Take A Spooky Driving Tour Of Sacramento
This time of year, ghouls and ghosties come out to play — and Sacramento is a veritable playground for the paranormal. While some traditional Halloween activities are altered this year, you can still hop in a Gig and drive by some of the creepiest spots in the City of Trees. Here are a few haunted spots you might want to check out.
Keep in mind, things are changing all the time and some of these destinations might be closed to visitors, and some are just meant to be driven by anyway. If you intend to go in, be sure to check hours and restrictions before you go.
Downtown Sacramento
Dorothea Puente’s House
In the 1980s, charming little ol’ Dorothea Puente ran a boarding house on F Street in Downtown Sacramento. Puente ended up being convicted of murdering several of her eldery tenants and cashing their Social Security checks. It’s said she buried the bodies in the backyard. You can drive past the murder scene at 1426 F St. Just be sure to not disturb the residents (the ghosts do enough of that already).
Old Sacramento
The Old Sacramento Underground
When Sacramento was a budding Gold Rush town, its location at the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers was both an asset and liability. The rivers meant easy transportation of goods and people, but they also routinely flooded the business district. To solve this frequent flooding fiasco, the city raised all the streets one level, making all the storefronts into basements and all the second stories becoming street level.
This left a network of tunnels and underground sidewalks that were perfect for the paranormal to set up shop. You can drive around Old Town and see huge dips in the alleys between streets.
East Sacramento
The Sacramento Historic Cemetery
The old cemetery is a gorgeously creepy way to enjoy an afternoon. There are lots of unique and beautiful headstones and mausoleums. You can look up who’s buried there on the city’s website. There’s plenty of free street parking on Broadway and Riverside Blvd. if you want to get out of the car and walk around the beautiful grounds.
Some folks have reported seeing a ghostly couple in all black, a child playing near a headstone, and even a phantom pit bull near the entrance.
Old Sacramento
The Delta King
The original captain of the elegant steamboat moored in Old Sacramento is said to still wander the decks, knocking over water glasses near the sound booth. The hotel and restaurants are open now, so you can park in Old Sacramento (in your Gig) and board the haunted old boat.