Where are the most haunted places in Fresno County? Check out these 10 spooky spots
By Fernanda Galan,
4 days ago
If you’re searching for haunted places, look no further than Fresno County.
There are plenty of creepy attractions in the area — ranging from a haunted auditorium and a ghostly high school to a spooky cemetery and a lonely lake.
Here are some spine-chilling spots to visit on your next ghost tour.
The Hangman grabs Charlie in Tremendum Pictures’ Nightmare Theater, a scare attraction held in the historic Veterans Memorial Auditorium in downtown Fresno in 2015. Tremendum Pictures released the horror movie “The Gallows,” which was largely filmed within the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA/ezamora@fresnobee.com
Veterans Memorial Auditorium
Built in 1935, Veterans Memorial Auditorium has attracted rumors of paranormal activity ranging from shadowy figures to mysterious footsteps and other unexplained noises.
While investigating the auditorium, Weird Fresno content creator Michael Banti said he heard children’s laughter in a place where costumes are kept. His website shares tales of strange and paranormal sightings in the Fresno area and the greater San Joaquin Valley.
One Reddit user said they’ve heard of a phantom stagehand roaming backstage and hearing footsteps, while another Reddit user said “the basement and back stage area creep me out.”
“It’s like pitch black behind the stage and I feel like I’m being watched,” said the poster , who works at the auditorium. “Worse part of the job I would say.”
Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Fresno was the site of a horror movie, “The Gallows,” and a haunted attraction, Nightmare Theater Presents The Gallows, in 2015. JOHN WALKER/jwalker@fresnobee.com
The auditorium was featured in the 2015 supernatural horror movie “The Gallows,” which follows a group of students 20 years after a horrific accident during a small-town school play.
“The Gallows” directors Chris Loffing and Travis Cluff opened a haunted house inspired by the movie at the venue in 2015, The Fresno Bee reported.
Del Rey Cemetery near Sanger is seen in 2008. The Fresno Bee
Del Rey Cemetery
No list of haunted places would be complete without a cemetery.
Del Rey Cemetery is known for its ghosts, according to the website Haunted Rooms America, which visits and investigates the nation’s most haunted places.
Visitors who have ventured into the burial grounds have seen “shadowy figures darting between the headstones” and heard “disembodied whispering voices,” the website said.
According to the website, other ghost stories include glowing headstones, sounds of moaning and unexplained cold spots even on warm summer evenings.
Some social media users claim to have taken photos of ghosts at the graveyard.
How to visit: The cemetery is at McCall and East American avenues northwest of Del Rey and five miles southwest of Sanger.
Students begin making their way to classes before the start of the first day of school at Roosevelt High School in southeast Fresno on Monday, Aug. 14, 2017. CRAIG KOHLRUSS/ckohlruss@fresnobee.com
Roosevelt High School
According to Haunted Rooms America, some have spotted the “spirit of a little girl playing around” at this Fresno high school .
Others believe the East Hall boys’ restroom is haunted by a student that committed suicide there, according to the website.
Banti said the Roosevelt High School auditorium is haunted by Leslie Chambers, who reportedly died on stage in 1960 during a school assembly.
“Leslie will make his presence known in different ways from objects missing and then reappearing later, to playing pranks on unsuspecting students,” Banti wrote in a 2021 article on the website FresYes. “Every production includes his name in the list of cast and crew.”
A dress worn by Dr. Meux’s oldest daughter Mary during her wedding in 1906 is displayed in her bedroom on the second floor of the home. CRAIG KOHLRUSS/ckohlruss@fresnobee.com
Meux Home Museum
Known for its ghost tours, the Meux Home Museum has its fair share of ghostly encounters and creepy doll stories. The elegant Victorian-area home was built by physician Dr. Thomas Richard Meux, who lived there with his family.
One spot in the 16-room house, called Mary’s Room named after Meux’s oldest daughter, includes a doll made with real human hair.
According to Haunted Rooms America, one visitor encountered Mary’s ghost when she hung back from the tour group and stroked the doll’s hair.
“A picture of Mary slammed face down on the bedside table suddenly,” the website said, adding that the girl asked Mary’s ghost for forgiveness after touching her things.
How to visit: Meux Home Museum, 1007 R St. in Fresno, is open noon to 3 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Admission is $10 or $7 for children ages 6 to 17; kids under five are free. Call 559-233-8007 or visit meuxhomemuseum.org .
Alex Calles fishes the San Joaquin River at Lost Lake Recreation Area as Millerton Lake water is released from Friant Dam on July 15, 2015. JOHN WALKER/jwalker@fresnobee.com
Lost Lake
Located 19 miles northeast of Fresno, Lost Lake has been home to some ghost sightings.
