The Hauntings of San Juan Bautista

Special Note: This is a resurrected story. Pictures are of Paul Dale Roberts interviewing Shannon McCabe of the 2012 Vampire Ball and picture of Paul Dale Roberts with the Asevedos.

Paul Dale Roberts Interviewing Shannon McCabe

Below is another story, a fictionalized story based on truth. From the case files of P.R.U. (Paranormal Reconnaissance Unit):

PRU (Paranormal Reconnaissance Unit)
By Apaullo Adalere Robertson, Ghosthunter, P.R.U. (Paranormal Reconnaissance Unit)

Disclaimer: Parts of this story has been fictionalized to protect our clients. Apaullo.

PRU gets a call from Maggie. Maggie is actually the lovely Maggie Clara Baker. She lives in SJB and she lives with ghosts. Holly D. that will be the lead investigator for this case sets a date for the HPI core members to investigate. The date is June 21, 2008.

Michele S. Researcher & Investigator briefs Holly with the following:

“SJB Mission was built by the Spanish clergy in 1797. It was the 15th Mission in California and the largest mission. Before the Spaniards built the mission, the land of SJB was the home of the Mutsun Tribe of Indians. The Mutsun were hunter/gatherers or (Digger) Indians. Before the arrival of the Spanish, the Mutsun lived in small mud adobe huts in villages. Because the adobes were erected without roofs, the structures were mostly destroyed by the elements. At one time, the Mutsuns living at the mission numbered around 3000. Unlike the dismal fate of most natives in California, the Mutsuns were able to survive due to the fact that the missions were considered sanctuary. Violence, starvation, and disease were not as prevalent as it was in other areas of the state. The spiritual practices of the Mutsuns were banished and they were taught to practice Christianity. The last surviving pure blooded Mutsun Indian died in 1930 and she is buried at the Indian cemetery next to the mission church.

Jose Castro, of the Mexican Army, (or American Army if you want to be technical as Mexico owned California at that time) built the “Castro House” and then the Breen family bought the property in the 1840′s. The Breen family was survivors of the Donner party. Their son John brought home $10,000 worth of gold dust and the family was able to buy the house and property in SJB.

Because of the long and rich diversity and history of SJB, there are several varieties of architecture there including Adobe, Spanish, Italian, English, and others. George Chalmers was an architect in the town and built several properties there. He also had a brother, Robert, who is the famous ghost of Coloma’s Vineyard House.”

Holly gathers her team of investigators, they are: Bryan C, Michele S, and of course me. Apaullo Adalere Robertson. Michele brought her boyfriend Scott Y. for support.

From what I know of Pacheco Pass is that it was on the original Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route which connected the American Midwest with San Francisco all the way to 1858, until the Transcontinental Railroad was built. The pass is named after Francisco Perez Pacheco. Another name for Pacheco Pass is Robber’s Pass, due to the many stagecoach hold-ups.

The first person I interviewed was waitress Susanna Lopez of La Poblanita Mexican Restaurant. She tells me that the park near her house, the swing would start swinging by itself, usually at 11pm. The swing moves when there is no wind. It seems that the swing moves by itself almost every night. In the home she lives in, her boyfriend once felt a cold spot near his body. Her boyfriend’s sister has been pushed during the middle of the night. She has seen a little girl at the building near her home. She has even seen a light in the night sky that was large and as she watched it, it became smaller. This was an interesting story and I will later learn by the end of the day, that almost everyone in this town has witnessed something that was considered paranormal. It makes sense, since this town has seen its share of tragedy. For example, a Mexican stranger came into town in 1886 and went to the Plaza Hotel. He looked ill. Later it was learned he brought in smallpox to the town. 300 people of this town died of smallpox.

As we explored this town, I learn that on 1st and Washington Street, there is a phantom stagecoach that is seen. At the Cement Plant, people have claimed to have seen Shadow People. I shouldn’t forget that while I was interviewing Susanna Lopez. On this day, there was lightning and a quick rain. As fast as the thunderstorm came, it went. The only thunder I could hear was from the car show in this town and the many, many motorcycles that rumbled down the street. The Chicano Style Motorcycle Club made their presence known. I decided to interview another person on the street that didn’t want to be identified and she told me that a certain house blows smoke from the chimney on a certain day in October and there is no one living in the house. She had me walk with her and she pointed the house to me.

