenticity as a haunted place by local ghost hunter and psychic Nancy Bradley.

The most haunted Pioneer Cemetery was spiritually quiet during this visit, but Jeff discovered some interesting facts about the graveyard's most active ghost, the Lady in Burgundy.

Ghost Hunting in Placerville, February 2008

Early in February, Jeff Dwyer visited several locations in the Placerville area reputed to be haunted. Accompanied by Sally and Rayna Aquino and Jackie Ganiy of Sonoma Spirits, he interviewed occupants of businesses that are believed to be haunted and took several photographs of historic buildings. The group also performed an EVP sweep at the Placerville Union Cemetery.

Below: The historic Diamond Springs Hotel sits over a vortex and that allows spirits from several eras to visit. While attempting to capture EVP in the haunted men's restroom, Jeff witnessed a toilet stall door swing open and close through a forty-five degree arc. 

Below, left: The Chamber of Commerce building stands on the location of one of the towns infamous hanging trees. The ghost of the hangman has been reported walking on the second floor of this building. Below, right: The Hangman's Tree Bar and Cafe sits on the site of the town's first known hanging tree. Ghosts of its victims and other Gold Rush era characters walk through the barroom.

 Below: the Cary House has been featured on Discovery Channel and Travel Channel programs as a haunted hotel. While performing an EVP sweep of the first floor, all members of our group heard loud whistling that could not be traced to any human source.

Below, left: the historic Bee-Bennett House now houses the elegant Sequoia Restaurant. An ornate wood railing surrounds the stairway was a key element in a suicide. Below, right: A nanny hung herself over the stairway by tying a rope to the posts and flinging herself off the steps toward the front door.

Below: At the Placerville Union Cemetery, young ghost hunter, Sam Dwyer, admires a brass hitching post that adorns the grave of a horseman.

Hot Spots for Ghost Hunting the Wine Country

The Mountain Cemetery in Sonoma. This creepy cemetery contain the remains of some of the regions great pioneers, including General Vallejo. Jeff has encountered a tall figure dressed in a monk's brown robe, his head covered with a hood. This fellow appears to have a white face and pale blue eyes. Jeff witnessed him walk about 60 feet before the appariton vanished into the wall of a tomb.

Below: the Blue Wing Inn in Sonoma, built in 1840 by General Vallejo, housed Mexican soldiers, explorers such as Kit Carson, and many gamblers, hard liquor drinkers, and ladies of the evening. Ghost of some of these character still roam this old abode bulding. An evil presence has been detected on the rear balcony pictured here.

Below: The 1868 vintage cottage where Jack London died on November 22, 1916. Jack slept. studied, and wrote letters and novels in the glass-enclosed room to the left of the entry. He died in the tiny room, leaving behind a strange atmosphere. London's ranch is located in Glen Ellen, a few miles north of Sonoma.

 

 

 

Private paranormal investigations

If you have paranormal activity in your home or work place that disturbs you or intrigues you, contact Jeff Dwyer for a private investigation. All details of the investigation will remain confidential unless you sign a release of information that specifies the limits of disclosure and use of the material in publications.

Contact Jeff at

     Ghosthunter@jeffdwyer.com

Jeff Dwyer's House.

  Yes, Jeff lives in a house that harbors at least two ghosts. There may be a third ghost lurking about on the second floor. One of Jeff's ghosts also shows up at a neighbor's house that has the same floor plan.

Got ghosts?

If you live or work in a haunted place in California's Gold Rush Country (from Downieville south to Mariposa), contact Jeff at

      Ghosthunter@jeffdwyer.com 

and let him know what you have experienced. Your story may be included in his forth coming book,

Ghost Hunter's Guide to California's Gold Rush Country.