“…and that was the first time I realized I saw a ghost..” The ranger of Bodie Historic Park had just finished telling me about the first time she caught glimpse of the alleged spirit that haunts this pioneer town. I felt odd listening to her – not quite believing her story yet somehow not disbelieving it; feeling an overall sense of unease and discomfort at the idea that she may have actually seen a ghost just feet from where I’m standing. Although Bodie is widely considered a ghost town (and one of the more prolific ones in the United States) it remains humble about its status, even downplaying it as to prevent ghost hunters and thrill seekers from sneaking into the park after hours. In recent years, the park board has decided to embrace its haunted status and offer ghost tours, although you won’t find costumes, gimmicks, or fake blood here–Bodie is simply a deserted town dating back to the 1800s.
It’s hard to imagine that there wouldn’t be ghosts in Bodie–a forgotten town that was once considered one of the top ten cities in California back in its hey day. Bodie was once a mining town that quite literally struck gold and went from a no name place to a popular destination in the Bodie Hills, east of the Sierra Nevada mountains. More than 10,000 people called Bodie home and walking around its present day dirt roads, you can still see signs of its former grandeur in the form of old saloons and once extravagant hotels.
Clouds gather ominously over the downtrodden buildings, drops of rain land on the tip of my nose and a chill weaves its way through the empty fields where fog hangs thickly, surrounding this historic site. Today, Bodie looks exactly as you would imagine an old pioneer-era town would look with dilapidated wooden houses, rundown mills and dusty buildings. It is stunning how detailed the remains of Bodie are; from worn school desks to antique homes with peeling, cloth wallpaper and crumbling furniture–the way things are left gives the creepy impression that all of its 10,000 inhabitants got up and left without reason. Couches remain intact, bottles sit discarded by window sills, a worn down peeling globe is spotted in the window of a class room where everything is coated with a thick layer of gathering dust.
The Cain House on Bodie’s main avenue seems to be the main draw as tales of hauntings and ghostly encounters surround it. Legend has it that a prominent couple lived in the Cain house and had a maid of whom Mrs. Cain was fiercely jealous, convinced that her husband had a flirtation with the young, Chinese woman. Without any probable cause, Mrs. Cain fired the woman who then–driven by grief over her tarnished reputation–committed suicide. Today, the woman is said to haunt the Cain house and has been allegedly spotted in the second story window of the home by many visitors and employees alike. The haunting of Cain house seems to be just one story of many in a desolate ghost town allegedly haunted by more than 12 different spirits.
As though ghosts weren’t enough to shove the forgotten town of Bodie into the spotlight, an alleged curse follows the town and threatens all who dare to walk away with a piece of Bodie in their pocket. With items strewn across the town, sitting openly in buildings, it is all too easy to pocket a memento to remember your visit by. According to park lore, anyone who dares take an item from Bodie will take home a curse of bad luck; the curse is evidently real enough that the park rangers have reported getting numerous packages from visitors with the returned stolen item, apologizing for taking it and hoping their luck will change. Now, being somewhat of a cynic and realist here, this perhaps is a brilliant and elaborate way to preserve the historic site yet the alleged curse definitely adds to the overall sense of foreboding that infuses Bodie.
When it comes time to leaving Bodie and continuing my adventure down California’s Route 395, I still have that sense of unease about California’s ghost town. With homes left as though their owners will be back tomorrow, there is the unshakable feeling that business in Bodie has been left unfinished, as though a pause button had been pressed on the thousands of inhabitants that were there one day and gone the next. Perhaps ghosts do exist in Bodie or perhaps they don’t–regardless of what you believe one thing rings true: visiting Bodie is a perfect Halloween treat that serves up more than its fair share of tricks.
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