A ghostly lady in a white dress and another apparition on a balcony above the Plaza Café have been reported. Also, Native American apparitions have been seen near the railroad tracks and doors have been known to close by themselves. The apparition of a fire burning in one corner has been reported by some witnesses.
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- 3500 Polk St
Riverside, CA 92505
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 33.9029213, -117.46630679999998
- County:
- Riverside County, California
- Nearest Towns:
- Home Gardens, CA (3.6 mi.)
Pedley, CA (5.0 mi.)
Norco, CA (5.1 mi.)
Riverside, CA (5.3 mi.)
El Cerrito, CA (5.4 mi.)
Corona, CA (6.1 mi.)
Woodcrest, CA (6.4 mi.)
Mira Loma, CA (6.8 mi.)
Rubidoux, CA (7.3 mi.)
Glen Avon, CA (7.6 mi.)
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Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. The vast majority of information provided on this web site is anecdotal, and as such, should be viewed in the same light as local folklore and urban legends.
Just Monday my friend and his group and I went after hours to go ghost hunting at Castle Park since we heard about it in shadow land.com and the gate to parking lot was open so we went in wandering the parking lot walking to the other end near the dumpster and within seconds I got a bad vibe something dark tense closing in fighting me making me panic and as I was experiencing this my male friend saw two things jumping in the park fields. Both his gf and I scared we asked to leave frightened by this feeling and heading back out I saw a white figure which I could not make out clearly sitting on the steps than move straight sideways to the left and his gf and I screamed she saying out loud exactly what I.just saw and we all held hands too scared to be apart feeling that something was walking behind us but didn’t look back until we came into the light
My mother died (accidental suicide) While we were living at the White Oak Townhouses Castle Park was a huge undeveloped field .. There was a dinner reception after the funeral My Dad made to sit and stare at the door and look at it he said your mother is gone she’s never coming through that door again .I was 9 years old and I just couldn’t stop weeping ..I was so angry at my father when he made me do that I told him she not gone she’s with the Angels and I want to go with her I ran out into that big field crying out in pain and something like rage only deeper I was so afraid terrible dreams of my Mother death kept coming to be before she died I had what I learned later where out of body experience of shadows dragging her away into an empty void this black hooded figure was there reaching out to snatch us away. Later that night my cousins who came to be with us slept in the same room with me and got really frightened i would have this out of body state I was in. And they called my Dad and Uncle they moved us all into the big main room where everyone stayed that night they all finally saw the things I’d been haunted with since i was 5 years old the dresser and bed moved and shook lights went out the room was kept light and dark I don’t remember anything after that I draw a blank for s year I have periods that I can’t remember at all where other times the past is very vivid .I went back to Riverside to put flowers on her grave years later and had to visit the White Oak Townhouses for some reason I needed to go back there it was all built up there was a mini golf and sort of amusement park newer condos I didn’t see any shadow people or anything but I felt like I was being watched I felt long suppressed pain all over again and I left almost ran from that place I’ve never been back since I’m 50 now..
Castle Park is not haunted. My great grand parents owned all the land from Polk/magnolia to La Sierra Blvd. what was once Castle Park use to be our Strawberry patch and and a apple orchard. In the early 70s my grands decided to sell the strawberry patch. Within 8 months 5 guys from Knotts came over to discuss price and was sold off within 2 months. Castle park started work in mid 75 and was open in 76. Sorry, no Indian burial ground, no deaths on our property, so no ghosts. Sorry to break it to you but I do get a good laugh while reading people experiences. If anything they are seeing headlights on the west 91. We also sold Kaiser our biggest parcel in 1982, and the rest to a hardware store, now Riverside County offices. Our family still has a wee bit of land on Polk near the end of the Kaider parking garage walking toward magnolia. Sorry to deflate your over inflated stories about the property.
I remember when it was just the Castle and a golf course and all the rest was Doi Farms. It’s amazing that your family has so much history there. However, for those that believe in apparitions they aren’t always present due to death on property. Some travel with objects such as certain props brought into the park or even with people.
My parents were friends with Ted Doi when I was a kid. He was always very kind to our family and I will always remember going to the Doi pumpkin patch every year. I still live in La Sierra but I sure miss the “old” Riverside that I grew up in. I still smile every time I pass the little piece of Doi’s that still exists quietly on Polk St. Thanks Ted.
Yes this is built on native American tribal ground .. Cuhilla land i have a photo that i took off a little native American boy.. crazy stuff here
I hear you but all I keep reading about is that, our land was Indian burial ground, so all of these ghost stories keep getting fueled.lWhen I was young in the early 70’s I helped harvest late into the night and nothing was seen or heard except the 91 freeway. If you want a true haunting check no further than Disneylands Haunted Mansipn, I.E.: as you know people used to and still try to get away with spreading human remains on the tracks or maybe look into the table where the crystal ball is hung over, that is a truly haunted piece of furniture.
