HISTORY OF THE MOTEL

The motel was constructed in the 1950's on what used to be part of the original town the gold rush settlers built in the 1800's. As a matter of fact, some of the wood from the old original settlement still lies beneath the house on the property and reclaimed wood from the settlement was used in the construction of the house and motel before the area was intentionally flooded to create Isabella Lake, condemning the remaining structures to their watery grave.  Some of the buildings from the original settlement were deconstructed, moved to a safe location, and rebuilt prior to the flooding to preserve a bit of the history of the area. Some of the original structures can now be found at the Silver City Ghost Town approximately 8 miles from the motel. The Silver City Ghost town is also reported to be haunted and is listed in the National Directory of Haunted Places. Prior to 1800's, the area was inhabited by Native American Indians (the Tübatulabal people) and remnants of their communities can still be found in the area today. 

MASSACRE

On April 19, 1863 a massacre of 35 Tübatulabal men occurred near Isabella Lake, which at the time was still part of the Kern River. The Tübatulabal men were lined up and shot dead by the U.S. Cavalry. This was during the greater Owens Valley Indian War which occurred due to the intrusion of colonizers on Paiute land. The reason for the massacre was allegedly due to a petition from citizens of Keyesville asking military protection from the local tribes. Due to it only being men that were killed, the Tübatulabal were almost wiped out. The exact location of the massacre was submerged under water when Isabella Lake was created.

ABOUT THE GHOST(S)

We purchased the motel in 2017 and not long after taking possession started hearing rumors about "the ghost". Several of the guests are longtime repeat customers who are well versed in the motel's history. Not being from the area originally ourselves, we definitely learned a thing or two from them. According to guests and locals in the area, there are 2 specific rooms at the motel that have a history of reports of paranormal activity. We have no idea why there would be paranormal activity at the motel in general and in those 2 rooms in particular because, as far as we know, no deaths have occurred on the property although we have not confirmed the location of the deaths that occurred as part of the massacre of the men from the Tübatulabal people. Hundreds of Native American Indians perished during the conflict between settlers and original inhabitants so there is no way to guarantee no deaths occurred on the property. We can only guess that any ghosts at the motel could be either Native American Indians as they were the original inhabitants of the area, or ghosts of the settlers from the 1800's. 

There seems to be a definite trend in experiences that we've noticed through the years:

* The activity within the buildings seems to be confined to only 2 specific rooms

* According to guests, the ghost is believed to be FEMALE and not malicious in nature

* The ghost seems to interact exclusively with male guests

* The activity seems to focus on the bed area

* Experiences are generally described as feelings of being physically touched, someone sitting on the bed, covers moving, and hearing a female breathing or speaking

GUEST TESTIMONIALS

• So my work sent me to the area to work on a house being built and they booked a room at this motel. I got there to check in kinda late and was pretty tired so I just climbed right into bed. I hadn't been asleep very long when it felt like someone sat down on the bed. At first I thought I had been dreaming because I was so tired and ignored the feeling. I knew something was up though when just a couple minutes later it felt like someone got up from the bed, you know like when you feel weight lifted off the mattress, and then felt something TOUCH MY FACE! That definitely got me because I was wide awake when I felt that and it definitely felt like a hand brushed my forehead, stroking my hair back. I immediately turned on the light and nothing was there. I feel kinda stupid saying this but I was so freaked out I got up and checked the closet and shower to make sure no one was hiding. There was nobody hiding anywhere of course and everything was quiet at the motel so I finally just went back to sleep. Even though it creeped me out for a sec I never felt like it was something bad that sat down and touched me. Actually I felt like it was a woman doing it in kinda a nice way like a mom would do to a little kid if they were sick in bed or something. It was kinda soothing. Weird, I know and it doesn't make any sense but you woulda had to have experienced it to understand what I mean. The next morning I told the lady at the front desk about what happened and asked her to say thank you to the ghost for me. She thought it was funny and said that's definitely not the first time they'd been told by a guest that something had joined them in their room but that she wouldn't charge me anything for the extra "person"  LOL       ~Miguel R. ,San Bernardino, CA

• I work as a geologist and was staying overnight in the area as part of a research project. I stayed in room # **** (redacted) which is described as 1 queen bed with kitchenette. It was late at night and I was seated on the bed, flipping through the channels on the television, trying to find something to watch. After pausing on the Weather Channel I commented out loud to myself that the following day was going to be very hot. Right after making my comment directed at no one in particular, I heard a female voice speaking, as though commenting in reply. The location of the sound and it's unusual tone immediately caught my attention. I was alone in the room and it didn't sound as though it came from outside. It sounded as though it originated from within the room but, despite sounding like it originated from close proximity, it had a tone that made it sound simultaneously far away. The best description I can come up with is it was as though the voice was underwater. Far away, yet close. I unfortunately have no idea what the voice said but it was definitely unnerving.       ~ Steven C.,  Sacramento, CA

• I've stayed at this motel several times. I'm a loyal repeat customer and I've been coming here for years since it was owned by the previous owners, an older couple. I really like the new owners too so I kept coming back even after it changed hands. In the years I've been coming here I've actually experienced the ghost I've named Myrtle (I have no idea why I named it that, I just did) four or five times. Each time it's always the same kind of thing and it always seems to involve the bed.  A couple times it felt like "Myrtle" sat down on the bed with me and sort of moved the covers a bit. A few other times I felt her touch my hand while I was falling asleep. It's never scary to me though. Aside from getting over the fact it's being done by someone or something that is not alive, it doesn't feel scary because I always get the impression it's a female (hence the name I've given her) and she's looking out for me. As many times as I've experienced it nothing negative has ever happened so I've just grown to accept her. I'll admit I kind of look forward to it happening.         ~Ronnie D. , Long Beach, CA

• I was so happy when the owner asked me if I would be ok with sharing my story on the website because I think it's fricking awesome! Ok so I came to stay at the motel 'cause I have family in the area that I came to visit but the trailer they live in is too small for me to want to stay in plus they've got something like ten fricking cats or something like that so I figured a motel would be way more comfortable and this motel was the closest one. I stayed in room # **** (redacted) and the very first night there I swear to you something sat down on the bed! I could totally feel the mattress go down where it sat. Then I swear I heard a breath. It was like a soft "haaaahhhhhh", like an long exhale. To me it sounded like a woman breathing. I told it to get out and it just kind of left. Not in an obvious way like the mattress coming right back up or anything, it was slow almost like the weight had never been there.  I swear to you I hadn't been drinking, I'd only had one beer in the room that night, so I wasn't drunk and hadn't smoked anything or anything like that. I totally heard it and felt it! I told the owner about it and she asked if I wanted to switch rooms (I was staying for 2 nights) but I told her no 'cause if it's a woman she's welcome to come back and have a little fun ;) The owner said it's not that kind of motel & it's not a service they offer but if she sees the ghost she'll let her know about my request  :D  LMFAO      ~Chaz,  Palmdale, CA