Friday, October 4, 2013

Delano Ghost Tours


Last night, I went on a ghost tour of "Haunted Delano" with my mom, sisters Amy & Kathleen, and niece Rachel. It started at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium where we heard about the odd goings-on there. We learned that there have been at least 3 deaths there in the past 78 years it has been open, and that people think these are the people who haunt the stadium.


After a run-down on what happens, we walked onto the field to hear a story from this guy:


I think he was supposed to be the drunk/homeless guy who died here in the wintertime during the 30's(?). He was not that good. Neither was the other guy who talked with him. After this, we really hoped the tour got better.


To get to the next destination on the tour, you could walk, drive, or ride the free trolley. We were going to ride the trolley, but after waiting about 15 minutes to get on & then not being able to get on, we decided to drive instead of wait another 20 minutes for the next trolley. I think this worked out better anyway because we could go at our own pace (and stop for bathroom/drink breaks!).

The building we went to after the stadium was Accent Bridal and Tux. We were shown the spooky cellar. Here is Amy being really scared of the cellar:


I thought there would be people down here telling us things about the cellar, but there were not. There was a little boy that tried to scare us though, so that was fun. :0)
Check out Amy's face on the way up. She was super scared of this cellar.....


Actually those stairs were pretty scary to go up & down.

We went upstairs in the bridal shop where there are prom dresses. Again, we thought someone would be up here, but they weren't. Supposedly though, there are times when the dresses are in the dressing room like someone has been trying them on, when no one has been there. Spooky! 


There were actors outside who told us a story about a mom & a little boy who were working the tour one year. The mom was upset with the boy because he was running around upstairs and not listening to her, then he ran back down the stairs without her. When she & the group came down, the boy was standing next to another worker, handing out flyers. The mom started lecturing the boy, when the worker said he had been with him the whole time....he had never been upstairs. So who was the little boy running around upstairs???


We walked down the street to our next destination; Central Plains Novelty, where we heard stories of costumes being moved around, voices, a strange apparition, and footsteps walking in the upstairs hallway when no one was up there.

After a quick bathroom/drink break, we went to Amira's Dance studio.


There was an "apparition" in the corner in the area we were waiting on for the next tour to start.


This spot was interesting. They told us about a man that had a suit & hat on that walked down the hallway once, temperature changes, and people being touched. They had a paranormal investigator come in and they recorded someone saying, "What is the price per pound?" (The dance studio was a Safeway grocery in 1922.)

After the dance studio was The Perfect Touch salon. This building used to be a brothel and dance hall, so there were lots of saloon girls out here.


This is Amy being afraid of the saloon girls:




Dead saloon people:


The lady who gave this tour was really fun to listen to. She was very enthusiastic, and told us about two gun fighters, who owned rival dance halls across from eachother. They got into a shhot-out & the one named "Red" died from bullets to his hip & arm. It took him a week to die, and he now haunts several places in Delano. There is also a woman named Victoria who haunts the salon. She loves flowers and will sometimes appear by them.

Our last stop for the night was the Downtown Senior Center. They had lots of spooky decor for us to look at!


Amy got hungry on the tour.....


Rachel & Amy being very scared of the dismembered head:
 

Amy being scared of the mysterious water that pools on the floor sometimes:


This is Kathleen being scared:


Hee hee. ;0)

The really scary stories (to me) came from the kitchen staff here. They told us about the freezer door opening & closing, a voice telling one of them to "Get out of my freezer!", apparitions running by the windows, lights & machines turning themselves on and off, and doors unlocking themselves and opening by themselves. It was pretty scary to listen to actually.

After that we were done. We started at 6:00, and we got done after 8:30. The tour was free too! I had a lot of fun with my family and I learned a lot about the Delano District! 
This tour is only done once a year, but The Moonlit Ghost Tours will be doing something on Nov. 1st. You can check it out at www.moonlightghosthunts.com
 


2 comments:

  1. nice pic of me thanks!

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  2. Man that sounds fun! I am missing out on SO MUCH! WAAAA! Love the "scared pic of Kathleen" something tells me she doesn't scare easily :0)
    -D.

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