Ghosts & the Supernatural – Knights Ferry is an unincorporated historic community in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, it is about 40 miles (64 km) east of Modesto on the Stanislaus River. The Williams Ranch, a California Landmark near the town, was one of many filming locations for the television series Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie. It is home to the Knights Ferry Bridge, the longest covered bridge west of the Mississippi at 330 feet (100 m) in length. Today, it is home to a top-rated K-8 Elementary School, and a museum about the history of the town and also about local wildlife. The town’s ruins include a mill and a jail.
If you enjoy ghost hunting a favorite spot for Northern California ghost hunters is Knights Ferry. Knights Ferry has all kinds of reports of paranormal activity. I’ve been to Knights Ferry once and while walking around this old town, I felt a hand on my shoulder. That was my only paranormal experience at Knights Ferry. A little history about Knights Ferry is that Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie was filmed here. In 1849, Dr. William Knight and John C. Fremont found this place to be a reasonably good river crossing and established a ferry boat at this location. The ferry boat was used by many citizens involved in the California Gold Rush. The ferry boat was a success and brought in money for Dr. Knight. Dr. Knight teams up with Captain Vantine and they build a hotel and trading post near the crossing.
There is some confusion on how Dr. William Knight died. They say that in November 9, 1849, Knight was killed in a gunfight on the town’s main street. Knight’s family believes Knight was stabbed to death in his bed and was buried near the gate of John Dent’s home. John Dent was the brother-in-law of former President Ulysses S. Grant. In fact in 1852, Ulysses S. Grant when he was an Army Captain at Benicia and Eureka visited Knights Ferry.
Some of the hauntings at Knights Ferry are as follows:
Abraham Schell House. This house is built with sandstone. Abraham was the owner of Rancho del Rio Estanislao. There have been reports that Abraham Schell is sometimes seen at the doorway of his sandstone home. Sometimes voices are heard through the house. I wonder if the sandstone is an absorber of voice energy from the past and that is why voices can sometimes be heard? POSSIBLE GHOST IDENTIFIED: ABRAHAM SCHELL
Lewis Dent House. This house was built in 1851. This is the oldest home in the community. Eugenia Davis while visiting said that she saw a family sitting at a table, preparing to eat. They were in 1800s garb. As she watched the family, thinking they were actors, the family disappeared in front of her eyes. POSSIBLE GHOSTS IDENTIFIED: THE DENT FAMILY.
Knights Ferry Community Church. Some tourists make claim that they have heard a congregation singing and there was no one in the church, when the singing was heard. This has happened on 3 separate occasions and usually happens when the sun is setting. The church was built in 1890. The church boasts original pews, altar and upper windows. The ghosts of this church are probably residual, non-intelligent. POSSIBLE GHOSTS IDENTIFIED: KNIGHTS FERRY COMMUNITY CHURCH SINGING CONGREGATION.
General Store. Former Wells Fargo agent George Valpey once owned this store. The store was built in 1852 by Moulton and Drew. Anuradha Khatri and his wife said they saw a little boy holding a brown cloth bag and running. The little boy ran through a wooden pole as if the wooden pole was not there. Anuradha and his wife knew they saw a ghost. GHOST IDENTIFIED: THE RUNNING BROWN BAG BOY.
Millers Hall. This hall has been around since 1863. At one time this building housed a restaurant, pool, poker parlor on the first floor and on the 2nd floor was a dance hall. Workers at this hall claim that they have heard music and the sound of shuffling feet and laughter. This sounds like the residual effects of the dance hall and the sounds of people dancing is replayed over and over again in the atmosphere. Most likely non-intelligent ghosts. GHOSTS IDENTIFIED: MILLER’S HALL SPIRIT DANCERS.
OUTLAW JUSTIN “KNIGHTS FERRY KID” ANJO
The now defunct (FSAT) Fresno Spirit A-Team claim they once captured an EVP on the main street where a man is yelling: “Get your gun!!” They claim it was a Class A EVP. FSAT claims that they made several attempts to communicate with the entity that yelled “get your gun” and finally obtained another EVP. They asked “what is your name”, the entity said his name was Justin Anjo. FSAT did some researching and discovered that Justin “Knights Ferry Kid” Anjo was a California outlaw and was lynched when he murdered a man in cold blood. FSAT went back to Knights Ferry and talked with some people on the streets and FSAT interviewed an old timer that frequents Knights Ferry. The old timer who does not want to be identified claims that Justin Anjo did visit Knights Ferry several times and was known to rob some of the gold panhandlers. Some of the panhandlers called him the Knights Ferry Kid. POSSIBLE GHOST IDENTIFIED: JUSTIN “KNIGHTS FERRY KID” ANJO.
Paul Dale Roberts, HPI Esoteric Detective
Halo Paranormal Investigations (HPI International)
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/HPIinternational/
