The Weird, the Strange, the Unusual of California focusing on strange roadside attractions, unusual stories, fantastic legends, creepy ghost stories, and much much more. Here, you won't see the run of the mill tourist sites that California has to offer, but instead some of its lesser know secrets. Now the places and things described within don't follow the normal concept of what a tourist would usually go and see as they toured California. No, we here at Weird CA took the strange path through California to bring you the unusual, the different, the strange, and the weird. Visit haunted hotels, meet unusual people, dine amongst the spirits, hear old campfire tales and peruse old historic landmarks. We hope you enjoy these and our future topics; and that you will continue to join us on the strange path. http://www.weirdca.com Fri, 02 Nov 2007 12:00:00 GMT Fri, 02 Nov 2007 12:00:00 GMT en-us Copyright 2007, Joe Parzanese According to the rumor, almost two hundred years ago, a woman drowned in Black Lake near Oceano. Legend states that she was murdered, and now centuries later she haunts the location of her death. She appears in a black ruffled Victorian dress with a full skirt, tall neck, puffy shoulders, long tight sleeves with black lace at the cuffs. She also wears long black jeweled earrings and her hair is pulled up. However, the bizarre part of her appearance is that she has absolutely no face, just glowing errie white light where her nose, eyes, lips, etc would be. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=91 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=91 Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT This Ole House is open for business again as The ClubHouse! And the Ghost of John Vittey still lurks within its walls! http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=3 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=3 Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:00:00 GMT So I was out for a week in Kansas City, Missiouri and decided to find something weird in the city. I was rewarded with giant badminton birdies or shuttlecocks as they are apparently referred to in Kansas City. The Shuttlecocks as the sculpture is called can be found at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=210 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=210 Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:00:00 GMT Although the most famous pyramids in the world are in Egypt, California surprisingly has its fair share of the triangular shaped structures. But we're not talking about structures such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco and the Walter Pyramid at Long Beach State University, but instead pyramids meant for their original intention: housing the remains of the dead. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=204 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=204 Mon, 09 Jul 2007 12:00:00 GMT The Greystone Mansion in LA was the site of tragedy and now could be haunted. Thanks to Scott W. for all the pictures of this beautiful mansion. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=44 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=44 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:00:00 GMT The Witch's House lies nestled in Beverly Hills, but looks like it came right out of a Grimm's Fairy Tale. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=203 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=203 Mon, 30 Apr 2007 13:00:00 GMT The Stagecoach Inn in Newbury Park is rumored to hold three different spirits within its walls! http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=101 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=101 Thu, 26 Apr 2007 13:00:00 GMT From about Avila Beach, through San Luis Obispo, and all the way up to Monterey, runs the Santa Lucia Mountains. Lurking within these mountains are the strange and mystifying Dark Watchers. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=179 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=179 Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:00:00 GMT Around 5pm on April 27th, 1863, the Ada Hancock, a ferry boat in Los Angeles Harbor, exploded in a large fiery ball of flame, gun powder, and debris. Twenty six of the over fifty passengers were killed, including a Wells Fargo employee who happened to be carrying $125,000 in gold bullion for transport up to San Francisco. The wreckage of the Ada Hancock, and much of what it was carrying sank to the bottom of the harbor and still hasn't been located to this day. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=75 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=75 Tue, 20 Mar 2007 07:00:00 GMT Before California became a state Yerba Buena Island was known for its phantom cow, which could be seen wandering the island. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=159 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=159 Mon, 19 Mar 2007 11:00:00 GMT In 1884, a creature that appeared to be a cross between a plesiosaur and a sea serpent was sighted in the lake at the small town of Lake Elsinore. Since then at least once a decade, the creature has apparently been seen. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=164 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=164 Sun, 11 Mar 2007 01:00:00 GMT One day I visited the Stagecoach Inn in Newbury Park. The Inn is suspected of being haunted by as many as three different spirits. As I took the guided tour, I arrived in the kitchen and upon peering out the back window saw a large sign hanging on the back of the house at approximately basement level. It said "Wild Animals" with the words "Importer Exporter" above. Curious why such a strange sign was hanging on the back of the historic building, I of course asked our guide. She told me about a piece of history for the area. She told me about Jungleland. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=197 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=197 Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:00:00 GMT This is one of those stories that so far I can only attribute to local urban legend dating back from World War II. As the story goes a tall muscular apelike humanoid with long claws and ram-like horns on the top of its head lurks around the area of Santa Paula in Ventura County. It calls the area known as the Camulos Ranch its home. Specifically it has been encountered on Aliso Canyon Road and occasionally the Wheeler Canyon Road near what once was the Billiwhack Dairy and Ranch. