THE STORY
Reported Haunting
The Bracken Fern Manor in Lake Arrowhead, California, is heavily plagued by spirits from its Prohibition-era past as a mob-run hidden brothel. Guests and investigators frequently encounter Violet, a former courtesan who tragically hanged herself in an upstairs room after her boyfriend was murdered on the property. The building also hosts the lingering apparitions of 1920s flappers and gangsters, loud disembodied laughter, slamming doors, and an aggressive, dark presence in the basement tunnels that connect the manor to the neighboring Tudor House.
Bugsy Siegel used to stay here back when the building was still relatively new. Along with him were many prostitutes, gamblers, and other people with crime connections. It’s said that some of those people still remain and can be found upstairs or in the tunnel connecting it to the Tudor House across the street. People report the smell of perfume which belonged to a prostitute who committed suicide, find footprints that belonged to a child who was ran over by horses, and even find strange notes left behind. The house once operated as an inn, but has since closed.