A HAUNTING AT SCOTTS CREEK
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Santa Cruz Sentinel, April 13, 1893
A GHOST STORY
Does the spirit of George Mitchell Haunt the Scotts Creek Road?
The Ghost of Scotts Creek
The road along Scotts Creek had always been a dangerous one, but after the winter storms of 1890, it had become treacherous.
In February, George V. Mitchell had been staying with his friend James B. Bolton at Waddell's Creek. On Saturday evening, Mitchell came into Santa Cruz in Bolton's horse and cart. He spent the afternoon in town and, according to those who saw him, was sober. When whiskey was offered to him, he refused it, choosing a briarwood pipe instead.
Around eight o'clock, he started back toward Waddell's Creek. He was last seen alive at Davenport's Landing. The storm that had passed through the area had torn apart sections of the coastal road. About three and a half miles from the mouth of Scotts Creek, the water had washed away part of the road, leaving a deep gully nearly ten feet across the roadway. Mitchell knew about the washout.
However, rather than attempt to cross it, he turned the horse back and took an older road through the woods that had been used since the road was damaged. Somewhere along that route, something went wrong. The horse and cart ended up at the washout.
The cart overturned and fell into the creek. One of the shafts broke, and the horse was left standing in the water.
Mitchell was thrown beneath the cart. When he was found the following day, he was lying face down in the sand with the overturned cart pinning him down. Only about six inches of water covered his face.
The most disturbing detail in the newspaper account was that there was evidence Mitchell had tried to move after the accident. He had not died instantly. He had been trapped.
Alone in the darkness, beneath the weight of the cart, he had struggled to free himself. But there was no one nearby to hear him. The road was empty, and the storm had left the countryside quiet, by morning, the horse was still standing in the creek.
It had remained there for approximately sixteen hours.
George Mitchell was dead.
The accident might have ended there, remembered only as another tragic death along a dangerous coastal road.
But it didn't, not long afterward, stories began circulating among people who traveled the Scotts Creek Road at night. One driver later told of an experience that frightened him badly. He was making his way home along the road when his horse suddenly became restless. Without warning, the animal wheeled and nearly threw him from the vehicle. The driver struggled to control it.
Then he heard something moving in the distance, he looked toward the creek; and in the darkness, he thought he saw a ghostly figure moving across the creek.
His horse became even more frightened, rearing and pulling against the reins. The driver finally managed to get control of the animal and continued along the road. Later he said, he believed the figure that he had seen was the spirit of George Mitchell.
By then, it was but three years passed and people had not forgotten how Mitchell died. They knew he had been trapped beneath the cart in the creek and had struggled to escape. They knew that he had been alone there through the night.
And now, travelers were seeing something along that same lonely stretch of road. The road that was not often used.
The newspaper reported that some people had begun to believe Mitchell's spirit haunted Scotts Creek.
Whether the driver truly saw a ghost, or whether the darkness and the memory of Mitchell's death had played tricks on his eyes, no one could say. But for those who traveled the road after dark, that distinction probably did not matter. Because once the horse began to shy from the darkness, and something moved among the trees beside the creek, there was always the same question:
Is the spirit of George Mitchell still there?
A GHOST STORY
Does the spirit of George Mitchell Haunt the Scotts Creek Road?
The Ghost of Scotts Creek
The road along Scotts Creek had always been a dangerous one, but after the winter storms of 1890, it had become treacherous.
In February, George V. Mitchell had been staying with his friend James B. Bolton at Waddell's Creek. On Saturday evening, Mitchell came into Santa Cruz in Bolton's horse and cart. He spent the afternoon in town and, according to those who saw him, was sober. When whiskey was offered to him, he refused it, choosing a briarwood pipe instead.
Around eight o'clock, he started back toward Waddell's Creek. He was last seen alive at Davenport's Landing. The storm that had passed through the area had torn apart sections of the coastal road. About three and a half miles from the mouth of Scotts Creek, the water had washed away part of the road, leaving a deep gully nearly ten feet across the roadway. Mitchell knew about the washout.
However, rather than attempt to cross it, he turned the horse back and took an older road through the woods that had been used since the road was damaged. Somewhere along that route, something went wrong. The horse and cart ended up at the washout.
The cart overturned and fell into the creek. One of the shafts broke, and the horse was left standing in the water.
Mitchell was thrown beneath the cart. When he was found the following day, he was lying face down in the sand with the overturned cart pinning him down. Only about six inches of water covered his face.
The most disturbing detail in the newspaper account was that there was evidence Mitchell had tried to move after the accident. He had not died instantly. He had been trapped.
Alone in the darkness, beneath the weight of the cart, he had struggled to free himself. But there was no one nearby to hear him. The road was empty, and the storm had left the countryside quiet, by morning, the horse was still standing in the creek.
It had remained there for approximately sixteen hours.
George Mitchell was dead.
The accident might have ended there, remembered only as another tragic death along a dangerous coastal road.
But it didn't, not long afterward, stories began circulating among people who traveled the Scotts Creek Road at night. One driver later told of an experience that frightened him badly. He was making his way home along the road when his horse suddenly became restless. Without warning, the animal wheeled and nearly threw him from the vehicle. The driver struggled to control it.
Then he heard something moving in the distance, he looked toward the creek; and in the darkness, he thought he saw a ghostly figure moving across the creek.
His horse became even more frightened, rearing and pulling against the reins. The driver finally managed to get control of the animal and continued along the road. Later he said, he believed the figure that he had seen was the spirit of George Mitchell.
By then, it was but three years passed and people had not forgotten how Mitchell died. They knew he had been trapped beneath the cart in the creek and had struggled to escape. They knew that he had been alone there through the night.
And now, travelers were seeing something along that same lonely stretch of road. The road that was not often used.
The newspaper reported that some people had begun to believe Mitchell's spirit haunted Scotts Creek.
Whether the driver truly saw a ghost, or whether the darkness and the memory of Mitchell's death had played tricks on his eyes, no one could say. But for those who traveled the road after dark, that distinction probably did not matter. Because once the horse began to shy from the darkness, and something moved among the trees beside the creek, there was always the same question:
Is the spirit of George Mitchell still there?