Sacramento Ghost Stories

Sacramento is a city built on broken dreams, a small metropolis spawned from a slew of crudely-pitched tents and decrepit wooden shacks that sprang up along the banks of the Sacramento and American rivers. A city that in some respects, was never meant to be a permanent settlement at all. The watershed event that arguably established the state of California ironically proved the ruination of the three men responsible for the phenomenon that brought hundreds of thousands to seek their fortunes in the stream beds, hills and fields of the Sacramento Valley and beyond. John Sutter, the Swiss-German immigrant who was looking forward to decades of prosperity on his land grant from the Mexican government, finally lost the battle to keep the hordes of fortune-seekers from overrunning and plundering his estate.

Towards the end of his life, a despondent Sutter noted in his autobiography, “Without the discovery of gold, I would now be the richest man on the shores of the Pacific. (Gudde: 231).” As for the throngs who came from across the country and the entire world, very few prospered. For every one who did, there were hundreds more who succumbed to poverty and vagrancy. Many did not survive the perilous journey across the vast wilderness, or the arduous, four-month sea voyage around South America’s Cape Horn. Those who arrived at their destination had often spent every cent that they had getting there, and when their dreams did not pan out, had no means of returning home.

Some adapted, finding other vocations and pursuing different goals. Others starved, or took ill and died, and a great many took their own lives. Crowded, unsanitary and lawless conditions accounted for a whole host of social ills and natural disasters that claimed countless more lives. Within a decade of the Gold Rush boom, most mining operations had been taken over by large, commercial interests, and the days of the plucky prospector with his pan, pick and shovel faded into history.

But not all of history is so easily put to bed. So many met vile, violent, unsettling ends that Sacramento is thought to be “alive with ghosts.” Much of this activity centers on Old City, the original spot at the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers where dauntless gold seekers descended and intrepid entrepreneurs first set up shop. Restless spirits silently stalk their old haunts, some locked forever in their familiar routines. Others seek vengeance on those responsible for their unhappy conditions, oblivious to the fact that the perpetrators are far beyond mortal retribution. There are those who seem lost, wandering without purpose and having forgotten what they were originally seeking. A few actually appear to be happy, remembering all that was good and blissfully forgetting the unpleasantries that led up to their present circumstances.

Phantoms at Fulton’s

Standing across the street from Fulton’s West End Bar and Grill in Old Sacramento, one might easily get the impression that an entire building is missing. But closer inspection reveals an opening in the wrought-iron fence, leading to ancient brick stairs that descend surreptitiously into a quaint courtyard. The surrounding walls that form this secluded, outdoor café hold 150 years of often turbulent history, which supposedly manifests itself in occasional unexplained occurrences.

Situated at the confluence of two rivers, Sacramento was plagued by repeated floods, with no less than five during its first 12 years. After 1862, residents decided that the existing levees were insufficient, and raised the level of the entire city by 12 feet. As a result, the first floors of the existing buildings became the basements, or were abandoned entirely. The building that houses Fulton’s predates the raising of the city, and the old brick retaining walls which were constructed are clearly visible in the restaurant’s main dining area. Much of the labor was done by Chinese immigrants, who came to California in droves during the Gold Rush.

Being the manager, Brian Rodriguez spends a lot of time at Fulton’s late at night, after the customers and most of the staff have already gone home. He admits that he doesn’t particularly like being in the building alone. April Williams has tended bar at Fulton’s for six years. Shortly after she started, she found that on some mornings, chairs inside the restaurant had been turned backwards during the previous evening. April, as well as other employees and patrons, have also felt certain cold spots -a phenomenon often associated with spiritual activity.

