Come and join us for a Ghoulish good time exploring Death Valley and Scotty’s Castle.

What is more Ghoulish than a castle hidden deep in the desert of Death Valley, sparsely decorated with Spanish and medieval decor. Have you been to Death Valley?

My husband gets such an eerie feeling in this national park and treasure, he refuses to stay the night.

Flash Floods in 2015 have closed the infamous Scotty’s Castle, located in Death Valley, CA but what I do remember from my visit is the macabre decor’ of this elusive far away destination.

While Scotty’s castle is not nearly as elaborate or grandeur as Hearst Castle, the owner and residents were not without Legend, wealth and mystere’.

Walter Scott worked as a cowboy in Buffalo Bills Wild West Show in the late 1800’s.

Walter Scott, also a prospector, talked many men into investing into a gold mine in Death Valley, promising them all a share of the profits.  The gold mine produced but it didn’t stop him from living a lavish lifestyle.

One of his investors was a Albert Johnson, a wealthy business man from Chicago.  Mr. Johnson wanted to visit the mine, and Scotty brought him out to Death Valley.  Instead of being disappointed he fell in love with the desert, as it improved his health and brought his wife out to build a home, Death Valley Ranch, today known as Scotty’s Castle.

Scotty told everyone that this 2 million dollar ranch was being built from the profits from his mine, which was not true, but Albert let Scotty tell the story and went along with it.

The Death Valley Ranch was never completed as a portion of it was built on Federal Land. The ranch was never complete.  The Johnson’s eventually moved to Hollywood and would bring many famous movie stars to come and visit their desert ranch.

Scotty remained at the castle the rest of his life until he died in 1954, 14 years after the Johnsons.

For more details on the story behind Scott’s castle, go to: https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/historyculture/scottys-bts-pag11.htm 

Flooding at Scotty’s Castle. 

Scotty’s castle has been closed to the public since 2015.

Here is a list of the damage, as written in the NPS page: https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/nature/flood-2015.htm

The October flood in Grapevine Canyon was much larger than any flood event since the construction of Scotty’s Castle in the 1920s. The maximum flow was estimated at 3,200 cubic feet per second and deposited debris over 10 feet high.

Flood water surrounded multiple buildings in the Death Valley Scotty Historic District. The most severely damaged historic building was the Garage/Longshed, which functions as the Scotty’s Castle Visitor Center. The flood forced open doors, broke windows, broke interior walls, and smashed one exterior wall. Flood waters four feet deep left several feet of mud and rocks inside the building.

• Hacienda: Damage due mud up to four feet thick deposited inside the building. The mud and furniture has been removed.
• Visitor Center (Garage/Longshed): interior wall damage, exterior wall damage, broken doors, broken windows. Mud, furniture, and exhibits have been removed.
• Scotty’s Castle (Main House & Annex): The roof leaked in several places, allowing moisture into the building.
• Museum collection: 139,000 archives, furnishings, and other artifacts are threatened by lack of heating, air conditioning, humidity control and fire suppression. The museum collection has been moved to temporary storage until repairs are completed at Scotty’s Castle.
• Water system: The spring house, one of two reservoirs, and the pipeline were destroyed.
• Electricity: Over 20 power poles were washed away. SoCal Edison replaced the power line to Scotty’s Castle, but more repairs are needed within the historic district.
• Sewer: The leach field was destroyed.
• Historic Pool: Was filled with mud and water. The mud has all been removed by a combination of hand tools and heavy equipment.
• Historic Bridge: Needs repairs.
• Historic Fence: Over a mile of historic concrete fence posts were washed out.
• Grounds: Mud and rocks up to four feet deep surrounded several buildings and covered the parking lot and picnic area. This has mostly been removed by trail crews and fire crews loaned from other national parks.

Scotty’s castle is scheduled to reopen in 2019.

What is your favorite memory of a Ghoulish place you have visited? It doesn’t have to be haunted.

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