Researched, written, and compiled by author, Aubrey Graves
Mission Santa Cruz, The Mystery Spot, Oakwood Cemetery, The One Double Oh Seven Club, Paradise Park, The Pasatiempo Golf Course, Pogonip, Pono Hawaiian Grill, Railroad Tracks, The Red Room, Red, White, and Blue Beach, River Street, Sake, The San Lorenzo River, Santa Cruz Beaches
Mission Santa Cruz
Built in 1791, The Santa Cruz Mission holds the legend of Padre Andrés Quintana. The Father was known to beat and whip the Ohlone Indians while they were working at the mission, some as young as eight years of age. He was also said to sexually assault various women, and so his cruelty got old fast. One dark, stormy night on October 12, 1812, Father Quintana was ambushed by several members of the tribe, for they could no longer bear his malicious acts. Some of the Indians choked Quintana to death, while others crushed his testicles with rocks from the mission’s foundation. He was then neatly tucked into his bed as if he had died in his sleep.
Many believe Quintana’s spirit still curses and roams the area, known as “Haunted Hill,” trying to inflict pain and poverty on anyone he can. Witnesses claim his ghost has been seen dressed in a brown robe and sandals standing at the altar inside the mission, and is even seen walking through the park across the street.
Replica of Mission Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA
According to several Santa Cruz Sentinel articles I found, Andrés Quintana as well as a few Indians are buried underneath the haunted Holy Cross Church located across from the Mission.
In 2012, local Sensitive Mel U. and I visited the Mission during the witching hour one night. We received responses on the Ghost Radar while using dowsing rods. We also recorded an EVP of some type of tribal drumming.
On the 200-year anniversary of Father Quintana’s death, local reporter Mat Weir, psychic Jena Reece, and I visited the haunted mission. Standing near the property, we believe to have spoken with both Indian spirits and with Quintana himself. Quintana’s presence was strong; we sensed that he didn’t want us there. When I asked if he’d like us to leave, the flashlight turned on. Not leaving quickly enough, an unseen force poked local psychic medium Jena Reece on her side, causing her much discomfort.
While we were walking along the side of the Santa Cruz Mission, Jena saw the ghost of a middle-aged woman in a white gown walk across School Street and disappear before reaching the other side of the road.
MISSION SANTA CRUZ
Historical Landmark
State Historic Park
Year built: 1791
144 School Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 425-5849
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The Mystery Spot
The Mystery Spot was discovered in 1939, and was opened to the public in 1940 for touring. This particular location is definitely bizarre. It is known as a gravitational anomaly, where the law of physics does not apply. Some think it’s all an optical illusion. Others consider there is a vortex at the Mystery Spot creating the abnormal surroundings and generating a supernatural portal to another dimension. Many employees, locals, and researchers believe that long ago an alien spacecraft crashed into the mountains in the vicinity of the Mystery Spot, causing all of the weird anomalies at the park.
“Most of us here believe there’s a large alien spaceship underground and the motor is still going in circles, and that causes the large gravitational pull that makes us lean,” Dailymotion.com. It is said that the ghosts of the aliens who died in the crash haunt the vicinity of the Mystery Spot.
Many of the Eucalyptus trees located around the attraction are twisted into corkscrew shapes. Normally Eucalyptus trees grow straight with small bends here and there. A theory that some scientists have is that the trees are trying to counteract the pull of the Mystery Spot.
As well as other phenomena, the majority of cameras have a hard time focusing in the cabin to take pictures and to record videos. Camera’s batteries are known to drain quickly when inside the slanted house, too.
A Mystery Spot staff member stated that there was an elderly man who used to come to the attraction once or twice a week because it made him feel younger. The visitor claimed that he would take in the energy waves that are created by the Mystery Spot, and that this energy gave him “oomph.” Several others notice that their migraines go away when they reach the cabin.
Over the years, people have claimed that the attraction is haunted, and that ghosts are drawn to the gravitational pull. Some have claimed to see bright, colorful, glowing orbs around the Mystery Spot at night.
THE MYSTERY SPOT
Year originated: 1940
465 Mystery Spot Road
Santa Cruz, CA 95065
(831) 423-8897
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Oakwood Cemetery
Founded in 1908, the Oakwood Cemetery in midtown Santa Cruz definitely has a personality of its own. Located off the busy roads and freeway, the memorial park is surrounded by trees and next to an open field, occupied by critters and deer.
Soon after I arrived at Oakwood Cemetery late one night in 2011, I witnessed a pure black shadow person flying low to the ground from tree to tree. It appeared to be male, about six feet tall and gave out awful, angry energy. I was able to see its profile clearly because of the back-lighting at the grounds keeper’s home.
