El Dorado County Paranormal

Our Mission

Serious Inquiry Into the Unexplained

El Dorado County Paranormal is a team of dedicated investigators documenting unexplained phenomena across California's Gold Country — from Placerville's Main Street to the south shore of Lake Tahoe.

We believe the unexplained deserves serious inquiry — not dismissal, and not sensationalism. Every case begins with the history. Every claim is weighed with a critical eye. Every finding is shared exactly as we recorded it, with those who seek the truth about the supernatural world.

Research First

Every investigation starts in the archives. We study a location's documented history before we ever set foot on the property.
Honest Assessment

When there is a natural explanation, we say so. What we cannot explain, we present as reported — nothing more, nothing less.
Respect Always

Historic places, private property, and the people behind these stories are treated with care. We document; we never exploit.

The Territory

A History That Refuses to Rest

On January 24, 1848, James Marshall pulled flakes of gold from the American River at Coloma and set off the California Gold Rush. Ten miles south, a camp called Dry Diggins boomed — until an 1849 miners' jury hanged three men from a white oak and gave the town a darker name: Hangtown.

Today the town is called Placerville, and the stump of its hanging tree reportedly still sits beneath a Main Street floor. Mine tunnels run under the county's streets, stage stops line the old Lake Tahoe wagon road, and Gold Rush cemeteries keep the miners, lawmen, and pioneers who never left. This is the country we investigate.

1848 Gold discovered at Sutter's Mill in Coloma — the rush begins
1849 The hangings that renamed Dry Diggins as Hangtown
600+ Known burials in Coloma's Pioneer Cemetery, founded 1848
27 County locations & legends we're documenting

Featured Case

The Highway 50 Phantom

Bullion Bend, near Pollock Pines — June 1994. The case that reached national television, presented here as it was reported.

In the early hours of June 5, 1994, Christene Skubish's car left Highway 50 near Bullion Bend and dropped down a steep embankment, out of sight of the road above. She was 24 years old. Her three-year-old son, Nick, was with her.

Five days later, a passing traveler reported a woman lying beside the highway on that same stretch. A night search found nothing. But at first light, an officer spotted the hidden wreck below the roadway — Christene had died in the crash, and Nick was alive, having survived five days at his mother's side.

Many who know the case believe Christene's spirit summoned the help her son needed. Skeptics suggest the traveler may have glimpsed the boy himself. The account was retold in the Mountain Democrat and featured on Unsolved Mysteries in February 1997 — and it remains the county's most haunting modern case.

This was a real family's tragedy. We present it only as it was reported — nothing embellished, nothing invented.

Step Into the Case Files

Three ways into the county's unexplained — its places, its stories, and the record of what we find.

The Gazetteer

Haunted El Dorado

A county-wide survey of haunted Gold Country — the Cary House Hotel, the Hangman's Tree, the Georgetown Hotel, and the cemeteries, saloons, and stage roads between them.

Explore the locations

Firsthand Accounts

Encounter Stories

Long-form retellings of the county's strangest reports, drawn from local records, news coverage, and the people who were there.

Read the stories

The Record

Evidence

Audio, photographs, and case notes from our field work. The archive is being prepared for publication — material is added as it clears review.

Enter the evidence room

Get in Touch

Have a Story to Tell?

Have a paranormal experience to share? Wondering about our investigation services? Reach out — and let's explore the unknown together.

Contact the Team Meet the Team