It was now time for a briefing from Maggie and her boyfriend Roger L. Miller. Here is what came out from the briefing. Doors have opened and closed by themselves. One time the door slammed shut on the owner of this home. They have seen the door move 6 or 8 inches on its own. They have heard the door knob making a clicking sound, as if someone was turning it. Roger felt like he was touched on one particular night. The children of this home feel like something is trying to go through their bedroom door. The air gets thick at times. One time a head was peeking around the doorway. A tall black thin shadow person was seen at the doorway. The bathroom and the one bedroom seem to have the most activity. I have to admit, that when I went into the bathroom by myself, there seem to be an electrical charge in the air. Their home is 102 years old, so it has a lot of history. Holly feels something dreadful happened on that stairwell and one of the neighbors remembers a story about a murder that occurred, possibly on that stairwell. It is rumored that a butcher shop once was located downstairs and that some of the employees of this butcher shop lived in the rooms that is now part of this apartment complex. They have been told that a portal goes from their bedroom to the church. Odors have been detected in this home, like a man’s body odor and later they smelled Bay Rum cologne. Below this home may be a tunnel that leads to the mission. There was a lady that died at Cutting Horse, she was stabbed to death and her presence may be in their home.

Our next stop was the Cutting Horse Steakhouse and Saloon on 307 Third Street. Ghosthunters get hungry and we all got our fill on some tasty cheeseburgers and fries. We topped it off with a strong delicious Cappuccino shot. If you come to SJB, you must stop at the Cutting Horse. They serve Skirt Steak plate marinated in Jack Daniels and grilled to order. Or try their Bullrider which is an open faced prime rib sandwich covered in cheddar cheese, onions, mushrooms and a secret sauce! Other items on their menu are: Ranch Steak Sandwich, Cowboy Sloppy Joe, Cutting Horse Club, Calamari Sandwich, Cowgirl Chicken Sandwich, Chicken Caesar Wrap, Half Pound Kobe, Black Angus Cobb Salad and a zillion other delicacies. My god, the food is delicious, plus the place is filled with history! The Lady in White (former madam of this town) haunts their establishment. She has been seen on the stairwell and sometimes appears as a skeletal face with long blonde hair. She is known to move about from the Cutting Horse to Posada de San Juan Hotel. The Taylors that are former owners of Cutting Horse walked into their restaurant and were sprayed water from a hose. After they got sprayed they watched the hose reattach itself to the wall. Cutting Horse is located over the town’s former hangman’s tree. Near this restaurant during the 1800s a drunken Mexican with a gun, shot Manuel Butron who was an epileptic. He shot Manuel through his chest. Manuel survived and his epileptic fits stopped. The man that shot him was taken to The Alameda’s willow tree and hung. Bryan Nohl, owner of the Cutting Horse took us into the tunnel under the restaurant. At one time this tunnel leads to the mission. The tunnel is now blocked off by a wall, due to the 1906 earthquake. San Juan Bautista sits on the San Andreas fault line. I went into the tunnel and you really feel closed in. Cutting Horse is a very interesting place and you feel like you are part of the Cutting Horse family, because the owners are very hospitable. Make sure to tell Christine Dreifuss and Bryan Nohl (owners) hi for me, if you decide to visit their establishment. Ask Christine and Bryan about the female skeletal face that some of their customers have seen in the mirrors. If you seen this skeletal face, ask for a Cappuccino shot quickly to pump up your heart if it stops beating. They do make the best Cappuccino shot! I had one and perked me up immediately!

Paul Dale Roberts Interviewing Shannon McCabe

Everything in SJB is in walking distance. You can see the haunted Plaza Hotel, you can visit Mission SJB (rumored to have residual haunting activity at this mission). There is the mission cemetery where 4300 mission Indians were buried on sacred ground in unmarked graves. At the mission is a statue of Fray Junipero Serra who was born on 1713 and died in 1784. He is the founder of all of the California missions.

Another place that is haunted is Bakery Groceries on 319 Third Street. Then there is the phantom man that walked into Mrs. B’s Z-Place and vanished.