I then saw another shadow person that looked a little bit different. The second dark apparition seemed to be touching the lawn when it traveled; I noticed the bounce in its walk. This entity also looked like a male and was in the same vicinity as the last, but was walking in the opposite direction. It seemed to have shaggy hair that hung down low over its face. This apparition didn’t scare me nearly as much as the first, though; for it emanated a strong sense of sadness and despair.
Additional Information:
-High EMF has been found around certain areas of the cemetery and EVPs have been captured.
OAKWOOD CEMETERY
Year founded: 1908
3301 Paul Sweet Road
Santa Cruz, CA 95065
(831) 475-2464
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The One Double Oh Seven Club
I spoke with a bartender who shared her amazing supernatural encounter which occurred around 2009. One day while she was opening the bar, she noticed two regulars walk in. Knowing their orders, she began making their drinks, and as she turned around she noticed only one of them was standing there. She asked the patron where the other regular went, and he said he came alone, and that he was sad to inform her that the other regular had died a few days prior. She swears that she saw the deceased customer clear as day walk in, just as he always had for many years.
THE ONE DOUBLE OH SEVEN CLUB
Year established: 1989
Club & Smoking Parlor
1007 Soquel Avenue
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
(831) 425-9589
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Paradise Park
Long ago, Paradise Park Masonic Club was used as a gunpowder facility known as Powder Works, from 1864 until 1914.
One tragedy that will never be forgotten was the accidental explosion that occurred on April 26, 1898. Locals saw sparks in the air and felt a huge blast from two miles away. “Most of the men killed in the blast had been torn apart, their bodies tossed dozens of yards in all directions,” -Santa Cruz Sentinel. On that occasion it had killed eleven workers, and over the years, several other explosions had occurred on the land, killing both residents and employees.
The vicinity on and around Paradise Park is claimed to be haunted by past Powder Works employees. Level-headed workers would see ghosts near the location where the former employees died.
It is said that the ghosts of the former workers are known to make their appearance on the eve of the explosions at the front old Powder Works covered bridge.
Years later, the site was restored into a private community with a view of the river. In 1997, a couple that had lived there complained about their home being haunted. They alleged that on many occasions they were able to hear voices around the house – voices that spoke a foreign language.
Mass grave of the Powder Works victims, Santa Cruz Memorial, Santa Cruz, CA
PARADISE PARK
Year originated: 1924
211 Paradise Park
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 423-1530
http://paradiseparkmasonicclub.org/Joomla/
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The Pasatiempo Golf Course
The luscious and breathtaking 18-hole course was designed by famous English golf course architect Dr. Alister MacKenzie, and was open to the public in 1929.
Multiple reports attest that the avid golfer is said to haunt the Pasatiempo Golf Course, where he also lived, till the day he died; on January 6, 1934.
At sixty-four years of age, Alister MacKenzie passed away from a heart attack after a short illness at his home he had built along the course’s property.
MacKenzie was cremated, and his ashes were planned to be sent back to his birth place; yet legend has it that his ashes were spread around the golf course.
Pogonip
According to local lore, “The Ghost of Pogonip” has been haunting the vicinity ever since an Ohlone Indian was sentenced to death by his tribe for standing up to his elders. With his dying breath, he cursed the tribe and swore to haunt them for eternity. Many believe his curse on the tribe and on the area is the cause of strange deaths and peculiar events in and around Pogonip.
Several locals and visitors said that they saw spirits throughout Pogonip, along with hearing chanting.
Surrounded by hiking trails, high on a hill in Pogonip Park stands the condemned Pogonip Clubhouse, which is also claimed to be haunted. Built in 1911, the house was used as the Santa Cruz Golf and Country Club until 1930. In 1935, it was reopened as the Pogonip Polo Club, until WWII, when it was used as a rehabilitation center for the soldiers at war. In 1948, the Pogonip Club was back in action hosting sporting events until 1986 when it became condemned.
According to a Santa Cruz Sentinel article from 1988, “Guard Shawn MacDonald, who patrols the property, including the club grounds, recounted how he was doing his nighttime check on the building one recent night, and without warning or human interference, the lights went on. Another guard refused to go inside again after, during a solitary patrol he heard footsteps following him one night.”
In 1987, the clubhouse was used as “Grandpa’s house” in the motion picture: The Lost Boys, (1987). Since then, it has been is known by numerous locals as “The Lost Boys House”.
