Ghost Stories from the San Joaquin Delta: Mystery, History and the Unexplained

Ghost Stories from the San Joaquin Delta provides an introduction to local history through stories that reflect our culture and identity.

Tule fog, railroads, waterways and remote homesteads provide a rich canvas upon which local legends are built. Once home to the wealthiest pioneers in California, few today remember John Marsh. Point of Timber, populist political wars, and ritualistic murders were once known in far eastern Contra Costa County. Truth is stranger than fiction as creation stories, cultural myths, extraordinary deaths, and unsolved mysteries from the California Delta heartland are revealed. You will find hair-raising stories of escaped anaconda snakes, missing wives, lone horsemen, train wrecks, fire and wistful love.

The communities of Brentwood, Byron, Knightsen, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Bethel Island and the Far East Islands were settled by agribusiness pioneers, exported more grain in the 1870s than the entire Mississippi Valley, and welcomed the San Pablo and Tulare railroad–and they were scary! The bandit Joaquin Murrieta stole horses here, ritualistic murders occurred on Jersey Island and Hispanic folklore brought the La Llorna legend to the waterways. Do not forget the ghosts at the Byron Hot Springs! Today, these communities are safe and secure San Francisco Bay Area suburbs. Or are they? Do not underestimate the unexplained apparition of Sarah Norton, the White Witch, lurking just outside your home.