Haunted Bodie Ghost Town

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The Spirits of Bodie Ghost Town

Picture your quintessential western ghost town, and you’ll find the Bodie Ghost Town: tumbleweeds, decrepit buildings, dry sagebrush, and whistling desert winds. Located east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, Bodie fits the part of any wild western backdrop.

It looks a bit different now, with abandoned, weathered wood buildings and more than just a few spirits that call Bodie home and their final resting place.

After you visit Bodie Ghost Town, get up close and personal with the spirits of the more populated cities in California on a ghost tour with San Francisco Ghosts

What is the Bodie Curse?

People who visit Bodie have claimed that when they take small “souvenirs” from the land, like rocks, they suddenly have a run of bad luck. When they return or mail back the item that was taken, their luck improves. 

Where Is Bodie California? | History of A Ghost Town

Haunted ghost town
Copyright US Ghost Adventures

Bodie began as a small mining camp in California after a group of prospectors, including W.S. Bodey, discovered gold there in 1859. The following November, Bodey died in a blizzard and never saw the rise (and fall) of the town named after him. 

The gold discovery at Bodie occurred alongside the discovery of silver in nearby Aurora and Comstock Lode. Both of these cities boomed, while interest in Bodie remained rather lackluster.

Luck at Bodie changed in 1876 when the Standard Company discovered a large deposit of gold ore, transforming Bodie almost overnight from an isolated mining camp to a true Wild West boomtown. 

Discoveries of precious ores in the Bodie mine in 1878 attracted even more people. By 1879, Bodie had a growing population of almost 10,000. It’s even said that in 1880, Bodie was California’s third-largest city.

As a truly bustling mining town, Bodie started to develop the amenities of larger cities, including a Wells Fargo bank, four volunteer fire companies, a band, a railroad, unions, daily newspapers, and a jail. At the peak, 65 saloons existed along Main Street, which was a mile long. 

Shootouts, barroom brawls, holdups, and murders were commonplace. Like other mining boom towns of the time, Bodie had a clandestine red light district on the north end of town. There’s even a story that tells of Rosa May, a working woman of the night who came to aid the town’s men when a severe epidemic struck the city during its boom. 

Because of her aid, she was known as the ‘hooker with a heart of gold.’ She is credited with her life-saving care, and after she died, it’s said she was buried outside the cemetery fence — regardless of her contributions to the town and its people.

The Decline of Bodie

The remainder of Bodie’s cemetery sits on the outskirts of town near its mortuary. It is the only building in Bodie that’s built with red brick that’s three bricks thick. Why is that? For insulation during the hot summer days to keep the remains of the town’s dead at a steady temperature.

The first signs of decline happened in 1880 and became apparent toward the end of that same year. Promising mining booms in Montana, Butte, Tombstone, and throughout Arizona and Utah lured prospectors away from Bodie. 

The miners who came to the town in the 1870s moved on to these larger and more promising booms and left Bodie as a family-centered community. In 1882, the town’s residents built the Bodie Methodist Church, which has withstood the desert and remains today. 

Despite the population decline, mines flourished, and in 1881, Bodie’s ore production reached a whopping $3.1 million. A railway was even brought to the area in 1881. In 1910, Bodie’s population was 698, most of whom were families who had settled during the boom and decided not to move on to other prosperous ore strikes.

Bodie’s official decline began in 1912, when the town’s final newspaper, The Bodie Miner, was printed. In 1914, mining profits were just below $7,000, and mining claims were being sold off. The last mine closed in 1942 due to War Production Board order L-208, which shut down all non-essential gold mines in the United States during WWII. Mining never resumed in Bodie.

Bodie first received the honor of ‘ghost town’ in 1915, but it still had 120 residents until 1942.

Haunting Tales from Bodie

Ghosts in ghost town
Copyright US Ghost Adventures

These days, Bodie is preserved in a state of decay—a tattered reminder of the booms that held so much promise for people of the past. Only a small part of the town has survived the elements, but 110 structures still stand strong, and visitors can walk the once-bustling streets.

Even the interiors of shops are still stocked with dust-covered goods. Shards of china dishes and bottles litter the sands.

Like other mining camps, Bodie earned a reputation for lawlessness. Killings were daily events, and the town soon became known for its violence before its riches. This was said of Bodie at the time:

“Bodie is a sea of sin, lashed by the tempests of lust and passion.”

Revered F.M. Warrington

By WWII, only six people were left in the town, and five of them died untimely and tragic deaths — a coincidence, perhaps? Or is Bodie attempting to shake the living from its land? 

One of the male residents shot his wife, and after she died, three other men killed the husband. According to reports, the spirit of the murdered man was said to visit the three men, shaking his fist and attempting to attack them. All three of the men soon died from various strange diseases.

The Bodie Curse

Could this old ghost town be cursed? Legend says yes. Supposedly, if visitors take souvenirs from the town, even a pebble, they end up suffering from misfortune and tragedy until the item is returned. Park rangers in the area even report people coming back to Bodie to return the stolen item and rid themselves of the ‘Bodie Curse.’

Letters from people who have returned items to the park remain in the museum. The curse is supposedly perpetuated by the spirits of Bodie residents, who guard the remaining treasures.

More Hauntings

The J.S. Cain House, located at the corner of Park and Green Streets, is one of Bodie’s most haunted locations. It is said to be frequented by the apparition of a maid. The spirit is said to love children but despise the adults accompanying them. Adults in the home report feeling pushed or suffocated by this unseen entity. Others report the doors opening and closing all on their own.

The Mendocini House is home to several (reportedly) friendly ghouls. One is thought to be Mrs. Mendocini herself, the smell of her Italian cooking wafting from the broken windows of the home. Others report hearing children’s laughter and noises from large gatherings.

At the Dechambeau House, visitors report seeing a woman peering from the upstairs window.

The Bodie Cemetery

Located in the Bodie Cemetery is ‘The Angel of Bodie,” which is a three-year-old child who is said to have been killed accidentally when she was hit with a miner’s pick. Her grave is marked with a white marble angel, and on occasion, the spirit of the little girl is said to come out and play with living children who visit the grave.

Haunted San Francisco

There are no permanent residents in the town these days except park employees. There are no tourist traps, recreation, or restaurants. 

Bodie is just as it was, an old mining camp, lonely and dusty — with a few spirits in tow. Have you ever visited Bodie? Did you experience any of the reported hauntings there?

If learning about San Francisco’s dark side sounds like your idea of a good time, be sure to book a ghost tour with San Francisco Ghosts today and step into the city’s haunting past. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and keep reading our blog for more real California hauntings.

Sources Cited:

  • https://www.nbclosangeles.com/worth-the-trip/meet-the-haunting-ghosts-of-bodie/2307878/
  • https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=509
  • https://chrisenss.com/rosa-mays-open-secret/
  • https://www.visitmammoth.com/blogs/history-and-geology-bodie-ghost-town/
  • https://www.theriverbanknews.com/209-living/unique-bodie-state-park-ghost-town-less-than-a-four-hour-drive-away/
  • https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ca-bodie/

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