Yorba Linda, California

Reviewed by Carol Sullivan

Photography By: Carol Sullivan

Yorba Linda Cemetery
6749 Parkway Court
Yorba Linda, California 92886
Yorba Linda Cemetery

The beautiful rolling hills of Yorba Linda, California, lie 40 miles south-east of Los Angeles on the north side of a bustling Orange County. What were once little more than wild hills and valleys, teeming with native wildlife, are slowly being devoured by its ever growing population of more than 71,000 residents. New homes and roads and commerce now crawl up the sides of these lonely hills where deer, bobcats and quail once ruled.

Locations Featured:
Yorba Linda Cemetery

Overall: Recommended

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The wonderful Carol Sullivan, with her great passion of travel and scares, initiated dystopia Magazine's haunted tours section to keep you in the know of everything scary around America.

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Photography By: Carol Sullivan

Originally, Senor Bernardo Yorba and his family owned all of the lands in and around Yorba Linda; from Riverside to Newport Beach, it made for an immense homestead stretching for miles. Bought from the surviving Yorba family by the Janss Corporation in 1907, the area was parceled and sold off for farming and manufacturing. 'Linda' was added to 'Yorba's' title, making the city of Yorba Linda, the Spanish title meaning 'Beautiful Yorba'. Renowned for its beauty, the movie Friendly Persuasion, starring Gary Cooper, was filmed there in 1965.

Many famous people have lived, loved and died in Yorba Linda; including former President Richard Nixon. He is buried on the lush, rose-covered grounds of his Memorial Presidential Library. But not all of Yorba Linda's past residents rest so peacefully.

In Carbon Canyon, it is said that the ghost of an old silver miner is seen scuffling about in the scrub-brush. Before he vanishes, the ghost seems to take pleasure in frightening visitors and is believed to be a malevolent spirit. One to be avoided.

In Chino Hills, just east of Yorba Linda, the spirit of a woman has often been seen on the shores of Anaheim Lake. According to many frightened witnesses, her ghostly apparition appears to have a bag over her head as she calmly tosses tiny stones into the lake.

And in a quiet Yorba Linda home, both family and visitors report that they have repeatedly seen an apparition in a large family-room mirror. The terrifying spirit that appears has the body of a woman and the head of a horse.

Photography By: Carol Sullivan

Undoubtedly, the most troublesome spirit of Yorba Linda is the 'Pink Lady'. She is reported to be the ghost of a Ms. Alvina de Los Reyes, a young woman who died in a carriage accident on the way home from a dance in the early 1900's. On the night of her untimely death, Ms. Reyes was reported to have been wearing a pink, lacy ball-gown. Ever since, her glowing pink apparition has been repeatedly seen, only one night a year, in the Yorba Linda Cemetery, where she was buried. Her reputation has spread and every year, dozens of people camp out near her grave, hoping for a glimpse of her unearthly form. But, many say that the 'Pink Lady' legend is a hoax, made up by a local librarian, but that does little to dissuade the faithful from their yearly vigil.

The Yorba Linda Cemetery dates back to 1834 and all of the people buried in it are related, by marriage, blood or both. It was closed to new 'clients', as well as the public, in 1939 due to vandals that either stole or defaced the rustic markers and marble headstones. Though there are nearly 400 people buried in the small cemetery, yet only about 100 are now marked. California Park Rangers, along with the help of local volunteers, are working to restore the historic cemetery, allowing the public in for a one-hour guided tour just once a month. I attended their fascinating tour, led this month by a friendly tour-guide named Anne. When the tour was over, I took Anne aside and asked her about the legends and ghosts of the area. I wanted to know whether or not there were any reports of haunted activity in the cemetery.

Photography By: Carol Sullivan

Though she was unsure about the 'Pink Lady' legend, Anne said that the Yorba Linda Cemetery did have some other very persistent ghosts. The floating apparition of a man has often been seen in the tree above the Fuentes' family plot.

Anne also reported that a local psychic was called in six years ago, and she saw many spirits moving about the grounds. In the back left corner, under a large pepper tree, a ghostly woman in period clothes and white bonnet was seen along with a young boy. The psychic asked the apparition what year it was, to which the ghostly woman replied '1763'. The ghost of the young boy then identified himself as 'Joaqin' before he and the specter of the woman disappeared.

Many of the residents that live around the cemetery have also reported strange happenings in there homes; items moving on their own and sightings of ghosts often frighten them. It is also said that dogs behave strangely around the cemetery, only calming down once they are away from it.

Photography By: Carol Sullivan

Thanking Anne, I spent a while crawling around the cemetery taking pictures. I found the children's headstones to be the creepiest of all. In the old days, children's headstones were topped with a carving of a resting lamb, yet all of the stone lambs in this cemetery had their heads neatly lopped off. It was a beautiful, hot day (I have the sunburn to prove it) yet this corner, near a child's grave, was incredibly cold; frigid in fact. Goosebumps taking over, I snapped some pictures and quickly moved on. Beautiful and sad, the Yorba Linda Cemetery is an interesting place to explore. So if you are in north Orange County on the first Saturday of the month, don't miss the public's only chance to see it up close.

Though I didn't see any of the famed ghosts for myself, I have no doubt that they are there...watching.