As I walked around town, the stories seemed to be focused on the Cutting Horse. I heard more stories on how water in the sink started sloshing back and forth by itself. How many customers have felt a presence at the Cutting Horse. Women customers have felt something was with them as they walked into the woman’s bathroom. Sometimes the bathroom door is held shut as a woman customer is trying to leave the bathroom. Back in the 1800s, Deanna the madam of a brothel was the town celebrity. Many people believe that the skeletal woman with long blonde hair is Deanna. Stories abound how 4 people walked into the Cutting Horse and they all saw the skeletal faced woman with long blonde hair. There is even a mural on the wall of this hotel of what looks like a skeletal faced woman. Ask Christine and Bryan to point out the mural to you.

A little girl that would come to the Cutting Horse with her mom would refuse to sit in one end of the restaurant, because she said a little girl was there. This little girl is seen all around town, they call her Diana. She looks to be about 5 years old. The little girl that I will call Britney who saw Diana walked into a room and the lights went off, then when she left the room, the lights went back on again. While we did our investigation at this restaurant, Bryan Coleman was picking up a 100 reading on his temperature gauge in the bathroom areas.

Another haunted establishment is Daisy’s Saloon. Heidi Perez who is a bartender of this establishment has felt presences at this saloon late at night. She has felt a presence brush up against her body. She showed Bryan Coleman and I, the storage area where employees have felt a strong presence. In the 70s, this building caught fire and they rebuilt it back to its original glory. Adella Johnson a customer of Daisy’s Saloon showed Bryan and I, La Casa Rosa, another haunted establishment. This is where a phantom prostitute smokes cigarettes. Customers of this establishment will smell the cigarette smoke for a few minutes, and then it will dissipate. The former mayor of SJB named John Hopper approached us and said that he has heard strange sounds that originate in the back area of this saloon. He has felt cold chills.

Another person we interviewed was Mary Lopez. Mary Lopez is the owner of many of the establishments in this town, including the Posada de San Juan, buildings of Cutting Horse and Poblanita Cantina. Mary even owns the residence that we are investigating. Mary has had many paranormal experiences. She has heard strange sounds, she has heard the ghostly giggles of children, and she has seen a thin man with black trench coat and black hat walking through the lobby of her hotel and then vanished. Another time, she saw the same phantom. She once hired an artist for her hotel that was painting the Virgin Mary and he smelled the odor of perfume and felt a warmth next to him, as he lay in bed. He heard church bells while lying in bed, but there were no church bells around. On another day, he saw the table move on its own into an incline. Mary explains that one time a guest in Room 117, smelled smoke in the room and when he awakened from his sleep, he saw many apparitions standing around his bed. He closed his eyes and reopened them and still saw the apparitions standing around his bed. Finally the smell of smoke was gone and the apparitions were gone.

After talking with Mary Lopez, it was time to see other haunted places like the Mariposa Tea Room Restaurant. Since this place was closed, I did another interview with resident Carmen Simmons. Carmen has lived in SJB for 3 years. She lives on Thomas Lane by the agriculture fields. Her home is a newly built home that was built over a school yard. She says that an older lady lives in her home. The house makes strange creaky sounds. The cabinets have opened and closed by themselves. She has seen a full body apparition of the older woman. The older woman did not try and communicate with her. I met her husband Mike Simmons who has never experienced anything paranormal, but he believes his wife’s story. Perhaps Carmen is a sensitive and can pick up on things that regular guys like Mike Simmons and I, can’t see. She is a native from San Jose. She is not new to the paranormal. She has had experiences at her parent’s home. At this home, a blanket was thrown over a light, causing a small fire and the entities of the house seemed to warn her of the danger.

When I finally thought we were through for the evening. I had to head over to Daisy’s Saloon at 213 3rd Street at 2am by myself, because the rest of the team was worn out and tired. I interviewed the owner Dan Thomas and his employee Linda Thomas. While I conducted my interview, I was busy taking digital photographs and using my digital audio recorder to see if I could pick up any EVPs. Dan & Linda explained to me that one morning they came back into Daisy’s Saloon and found 2 martini glasses and shaker sitting on the bar. This was unusual, because they never leave anything on the bar after they clean up in the evening. Another night the sheriff contacted Linda and told her that the alarm had been set off, because there was movement in the bar. When Linda and the Sheriff showed up to the bar, there was no one in the bar. There was no explanation on what could have caused the movement during after hours at their bar. History of the bar is that a man was shot and killed near the entrance of the bar. During the weekends, this bar is packed, it’s a very fun and festive bar. Plus, it’s haunted!

