Welcome to Main Street, Placerville. Ahhh! If only these old buildings could talk, or can they?

More than 50 people recently gathered at the Cary House Hotel to reconnect with the past -- to embark on a journey where some visitors say they can feel the presence of unsettled souls.

Guests began arriving late on this particular Saturday afternoon and many checked in for the night -- a place where it seems a few of the rooms always have double occupancy.

Local Placerville resident and "one of the top 10 psychics in the world," Nancy Bradley, facilitated the event. Many were familiar with her work in the paranormal field while others were not.

All ages of people gathered in the lobby of the Historic Cary House Hotel, mostly women, but about a dozen men mingled with the gregarious group determined to hunt-down the haunted. One couple came as far away as Richmond, a few from Sacramento and many from El Dorado County. All seemed to be curious to some degree about the unknown.

"Main Street is filled with ghosts," said Bradley who has authored a few books on the subject and has television shows currently airing on cable channel 14 in Placerville, in Sacramento on cable channels 17 and 73 and in Auburn on channel 20 and has appeared many times on the show "Good Day Sacramento," channel 31.

The din was constant in the lobby of the old Cary House Hotel that was originally established in 1857 -- laughter, low murmurs and feminine voices filled the air with anticipation. Instant friendship was found -- a common interest bonded the group -- those who wanted to learn more about the opposite side of the living, yearning to experience a psychic presence and those who shyly wanted to know more.

While waiting for the sun to go down, Bradley visited the rooms that the guests had checked into for the evening. Room by room, she explored each one to get a feel for the "spirit-energy" there. Often she raised her hand to feel the air, sometimes she would shut her eyes, then tell the registered guest about the high-spirited visitors. It seems that many of these spirits forgot to check out decades ago, while many had lived in Placerville more than a century ago.

Joan and Robert Bassett from Richmond were the guests that checked into Room 212 at the Cary House Hotel. Bradley explained the spirit of Arnold Wiedman, a horse and wagon operator in the late 1800s, along with his wife, Margaret and a baby once lived in Placerville. Bradley pointed to a corner in the room, the place where the bassinet had been and said that Arnold died because of influenza and his wife and child had to live here until her parents sent her money to bring the two of them home.

Several people watched and listened to Bradley as she sat on the left side of the bed in Room 212 and explained how "cold spots" can be felt, indicating spirit activity. She said "there is a cold spot here" as she reached out with her left arm and felt the air and the bedspread on the right side of the bed. She also noted that when spirits cross in front of a person, the ghostly image can block or fade the person's image on the film. She encouraged others to feel for themselves -- yep, there was definitely a cold spot right there. Bradley humorously warned the Bassetts they were in for an exciting, high-spirited evening.

About this time, Ron Williams, a producer and director for about 10 years and currently connected with "Access TV" cable 73 in Sacramento, decided to turn out the lights and switch on his "brand new infrared video camera" to capture on film any unseen spirit activity. He had the camera pointed at Bradley who sat on the edge of the bed.

Later in a telephone interview with Williams, he said, "It was unusual some of the things going on, but we have to view the tape more and sometimes the camera would work and sometimes it wouldn't, which is real unusual. In Room 212, I was filming ladies sitting on the bed and Nancy has a black shroud around her ... just covered her totally, now that doesn't show on the film, but I saw it through the viewfinder and she was there and then she faded out ... it didn't record and I don't have a clue why."

Bob Wilson was the regular camera man for Access TV and was also present in Room 212 when the infrared camera was recording. He said he viewed Williams' infrared videotape and said the part that recorded Room 212 was black. However, Wilson noted that what was captured on film before and after Room 212 is recorded and said, " ... why didn't it work (in Room 212), I can't come up with an answer ..."

One of Williams' concerns when tracking down a story is the importance of "credibility" while searching for the truth. He described himself as a "fact hunter" and said he decided to plant an infrared camera in a cubby hole area of the attic that leads to the elevator. He said he viewed the tape which came out black, yet sounds were captured like "a little moan and groan."

Williams said he did find out he felt safer to sleep with the lights on after he turned in for the evening because around 3:30 a.m. "someone was trying to put a key in the door," then the door knob turned.

"I got up and opened the door and nobody was there so I went back to bed and a few minutes later someone was jiggling the door knob real quick, so I got up again and no one was there. There has to be some type of reasoning ..."

An interesting part of the story came when he went to retrieve his camera the next morning from the cubby hole area. He explained the door to the attic was wide open when he went in, then all of a sudden the door swung shut and hit him in the back which caused him to hit his head -- there didn't seem to be an logical explanation as to why the door slammed shut.

"I wanted out of that attic real quick," said Williams. "Oh yeah, I am a believer and I think there is phenomena going on out there, but I also have to look at the logical part."