According to Banti, two people fishing at the 38-acre lake reported seeing a ghostly figure that looked like a little boy wearing swim trunks.
“Strange creatures have also been seen in the area,” Banti wrote on the FresYes website in 2021.
How to visit: Lost Lake Recreation Area is off North Friant Road two miles below Friant Dam and the town of Friant. Contact Fresno County Parks at 559-600-3004 or fresnocountyca.gov for information.
A chandelier located beyond the entryway at Wolfe Manor in Clovis is seen in 2014. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA/Fresno Bee Staff Photo
Wolfe Manor
Perhaps the most haunted place in the Fresno area was Wolfe Manor in Clovis, according to CaliforniaHauntedHouses.com.
The 8,000-square-foot mansion was built at Clovis and Santa Ana avenues in 1922 as a private residence and later serving as a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients and a mental hospital.
The building even briefly hosted a seasonal haunted house in the 1990s, called Scream If You Can.
According to the Travel Channel, people reported several paranormal sightings at the property, including weird noises, electrical malfunctions and the feeling of eerie presences.
The mansion was featured on three separate Travel Channel shows — “The Dead Files,” “Ghost Adventures” and “Ghost Hunters” — as well as the History series “Mystery Quest.”
Wolfe Manor was demolished in 2014.
How to visit: Visitors can find the empty lot where Wolfe Manor once stood at 2604 Clovis Ave. in Clovis.
The Wawona Hotel stands in Yosemite National Park’s Wawona on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. Craig Kohlruss/ckohlruss@fresnobee.com
Wawona Hotel
Wawona Hotel at Yosemite National Park is said to be haunted, according to Banti.
Banti said those rumors stem from a plane crash outside the hotel in the 1920s. The pilot was taken to the hotel’s Moore Cottage but died of his injuries before a doctor could treat him.
“Ever since, employees have seen a ghostly figure, clad fully in flight gear, leaving the cottage and walking down the steps then disappearing,” Banti wrote in his FresYes article in 2021.
Other strange occurrences include a levitating throw rug and fire alarms going off unexpectedly.
“Dismayed that his dream of an agricultural ‘Garden of Eden’ was never completed, he wanders around the property,” Banti wrote in 2021. “The ghost of a maid is said to also walk the darkened halls at night making sure everything is kept in order.”
There’s also a white witch who haunts the nearby railroad tracks, according to Banti
if you look into the witch’s eyes, the legend goes, you will die.
How to visit: Kearney Mansion is at 7160 West Kearney Blvd. in Fresno. It’s open to the public from noon to 4:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Weekend guided tours are held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, at noon, 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Admission is $12, $10 for seniors and $8 for children 5 to 12 years; children under 4 and museum members are free. Call 559-441-0862 or visit valleyhistory.org .
Similar to the Mexican legend La Llorona , the woman is seen dressed in white and crying for her lost children, according to Weird Fresno.
“One night a woman was driving down the road with her two young daughters, when she took a curve too fast and drove off the road and wound up crashing her car into the nearby Kings River,” Weird Fresno said
The woman was “unable to unbuckle her seat belt and drowned at the site of the accident,” the website said. “Her children were able to get free of the car, but they drowned a mile downstream.”
How to visit: Channel Road is between Collins Creek and Kings River in Sanger.
The Fresno Bee building at 1626 E. Street was home to the newspaper’s operation for more than 45 years. JOHN WALKER/jwalker@fresnobee.com
The Fresno Bee building
Reporters and photographers at The Fresno Bee share stories of seeing a ghostly figure with a retro hairstyle roam the halls at The Bee’s old E Street building.
The figure was even caught on video, according to the reporters.
Alleged paranormal phenomena include electrical malfunctions and changes of temperatures, as well as the feeling of being watched
Banti told The Bee that he never got a chance to investigate the weird phenomena but he believes the building to be haunted.
Who knows? There might be some ghost reporter lurking around on deadline.
How to visit: The former Fresno Bee building is at 1626 E St. in downtown Fresno. The city of Fresno now uses that space.
Comments / 2
Add a Comment
Ant5
3d ago
snake road twice 😭
TLee
3d ago
I can confirm meux home. I did a tour when I was younger and there was someone behind me walking with the group on the second floor. I did not turn around until I got to the bottom of the stairs and the woman who was behind me was freaking out cause she thought there was a guide dressed in the dress of the time of the meux family. from time to time you can see a shadow figure in the attic. Fresno high has a figure in the north side stairwell right off the stage in Royce Hall. that goes back to at least the late 40's. when I saw that, it was nothing more than a shadow figure. my grandmother saw a full figure. when my friends and I saw it, we were like wtf. No talking about Chandler airport? There's spooky shit out there
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