Gold Rush Ghosts of Placerville, Coloma & Georgetown

Fueled by the dream to strike it rich, prospectors flocked to California during the gold rush. Yet the harsh lifestyle and backbreaking work led many to early graves. Join author Linda Bottjer on a tour through Gold Country's most chilling--and true--haunted tales. Tales such as the hangman of Placerville, whose distinctive wheeze is a sign of his continued presence. Or the Georgetown miner whose unrequited love for a much younger lady of the night finds him still pining for her in death as he did in life. And in Coloma, the ghost of James Marshall is said to dwell on the lonely hilltop where his cabin and monument now stand. These stories, and many others, capture the ghostly spirit of Gold Country.

Linda J. Bottjer, a native New Yorker, has loved history since childhood. As a freelance writer her work has appeared with CBS News, Travel & Leisure, the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group and Healing Quest, a syndicated PBS series. Currently she is the owner of Gold Rush Tales, a tour company based in Northern California. Their ghost tours of Placerville, Grapes and Graves and Walking with the Dead tours allow people to meet the spirited deceased residents of major Mother Lode towns.