Vanderlip Mansion, in a private, gated community, is rumored to be haunted. One legend says it is haunted by a former resident, Mr. Vanderlip’s daughter, who committed suicide after being prohibited from marrying her African-American lover. Mr. Vanderlip was said to have built an insane asylum and locked his daughter in it, then killed her lover and their baby. Another legend surrounding this house tells of a wife, Narcissa, who murdered and chopped up her family, burying them in the mansion walls. Then she killed her two dogs and hanged herself from a living room beam. In this legend, glowing ghost dogs haunt the yard and the woman and her family haunt the house.
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- 99 Vanderlip Dr
Palos Verdes, CA
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 33.752342673207764, -118.37267120181423
- County:
- Los Angeles County, California
- Nearest Towns:
- Rancho Palos Verdes, CA (1.0 mi.)
Rolling Hills, CA (1.1 mi.)
Rolling Hills Estates, CA (2.6 mi.)
Palos Verdes Estates, CA (3.5 mi.)
Lomita, CA (4.3 mi.)
San Pedro, CA (4.8 mi.)
Torrance, CA (6.1 mi.)
West Carson, CA (6.6 mi.)
Redondo Beach, CA (6.8 mi.)
Carson, CA (7.5 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.
I ‘ve been there once and never again, I was with a few friends back when I was in high school and we strictly drove from the city of San Pedro to theVanderlilps mansion to see if any of the legends were tru. That summer night back in 2004 still gives me goose bumps, I’ve never been so scared or nervous in my life. There was a woman with a pale face dressed in all grey who we seen run up to the gate and in a demonic voice say “your not supposed to be here!” and in a blink of a eye she was on the out side of the 9 maybe 10 foot tall gate staring at us with her black eye’s ,once one of my friends and I quickly jumped in the car the car started having problems starting back up, but when it did there were dogs that came chasing after the car and started ramming the car.yes dog sramming the car
those are all demons (pretending to be the deceased as they always do) that you had encountered.
Stop saying that about everything, YOU ARE WRONG! You don’t know a single thing about the paranormal, I can tell, so I’m setting rules for you, #1: NO MORE MAKING WRONG ACCUSATIONS ABOUT THE PARANORMAL LIKE SAYING THEY’RE ALL DEMONS! #2: Don’t joke or try to make jokes about haunted places. Got it? Those are your rules, and you have been wrong about the Queen Mary is only filled with Demons for years, so shut up about stupid and wrong facts, Ok?
I was looking to rent one of the bungalow and met the Last Vanderlip as well. It is a beautiful grounds. I did not see anything or have a problem. People rent out the bungalows there. Its really old world with a beautiful pool and little shrine a that top. The main house was actually the guest house and they never finished building the real house because the depression hit. I have heard about the hauntings for years but once I went there it wasn’t what I thought. Of course it was in the daytime. I decided not to rent it out because it was too secluded and coming home late at night was going to be to hard to see and just didn’t seem safe.
Yep, I’ve seen her and the dogs. The story above is half right but what I experienced was a bit different. So My friend and I went out on the trail near Malaga creek behind St Francis Episcopal Church late one October night and as were walking down this fog started building up and then dissipated a bit as we got to were the old gate was. Then we clearly heard the dogs, Rottweilers I think, and as there barking you can see light coming out of the mouth as they bark. Then the mansion appeared. My friend bolted about 25 yards and yelled at me to get the F out of there but I was so intrigued I had to watch and listen. I heard two shot gun blast and a woman screamed. Then you could see flames rising by the windows. Then the daughter steps out on the balcony and looks right at me. I asked if everything was OK and she says why don’t you come in and look for yourself. That’s when I bolted!
they’re all demons pretending to be ghosts/spirits of the deceased. the evil demons there are so evil. good thing you bolted. because if you had gone in there, they can easily harm you to death or possess you. either way, never good.
Jessica, stop scaring people.
Shes wrong, shes being stupid, don’t listen to her false accusations, just because a place is haunted doesn’t mean that they’re all Demons, so, shes wrong and will stay wrong until she stops saying stupid accusations
content://media/external/file/6808
Is this the lady you saw???