Thanks,
Robbie Doi
I vaguely remember Doing farm in Riverside where I grew up. I certainly wish we had more of the farm land back. I find it fascinating that you and your family have so much history within Riverside. Do you by chance have any old pictures of how that area looked that you are able to share?
Hello Robbie
I am working on Bud Hurlbut’s 100th birthday Event for next year 2018 would you have anything like the documents of the sale of the land or any pictures you can share with us for this event?
Cindy Espinoza
Sale/Special Events
I remember how i used to hear my co-workers get all scared and tell stories about this lady in a white dress, a young girl, a young boy who likes to haunt the kid park an old man as well or something and like I would hear how people would see the lady and the young girl I always just brushed it off and thought nothing of it as long as it didn’t bother me I was good lol! Until one night… Sooo I was working a grad night shift and when I got there it was fine! The air felt light nothing happened it was just a normal park.. and just as the night went on things got really heavy like you can feel the air thicken and get really heavy and negative and just very uncomfortable and irrie and I went on my 10 min break and I was walking past this cafe we have and it was so dark and creepy i literally stopped walking and was looking around trying to figure out what was going on and just tried shrugging it off and walked to the break room and two girls were crying some of the guys were freaked out cuz they saw the ghosts and were scared and I told them about how i felt around the cafe and how odd it was and I just brushed it off tried to stay positive and then… I went back to my ride and the night went on and I think it was after I came back from my 30min break things got really creepy you can just feel it… And one of my co workers was telling me he saw a ghost on the train tracks and he passed right through her it creeped him out I kinda laughed and blew it off and then later i was running my ride and looked into these bushes we had and noticed this thing that was just there I had thought it was one of the kids cuz we kept hearing about the kids going into the tracks so i was like whatever but it stayed and I kept looking over and noticing and realized it was a figure of a women and I was like wait what!? No way!! Once again shrugged it off its just a shadow whatever its just there it doesn’t bother me and then a little while later all the kids were in the dance hall so no one was in the park and I heard what sounded like a scream i swear this all felt like slow motion it wasn’t just a regular scream it didn’t sound human it sounded very angry and frustrated and demonic so my co-worker and i looked at each other cuz he heard it too and i turned to my right and my supervisor was walking with a co-worker who’s a “paranormal investigator” walking towards the train and I started getting scared and I broke down crying I was horrified!! I had a freaking panic attack I couldn’t breathe I didn’t wanna be there I was so scared all I wanted my boyfriend there to comfort me and he wasnt there my co-worker closed his ride came over to me and hugged me and we both just prayed he helped me close my ride cuz I was not comfortable running my ride and we walked around to the other side for a bit and hung with other coworkers and they were all scared too another supervisor came over to check on us and saw me crying and let me just stay where I was for a bit then the other supervisor with the guy came back and we were all talking then he went to talk to the ghost and tell it to leave us all alone and stuff it was just a bad night I didn’t wanna go back and reopen my ride I was too scared but I had to.. I still had probably another like 3 hours to go it was just that dreadful feeling knowing the ghost is right there and it’s angry and stuff and I tried soo hard to work without being scared it was hard. But I pushed through it and at the end of the night I wanna say it was like 4-5am we got off I walked with my coworkers out got in the car and drove home I couldn’t shake it the whole next day it was hard
when i went to castle park i went to change for the water park at castle park and after i changed the lady would not let me go on the slide because i had not worn the proper short for water,so i went to go buy some i asked the man if they had a bigger size he said let me check the back i was waiting until he got out and said he did not have any more. it was night time and i just got off a ride and i noticed my recite of my return the man did not give me half of the money back there was another lady working there and i asked her where was the man that was working here earlier she said there was never a man working at the booth
Just getting back from my holiday near Hyde Park in London and decided to check this board out. I will get a hold of Zcadtle Zpark management/Owner to arrange a history lesson on the property that my family bought way back. I plan to show zoning of our purchase and a information we received from the local tribe that this area in question was not burial ground. We have been in the community longer than most and of things we should know that our farm was not a burial ground do stayed from a tribal elder. Please believe me and my remaining family that we are responsible and highly respected in the community and would never plant a daisy field on sacred ground for a buck. Again no haunting, people who watch to much destination channel and who live in a paranormal depressed area such as Rivetside just need a outlet or like one Castle employee said on a different board he made up stories out of Borden working at the park in the late 1980s. I am truly sorry for miss spellings and tone.( suffering from jet lag I suppose but back to my point, I am just tired of false stories with no psychical evidence and some fictional story’s that just don’t cut it! What I do see is lots of creative story telling, maybe some from this board contributed to the new “Trump”bashing book? Alas I am a proud libertarian.I know you must be thinking what does that mean (hint) there’s always 2 sides of a story.Again if time does not cheat me this month I will see if a 1 hour presentation for no cost can be set up in summer, not Halloween. RD
You keep saying that this is not an Indian burial ground, but in fact – How would you know ? You’re a bit too young and so were your parents and grand parents.