As an experiment, a customer once took home a vase of dried flowers from one of the “haunted” dining booths, where patrons had sometimes complained of chilly drafts. When she woke up the following morning, the chairs at her dining room table had all been turned backwards. She promptly returned the flowers. April said that the staff usually warns new waitresses not to be alarmed by the occasional tugging on their skirts by unseen individuals. In the past, servers have been so unnerved that they have quit. April has never had a ghost tug on her clothing, but she recalls standing near the back of the restaurant one day, and feeling drops of liquid on her head. Looking up, she expected to see wet paint or leaking water from the rafters, but there was no sign of either.

In October, 2005, a pair of mother and daughter psychics visited Fulton’s, and pointed out certain areas where they said that people had died. The so-called Mafia Room – a large, private space with an oblong table and paneled, wood walls- gave off such negative energy that the two women refused to even enter. Shortly after the two psychics departed, Brian got a lesson in humility. He was joking with some of his employees about their haunted workplace when a large, potted fern about 20 feet from where he was standing suddenly fell over, making a loud clang. The group bolted from the room. Brian is a bit more careful about what he says now.

Ghosts of the Delta King

Constructed in Stockton, California between 1924 and 1927 with its sister ship, Delta Queen, the luxurious, five-decked sternwheeler Delta King is a repository of colorful anecdotes, myths and memories. Flagships of the California Transportation Company, the pair shuttled passengers, freight and mail between the capital and San Francisco, a dusk-’til-dawn voyage that spanned 125 meandering miles along the Sacramento River. This proud legacy endured for 13 glorious years, but the decades that followed saw the ships’ gradual descent into disuse and disrepair. In the 1980’s, the King was raised from the muddy riverbed where it had lain half-sunken for 18 months. After five years of extensive repairs and renovations, the King was resurrected as a floating hotel permanently docked in Old Sacramento.

Much of the original ship has quietly disappeared over the years – the engines long since scrapped, the paddlewheel replaced by a perfect replica, sections of the hull sealed and re-riveted, the 88 guest rooms consolidated into half as many. But something lingers aboard the 75 year-old vessel, something intangible, yet somehow intransient. The frequent appearance of a little girl dressed in 1930’s-era clothing has been observed by numerous employees and hotel guests alike. Sometimes, the child is seen bouncing a ball along the decks or the stairways. She is alternately playful and frolicsome, or melancholy and morose. Sales and Catering Manager Kim Johnson thinks that the girl is the daughter of a woman who worked as a server on the Delta King. While on board, the child took ill and died. Unaware that she has “crossed over,” she is looking for her mother.

According to Kim, the consensus among Delta King employees is that there are three dominant spirits on board – the little girl, a gentleman, and an elderly woman. Granted, not all of the staff is convinced.

In February of 2005, Kim was standing in the hallway outside of the Paddlewheel Saloon, located aft on the second deck, when she noticed out of the corner of her eye a man dressed like a butler. “He was just floating by the window, inside the room.” The sighting was in the middle of the day, and the saloon was closed and locked at the time. Upon investigating, Kim found no one inside. Later that year, she observed the same mysterious man standing just outside the saloon. Just as quickly as he had appeared, he faded from view.

Karen Macais, who works at the front desk weekdays from 3:00 ’til 11:00 p.m., has heard on several occasions the sound of a girl’s crying, coming from the hallway behind her. Kim Johnson apparently encountered the ghost in a lighter mood. In December of 2004, Kim and one of the bartenders were in the Delta Lounge on the fourth deck, when the drinking glasses started shaking and rattling, and the sound of high-pitched laughter and a child’s running footsteps filled the room.

Karen and other employees have also seen a man wearing a captain’s hat, a white shirt and dark blue pants. He always appears in the periphery of vision, and seems to approach the front desk before suddenly turning in another direction. To no one’s surprise, he strongly resembles the individual whose portrait hangs in the Captain’s Suite – the lavishly-furnished quarters on the fifth deck that rents for $550 per night.

