Author: Rick Rockwell
California’s Most Haunted Places: Where History Meets the Paranormal
Behind the picture-perfect landscapes of California’s rugged coastline, golden sand-filled beaches, rolling hills, wine valleys, and mountain ranges, lies a shadowy trace of Urban Legends that describe the most haunted and cursed places in the state. These terrifying tales blur the line between fact and folklore, as they are born...
Heart-Stopping California Urban Legends of Blood-Thirsty Monsters
California is home to some of the most terrifying Urban Legends about blood-thirsty monsters. In fact, only the state’s diversity of landscapes can match the assortment of legends detailing man-eating, blood-sucking, and soul-devouring creatures. It’s as if each tale is creepier and more bizarre than the last. California’s monster...
California’s Infamous Tales of Buried Loot
For centuries, tales of buried treasure have gripped the imagination of adventurers, historians, and treasure hunters alike. Among the most well-told legends are those rooted in the California landscapes that were traversed by stagecoaches, gold rush miners, and outlaws. This collection of Golden State lore, whether woven from truth or...
The Hidden Treasures of California’s Lost Gold Caches
California’s legendary Gold Rush era wasn’t just about famous gold mines and grand discoveries, it also birthed tales of hidden caches that remain lost in time. However, these are not just wild, imaginative stories; they’re fragments of history, whispers of fortunes long buried beneath the earth, awaiting rediscovery....
California Legends of Lost Spanish Gold
California’s affection for its Gold Rush heritage often overshadows deeper, older tales that are rooted in the region’s colonial times. Whispers of hidden Spanish treasures buried long before prospectors raced to this coastal frontier in 1849, can be heard through the echoes of history and the crackles of cross-cultural folklore....
Tales of California’s Lost Gold Mines
California’s lost gold mine legends are part history, part folklore, and part wishful thinking. Whether viewed skeptically or with romantic enthusiasm, these lost California treasures capture the restless spirit of the Gold Rush era: the lure of hidden wealth, the drama of sudden discovery, and the frustration of losing it again....
The Ryde Hotel: A Delta Landmark Rooted in History, Mystery and Controversy
California’s Delta region is full of places that feel like they belong to another era, and the Ryde Hotel is one of the most memorable examples. Sitting along Highway 160 near Walnut Grove, this historic California Delta hotel has been tied to Prohibition raids, speakeasy rumors, riverfront escape stories, old Hollywood lore, brunch...
May Hollister Woolsey: Sacramento’s endearing urban legend
When searching for haunted places in Sacramento, one name constantly pops up in the results: May Woolsey. Her story is sad, strange, and oddly endearing. May was a real 12-year-old Sacramento girl who died in 1879, but the reputation that grew around her did not stay buried with her. Over the years, people have claimed …...
Abandoned Colfax Hotel: The Story Behind It
Long ago, when the town of Colfax, formerly Illinoistown, was surrounded only by mountains and dirt roads, the iron horses of the Central Pacific and later Southern Pacific Railroads were blazing a trail in its very direction. In fact, Colfax became the heart of a new junction, connecting Grass Valley and Nevada City to the …...
Glen Alpine Springs Resort: Tahoe’s earliest resort, filled with history and adventure
Hidden near Fallen Leaf Lake and the Glen Alpine Trailhead, Glen Alpine Springs Resort is one of the most intriguing historic sites in the South Lake Tahoe area. What began as a mineral spring discovery in the 1860s grew into one of Tahoe’s earliest mountain resorts, tied to Nathan Gilmore, John Muir, Bernard Maybeck, and …...
