Nestled in the Mojave Desert region, San Bernardino County’s Calico Ghost Town was once a bustling mining town.
Its 500 silver mines brought the population up to 1,200 residents within just two years by 1883.
However, the charm of the town wore off very quickly…
Photo credit: flikr/arturstaszewski
Updated 2/10/2020 – With the Silver Purchase Act of 1890 reducing the price of silver, Calico was abandoned by 1900.
Despite numerous efforts to reel people back, the town’s only residents remain the spirits that once lived there.
If visiting a ghost town in California is on your to-do list, visit Calico and watch out for the following infamous Poltergeists:
Lucy Lane
Lucy and her husband John Robert Lane ran the town’s general store.
Despite leaving the town when it started depopulating, the couple returned in 1916, and Lucy lived well into her 90s.
According to the town’s visitors, and local mediums, Lucy can be seen walking between her last residence (now a museum dedicated to the Lanes) and the store she ran.
You can recognize her by a lace black dress, which is possibly the one she was buried in.
If you don’t come across her, you can visit her last home where she tends to sit in her rocking chair and rock slowly unseen, or catch a glimpse of her at her store.
Calico’s School House Teachers and Pupils
The unnamed teachers have been responsible for many paranormal activities in the school house.
In addition to peering at people through the building’s windows, they may be responsible for the moving ball of red light many witnessed within it.
Their students can also be seen inside; but not all of them are as outgoing as a girl aged 11 or 12 who only appears to children and teens only to vanish mysteriously later.
“Tumbleweed” Harris
Frequently seen at the boardwalks on Main Street, the town’s last marshal hasn’t moved on.
The man who once kept Calico’s peace can be identified by his large body and flowing white beard.
You can stop by his grave as well.
There are several more poltergeist residents you can come across in Calico, including the mail carrying dog Dorsey, Esmeralda, the angry cowboy in Hank’s Hotel, and the lady in a long white dress seen around the outskirts of the town.
You can double your goosebumps by visiting haunted spots such as the Calico Corral, the Maggie Mine, and Hank’s Hotel.
But be forewarned – the ghosts there have been known to send chills down visitors’ spines and, at times, even tug on their hands and clothing.