Jenny Johnson is not particularly unnerved by “the captain,” but she was shaken by the eerie, unseen presence that seemed to hover over her when she worked as a “turn-down”- making beds and preparing vacant rooms for future guests -in the Captain’s Suite. Concierge Katerina Toulopoulos agrees that there is some kind of presence. “There’s no denying it,” she said. “Something’s there.” DeeDe Griffin says that people react differently to allegedly haunted places. In some cases, they are eager to visit and investigate for themselves, or they are skeptics anxious to disprove the rumors. Other guests, however, want nothing to do with restless spirits.

Ghosts in the Library

As an institution, the Sacramento Library was established in 1857. The New Central Library, a six-story edifice which adjoins the original one, was added in 1992. A $30,000 grant from industrialist Andrew Carnegie funded the main building, which was erected in 1917 and was the first such structure with an all-steel frame. Located at 8th and I streets, the Old Central Library contains meeting rooms, offices, and a Rare Book Room, in the corner of which sits a vault where hundreds of old books and manuscripts are stored.

According to branch manager Clare Ellis, this vault seems to be the hub of the supernatural activity. Staff members and volunteers alike have been frightened by thumping and rustling noises, which usually occur at night after closing. Even more alarming is the counter-inertial behavior of the aforementioned glass bookshelves. Clare admits that the perpetrators seem more mischievous than malevolent, and sometimes a verbal admonition suffices to halt the spectral shenanigans. Other times, she says, the phantom pranksters are more stubborn, determined to be rambunctious despite repeated requests.

In those cases, Clare usually decides to adjourn until morning. Less frightening but equally perplexing are the books that seem to enjoy playing hide and seek. One staff member will look for a certain title exactly where the book should be, and find nothing. Several minutes later, when someone else is searching, the book will reappear in its proper location. A custodian on duty at about 4:00 a.m. one morning was startled by a loud crash after he had turned off the lights in one of the administrative offices on the third floor.

Flicking the switch back on, he discovered that a typewriter that had been on one of the desks was now lying on the floor. This was especially puzzling because the desk was perfectly level, and the typewriter had not been sitting near the edge. The custodian put the typewriter back where it belonged, then hurried out of the room. Strange sights and sounds are not limited to the old building. There have been intermittent reports of a spectral woman on the third floor of the New Central Library. Sometimes she is dressed in red. Although most sightings are brief and indistinct, an employee in 1992 recalls seeing a deceased co-worker standing at the end of the check-out line in the main lobby. The library had just re-opened after a week-long hiatus following the fatal shooting of two staff members by a deranged patron.

The co-worker was standing at the end of the check-out line in the main lobby, dressed in her familiar white pleated skirt, and holding several books under her arm. The librarian on duty thought nothing of it at first, then realized that something was terribly wrong. When she glanced again, the lady in the white skirt was gone (Sacramento Library). People are not the only ones who have seen unsettling things in the Sacramento Central Library. Youth Services Librarian Rebecca Higgerson trains service dogs for an organization that pairs the animals with disabled people. Rebecca often brings the dogs to work with her so that they can get used to a variety of different environments. Her first protégé was a playful, ambitious Golden Retriever and Yellow Labrador mix named Tori.

One morning before the library opened, Rebecca and Tori were playing fetch in the Children’s Department. While dashing madly after a tennis ball that Rebecca had just tossed, Tori skidded to a halt, stopping a few feet from a corner where the rest rooms are located. The animal seemed to be staring at something, and was unresponsive when Rebecca called her name.

“I finally reached her and pulled her away, because quite frankly I was a bit spooked by the incident,” Rebecca recalled. “I walked back to my original position with her and tossed the ball again. She refused to go after it. We headed for her leash and I took her outside for a break. Immediately upon our return, I walked her into the area on leash, but she was resistant and started to whimper. I gave up, now completely wigged out by her reaction.”

About the Author

Allan M. Heller is a free lance writer and author of three books -Fabjob Guide to Become a Life Coach (Fabjob, Ltd., December, 2003), Philadelphia Area Cemeteries (Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., April, 2005) and Monuments and Memorials of Washington, D.C. (May, 2006).