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Hauntings of the Brookdale Lodge. Deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains, amongst the soaring Redwood trees, the pillaring pines and the endless flow of creek waters, lays the formally known “World Famous Brookdale Lodge”.
Often compared to the chilling novels by Stephen King, the Shinning, Rose Red, and 1408, this historic piece of Santa Cruz history, once catered to the rich and famous, such legends as James Dean, Hedy Lamar, Cordell Tull, Rita Hayworth, Joan Crawford, Marilyn Monroe, Howard Hughes, Henry Ford, President Herbert Hoover; are known to have once dined within its illustrious walls. However, all that glitters is not gold… Famed for having a magical brook that flows through its hull, surrounded by lime stone and river rock the enchanting creek is believed to act as the beating heart of the Brookdale Lodge. Conducting an invisible life force all its own, a portal if you will, that resonates’ between the living and the dead. Estimated to be over 150 years old, the Brookdale Lodge is known to harbor a sinister past deriving from embezzlement, fraud, gangsters, prostitution, natural disasters, murder and mysterious downing’s. Stemming from the legend of ten year old -Sarah Logan -dating back to 1892; who was believed to be related to the famed founder of Brookdale himself, and the original developer of what has now become the Brookdale Lodge, Judge James Harvey Logan; spins a tale of woe and the start of a legendary haunting. The tragic tale focuses on a vibrant young lass, Ten year old, Sarah Logan; whose family likely worked at the adjacent lumber camp during its peak seasons. Young Sarah loved the mountainous terrain and played amongst her peers in their imaginary magical forest. Clear Creek (the brook that now runs through the lodge) was a place of enchantment for one so young. It is believed that during the fall months as the wet whether approached and the cold began to fill the air. Young Sarah who was playing around the creek bed of Clear Creek tragically slipped and fell onto the rocks below, suffering a severe injury to her head and nearly drowned. She would later die from these injuries. – For generations to come, patrons and employees alike would hear, feel and even see the antics of a little girl wandering the famed Brookdale Lodge. A little girl whose ghostly apparition remains trapped near the babbling brook, of Clear Creek…the endless beating heart of the Brookdale Lodge. However, this is not the only spirit that is said to wander the lodge. Numerous guests and employees have heard the sound of music late at night after hours, the joyous laughter of a grand party - the sounds of men arguing, the apparition of a woman wandering near the bridge, and occasionally a dark shadow, of something else within the lodge walls. Like a chilling movie; the waters of the Brookdale Lodge would seemingly summon the young, the old and the mentally challenged towards its beckoning waters; waters that would appear to consume the souls of its victims and harness there energy within its hull. To date numerous paranormal experts have visited the Brookdale Lodge, trying to unravel its secrets. From well known psychics, to paranormal investigators, both novice and professional alike…to ghost writing authors and even television shows such as Sightings and Ghost Adventures. Although many have tried to debunk the haunting of the Brookdale Lodge, none have been successful. Currently the lodge is once again under renovations, with a new owner at its helm, Mr. Pravin Patel. Aspirations’ soar as the desire to once again re-open the doors of the Brookdale Lodge have brought anticipation to many, both in the small mountain community of Santa Cruz and those in neighboring locals. Brookdale Lodge lovers are optimistic to once again, wine and dine before the babbling brook of Clear Creek, and hope for a chance encounter with a friendly spirit…so they too... can share, in the haunting of Brookdale Lodge. For more hauntings on the Brookdale Lodge purchase your copy of Haunted Santa Cruz, California, and The Beating Heart of Brookdale Lodge. Or visit the Haunted Tours page on this site. |