Haunted Oakland!

Fruitvale has a ton of cool Victorians, and as with any Victorian homes, it doesn’t take a huge stretch of the imagination to picture a ghost at the window. We’re here talkin about a notable spooky Victorian, built in 1882 and sitting on 29th Ave.

This is known as the Cohen Bray House. The name stems from two families, one the well to do merchants who built it, and the other the Cohens who established the Oakland and San Francisco Railroad and lived and died there.

The above article features interviews with great granddaughters of original owners who say the house is most definitely still home to people who lived there and loved the place. The Victorian is currently run by the Victorian Preservation Center of Oakland, and the volunteers who keep the place have got some hair-raising tales of sightings and presences, of past Cohens who were born and died in the home. It is a place where much life was lived and the people who lived those rich lives, really loved the house, so much perhaps, that they’ve stayed on past their expiration.

Another haunted Oakland spot might be familiar to folks who frequent Lake Merritt, this is the Cameron Stanford House. It’s the last man standing, out of all the cool Victorians that used to line Lake Merritt. It housed a whole mess of wealthy influential Oakland families throughout the years. The city of Oakland purchased the house in 1907, now it’s a museum that’s also got private rental options. The executive director of the Cameron Stanford house noted in her interview about the house possibly being haunted, that lots of families had lived there and none of them had stayed living there for very long. Lots of deaths took place in the Cameron Stanford house, lots of sickness and misfortune. In the museum section of the house, there are a lot of original belongings from folks who lived and died there. Basically, knowing that specific information alone makes us pretty dang certain there’s energy attached to said artifacts. Aka- ghosts, aka seriously spooky, certainly haunted, there’s no two ways about it. Next time you take an evening walk around the lake, take an extra moment to really look at the houses dark empty windows…you never know if you’ll catch a glimpse, and give your self a Halloween thrill!

Last stop on our haunted Oakland tour is Mills College. Not shocking to hear it houses spirits because well, it’s hella old. It’s Oakland campus has been operating since 1871. It has been featured prominently in the book Ghost Stories and Legends from Alameda, Berkeley and Oakland. There are ghost tours held on occasion on campus by a professor who has taught on site for several decades. He takes folks to see specifically and especially haunted parts of campus. One of these places is Mary Morse Hall, where ghosts are seen and phantom music is heard on the regular. Lisser Hall is home to a stage where students and staff regularly hear footsteps when no one is there. Susan Toleman Mills, the schools founder has been seen spooking around the stage and in the halls.

Whether hauntings tickle your fancy, or bring on an uncontrollable eye roll, there’s no denying these historic places in Oakland have seen some things. If you are curious to check them out in person, you can tour all of these places, and sense the vibe to decide for yourself… are these hauntings legit, or is it just a bunch of hocus pocus?

Happy Halloween from the Monday Team!!