SJB is rich with ghostly activity, it’s a smorgasbord for ghosthunters. We investigated the Cutting Horse and the private residence. Now it’s time for us to evaluate that information and see what we discovered.

Added in Information:
On Sunday, Maggie asked if I would bless her home. Maggie walked with me as we attempted to send any entities towards the light. At some point of time, Maggie looks at me and says…”do you smell that? Do you smell a fragrance?” I was stunned and said…”oh my god!” Because if you have a successful blessing, you will smell a sweet fragrance, this indicates that angels are now present in the home, protecting the family and the home. Then Maggie and I looked around the corner and it was Holly putting on some perfume. We had to all laugh.

Added Information from Michele S:
My most memorable paranormal experience was witnessing shadow people running in the field next to the car I was sitting in in Covelo. When I learned about the cemetery on the grounds of the mission, and the fact that over 4000 bodies of the Mutsun Indians were buried in a space half the size of a typical city lot, I was intrigued. I thought that if I were to witness shadow people again, this would be as good a place as any.

Paul Dale Roberts and the Asevedos

My boyfriend Scott and I went down the steps to a trail just below the 12 foot stone wall that is literally holding in the bones of thousands of dead Mutsun Indians. Below even further is acres of farm land on top of the San Andreas Fault. We laid down a blanket and waited and listened. There were faint sounds of footsteps and the endless crackle of weeds and branches. We sat there in the dark for about 45 minutes when Scott sat up suddenly and said shaken, “What the?…” I reacted also. He said that he heard a voice behind us in what sounded like someone saying “Shhhh…” I didn’t hear it and when I went through my audio recordings, I was unable to find the sound. We sat there a little longer and I suddenly remembered a story that I read about sightings of a mountain lion around the Plaza area of the mission. The sightings happened for about 10 years and became a sort of a local legend. In 1971, the legend became reality when the Department of Fish and Game shot and killed a mountain lion on the property. The stuffed body of the lion is on display at the museum in the stables. My paranoia got the better of me. We decided that hanging out in the wilderness in mountain lion country wasn’t such a great idea without a campfire, so we relocated to the plaza and sat on a pew outside of the mission, near the entrance to the cemetery. I am not afraid of ghosts and the paranormal but what I am afraid of are man eating wild animals. Across the Plaza was the old Zanetta house. There, on the porch, I saw several shadows in the corner of my eye. Scott saw one fairly close to us between two pillars. At one point, we heard a bang on the roof and what sounded like something large walking on the roof. Scott walked into the plaza and started snapping pictures of the roof. What he got was a gray cat. Great debunking Scott! At another point, Scott decided to take a walk along the wall of the cemetery and see if he could get any pictures there and find a good vantage point to take pictures of the inside of the cemetery itself. About ten minutes later, he came running to when I was sitting. I asked him what was wrong and he said that he was being chased by a bat. I actually did see a small bat flying around his head but it disappeared when Scott sought shelter under the roof of the mission. There was the occasional sound of footsteps on the wooden walkway surrounding the mission and constant shadows across the way but other than that, it seemed the souls here were for the most part, at rest and at peace.

BELOW ARE HPI UPDATES, NEWS AND GOSSIP:

A COMIC BOOK I WAS WORKING ON:
Two mutants by the name of Sodom and Gomorrah terrorize the midwest USA by doing some daring bank robberies. Sodom stands at 11 feet 2 inches and is a bulging muscled menace. He wears a blue one piece jumpsuit, his jaws are chiseled. His face is painted with two blue lightning bolts coming from both sides of his face. When he stomps his feet, he can cause small tremors that are able to bring down a small house. He is practically indestructible. His sidekick Gomorrah is a ravishing red-haired beauty. With flowing red hair. She wears a golden mask that covers half of her face. Her outfit is a short skirt, similar to a tennis skirt that is golden. She wears a red belt with a golden buckle that displays a big G. Her powers are teleportation, she is able to walk through solid objects and can make her body transparent in which bullets can whiz right through her body without cause of injury. The Jazma League of Justice has recently taken this caseload in trying to locate the whereabouts of Sodom and Gomorrah and it has been a difficult task, since they move quickly around the midwest in a hopped up Mustang covertable that has been supercharged. If anyone knows the whereabouts of Sodom and Gomorrah, please contact the Jazma League of Justice on their emergency hotline at: (916) Jazma11.