POGONIP
333 Golf Club Road
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 420-5270
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Pono Hawaiian Grill
My friend Timmy, owner of the fabulous Hawaiian lounge in downtown Santa Cruz, hit me up in 2013 to investigate his restaurant after he and former workers had a few unexplainable occurrences. Timmy first showed me some eerie video footage his security cameras had caught just a week before. Several stacks of glasses that were on a counter and against a wall literally flew forward, as if an unseen presence had hit the stack of glasses from the center. It was clear and obvious on the footage that the stacks of glasses which are always there, didn’t just fall over. Two bartenders were standing in the vicinity when the glasses shot out which completely spooked them both.
A Pono waitress shared with me that she always sensed there was a spirit there, but it never scared her. She just could feel that there was someone around.
Cooks have claimed to hear a child crying near the bar in the early hours of the morning, as well as feeling a presence within the structure.
I brought two psychics there on separate occasions and they both believe a little girl haunts the establishment, and had been killed in or in front of the building. One psychic said it could have been a possible car crash.
In 2015, my friend’s 3 year-old daughter claimed to see the ghost of a girl while dining on the restaurant’s patio. She knew nothing of the hauntings, nor that the ghost of a little girl is believed to haunt the Pono Hawaiian Grill.
PONO HAWAIIAN GRILL
Year built: Circa 1920
120 Union Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(Downtown)
(831) 426-PONO
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Railroad Tracks
Ghost trains have been heard and witnessed around Santa Cruz County over the years, particularly along the beginning of Highway 9 in Santa Cruz, where trains no longer go.
“Five of my friends and I were walking late at night along the railroad tracks. We had been walking back to campus from The Garden of Eden when we saw an extremely bright light behind us on the tracks. It made a sound like a train, so we all got off of the tracks and waited for it to go by. The light came closer and closer, but it never passed us. The light just went out, and its sounds evaporated,” a local student shared.
Some runners had a similar experience in the same area with a ghost train, though they actually witnessed a train filled with passengers with blank faces pass by them. They didn’t think much of it, since the train seemed real and the passengers much alive. A few minutes down the trail, they came across a man who was cutting up a giant tree that had fallen on the tracks. They then wondered how the train could even pass the tree. Getting spooked they decided to turn around and found that both the woodsman and the tree had mysteriously vanished.
(Along the very beginning of Highway 9)
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
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The Red Room
The historic Victorian on Cedar Street was built in the late 1800s and was once used as a brothel, before being used as the Santa Cruz Hotel. Legend has it that a forlorn prostitute took her life by hanging herself in the building upstairs, where the women’s restroom is presently located. Her ghost, as well as others, are said to haunt the elegant eatery and bar.
Employees and guests have experienced very unusual encounters over the years, particularly when they are alone. Objects are said to move on their own, disembodied footsteps and voices have been heard, and apparitions have been seen.
“I heard footsteps as if someone had entered the bathroom. The footsteps got louder and it almost seemed as if someone was pacing back and forth in front of my stall. I looked under the door and realized there was no one else in the restroom other than myself,” a customer shared.
I spoke with a couple employees who both believe the building is haunted and have each had an encounter. “That’s so weird,” a waitress said to me when I asked about the haunting. “We were just talking about that.” The young employee had only been working at the restaurant for a little over a month but was well aware of its ghost stories.
A young bartender who I will call Marie, stated that she sees two spirits in her peripheral vision around the lounge area, usually around 4 am, when she’s alone in the structure a few times a week. Marie shared with me that a woman who looked to be in her late twenties wearing a long pale yellow Victorian dress has been sighted near both ends of the bar and in the kitchen. “She’s the one that appears the most . . . she’s just kind of there observing everything,” Marie said.
A young man in a brown three-piece suit and a top hat is the other spirit that’s sighted most frequently, walking around the establishment and standing near the entrance of the lounge.
“I’m comfortable with them here. It’s not negative; they’re not being a menace, they’re just here, like we’re all existing together,” Marie explained. They do, on the other hand, like to get into a little bit of mischief at times. “We’ll get a lot of weird calls, especially right after I see the ghost with the three-piece suit. I answer and they’ll hang up, or I’ll answer and there’s no one there at all; and that happens at least two to three times a week,” concluded Marie.
The phantoms also like to move items, such as keys that have to constantly be replaced. “I’ll hang up the keys, turn my back, look back, and they’ll be gone,” Marie declared with frustrated amusement.
