THE HAUNTED DESERT

The modern city is not the only place where ghosts and creatures roam. The Old West and its artifacts have left a trove of hauntings and other spooky tales. Here is an article that should satisfy your Halloween mood. . . for awhile, anyway!

The Haunted Desert
by Lynn Bremner

Spooky stories, unexplained mysteries and tales of ghosts are part of desert lore. It is no wonder that so many ghosts haunt the lonely trails, mountains, and landmarks of the forbidding desert. The desert can be so unforgiving and, at the same time, unbelievably generous. Many travelers, prospectors and adventurers have gone into the desert, never to return or be seen again. Others have returned with gold nuggets and treasures so rare and unique that we could only dream of being so lucky ourselves.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and the Borrego Springs area of California are notorious for the many legends, ghost stories and unexplained phenomena occurring there over the years. The region of the Sonoran Desert is home to the Vallecito Stage Station and Yaqui Well, in addition to the mysterious "Ghost Lights" of Oriflamme Mountain.

Navajo medicine men.

The Lady In White - The Lady In White haunts the Vallecito Station in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. She died there. She had arrived at the Vallecito Station sometime in the late 1850's and she had never left. The bride had become deathly ill during her journey and died at Vallecito Station. She was buried in an unmarked grave at Campo Santo, a few hundred yards from the station.

In her wedding gown, she paced the adobe floor of the Vallecito Station (Anza Borrrego Desert) patiently waiting for the next stage, which would take her on to Sacramento. Her fiancé had struck it rich in the gold fields and had sent for her to join him in California. It is said that if you camp near the old Vallecito Stage Station, you too will see "The Lady In White" restlessly pace the worn earth where the station once stood, waiting for her stage to come.

The Phantom Stage of Carrizo - It is said that a phantom stage forges it way through the Carrizo Wash and passes through the original location of the Carrizo Stage Station located in Anza Borrego Desert State Park.

The White Ghost Horse of Vallecito - There is a tale of a white ghost horse who continues to haunt the Vallecito Station looking for his master who was murdered in a gun fight and shot dead from his back.

The Ghost Lights of Borrego - Mysterious and unexplained lights have been seen since 1858 on Oriflamme Mountain in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Reports have been made over the years. The accounts are always slightly different, but the general description of the sightings is the same.

A Navajo mask used to frighten away evil spirits and disease.

The Eight-Foot Skeleton - If you find yourself between the Superstition Mountains and Seventeen Palms you may encounter a skeleton ghost wandering the desert carrying a lantern. Many accounts have been made over the years of similar sightings in the same area.

Ghost Dancers at Yaqui Well - During the warm summer nights when a full moon rises in the desert sky ghost dancers have been seen at Yaqui Well in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. The ghosts are emigrants who were traveling from Yuma, AZ to California. They died at the well site. It is only during the hot summer nights of the full moon that the three emigrants return to Yaqui Well. One rises out of the muddy waters of the Yaqui Well, one emerges from the brush nearby, and the third arrives in a cool breeze out of the wash. The ghosts join hands and circle Yaqui Well in a dance. Soon after the twirling begins, they disappear, leaving only the good waters of the well and a slight chill in the air.

[SOURCE: DesertUSA.]