Chris can you repost the pic the link doesn’t work
Back in the later 80’s my friends and I decided to head out there. I had no idea where there was. The legends we heard were of this :
One of vanderlips had killed his family and house staff then himself . The position of the 6 bodies, the six shell casings, and the 6 pillars on the front porch all matched perfectly. The building had since burned to the ground and got fenced off. There were supposed to have been satanic rituals held on the property and that there was a tunnel the led fro. The crystal cathedral to the property where people where kidnapped where brought through to be sacrificed. Bodies would then be taken to “dead man’s tunnel. ( a drainage culvert that emptied out on the side of a cliff the shadow and the darkness made it impossible to see the end of the pipe until you stepped off the edge and plummeted to your death.
The property was supposed to have been guarded by Dobermans that had their voice boxes removed so you wouldn’t hear them until it was too late. The surrounding roads were suppose to be protected by a white “ghost ” van that would try to run you off the road.
Here is my story. My friends and I heard out to find it. I looked at a map and was u able to find vanderlips drive on it.
We just knew it was in palos verdes .
I was a complete skeptic of the supernatural. I had one friend who claimed to be a Wiccan witch. Another friend who claimed to be a “grim reaper” from the Mohican tribe of Indians and two other non believers.
I believe I was driving around the Portuguese bend area wher I found an open gate to a community. I drove through the gate and up a series of streets and arrived at venderlips drive. I never doubled back or took a wrong turn. We arrived at a fenced off field, we got out of the station wagon and the lock on the chain that held the gate closed was unlocked. We proceeded into the field. We probably got 20-50 yards in and encountered an extremely cold spot. We went no further an immediately turned around and left.
I had gone up there a few more times but the gate to the community was never open for me again.
Now that I have internet I have searched my childhood encounter. I can explain away the cold spot in the field now, I realize most if not all of the legend I knew was BS. What in and explain was how the gate was open and how I navigated to the drive. And what the heck did we find? What was that field?
my self and a few of my friends actually got inside the property in the night time and trust me u dont want to be inside its very dark and very creepy. we did not found the mansion so we left. the next day we when back in the day time and the same women that kevin yarbrough is talking about we came face to face with her she was dress all in black with long grey hair. we stop and ask her if she can tell us where is the mansion and she said its up there. so we drove and park on the side so we started to walk up the hill and something did not look or feel right. as we where walking up the hill i heard voices and dogs barking very near by. as we continue to walk. something told me to turn around. i told everyone lets go back to the car cuz something is not right. so we all when back to the car. few minutes later the one mansion the old lady told us to go the house was destroyed. idk how that happen but we got lucky. and ever since that day we never when back. also if u pay very closed attention before you enter the gate on ur right hand side ull see bushes but if u take a picture of the bushes from the top u can see some letters that spells out devil. also on ur right hand side by a window they have a very creepy doll. well am always going to alot of creepy places if any of you want to invite me email me gecks562@gmail.com
U should go check out Downey Insane Asylum. Email for more info and details fee310@hotmail.com
In the 80s 81 or 82 Me and a friend went there and we got through the gate and we were walking down I guess it was the drive way there was overgrown grassy field it seems on both sides of the drive and as we were walking we heard what we thought were peacocks “Yelp””Yelp” and all of a sudden we saw this little girl running behind a horse that was choking on grass yelling help me my horse is choking they came out of no where we were so scared we started to run and when we looked back she and the horse were gone. I want people to know that this is NOT made up or a drug induced hallucination it absolutely happened My friend was Harold Mayorga from San Pedro he pased last week car accident, my name is Jimmy Spradling from Pedro
Harold Mayorga is my uncle. Hey Jimmy. Its Melissa. how are you doing? Fancy meeting you here.
When I was a teen in the 60s a group of friends and I went there once or twice that I recall, at night, and walked around the grounds, but, don’t remember anything ghostly happening, but, we had a lot of fun just being scared…there were rumors about the place but I don’t remember any of them, just that it involved the Vanderlips…….There were a few other places we went to that were rumored to be haunted also, one we called the flying saucer, I think because it was round, and made a humming sound. It was right in or near Malaga Cove Circle from what I remember. We had loads of fun just thinking these places might be haunted…. 😉
No one died. All made up stories 🙁 http://www.oursouthbay.com/the-vanderlips-at-100/
A Iggy Pop video was shot at the Vandelip’s estates. Out in back, where the mini amphitheater and Roman pillars are. Mrs. Vanderlip got along with Iggy Pop pretty well. The two Doberman dogs had a throat operation out of necessity….for their health not to make them stealth attack dogs. No murders, bloodshed, or any VC Andrews scenarios….the inside property does have some poltergeist activity which some who have stayed there believe is the land rather than the house.