China Camp State Park

Posted: 07.30.2021 | Updated: 02.19.2025

China Camp State Park in Marin County, California is surrounded by the beauty of the west coast. The park welcomes thousands of visitors a year and is known for its picturesque hiking and biking trails. Its importance and prevalence in California history landed it on the National Register of Historic Places.

But there are numerous tales of tragedy and murder that have stained the historic state park. Now the spirits of these dreadful events roam the California park ripe with Chinese-American history.

Learn all about the Chinese’s important role in the San Francisco Bay Area on a historic walking tour with SF Ghosts!

Is China Camp State Park Haunted?

Many say that the gruesome Barbeque Murders that occurred here in 1975 have left a spirital stain upon the California China Camp State Park. In addition, there have been reports of Chinese, Native American, and other strange spirits roaming the park.

History of China Camp State Park

Prior to the 1700s, the area now known as China Camp State Park was inhabited by the indigenous Miwok people. They specialized in harvesting, fishing, and hunting along unforgiving coastal region.

After the 1775 arrival of Spanish conquistadors, the Miwok were displaced from the area within 100 years. In 1884, the Spanish then granted much of the land to Timothy Murphy, an Irish settler who soon became mayor of San Rafael, California.

In 1846, Murphy lost most of the land and died shortly after. The land then fell into the hands of two Sonoma county businessmen, John and George McNear.

They established a massive dairy ranch, quarry, and brickyard in the area and soon realized they needed employees to keep the businesses running smoothly.

Soon, they started to employ a large number of Chinese immigrants, who also settled in the area.

How Did China Camp In California Get Its Name?

By the mid-1880s, Chinese-Americans had established a settlement of about 500 people in a village they called China Camp.

Many of these villagers were originally from Canton, China, and supported themselves and their families here by shrimp fishing in San Francisco Bay.

The village had three general stores, a barbershop, and a marine supply shop at its peak. China Camp was one of about twenty-six other shrimp-fishing villages along the coast that supported Chinese-American immigrants fleeing San Francisco due to racial prejudice and persecution.

 Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the population of China Camp ballooned as nearly 10,000 residents of San Francisco’s Chinatown fled the destruction and mayhem.

 In the late 1800s, the Chinese American fishermen at China Camp were catching close to 3 million pounds of shrimp per year. But laws were passed in the early 1900s that outlawed the export of shrimp and the population of China Camp rapidly decline.

By the 1960s, most of the surrounding area was owned and controlled by land developer Chinn Ho. In the early 1970s, Gulf Oil expressed interest in large-scale development in the area, including high-rise condos and commercial settings.

Local residents and conservation groups protested, which led to the land being sold for 2.3 million dollars in 1976 to the California State Parks Foundation. They in turn sold it to the state of California to create China Camp State Park.

Chinn Ho donated the 36-acre site of China Camp Village for preservation and as a living memorial to Chinese-American history.

1975 Barbecue Murders

Unfortunately, all was not peaceful and happy at China Camp. The park is also known for the tragic 1975 barbecue murders committed by a local teenager named Marlene Olive, and her boyfriend Chuck Riley.

The two murdered Marlene’s adoptive parents Jim and Naomi Olive in the nearby suburban community of Terra Linda. Afterwards they attempted to dispose of their bodies by cremating them in a barbecue pit at the park.

Marlene Olive was only 16 at the time of the killings, and Chuck was 20. Chuck had met Marlene when she was just 15, and was dealing drugs at her high school.

He developed an unhealthy obsession with her and pursued her relentlessly. Eventually, they got together as a couple, and Marlene learned to control Chuck.

She frequently threatened to break up with him if she did not get her way.

It is believed that the murders were sparked by an argument that Marlene had with her mother about Chuck. After the deed was done, Chuck had confided in a friend who helped clean up the murder scene.

The Barbeque Murderers Caught

Distrurbingly, Marlene and Chuck lived together in the family home where the murders took place for a few days. They attended concerts, shopped, and ate at restaurants using her dead parent’s money. Their devious plan was to wait for Jim and Naomi to be declared dead, collect on their life insurance policies, and move to Ecuador.

 But their plan did not go as expected. Jim Olive’s business partner began to grow concerned after not hearing from Jim for a few days. He contacted the police who then visited the Olive house and spoke to Marlene and Chuck.

Suspicions arose when they saw a freshly cleaned room in an otherwise messy home. The police, acting on Marlene’s statements about their whereabouts during the time of the murder, went to China Camp State Park.

It was soon determined that the pit contained fragments of human remains. Both Marlene and Chuck were arrested shortly after.

Due to being a minority, Marlene only served five years and was released when she was 21. Chuck is still serving a life sentence.

The Desolate Spirits of China Camp State Park

At first glance, China Camp seems like a ghost town, preserved for nearly a century and a half on the sandy shoreline of San Pablo Bay. Old wooden shacks are battered by the sea breeze and covered with faded advertisements. The bay’s weather adds to the mystique of the old shrimping village, with daily fog and drizzle.

While peaceful and quiet, the village is all but empty. Campers and day-trip visitors alike report this place to be one of the most haunted. People who dare stay the night at the park report an overwhelming feeling of dread and uneasiness and even being watched by unseen eyes.

Plenty of other ghostly encounters have come out of the park, including apparitions of demonic-like entities and misty people walking near the old buildings. Campers have also reported screaming and disembodied voices echoing from the woods late at night.

One very disturbing entity at China Camp is the Old Man. Some say he looks Chinese; others swear he’s Native American. He walks by himself along Gold Hill Fire Road. Anyone who sees him should not attempt contact or even look at him.

 Haunted San Francisco

Have you ever visited China Camp State Park? Don’t let its coastal breezes and beauty fool you, the checkered past of the area is palpable, and the spirits here aren’t afraid to let you know! For more about Chinese history in San Francisco, check out our article on Angel Island.

Dig even deeper into the many horror stories of San Francisco on a San Francisco ghost tour! Keep reading our blog in the meantime for even more SF ghost stories. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to see spooky content around the clock!

Sources Cited:

• https://www.campsitephotos.com/blog/campground-recommendations/most-haunted-campgrounds-in-america-part-2
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFrngdmMoo0
• https://friendsofchinacamp.org/about-china-camp/history/
• https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Talk–Timoteo-Murphy–First–Don–of-Mission-San-Rafael.html?soid=1121390953838&aid=wQE1ZZieYZA
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he_GdQLQ_Sc