The history of Calif belonged to the Indians before the We ever came along. So it’s quite possible. Why don’t you have one of those tv show come out and better yet, have someone come out and do some testing and dig up actual bones. That would prove everything.
I understand the frustration, I’ve never actually went there to try and confirm it , I only hear what people are saying.
So I can’t say that you’re wrong or you’re right but neither can you without at least 200 plus years of actual history and solid evidence.
I agree with 1CleoCEO….if it was once tribal land then I’m sure there is most likely Native American remains buried on that land somewhere that possibly the trib doesn’t even know are there anymore and even without it being deemed tribal land it was still Indian land at one time…making it still highly possible that there are Native American remains in the ground on that land. That area is my home area. I’ve never been to castle park so I have no experience there personally but I haven’t seen any posts or comments here where anyone is attacking the owners of the park or the owners of the land who sold it to castle park owners. If anyone wud be to blame for selling land may have been burial grounds at one time in history most likely a very long time ago or that just happens to have remains of some native Americans, I would think that was the tribe itself for selling it but at the same time it may have been so long ago that they may not even know there are remains on it or possibly it was a family private burial plot and the family died out and no one knew it was there anymore. Things like that happen quite often. But no one has actually jumped on anyone’s case about it so I don’t think the family or relatives of the family that sold the land to castle park need to get upset or worry so much. I’m sorry if it’s all upsetting to you but I don’t think anyone is saying anything bad about you or your family. Many many years ago, long before you were born and long before your grandparents were born, things happened on that land and if anyone is actually picking up on things or spirits or feelings then that’s probly what it is but just because you or your family never felt it does not mean it can’t be felt by others. Not everyone can feel or hear or see thru the veil or walk here and there. Some can and some can’t. Even if the tribal office tells you there is no known burials on that land doesn’t mean anything. There cud be some that they didn’t know about that weren’t registered or there cud have family deaths on that land. I know of history happening on the Rez back home in South Dakota but if you ask in the tribal office, no one knows about it and it isn’t registered anywhere but I know about it thru family and years of passed down thru the family. Even Crazy Horses remains are known by certain family members only n that’s passed down from one elder to another thru the generations as death gets closer to each but it is not written or registered or recorded in anyway and white man will never find out. Depending on what type of person is in charge of that part of the tribal office and how honest they are, do you really think that tribe is going to tell you anything specific like that even if they did know? How bad would that make them look to admit their tribe sold burial grounds to white people? And the conflict it would start up now. Natives would be trying to take it back from whoever owns it now saying it never should have been sold to begin with if it was burial grounds and they would be right. There are some honest natives working in the tribal offices on all reservations and there are some dishonest ones as well. I wonder which ones were in charge at the time of selling that land. Those are all things to take into consideration. I didn’t see anyone attack anyone about the land being burial grounds. It’s just ghost stories. No one had said anyone did anything wrong but if you keep jumping up and trying to defend your family about burial ground stuff when no one has gotten in ur face about it that I could see, then sooner or later someone is gonna start suspecting that you are hiding something or knowledge about burials. It will make you look suspicious.
1/20/2020 read you comment and totally disagree especially with your wild imagination that I must be hiding something because of my non belief and the defense of the land we once owned.
Case closed.
Why not meet with me in person to discuss this subject over coffee? Bring a friend or two. I will be n town for 2 weeks and then back to Ny, where now make my residence.
I was the last person there, I read through the comments some people believe its haunted some say its not, however I work there I’ve never seen anything or felt anything but this photo was a little weird.
Never saw a child or a woman but, at the castle park train station where you board the train I saw an old man with a cowboy hat, a light faded flannel shirt, blue jeans and a cane. Sitting on the bench. He tipped his hat at me and dissapeared. I was 16 at the time, I’m now 36 and that is the only ” ghost” I encountered at castle park. I used to live right next to the galleria at Tyler mall and I used to frequent castle park with friends when we would get some money here and there from our parents. I never felt any bad vibes except around the cafe circus tent area . It just felt off like you didn’t want to be in that area a long time. Only saw the old man once, only know he was a ghost because he literally dissapeared in front of my eyes from a solid object to not being there within seconds.