For the past two years, the Central Valley paranormal community has offered ghostly tours.
The Ghost Walks, as they are referred, run from October to May and are designed to not only entertain, but to also provide information and educate the public about ghosts.
Katie Rutherford and Central California Paranormal Investigator (CCPI) Jackie Meador, orchestrate the walks.
Meador and Rutherford hope to bring awareness to people about ghosts and to make it OK to talk about such things.
“Talking about ghosts is something that has been so taboo and almost unmentionable in society,” Rutherford said.
According to Meador, ghosts are often misunderstood and misinterpreted. Hollywood has created a wrong image of ghosts, according to the two; they are nothing like “Casper,” or the ghosts in “Ghostbusters.”
“The biggest misconceptions are that they’re evil,” Meador said. “They’re just like you and me, only they’re dead.”
The two say that ghosts roam around because there’s an emotional connection between places, objects or persons located where there is paranormal activity.
One such place is found in Clovis.
With its growing popularity, the Wolfe Manor Hotel has become a landmark location for paranormal activity.
The house attracts paranormal investigators from all over the nation. Much so, that it was featured on an episode of the SyFy channel’s “Ghost Hunters,” the leading paranormal investigation show on TV, this past Jan. 9.
Wolfe Manor was originally built in 1922 as a private residence. At the time, the mansion was one of the most lavish homes built in Clovis.
Anthony Andriotti, owner of the home, went bankrupt due to the staggering amount of money that it cost to build. As a result, he lost the home and passed away in 1929 at the age of 36, said Todd Wolfe, the current owner of the Wolfe Manor Hotel.
Wolfe purchased the building in 1997, and renamed it The Wolfe Manor Hotel.
The original mansion was purchased in 1935 and was turned into the Hazelwood Sanitarium. The sanitarium housed patients who were being treated for a number of diseases and terminal illnesses.
By the early 1980s the hospital began to receive many mentally unstable patients due to the closure of numerous state-run facilities. The hospital became overcrowded, with some rooms containing no less than ten beds. Hospital records verify that patients were tied to toilets and beds and left lying in hallways unattended with open bedsores.
As a result of neglect, there were a staggering number of deaths. On average there was one or more deaths every day. This resulted in hundreds of deaths by the time the Sanitarium closed its doors for good indefinitely.
According to Meador, this can be due the fact that the person has died suddenly or tragically that the ghost may not even realize that it’s dead.
“They get upset at the fact that people don’t pay attention to them or see them, because they don’t know that they’re dead, that’s why they start to throw stuff around to get their attention,” Meador said.
Although a ghost may not be visible, it may be felt. Often times there is a quick drop in temperature.
“It takes a huge amount of energy for a ghost to be able to do that,” Rutherford said.
Batteries, electrical outlets, anything containing some sort of electricity are where ghosts gather their energy from.
“People have experienced contact with the unknown by being physically touched, collecting [Electronic Voice Phenomena] recordings, photographic and video evidence, witnessing disembodied voices and actually seeing full blown apparitions,” Wolfe said.
There are two separate tours that take place in the heart of the Tower District or Old Town Clovis. Each tour consists of a two-hour stroll around the buildings that are rumored to be haunted and packed with paranormal activity.
The tours take place every Friday & Saturday nights from 7:30 — 9:30 pm. The cost is $18.00 per person and the minimum age is 18 years. For reservations visit www.nightfalltours.com or call Katie Rutherford at (559) 260-1738.