Title: Sonoma Ghosts: True Stories Of Sonoma’s Haunted History
Author: Carla Heine
Publisher: Ewings Publishing LLC
ISBN: 979-8894192314
Pages: 222
Genre: Non-fiction
Reviewed By: Susan Brown
Hollywood Book Reviews
Sitting around a campfire listening to ghost stories is, for many of us, a rite of passage in childhood. Something about the glowing fire casting shadows outside the circle makes every word seem so much scarier! So much so that I have not done the fireplace ghost stories again.
That doesn’t mean I’m not interested in the mystical, supernatural realm where ghosts live, presumably. It just means I want to investigate that realm on my own terms. Sonoma Ghosts: True Stories Of Sonoma’s Haunted History by author Carla Heine fits that bill. You can read it at your own pace in the light of day. It’s part ghost story, part local narrative, part cultural history, all woven together by Ms. Heine in a delightfully charming writing style.
She writes, “With both feet firmly planted in the present, the past and the future flow around me.” This is exactly how Ms. Heine writes too, making history come alive by incorporating the past with present day reality. But reality is often in question in stories of a metaphysical nature and she deftly straddles both realms. She dubs herself an “Accidental Psychic.” When asked what attracted her to the paranormal, she says, “I wasn’t attracted to it.” I answered. “I was dragged into it by my parents.” And thus, this book. So, how many ghosts are in Sonoma? Well, quite a few actually.
The Buena Vista Winery is California’s oldest winery, founded by Count Agoston Haraszthy. There are: “Helen, who haunts the tasting room” and is a “control freak;” Chief Solano and “the souls of the 19 Chinese workers who were caught in the big tunnel collapse.”
In another area of town, there’s Stanley, the “Second Street Ghost,” seen at sunset walking along his favorite neighborhood route. She relates a story about another ghost one of her ride-along patrons conversed with: “imagine a shaded line sketch of an Indian man, tall, strong, wide chested and beautifully proportioned, all done in three dimensions of brown India ink.” That’s just a few of the entities in the book. In addition to ghosts, the author writes about the “three covens living in The Valley,” the Cedar Mansion’s “one, tired old skeleton in the closet,” and Stage Gulch Road, which “invites unconsciousness.”
Historically, you’ll learn about infamous outlaw Joaquin Murrieta, the home for wayward women at Bartholomew Park Winery, the Theosophists, followers of the “spiritual teachings of Madame Helena Petrova Blavatsky upon which many if not most of today’s new age precepts are based,” and that “Sonoma was the political and spiritual center of the Indian world for 80,000 years.”
There is quite a bit to unpack in this book, but the author’s narrative style makes it an easy read. The most difficult aspect will be to try not to get sidetracked into Google searching for more information on the author’s wide-breadth of interests. She is indeed a communicator, spending much time on air at KSVY, Sonoma’s first public radio station, regaling listeners with her enormous deep local knowledge and her fascinating life history.
You don’t have to be sitting around a campfire to read a good ghost story. Ms. Heine makes it easy to manage the fright factor by writing a book you can carry anywhere, one that transports you to another realm without stepping out of your comfort zone. So, grab a bottle of Gewurztraminer, some Sonoma Cheese delectables, find a gorgeous spot for a picnic wherever you live, and read this book to assimilate the paranormal history of Carla Heine’s writing. But be sure to finish everything before the sun goes down!
Whether you’re a believer in the paranormal or simply enjoy a good ghost story, author Carla Heine offers a compelling read that will leave you with a new appreciation for Sonoma’s heritage.