After dark, Bradley led an enthusiastic entourage through some of the oldest buildings on Main Street in Placerville, reminding them that behind every ghost story is a ghost, or maybe a few spirits lurking about.

A trail of pennies led the way down Main Street this chilly, crisp, winter evening and Bradley explained that coins are an easy "apport" for spirits to handle, often using them to leave a trace of their presence. Bradley explained that an apport is how a spirit transports a material object. She picked up 22 coins in all, mostly pennies as she found them along Main Street -- sure that the spirits were dropping them to communicate with the group. A soft rain fell, but certainly didn't dampen the spirits of the living.

A few local businesses opened their doors for Bradley's tour. At Rivendell Book Store, Bradley commented that the "energy and air is thicker in here," then asked her audience, "Who's feeling the energy in here?" A couple of hands went up. She commented that the air is heavy because it is "from very old spirits." However, she cautioned everyone to look for the obvious, a reason why something is happening, before looking for spirits -- a reminder that came up throughout the evening.

At the Red Door Gallery, the spirit wands twirled around and around, gently rocked then settled down to a consistent point. According to Bradley, the wands are made of copper, shaped into an L, then dipped in ectoplasm. The handles are in plastic tubes so they can turn freely around when searching for ghostly or spirit activity. Someone in the audience compared them to how people witch for water with dowsing sticks. The more the spirit wands twirled, the more energy -- finally they settled and pin-pointed a direction, indicating where the spirits were located.

A new shop and recently remodeled, the "air is different" in the Red Door Gallery than it was at Rivendell's. Bradley said there are not as many spirits, because they are "not as comfortable in the newness." She stopped and said, "Carl is here, a spirit from the 1800s. Raise up one hand, can you feel a tingle?"

At Mountain Herbs it was noticed that the air was a combination of heavy and light air. Bradley asked the group, "How many have seen spirits?" Many of the participants raised their hands, then one of the tour members said, "Nancy, it's happy in here." Many agreed.

"There is someone in here by the name of Josh. Anyone connecting with him? There is a short man named Sam ..." continued Bradley.

More pennies led the way to the Placerville Coffee House and Pub -- a historical building that use to be known as John Pearson's Soda Works. A deep cave has been dug into the side of the mountain, an old place that is just as popular today as it was long ago. One by one, the ghost hunters explored the tunnel, a place where Bradley said "a miner died in the cave" and "Sam, and two women of the night hang out there."

Regrouping at the Hangman's Tree Bar, Bradley perched herself on top of the bar and began to address the audience. She explained that in the 1800s "people were hung here (on this spot) more than anywhere else" and that is why Placerville's original name was "Old Hangtown. Suddenly -- the juke box began playing, drowning out her words as she told how "The root of that tree is still there, underneath this building." That was odd, it was noted that no one was near the juke box, nor had anyone put any money into it -- strange, very strange. The bartender manually overrode the juke box from behind the bar and turned the volume down.

"Darrell is here (the hangman)," said Bradley. "He walks between here and the Chamber of Commerce building where another hangman's tree was located ... the hangman, he was feared by people because of what he did for a living, his energy is very cold, he has a spirit of remorse ... the heavier the energy the more you are dealing with ghost activity while charged energy or spirit energy is much lighter ..."

Maybe Bradley is right, maybe it all began a little more than 150 years ago when people rushed to the gold fields in California. This is how the town of Placerville was born, a rough and tumble kind of place where the reputation of "Old Hangtown" quickly spread throughout the West. History records that the name was well-earned and for good reason.

Could this troubled past be why there are so many stories told about ghosts and spirits haunting historical Main Street, roaming around in ancient buildings that were once filled with shady characters, mothers, miners, working women and children too?

As for the Bassetts who were guests for the night in Room 212 at the Cary House Hotel -- what a dream of an experience, at least for Joan. While her husband, Bob slept the night away, Joan reported having many dreams, especially one about a "wild, red-haired woman sitting on the right side of the bed" as well as about five other characters that moved in and out of her dreams. She admitted, that after Bradley told her about Room 212, she was a bit apprehensive about spending the night.

"I was a little scared because it was the most haunted," said Joan in a telephone interview. "She (Bradley) said I would definitely have an experience that night ... It was wonderful fun and I enjoyed the whole experience, to be in that kind of setting with other people who were interested and having the psychic (Bradley) there gave the whole experience authority ... We are talking about renting that same room again ... I enjoyed every minute of it."

Oh, if these buildings could talk, what stories would they tell. The evening faded well into sunrise for a few, yet this writer crossed the threshold of her haven of a home just three minutes before midnight -- no need to tempt the unknown.

• Story originally published by:
Mountain Democrat, Placerville / CA | Paula Zdenek - Jan 25.02

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