Urban Legends in California

When you think of California, you probably don't think of creepiness. Hippies, surfers, beaches, Hollywood... it's all pretty weird, sure, but not scary or spooky, right? Well, believe it or not, creepy California does exist, if you know where to look. The state has ghosts murders, legends, and monsters, and you might be surprised to see that some of them are about as scary as you can get.

Between ghosts and creepy serial killers, California has a genuinely bloody history, dating back to its formation. It could be the home of Big Foot, and old west ghosts are around, shooting it out in some of the nation's finest ghost towns. If you're all about the weird and paranormal, look no further than the Golden State.

You don't have to read this at night, and you don't have to turn off your lights. But with the scary stories and terrifying urban legends in California that we're about to delve into, we definitely recommend it.

Alcatraz Might Have Kept a Demon in Its Cells

Alcatraz is extremely haunted. There are ghosts of prisoners who died there and ghostly security guards. The place is full of spooky rooms, like those in the medical ward, which creak and groan like any good haunted prison should. There's a room called "the hole" in the depths of the prison that was used for solitary confinement, and it is the source of one pretty unnerving legend.

According to legend, sometime in the 1940s, a man was put down there and, throughout the night, screamed to the guards about a demonic creature with glowing eyes in the cell that was trying to kill him. The guards ignored this as an excuse to get out. When they opened the cell in the morning, they found the man strangled to death. No one knows exactly how he died.

Creepy Clowns Haunt Central California

It all began with the Wasco clown. In 2014, residents of Wasco, CA, noticed a creepy clown standing around, being generally terrifying. Police were called, an investigation conducted, and, eventually, it was revealed the clown was involved in a photography project, so, no harm, no foul. Although the project is pretty f*cking creepy.

It all could have stopped there, but it didn't. Inexplicably, copycat clowns began showing up all over southern and central California, and they weren't out to take spooky pictures. Instead, they were weaponized. Yes, multiple armed clowns terrorized small towns, for no reason anyone can discern. One 14 year old was even arrested for running around as a clown and chasing children.

Hotel Tap Water Runs Black With Death

So many aspects of this story sound like urban legend, but it's all true. In 2013, guests staying at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles reported their water was a dark color. The hotel sent a maintenance man to fix it. It turns out the problem was a human corpse I the water tank, which had been decomposing for weeks. The body belonged to Elisa Lam, and police never figured out who killed her (or whether she killed herself).  

But wait, it gets creepier. When police looked at security tapes of the elevator on the suspected day of Lam's death, they saw the victim acting... strangely. She got in the elevator, pressed a bunch buttons, and peered out when the door opened, as if looking for someone. She looked terrified the entire time. When she finally left, the doors of the elevator opened and closed a second time, as if someone else was there, but unseen. Was she being followed? Or was Lam, diagnosed as bipolar and depressive, having an episode? We may never know. 

Want to hear something else creepy? Her blog continued to update after she died. It's possible she had posts in her queue scheduled to publish, but still. Some suggest Lam had tuberculosis, and point out that the test used to determine whether someone has TB is called LAM-ELISA. 

The Black Dahlia Remains a Gruesome Mystery

On the morning of January 15, 1947, police in Los Angeles made a horrifying discovery: a woman, sliced cleanly in half at the waist, posed such that onlookers thought she was a manikin. The murder victim, identified as Elizabeth Short, was a young actress, and the public became entranced with the murder, nicknaming her The Black Dahlia. A massive manhunt ensued, but no one was ever charged, and the murder remains unsolved.

Almost 70 years later, we're still searching for the person who performed this gruesome and bloody murder, and their motive.

The Zodiac Killer Has Never Been Found

The Zodiac Killer is one of the most notorious murderers in United States history, and northern California was his hunting ground. In the late '60s, the bodies of two teenagers were discovered in Vallejo, shot to death. Then police received a threatening letter and a coded message. At least five murders have been attributed to the so-called Zodiac Killer. Notes continued to arrive, with weird, unknown codes even the experts couldn't crack, and no amount of investigation produced enough clues to charge anyone. 

Many people have been accused of being the Zodiac Killer over the years, but he has never been identified, and some of his mysterious coded messages have never been recorded. While he stopped killing long ago, there's no promise he's done for good, which might make you reconsider walking alone at night in the Bay Area hills. 

Dark Watchers Haunt the Santa Lucia Mountains

The Santa Lucia Mountains were hoe to the Chumash Indians and their lore tells us of a creepy phenomenon people still report today called the Dark Watchers. In cave paintings, you can see dark shapes on the mountains looking down. Throughout history, many, including author John Steinbeck, have reported seeing real life counterparts on the mountains. Some say they have dark hats and capes, others say they are ghostly phantoms and only show up at twilight.

No matter how the story changes, one thing remain the same: the figures stay still, watching, until vanishing. No one knows why, but they've been there for centuries, so it's unlikely they're going to stop anytime soon. 

Bodie is Awash in Ghost Stories

Where to even begin with Bodie? This ghost town is one of the best-preserved Old West outposts, a historic land mark and museum. Because so much of it is preserved, Bodie has plenty of legends and ghosts who call the place home. There's the Angel of Bodie, a little girl who haunts her grave site. Ghostly miners protect their claims or visit the prospecting office. And just about every building in town has a ghostly tale of its own.

