After the 1769 expedition of Gaspar de Portolá, an expedition led by Father Junipero Serra, named the area Vallejo de Santa Ana (Valley of Saint Anne).
Locations Featured:
Santa Ana High School Bonita Creek Fairhaven Memorial Park
Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society -
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YOUR HOSTESS dystopia Magazine Editor of Theater & Entertainment You know her, and we love her.
The wonderful Carol Sullivan, with her great passion of travel and scares, initiated dystopia Magazine's haunted tours section to keep you in the know of everything scary around America.
Check back for her next installment!
Directed By: Carol Sullivan | Produced & Edited By: Taryn Hough
The sprawling, cosmopolitan city of Santa Ana California, located a short 33 miles south of Los Angeles, was once nothing more than golden fields of mustard-grass. In 1869, a few people purchased land in the sunny valley from the Spanish, to start families and raise crops. Many Civil War soldiers retired in the area after the war, starting farms and traditions of their own. The small town grew rapidly as more easterners flocked to the booming southern California town.
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library's Photo Collection
Looking at Santa Ana now, it is hard to envision it as the sparse, struggling village it had been back then. Now the city is densely populated by nearly 340,000 people, tall office buildings, congested highways, while wall to wall homes have taken the place of the old farm houses and miles of orange groves.
But, it seems that not everyone from Santa Ana's past is ready to move into the present. The fabled ghosts of this area still enjoy making their presence known to this day.
One of the city's haunted tales centers around the ghost of a young girl named 'Alice.' Rumored to have died in some mysterious manner in the auditorium of the Santa Ana High School, eerie footsteps have been heard coming from the stage area, and people have witnessed the heavy stage curtains opening and closing on their own. Many of the school's students refuse to go into the back rooms of the auditorium, for fear of meeting Alice's acquaintance on their own.
Another story long-told is that of a luminous apparition that stands in the cool waters of Bonita Creek. The belief is that the ghost may be the spirit of a male visitor that came to the area decades ago, his ghostly form has been seen trying to snatch something from the water at his feet.
Photography By: Carol Sullivan
Perhaps the most famous Santa Ana ghost story centers on the historic Fairhaven Memorial Park & Mortuary. I had read that many people had heard the cries of children in one section of the mausoleum and some had even managed to tape record the sounds, so I grabbed my camera and headed for Fairhaven, my hopes high.
I was not disappointed.
Fairhaven Memorial Park began to serve the local residents in 1911. The 73 acre cemetery grounds are amazingly lush; landscaped with 1,000 trees from all over the world. I found many of the headstones and grave markers to be very old and incredibly ornate and beautiful, in their own sad way.
Making my way into the stately mausoleum building, (see 'maus' photo) I was quite taken aback by how cold and quiet it was, in comparison to the afternoon heat outside (103 degrees, and no breeze...not pleasant folks). Long hallways of cool, white marble crypts flanked the center chapel that was lined with antique wooden pews.
Photography By: Carol Sullivan
With no other visitors present, I was able to explore, undisturbed. The mausoleum was dimly lit only by the stained glass windows at either end, so it already felt pretty creepy, and understanding that these stone halls were a place of rest and peace, I respectfully moved through them as quietly as possible. (see 'crypt' photos)
But that's when some strange things began to happen.
I touched the marble wall near the crypt of a Ms. Margaret Miles, when I noticed this area felt warmer than the rest of the wall. Not thinking much of it, I walked on when a loud thump came from the wall near her crypt. It spooked me a little, so I got moving again.
A little while later, I perched upon a stone bench at the end of one of the halls and looked around at the name plaques on the crypts beside me. Suddenly, something cold stroked my bare forearm, causing goose bumps to rise on my skin. Finding nothing that could have caused it, I eased away with my arm still chilled...and humming.
A few moments later, I found a flight of stairs leading down and tip-toed downstairs into the basement which was also filled with marble crypts. Getting even less light from the windows, the basement felt very strange and smelled quite sour.
I was standing in a back hallway, when I got the distinct feeling that I wasn't alone. I quickly snapped a picture and headed towards the stairs. The sound of footsteps above me got me moving faster. See, I believed that I was the only person in the building. Now running, I took the stairs two at a time. I wanted to see if there was anyone walking around up on the first floor.
After a quick inspection, I discovered that I was still alone in the building. So, who, or what, was walking around up there?
See the image below for a close-up Photography By: Carol Sullivan
I swear I felt something in that cold basement hall. Still a little shaken, I drove home and immediately plugged my camera into the computer, and what I discovered really shook me up. This picture was the one I snapped in the basement just before I heard the footsteps. If you look at the photo closely, you can also make out a distinct face on the marble crypt (in the lowest right corner of the photo.) Look above the name plaque for a man's face and shoulders.
Now, before you say its dust in the room or on the lens, let me tell you that I cleaned and charged the camera before I left my house and the mausoleum was spotless -- even cleaner than my doctor's office.
And if it was dust, why do none of the other pictures have it?
While I never did hear the ghostly cries of the children, I do believe that something supernatural was with me that afternoon and I will never forget it.
Historic cities like Santa Ana have a colorful past and must hold many secrets and be home to many ghosts. Some may show themselves on a warm, sunny afternoon, while others may wait in the shadows -- waiting to be seen...and heard.