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=76 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=76 Tue, 13 Feb 2007 16:00:00 GMT At one point there were giant oranges lurking along many of the highways throughout California. These giant oranges operated as juice stands, eagerly awaiting thirsty travelers to pull over and partake of their fresh cold orange juice. At a time when most cars didn't have air conditioning and the highways were not the super fast freeways with on and off ramps of today, the orange stands did a busy and successful business. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=134 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=134 Tue, 23 Jan 2007 16:00:00 GMT Several updates have occurred to the entry on Santa Claus, formerly of Santa Claus Lane in Carpenteria, now residing in Oxnard, south of Ventura. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=1 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=1 Tue, 16 Jan 2007 16:00:00 GMT If you want to see several stars all in one place, then the place to go is the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Of course, the stars that you'll see there are all mostly long dead and gone; I say mostly. Founded in 1899 and located on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, the Hollywood Forever Cemetery not only is the resting place for hundreds of Hollywood's stars and other famous persons, but remains a fully operating cemetery to this day still performing new burials and cremations every week. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=138 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=138 Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:00:00 GMT On October 4th, 1911, the not famous, the not successful, and the not rich outlaw, Elmer McCurdy was gunned down by a posse shortly after he robbed a train of approximately $46 and two jugs of whiskey in Oklahoma. In December of 1976, a Universal Studios camera crew in Long Beach discovered Elmer's body in a funhouse. How McCurdy's corpse traveled half way across the country to end up there and the events that took it there make up quite a strange story. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=173 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=173 Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:00:00 GMT Back in the 1800's, frontiersmen and cowboys spoke of a strange creature stalking the deserts of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and the rest of the Southwest. This strange, fearsome, and often intoxicated creature of folklore is the cactus cat. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=166 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=166 Thu, 30 Nov 2006 16:00:00 GMT Bubblegum Alley located on Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo is simply an alley that the locals have decided to completely cover with partially chewed bubblegum. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=22 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=22 Thu, 23 Nov 2006 19:00:00 GMT Frog and Peach Pub in San Luis Obispo contains a ghost from the early 1900s lurking in its basement. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=34 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=34 Thu, 23 Nov 2006 18:46:00 GMT Back on January of 1866, a man wrote a story about a spirit residing on Kearny Street in San Francisco. The story was published in the Territorial Enterprise, a newspaper in Virginia City, Nevada and the man who wrote it, the San Francisco correspondent for the paper, was Mark Twain. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=162 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=162 Thu, 23 Nov 2006 07:55:00 GMT The 1890's brought tragedy and eventually ghosts to a ship in San Francisco! http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=160 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=160 Thu, 23 Nov 2006 07:28:00 GMT If you travel down Marina Boulevard in San Francisco, when it hits Mason, turn right into what looks like the beginnings of a parking lot. In reality, however, you're on Yacht road. Head down past the Yacht Club to the end, then get out and walk along the jetty there. You will eventually arrive at San Francisco's Wave Organ. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=150 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=150 Sun, 12 Nov 2006 04:24:00 GMT The bridge with the highest number of suicides in the world is located in San Francisco. Yes, it is the Golden Gate Bridge. At a cost of $35 million, the 1.7 mile structure was opened on May 27th, 1937. About ten weeks later, Harold B Wobler left his job on a barge, strolled onto the bridge, talked with a tourist, and then jumped over the side, becoming the first of currently well over a thousand suicides. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=88 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=88 Sun, 12 Nov 2006 00:27:00 GMT At 4,210 acres, Griffith Park in Los Angeles is not only the second largest park in California but also one of the nation's largest parks. Located within the park is the Griffith Observatory, the Greek Amphitheatre, the Los Angeles Zoo, the Museum of the American West, the Travel Town train museum, two golf courses, a merry-go-around, countless hiking and horse trails, the Haunted Hollywood Sign, a few ghosts, and an old 1863 curse. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=123 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=123 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 17:36:00 GMT If you cruise around to the back of Pierce College in Woodland Hills, over by the stables down the back entrance and along a badly in need of re-paving road, you'll find the Old Trapper's Lodge tucked practically out of sight in this remote area of the school. Most of the students probably don't even know it exists and the administration fully admits that they don't pay for the location's upkeep. What is the Old Trapper's Lodge? Why it's several statues and folk art depicting aspects, myths, tall tales and stories about the old west from the Old Trapper himself, John Ehn. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=140 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=140 Mon, 23 Oct 2006 17:36:00 GMT Camp Comfort County Park in Ventura County south of Ojai has its fair share of spirits. The bridge just to the north of it has even more, including the terrifying Char Man! http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=77 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=77 Sat, 21 Oct 2006 05:51:00 GMT Quite possibly one of the most iconic and famous attractions in the Los Angeles area, the Hollywood Sign has stood in the hills above Hollywood since 1923. Originally made out of fifty foot tall letters at a total cost of $21,000, the sign first spelled out "Hollywoodland" and was built to advertise a new housing development in the area. Originally a symbol of hope for the area, in 1932, it was instead a location of death and suicide. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=80 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=80 Tue, 17 Oct 2006 16:13:00 GMT Near the intersection of Highway 156 and 183, west of Prundale, on your way out towards the Monterey Penisula, lies Castroville, home to the World's Largest Artichoke. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=39 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=39 Sat, 7 Oct 2006 16:13:00 GMT Stay current with all the new Weird locations as well as changes to this site through our brand new RSS feed! http://www.weirdca.com/rss/feed.xml http://www.weirdca.com/rss/feed.xml Fri, 29 Sep 2006 02:13:00 GMT Want to discuss weird, unusual, and strange topics. Join the WeirdCA.com forum! http://www.weirdca.com/forum http://www.weirdca.com/forum Wed, 27 Sep 2006 17:13:00 GMT Created back in the sixties and seventies, Claude Bell's Apatosaurus and T-Rex still guard the roadside of Interstate 10 in Cabazon. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=109 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=109 Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:19:00 GMT Once one of seven, Wigwam Motel #7 along Route 66 in Rialto is one of only three remaining Wigwam Villages in the United States. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=133 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=133 Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:18:00 GMT In the gaslamp district of San Diego, the Horton Grand Hotel is haunted by several ghosts including the ghost of a dead gambler who enjoys playing games with the guests. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=65 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=65 Thu, 14 Sep 2006 16:15:00 GMT There are some who call it the greatest example of Queen Anne architecture on the West Coast, but the locals mostly just call it "The Spook House". Built in 1887 for a musician from Europe named Jesse Shepherd, the Villa Montezuma of San Diego has a bit of everything. There is the eye catching appearance of the place. Then there's the fact that it was built by spiritualists, and that not one, but two different owners conducted seances inside it. Add into that the fact that most of the owners have suffered from financial ruin including the first owner, Mr. Shepherd. Finally, toss in the rumors of buried treasure in the basement, at least two ghosts, a bizarre cat, and several strange unexplained phenomenon and you have one bizarre house! http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=64 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=64 Thu, 7 Sep 2006 16:15:00 GMT In the 1800's, many stories began circulating throughout Southern California and beyond about a spectral ship lying half buried in the desert sands. Around that time, many migrants after Civil War passed through the desert on their way to California. Many reported that they saw a multi mast Spanish galleon. Multiple expeditions left looking for the ship, but none found it. Some claimed it was Noah's Ark. Many more claimed that it was loaded with pearls, a fortune's worth, millions of dollars worth of exquisite pearls. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=52 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=52 Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:15:00 GMT When the beautiful bridge along Colorado Street over the Arroyo Seco River bed was built in Pasadena back in 1912, I'm sure the builders never thought it would acquire the nick name, "Suicide Bridge". http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=57 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=57 Sat, 12 Aug 2006 16:15:00 GMT Located in Old Town, San Diego a few blocks down from the El Fandango Restaurant is the Casa de Bandini Restaurant. Built in 1829 this was the home of Juan Bandini and his family. In the 1860's, it was acquired by Albert Seeley who added the second floor and turned it into the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Now it serves as the Casa de Bandini Restaurant. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=66 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=66 Tue, 8 Aug 2006 16:15:00 GMT Located in Old Town, San Diego, this Mexican restaurant is named after the tradition of lavish Fandango parties thrown by rich families to celebrate special family events. It is also haunted by the ghost called the White Lady. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=63 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=63 Tue, 8 Aug 2006 16:15:00 GMT The small town of Julian blossomed and grew back in the days when gold was found in the hills. After the gold ran out, those that remained discovered a new form of "gold" in the apples that they could grow there. The fruit is rather famous throughout San Diego County. The ghosts that inhabit the hotel are also rather famous. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=110 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=110 Tue, 8 Aug 2006 16:15:00 GMT "Watch our for your car keys," Tina told us as we unloaded from her husband's car outside the Adelaida cemetery. According to Tina, our guide for our first trip out to Adelaida, the residents of the cemetery like to steal your car keys thus stranding you out in the middle of nowhere. We all dumped our keys inside the car, while Bill and Tina each made sure they had a set of keys to their car. They figured that if things went bad, hopefully, at least one of them would still have their keys at the end. http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=2 http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=2 Sat, 5 Aug 2006 16:15:00 GMT