Looking for some real San Jose haunts this spooky season? The Haunted San Jose page hosted by that city’s visitor’s bureau provides a list of locally believed to be haunted places around the city. Check out Haunted San Jose on that site!
Their list naturally includes the Winchester Mystery House (I got some crazy photos there many years ago), Grandview Restaurant (on the way to Mt Hamilton in the eastern foothills – amazing views), Quimby Road (in the Evergreen foothills, where a jogger is sometimes seen), and several other areas.
In nearby Saratoga, the restaurant, Bella Saratoga, is also saddled with the haunted reputation.
If San Francisco’s not too far, there are actual ghost tours that you can enjoy. They often include the lovely Queen Anne Hotel, which isn’t just occupied by an unseen spirit, it’s a helpful one!
There are many more places in the South Bay and beyond which are said to have spooky inhabitants. One of the most notorious was the Toys R Us in Sunnyvale. That chain closed down, and that location is now an REI store. I’d love to hear if there are any happenings there now.
Wishing all of my readers and fans of haunted homes a very happy Halloween – all treats, no tricks!
Also I want to remind everyone that I do not just collect ghost stories, but actually do sell homes in Silicon Valley. If you are in the market to buy or sell a house, townhouse, condo, etc. in Santa Clara County or nearby, please give me a call or send me an email! My office is in Los Gatos but I sell all over the South Bay (San Francisco Bay Area).
Mary Pope-Handy
Realtor, CRS, CIPS, ABR, SRES
Christie’s International Real Estate Sereno
Cal DRE License # 01153805
(408) 204-7673
mary@popehandy.com
Halloween movie night is a great way to get into the spirit of the season! Halloween is now upon us, but it’s not too late for a fun (and possibly scary) evening to get everyone in the mood!
Whether you’re looking for a classic, think Hitchcock, or corny (though I still qualify Attack of the Killer Tomatoes as a classic), thrills and chills abound – there’s a gamut of possibilities out there!
Here’s an article with some great tips for hosting your own Halloween Movie Night!
Ever wonder the best approach on how to ask if a place is haunted? Today I’ll share a few tips on what has worked for me.
Needless to say, this isn’t a conversation for every business or home that someone visits. But if something comes up on your radar, maybe it’s worth a gentle inquiry.
How to ask if a place is haunted: ease into it
About half of the population doesn’t believe in ghosts, and some of them may get upset if someone even broaches the subject. As much as possible, it’s best to easy into the question and not blurt out (as I did more than once) the question when a place seemed like there were spirits lingering.
If the home or business is older or historic, and it feels like there could be a presence, a warm compliment and gentle inquiry may work if you’re asking someone open to it and if that person knows much. For best results, I strongly advise doing this in person and not over the phone, in an email, etc.
Example: “This is a gorgeous old building / home / library / church! Do you know if there are any interesting stories?”
Depending on your audience, you may get a quirky history story that’s fun to hear, or you may get more. I’ve had both happen. Open ended questions are usually best.
My friend L.C. shared her personal experience of a New England haunting with me and she’s given me permission to recount it here. What’s especially fun is that this New England haunting is not about people so much as beloved pets who come to visit!
“My uncle bought a very old farm in Connecticut countryside (where my family is from on my mom’s side). It was built in like 1771 or 1772 and I think it was a tavern at some point before or during the war. There’s reportedly a civil war soldier that has been seen on the stairs.
“As a teenager, he left me alone in the house one night — only one neighbor in a mile in either direction I think,, and I thought I was going to just freak. Every single creak of the house….I was a nervous wreck.
“In the same house, I also encountered a ghost cat one night laying in bed — it literally crawled on me while I laying awake chatting with my Aunt Sue. I asked my aunt, ‘There’s something on me, it’s crawling, I can feel it but i can’t see it!’ She said it was a cat that had died that liked to come back and crawl into bed with people. Eeek!
“They also had a small white dog ‘April’ (little poodle) that ‘came back’ and was seen by the family in the kitchen one day. My uncle died and left the house to his granddaughter who lives there now. She says she hears and feels things but hasn’t seen anything yet. ”
It’s nice to be reminded that some hauntings are friendly ones!
Last night I read about a haunted showing in a Facebook group for Realtors, Real Estate Mastermind. The buyer’s real estate agent, MyoungJin Joo, gave me permission to share her name and reprint her story here. She began with a question, and then shared her haunted showing story:
Has anyone experienced a paranormal incident at the showing with your clients?
This listing looked so good to be true sitting on the market over 18 days in this crazy market! My clients and I were so happy looking around this home.
While my clients were looking around one of bedrooms on the second floor, a door of dresser all of sudden swung open… I screamed like ‘Holy sxxx!’ Telling my clients to run… then the husband closed the door before leaving that room as his reaction.
After running out of that house, the wife told us that she found that same door open in the room and closed it as soon as she walked into that room before this whole thing happened…
After that, I could not focus on showing the homes to my clients… one crazy day!!!
MyoungJin (or MJ) unleased a huge number of comments about haunted showings from her colleagues on this group. Of course, a few people opined that the dresser was simply unlevel, or that screws needed tightening on the door – but the deluge of personal stories might lead one to believe that at least some Realtors have had experiences in homes, whether alone or as haunted showings with buyers.
Ghosts aren’t the only ones who seem eternally homebound this year. Many ghost walks, haunted tours, and paranormal explorations are canceled due to the pandemic. But not all. Raise your spirits and wander into the unknown with one of these ghostly excursions around the San Francisco and Santa Cruz Bay Areas and nearby.
Notice: Due to the nature of the pandemic, it is very likely there will be changes, so be sure to double check hours and availability, and follow all health and safety rules when attending any event or visiting any public place.
Search for “graveyard” in a dictionary and the definition will likely be a single word – “cemetery.” When used in everyday conversation, the two words are commonly interchanged without a thought, but these two eternal resting places have their differences.
Word Origins Tell a Story
The first known use of the word cemetery predates graveyard by three centuries. It stems from a melting pot of languages, according to merriam-webster.com, and roughly translate to “sleeping chamber” or “burial place.” Graveyard, on the other hand, appears to have evolved from the much older terms “grave” and “churchyard.” Churchyards, or land belonging to a church and usually adjacent to it, were regularly used for burial grounds although it was not their exclusive purpose. Designated areas within a churchyard that were reserved for burials came to be known as graveyards.
There is a long and complex history of Western burial practices, but suffice it to say that religious organization (i.e. the Church) usually dictated the terms. This means graveyards were often exclusive final resting places for members of a shared religion, and more often than not, of a specific local parish community. While graveyards used to dominate the scene for burials in the Western world, they’re extremely uncommon in modern use. Why is that?
The Whispers Estate, an old Victorian house, is for sale in Indiana. Priced at $130,000, the home features 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 3700 SF, wooden floors, the furniture, a lovely wraparound porch in front, and maybe a ghost or two.
You can read about the listing on the Realtor.com website 714 W Warren St, Mitchell, IN 47446, but don’t expect any open house events. Homes which are reputedly haunted are more likely to attract looky loos than serious home buyers, so for this property, potential home owners will need to be pre-approved and have an appointment to see the old mansion.
A view of a walking mall in Salem, MA, taken Oct 4, 2019
Quick link post to share an article I just read on Realtor.com’s news and information section since I thought some of my readers may find it of interest:
Halloween movie night is a great way to get into the spirit of the season! Halloween is now upon us, but it’s not too late for a fun (and possibly scary) evening to get everyone in the mood!
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