California does eerie especially well.
From desert ghost towns and artist-built cults to gilded-age poisonings and true-crime mythologies, the West’s darker corners have long inspired both fear and fascination. This Halloween, we’ve collected eight Alta stories—true tales, essays, and reported features—that explore the strange, haunted, and often beautiful intersections of California’s past and present.
There’s a marshmallow laced with strychnine. A haunted house that doubles as immersive theater. Ghost towns where the real hauntings might be economic. And at the center of it all: a state that never quite lets its weirdest stories go quiet.
1. Murder, Marshmallows, and Bohemians
The Poisoned Past of Carmel’s Artist Colony
A 1914 poisoning, a community of creatives, and a marshmallow filled with strychnine—this isn’t a ghost story; it’s true crime by the sea. By Joy Lanzendorfer
2. Ghosts of Gold Rush Towns
Where the Ghosts Still Haunt California’s Abandoned Towns
Spectral babies, abandoned saloons, and paranormal whispers echo across Bodie and other long-dead boom towns. By Lauren Markham
3. Cult Secrets, Missing Women, and Carlos Castaneda’s Vanishing Act
The Case of the Missing Chacmools
Six women disappear after following a New Age mystic. This is the haunting true story of deception, manipulation, and unanswered questions. By Geoffrey Gray
4. The Cult That Became an Art Show
Step Into the Ritual at San Francisco’s Terror Vault
A real artist, a fake cult, and one of the weirdest haunted experiences in the Bay Area. By Zack Ruskin
5. California’s Most Overlooked Murder
Who Poisoned Jane Stanford?
The cofounder of Stanford University didn’t just die—she was almost certainly murdered. Why is no one talking about it? By Julia Flynn Siler
6. The Manson Myth Machine
How True Crime Turned Charles Manson Into a Brand
We can’t stop talking about him. But why? This essay explores how one of California’s darkest stories became pop culture. By Denise Hamilton
7. The Manson Family and the Fight for Parole
Still Behind Bars: The Long Shadow of Bruce Davis
A chilling deep dive into the parole system, the Manson family, and the moral calculus of release. By Joe Garcia and Kate McQueen
8. Inside L.A.’s Creepiest Immersive Experience
Creep LA Returns With Horror You Can Touch
Want to lie in a bed circle or walk through a tunnel of nightmares? This Halloween experience is for the brave—but not the claustrophobic. By Zack Ruskin
