Once at the center of California’s Gold Rush, Shasta and Siskiyou counties boast sites worthy of interest to historians, tourists, anthropologists ― and even ghost hunters.
People who look after some of the North State’s oldest hotels, houses and even an entire ‘ghost’ town, share stories about pioneers and profiteers who allegedly stuck around long after their gravestones settled into the ground.
Northern California’s colorful history is fertile ground for spooky tales, said historian and tour guide Mike Grifantini, and lawlessness and harsh lifestyles in those early days give some sites an eerie feeling.
Those interviewed for this story spoke of benign spirits that roam historic places from Yreka near the California-Oregon border to Whiskeytown.
Here are three places where numerous people reported haunted experiences.
Shasta State Historic Park’s Courthouse Museum
Once Shasta County’s courthouse in the late 1800s, the Courthouse Museum sits among the ‘ghost town’ shops that flank Highway 299 in the small community of Shasta, about 10 minutes west of Redding.