The Dusty Treasures Antiques and Collectables store first opened many decades ago in Watsonville, California.
Located in the historic Tuttle Mansion built in 1899, the house itself was the perfect setting for the goods on sale.
Antique furniture, vintage items and expensive collectibles were all housed at this hidden gem of a store.
David Prasad/flickr
The Most Haunted Mansion in Watsonville
Updated 9/23/2019 – Unfortunately, Dusty Treasures went out of business a few years ago…but the spirits that once called the Tuttle Mansion home still reside.
Many former customers reported objects, such as typewriters, being manipulated on their own.
Others heard disembodied footsteps follow them around the store as they shopped.
While browsing, other patrons heard the clanging sound of a nonexistent bell being rung, as well as doors that would slam of their own accord.
Considering the age of the mansion, nobody, including the owners, seemed particularly surprised by the amount of paranormal activity present.
Layla recalls visiting the store quite often on weekend afternoons, in search of expensive and hard to find dollhouses to add to her growing collection.
“I really miss that store…it had a little bit of everything,” she said.
“You never knew what you were going to find on display there on any given day.
But one visit stands far out in her memory beyond the rest—and it wasn’t because of something she found for sale.
“I was pregnant at the time, and, not to be graphic, but I often got sick during those first couple of months.
I was browsing in the shop one day when morning sickness hit.
The Girl Behind the Curtain
funeral-wreaths/tumblr
“I excused myself to use the restroom.
When I got out, I thought I heard the sound of someone crying upstairs.
I think it was my maternal instincts kicking into high gear, because I thought it sounded like a child, and I decided to go see if the kid was okay, even if that meant going into a part of the house I should not have been,” she admitted sheepishly.
“I crept from room to room, listening for the source of the crying.
It started to fade away, but I knew I wouldn’t forgive myself if I just left a distraught child hanging around the house.
What if he or she was lost?
“’Hello?’
I called out, fighting the urge to be sick again.
For a moment nobody answered, and then I heard a soft, wavering voice say, ‘in here.’
I followed the sound and slowly opened a door to room I’ve never been in before.
“The room was pretty empty, but the window was wide open, letting a chilly breeze rush through.
I remember taking a step into the room and nearly falling backward because of what I saw—of what I think I saw.
There was a girl sitting underneath the window, huddled up against the cold,” Layla said with a shiver.
“She was so blurry, I knew she wasn’t human, wasn’t alive.
But when I blinked again, she was gone.
The curtain on the window continued to float around on the window, and I thought…well, maybe it was just the curtain moving, and I thought someone had been underneath it?
“I slowly crept backwards out of the room, staring at that window every second.
But nothing appeared again.
I don’t know,” Layla said, shaking her head.
“Everyone in Watsonville misses that store…but nobody wanted to shop for items and find a ghost instead.”
Address
723 East Lake Avenue
Watsonville, CA
United States