To top it all off, the place is supposedly cursed. If you take anything out of Bodie as a souvenir (which is illegal, by the way), you will be cursed with bad luck in everything you try to do. There's even a book in the museum office of letters from people who have returned items in the hopes of lifting the curse.

There's a Burning Creature Stalking Camp Comfort County Park

The legend of the Charred Man is one of the darker and better known in California lore. Camp Comfort County Park hardly seems like a scene for horror and violence, but that Ventura County park has numerous ghosts, the king of which is The Charred Man.  The story goes, in the woods you can sometimes see a horrifying shape, not quite beast, not quite man. If you stop your car near those woods, this burning, disfigured thing may charge out to try to kill you, roaring like a raging inferno. People who have gotten away report ash marks and dents on their vehicle.
No one knows where he/it came from. Some say he was a child, burned in a fire. Others say he was a bus driver who went mad and crashed, killing all his passengers. Some say he is a beast or a demon. No matter what he is, you can be sure you don't want to mess with him.

The Billiwhack Monster Would Send Big Foot Running for Cover

It's been said Big Foot roams the hills of northern California, but the state has another monster with more fear factor. The legends dates to World War II. As the story goes, the Billiwhack Dairy was once a thriving, state-of-the-art farm with a dark secret. In rooms under the dairy, an OSS officer named August Rubel conducted horrifying experiments, trying to make a super-soldier to help the war effort. Unfortunately, he did not succeed, but created a monster, which was left behind when he went overseas to fight.

The monster, left alone, escaped, and now terrorizes high school students in the area, or anyone who dares to stop their car on a farm road late at night.

Gravity Doesn't Always Work Right in California

We're not just talking about the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot, pictured. In California, there's a phenomena called a "gravity hill." For unknown reasons, gravity works differently in these spots. For example, on gravity hills in southern California, you can put a car in neutral on hill, and the car will inexplicably appear to roll uphill. Many gravity hills have spooky stories, such as horrific car accidents or road-side deaths.

Is it some supernatural force at work? Or just a trick of perspective, as many suggest? Well, you'll just have to try it and find out.

Joshua Tree is Home to Skinwalkers

If you ask Native Americans of Joshua Tree about Skinwalkers, you're unlikely to get answers. These not-quite-human exiles of the native faith are said to be malicious witches or medicine men who don't like being looked at, or intruded upon. Even speaking of them brings bad fortune, thus the silence on the matter. Sometimes they shape shift, taking the form of coyotes or wolves, or imitate injured children to lure people in. At night, they're known to terrorize campers and kill people. They've been rumored to frequent Joshua Tree National Park.

All this wouldn't be so terrifying if it wasn't for the fact people are found dead in Joshua Tree fairly regularly, and some go missing without a trace. Is it heatstroke, or maybe something a little darker?

Don't Venture Into Turnbull Canyon Alone

Turnbull Canyon is full of weird stuff. A gravity hill, an abandoned insane asylum, ghosts, and supernatural sightings pepper the landscape, thought it's an enticing locale for hikers. However, there's one legend that's creepier than the rest.

During the Great Depression, rumors circulated that Turnbull Canyon was a meeting place for a satanic cult. This cult did more than praise the devil; they were said to buy and sell children, and kill them in dark rituals. To this day, you can supposedly see ghosts of children roaming the area, victims of the kidnapping cult that may still exist. One thing is for certain: this isn't a hike you want to make on your own.

There's a Ghost in Stow Lake

There are plenty of ghost stories in the San Francisco Bay area, and haunted buildings are pretty much everywhere. That said, there's one ghostly tale that's been around for over a century, and is rather tragic.

The story goes that a woman pushing her baby in a stroller near Stow Lake in Golden Gate State Park sat down to take a rest. Another woman sat beside her, and they had a nice, relaxing chat. They were so engrossed, they didn't notice when the stroller rolled away, into the lake. After a while, the lady got up to leave, and saw the stroller missing. She raced around the park, asking everyone she could find, "have you seen my baby?"

At long last, there was no other place to check but the lake, so she waded in, all the way under the water, in search of her child. She never resurfaced. There is a statue in her honor by the lake, and you can supposedly summon her using it. Of course, she might kill you if you do, so summon at your own risk.

There Are Tiny Men Who Mess With Climbers on Mount Shasta

This might sound completely nuts, and more funny than frightening, but the legend has been around for a long time. Ever since people first started climbing Mount Shasta, there have been reports of "little people" who usually mind their own business, but occasionally communicate with climbers. They lives in small dwellings on the mountain, and they also have access to portals that lead to fairy portals.

Again, this doesn't sound so scary, but if you're a serious climber and you suddenly find yourself looking way down at the ground hundreds of feet below, the idea of these little people might sound a touch more sinister.

Route 66 Has a Bridge Where No One Wants to Get Their Kicks

There are songs written about Route 66 in California, and it's a favorite road-trip route with classic hotels and tourist traps along the way. Even with all that going for it, there's still one stretch of road in Pasadena that isn't a place you want to stop.

The Colorado Street Bridge has been around since 1912, and the first time someone jumped from it to commit suicide was in 1919. Since then, there have been at least one hundred suicides on the bridge. With suicides come ghosts, and some say the ghosts pressure people to jump as they walk along the bridge. So, it's probably worth it to take a detour and stay away from this part of Route 66.

Do you still want to visit California?!