It is that time of year again, when the wind begins to howl through trees above and adults and children alike are filled a sense of wonder and nostalgia. Halloween is a time for children and adults to make believe and in Ventura County, real haunts are not hard to find.
Genuine “ghost-stalker” Richard Senate, has lived in Ventura County most of his life and began searching for ghosts when he encountered a spirit in 1978.
“Ventura County is so haunted, I believe, because of the conflict of cultures,” he explained. “Ventura’s history has Native people being impacted by Spanish Missionaries, missionaries being impacted by Mexican settlers, the ‘Yankees’ with all their ways during the turbulent Gold Rush years- throw in the Chinese- it was a mess,”
Halloween is one of the oldest holidays still celebrated. It began as a way for pagan settlers in Ireland and Scotland to celebrate the harvest and evolved into the Halloween we celebrate in the United States today.
While the average person may not be able to visit some of the haunted locations Senate has investigated, Ventura County has no shortage of spooky attractions this Halloween season. The city of Oxnard is offering Ghost Tours at the Square on Oct. 14-30, in which actors portray ghosts and reenact local history. Call 483-5118 or visit elitetheatre.org.
Ventura and Thousand Oaks are both joining in the Halloween fun, each with terrifying haunted houses for enthusiasts to wander through and explore. Seaside Haunt, a 6,500 square foot haunted attraction patterned after an abandoned lighthouse, will be held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds on Oct. 14-16, 20-23, and 29-31, 7-10 p.m. Prepare for haunted mazes, swamps, caves, docks and graveyards.
The Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks will be hosting the city’s historical haunted house, based on horrifying events from the usually peaceful community’s past on Oct. 31, 6-10 p.m.
Not to be outdone, Moorpark College is also getting in the game, hosting fun activities including face painting and cookie decorating at America’s Teaching Zoo on Oct. 29 and 30.
Santa Paula will be featuring their annual Ghostwalk on Oct. 14-16, 21-23, 28-30. Ghostwalk celebrates 12 years of frightening fun for the Halloween season, while taking a ghoulishly guided tour of hauntingly historical Santa Paula each year. Guests encounter several ghosts eager to tell of their untimely demise.
Tours depart for the dearly departed every fifteen minutes from 6:30-9:15pm and last approximately one hour. Personal flashlights are highly recommended.
For more information call 525-3073 or visit
ghostwalk.com.
It does not matter where you live this Halloween, the spooks are out and about and yours to explore. Be safe and enjoy this year’s “spooktacular” attractions.
