Halloween fast approaches! All the usual "haunted" places will be getting attention. The Whaley House in Old Town will be certain to draw crowds, and Kate Morgan will get her annual share of attention at the Hotel Del.
In fact, we'll be featuring both in a special "spooky" About San Diego show on Saturday, October 25. But there are some lesser-known stories in our county that are worth a mention.
The "Lady In White" is a favorite of mine. It happened, according to the story, at the Vallecito stage station, and in the surrounding campground in the Anza Borrego.
An unusual vision sometimes appears there on the odd moonlit night. Reported to be a woman, dressed all in white, she is seen to be floating just off the ground.
If you believe in the paranormal, there is a possible explanation rooted in history.
The trip to and from the East was brutal, and some stagecoach passengers didn't survive it.
The story is that on one occasion, a woman arrived aboard a stage at the Vallecito station, too sick to continue.
The staff tried to tend to her illness, but it was of little use, and shortly, she died.
She was on her way to be married, the story goes. Among her things was discovered a wedding dress, in which she was then buried.
It's a great story, and there is documentation to support that it really happened 120-years or so ago.
But as to whether campers are really seeing "The Lady In White", or it's just the result of an active imagination stimulated by a flickering campfire and s'mores, remains one of the great unanswered questions "About San Diego".
