The East Bay’s Most Notable Ghost Haunts
When it comes to ghosts, spirits, spooks, phantoms or wraiths I have three distinctly different frames of references, all a product of Hollywood and what I saw on television or in a movie growing up. The first is Casper, the friendly ghost. Casper was a sweet and gentle ghost who, along with his nice witch friend Wendy, would go around making friends while helping people understand that ghosts were nothing to be frightened of as long as you kept an open mind. When I was six I talked my mom into buying me a Casper costume for Halloween. Unfortunately, being somewhat husky, I more closely resembled the Michelin Tire guy’s illegitimate son. In my teens I was introduced to the wildly silly paranormal activity in the movie Ghostbusters. Who could forget Bill Murray’s character, Dr. Peter Venkman, getting slimed while chasing an especially nasty green tinted apparition from the afterlife while the catchy “GHOSTBUSTERS” sound tract played in the background? More recently, M. Night Shyamalan brought us his impression of what I’ve always imagined real ghosts to more closely resemble, Bruce Willis in a bad hairpiece. In his celluloid masterpiece, The Sixth Sense, the audience is blown away by the plot twist at the end of the movie? Finding out that Willis’ character had been dead for most of the flick and only the innocent Haley Joel Osment could see and communicate with his ghost freaked out the entire theatre.
In the greater East Bay Area we don’t hear about many reported ghost sightings on the Channel 7 evening news or in the Contra Costa Herald. Oh sure we’ve all had that feeling from time to time of a spirit like presence in our vicinity at Broadway Plaza and who hasn’t heard a melodic voice wafting through the trees while walking alone on the Iron Horse Trail? I can’t be the only one who’s had their furniture inexplicably moved around the room while they’ve slept in peaceful Danville? But ghosts…? Come on. In a phone interview with Loyd Auerbach, a Director at the Office for Paranormal Investigations in Martinez and an instructor of Parapsychology Studies at the HCH Institute in Lafayette, I learned that while older East Coast cities such as Boston, New York or Philadelphia, where the age of a structure and the history of the area contribute to the chances of paranormal activity there are places of unusual phenomena sprinkled throughout our local suburban landscape. The fact that Mt. Diablo (translated means Devil Mountain) sits in our back yard has some relevance. Apparently many of this area’s most active spirit hangouts are within eyesight of Mt. Diablo. Mt. Diablo can be said to have either an unusually dynamic soul of supernatural activity or it’s the geomagnetic fields in the surrounding earth that can explain the incomprehensible metallurgy which get misreported as spirit sightings. Mr. Auerbach says that while there is significantly more commotion reported in East Bay homes, there are a few relatively well know public locations that have had people talking for years. The Banta Hotel in Tracy, the Rosehill Cemetery in Antioch, the former Quail Court Restaurant in Walnut Creek (currently vacant), the Black Diamond Mines of Concord and apparently the City of Clayton (at the northeastern base of Mt. Diablo) which has been routinely recognized for its abundance of paranormal activity ever since the infamous Poltergeist of 1957. Now I don’t know if the ‘57 Poltergeist was anything like the film but just to be safe I’m never moving there. In fact I don’t think I’ll ever play golf at the Oakhurst Country Club again.
Perhaps the best-known East Bay spectral destination is the famed aircraft carrier, the U.S.S Hornet, which is now a museum and event center berthed at the closed Alameda Navel Air Station. The Hornet has long been recognized for having a reputation as a haunted ground. While the trustee’s that run this National Historic Landmark and popular tourist attraction downplay any actual ghost sightings or unusual occurrences, Mr. Auerbach says that the treasured history of this storied vessel could explain its reputed spirit visitations. The Hornet is the eighth ship of the United States Navy to bear the name dating back to 1775. Its wartime legacy is impressive. The vessel, currently housed at the former Alameda Navy Air Station, CV-12 is one of the most decorated combat ships in the U.S. Naval fleet. and holds the record for the number of enemy ships and aircrafts destroyed during World War II. The U.S.S. Hornet also had the honor of retrieving Apollo capsules 11 and 12 from the Indian Ocean upon their splash down following trips to the moon. After being decommissioned and languishing at the Bremerton Shipyards in the state of Washington, the Hornet lay in disposal status until 1997 when a determined volunteer effort was successful and the proud ship was converted into a floating museum and relocated to Alameda. Since the ship’s renovation began the number of phantom sighting is rumored to be in the hundreds. Due to the Hornets popular community outreach activity, the Youth Liveaboard Program, they do not sensationalize this aspect of the ships appeal but Mr. Auerbach has consulted for several TV specials on this very subject.
Whether or not ghosts actually exist is up to each person’s own beliefs. In an informal poll of roughly 20 people it was split evenly between the believers and non-believers. Loyd Auerback says that while most occurrences he investigates are easily explained he adds the possibility of a spirit’s presence or the sighting of an apparition, especially if the historical circumstance of the location would dictate a reasonable explanation, does exist. Visit any library, bookstore or Amazon.com and you’ll find thousands of books and documentaries on the subject of ghosts, paranormal activity, supernatural occurrences, etc. Logic usually prevails when it comes to things we can’t explain, but if you keep an open mind it’s not impossible to accept the possibility of a ghostlike existence in our living world. In the immortal words of Ray Parker Jr., “I ain’t fraid a no ghosts”.
Side Bar
Loyd Auerbach, M.S., is a respected parapsychologist. He is a Director at the Office of Paranormal Investigations in Martinez and a teaching member of the staff at the HCH Institute in Lafayette. Newsweek proclaimed his book ESP, Hauntings and Poltergeists as “Sacred Text” on the subject of ghosts. Mr. Auerbach has appeared on over 100 local and national television shows on the subject of ghosts and paranormal activity and has consulted on countless movies, television shows and books. He is typically contacted through referral sources such as the Rhine Research Center but he is also listed in the yellow pages under Parapsychologist.
Once Auerbach has been contacted about an unusual occurrence, he first tries to explain away the event in a phone interview. He says, “Oftentimes a person mistakes what they saw, the sighting occurred too far in the past, or they’re just plain nuts.” He adds, “If it is a current phenomenon and there is some type of history connected to the person or place and an investigation is warranted, I will make it a point of doing my investigation immediately.” The investigation itself consists of Auerbach visiting the area, talking with those involved and getting a sense of the psychic energy. The Moss Beach Distillery, a popular restaurant in Half Moon Bay, is Auerbach’s favorite haunted spot and the site of his most vivid experiences with a spirit coined the “Blue Lady.”
You can read learn more about Mr. Auerbach, his services and adventures at www.mindreader.com or contact him at esper@california.com
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