THE RED ROOM
Bar, restaurant and lounge
Year built: late 1800s
200 Locust Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(Downtown)
(831) 425-1913
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Red, White, and Blue Beach
Red, White and Blue Beach is known for its ghostly goings. It is documented that when the beach was open to the public, dozens of campers, locals, and tourists had unexplainable encounters there and nearby.
One of the oldest legends that has been told by locals for generations is about “the window that doesn’t exist.” While walking the beach late at night, many guests say they have seen a window lit up on the hill overlooking the water. Witnesses have described the window as cathedral-like. Some claim to have even seen movement and full body apparitions pacing in front of the ghostly window. As the sun rises, there is no house to be seen – just an empty hill.
On the cliffs overlooking Red, White, and Blue Beach, stands a cottage known as “The Edwards’ House.” (See Edwards' House story on the page titled, "Haunted Houses of Santa Cruz.") The home was built and owned by a sea captain in 1857, who is believed to be the spirit haunting the vicinity today. This ghost is known to roam the perimeter of Red, White, and Blue Beach and has been seen by many people over the years.
Additional Information:
-Witnesses have seen moving blobs and bolts of light, along the haunted beach. Some claim to have actually captured the anomalies on film.
-It is said that a woman was murdered on the beach by her boyfriend, and that her ghost haunts the vicinity as well.
RED, WHITE, AND BLUE BEACH
Highway 1
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Note: The beach is currently closed to the public.
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Sake - Japanese Steak House and Sushi
During the turn of the century, the land where Sake now sits was once occupied by the Italian American Hotel. While it was used as an inn, legend has it that the mafia was known to hang out in the dwelling. Local historians also claim a murder took place on the property.
In the 1960s, Adolph’s Restaurant was built in place of the hotel. This is when the ghost stories began to arise. There were reports of paranormal activity near the buffet, the kitchen and in the restrooms. Past employees alleged feeling and hearing the unnerving presence, as well as noticing objects move on their own, such as plates that were mysteriously being stacked in the kitchen, and some falling on the floor and breaking. Some individuals actually claimed to see the spirit and described him as a tall, dark male dressed in 40s attire with a long coat and hat.
I went to Adolph’s in 1998 with a friend, without knowing any of its background or haunted past. As soon as we entered the building, I sensed it was occupied by a spirit. The air was oppressive, the atmosphere unearthly. My friend’s mom happened to work there at the time, so I figured I should at least ask if anyone else felt an entity in the building.
“Is this place haunted?” I asked my friend.
“Yes! How did you know?” she asked.
“I can just tell,” I said.
The unexplained activity went on and became more intense over time. It was then that the owners decided to get professional help to try and rid the place of the unsettling presence, so they contacted the Berkley Psychic Institute. It is not known if a psychic did indeed visit the restaurant, but the hauntings are claimed to continue to this day.
Adolph’s closed a few years later, and the China 1 Buffet took over for a short period of time, as did Fuji Restaurant; before being sold to the present owners, who transformed the building into a Japanese steak house.
Fuji staff claimed never to have spoken with former Adolph employees about the hauntings, but report seeing the same dark shadow man at times within the structure.
SAKE- JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE AND SUSHI
Year built: 1960’s
525 Water Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
(831) 427-0182
www.sakejapanesesteakhousesushi.com
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The San Lorenzo River
According to legend, the town’s first Caucasian visitor was a shipwrecked sailor who wasn’t accepted by the Indians. The tribe saw him as an intruder and sentenced the sailor to death. One of the tribe members warned the sailor of his tribe’s intentions, and when his clan found out, they condemned him to death as well. With the Indian traitor’s last breath, he vowed to haunt his people forever. The “Spirit of the San Lorenzo River” is said to have terrorized the Indian tribe until he divested them all.
Many feel this curse lives on, as well as some of the Ohlone Indians forever haunting certain areas of the river.
THE SAN LORENZO RIVER
Off Highway 9
Santa Cruz Mountains, CA
(Runs from Boulder Creek to Santa Cruz)
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Santa Cruz Beaches
According to local lore, the ghost of a woman known as, “Lady of the Sea” is said to haunt several beaches in Santa Cruz. It is claimed that long ago she had drowned in a possible ship-wreck, and her spirit still endlessly wanders. She has been sighted normally at dusk, or sometimes at night, and when the moon is full. “The Lady is described as very pale and typically garbed in black flowing clothing. Upon nearing spectators, she usually vanishes, sometimes with a cackle,” Santa Cruz Wiki. Legend has it, she was involved with some of the night surfers near drownings; possibly helping to prevent the surfers from losing their lives in the sea, just as she had.
SANTA CRUZ BEACHES
Santa Cruz, CA 95060