Historical Sites of Oregon – Stories & Legends

Stories and Legends from Christopher Klimovitz

If you are like me, you enjoy good ghost stories, otherwise why else would you be reading this? We all have a morbid curiosity, no? As far back as I can remember, the spooky and everything Fortean has been a favorite pastime of mine. I have an extensive collection of books on this topic from just about everywhere I globetrot. I enjoy legend tripping, and yes, I will admit a bit of thanatourism, dark tourism. I will be up front, as a humanist and skeptic I do not believe in ghosts, but I am none-the-less fascinated by the myths, legends, morality tales, and supernatural tropes that serve as a stand-in for what wider-society has issue trying to explain (or wants to cover-up in layers).

Ghost stories tell us a lot about periods of time, how we as a collective try to explain what we might want to hide and how societies interact with other societies. You might be surprised with a bit of good research how many ghost stories are a blend of culture within culture, a meme within a meme. In this digital world, it’s even easier now to create, re-create, and spread tales.

Heceta Head Lighthouse Legends

There is a trope in the folklore of an apparition of a spectral woman, and these stories are found worldwide. At Heceta Head, she is known as a Victorian grey lady named "Rue", discovered because of an Ouija board session years ago.

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Dramatic History of Oregon State Hospital

Oregon State Hospital was opened in 1883 as an enormous Victorian property that was built under the Kirbride Plan that was common across sanatoriums of the day. People, including immigrants, who suffered from alcoholism, dementia, syphilis, and a wide range of clinical or perceived disabilities were housed here.

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