Looking to get spooked in Sacramento? The state capital of California has a history rich in violent deaths and gruesome happenings dating back to the Gold Rush days. Perhaps the spirits of some of those gold gatherers are still lurking in old saloons and motels. Sacramento offers many allegedly haunted hotels and inns, with some ghosts believed to be over a century old and others more recently checked-in spirits.
The Holbrooke Hotel, which first opened its doors during the Gold Rush days in 1851, is the oldest running saloon west of the Mississippi, according to its website. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the hotel attracted several famous guests during its early days, including presidents Ulysses S. Grant and James Garfield. Author Mark Twain also stayed at the lodging.
The Holbrooke reportedly is haunted by spirits, old and new. Guests report that old Gold Rush-era patrons drag chairs across the reception hall's dance floor or turn lights off and on. An aged cowboy is said to hang out in an old storeroom. Some staff have reported poltergeist activity, witnessing people being pushed and cans being thrown off shelves.
New ghosts are still being discovered at the end of the first decade of the 21st century--the latest is said to be Arletta Douglas, a long-time area resident who helped preserve the Holbrooke--she now haunts its dining room, which is also named for her.
Just south of Sacramento, at the Sierra Nevada House, guests may run into several mischievous spirits. This hotel was opened in 1850 and catered toward miners and tradesmen. Burned down in 1902, it was rebuilt as a theater. It burned again in 1925. When it was rebuilt, it was turned back into a hotel and remains one today, in 2010.
Guests and staff speak of the ghost "Christopher," who is said to move hand utensils and pots and pans around the kitchen. Room 4 is supposedly haunted by the not-so-friendly ghost of a former guest who shot his girlfriend in that very room.
Quite a bit of haunted history surrounds Vineyard House, located just outside Sacramento in Coloma. The hotel was once the mansion of vineyard owners Robert and Louise Chalmers. In 1879, just about a year after the mansion was built, it was said that Robert went mad. Louise chained him in the basement--for his own protection--but Robert refused to eat and died of starvation. The next year, the grapevines withered away and Louise had to close the winery. To make ends meet, she took on boarders and rented out the basement as a jail, where several hangings were held. Boarders have reportedly run from the house scared, after hearing chains rattling.
In 1956, the mansion was converted into a hotel. Guests and staff continued to report screams, visions and poltergeist activity. And, to add to the eeriness of this hotel, it is situated on Cold Springs Road, across the street from the Pioneer Cemetery.
One of the most haunted spots in Sacramento is said to be the Old Sacramento Tunnels. Those looking to stay at a haunted hotel in the area may also want to investigate this haunted, historic site. The tunnels were the original streets of the city; according to the Sacramento Bee, during the late 1860s and early 1870s, the city worked raised the land to avoid flooding, leaving the original first stories of the buildings underground. In those days, the tunnels and sites below became a haven for opium dens and brothels. Even in 2010, business owners with access to the tunnels have reported strange noises and menacing energy coming from beneath.
