Most people go to great lengths to keep the strange and abstract at bay.

The general public’s trauma blocks the unexplained 11 months of the year, only to be resurrected in October by Spirit Halloween and streaming services offering horror films.

No one thinks of The Headless Horseman on July 4th, or of Freddy Krueger at the turn of the new year. With Halloween around the corner, fringe legends pierce the earth’s crust like Billy Butcherson’s zombie in Hocus Pocus to remind us that they are still there.

Whether you’re a believer or not, the High Desert has its own fantastical legends to keep in mind during this spooky season. Apparitions of Bear Valley Sally can be seen this New Year’s Eve, a woman of the night who was apparently murdered on Bear Valley Road.

Other haunted sites like Harvey House could be bustling this Halloween, and perhaps local legend Yucca Man could make an appearance to join us. all the haunted fun.

Do you know other local legends and myths about the strange and haunting of the High Desert? Let’s remember these fun tales from the past as we celebrate all things ghouls and goblins this Halloween.

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Yucca Man: “Desert Bigfoot”

The Mojave Desert is a familiar stomping ground for the “Desert Bigfoot,” also known as the Yucca Man. Since the 1970s, Yucca Man has been spotted by all manner of desert dwellers, believers and non-believers alike.

The first sighting dates back to 1971 on a marine base in Twentynine Palms. Glowing red eyes and a most foul smell struck the active guard on duty with a stinging blow to the head, bending his rifle in two. Some say the FBI was consulted on the case of the mysterious beast, but local legends have a peculiar way of being fabricated at any given time.

Many Mojave campers in places like Antelope Valley or Joshua Tree National Park have also told stories of tents being opened in the middle of the night, always accompanied by the horrible stench of Yucca Man. Sometimes a huge footprint is left as evidence and, for fast enough campers, maybe even a blurry photo.

Sally of Bear Valley

While the story of Bear Valley Sally may have been invented as a scare tactic for children like El Cucuy, local Apple Valley rumors claim that the “woman of the night” still haunts Bear Valley Road.

Some say Bear Valley Sally was murdered on Bear Valley Road, her head found in one location and her body found in a suitcase in another. Little is known about the apparition that apparently haunts the specific road in Apple Valley. Perhaps those who meet Sally prefer not to recount this memory. Maybe the story is made up.

Regardless, Bear Valley Sally is talked about enough around town that her story has become something of a local legend.

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Harvey House

Harvey House of Barstow is one of the first places that comes to mind when you think of haunted locations in the High Desert. Built in 1885 but burned down and then rebuilt, the spirits that still linger easily remind today’s visitors of the building’s history.

A little girl was seen repeatedly playing hide and seek in the lobby, identified by Harvey House staff as Emily. She makes an appearance at house parties and her presence is felt in the foyer of the Harvey House.

Furthermore, the High Desert Paranormal Society I detected voices in the basement of Harvey House a few years ago. They heard a woman’s scream upstairs and whispers everywhere. Even though they determined there was paranormal activity in the house, company founder Craig Case said he wouldn’t call the establishment “haunted.”

Former Air Base Hospital

Edwards Air Force Base was active during World War II until the early 1990s, when it was abandoned. Since its desolation, rumors of hauntings have spread like shards of broken hospital windows in the desert wind.

Curious residents of the High Desert, from teenagers to ghost hunters, explore the ruins every week, and although few tales of ghostly entanglements have been heard, the strangeness of this forgotten space is enough to frighten nervous visitors.

Places known to help people to the afterlife, such as hospitals and cemeteries, generally have a haunted reputation. The apocalyptic landscape of Edwards Air Force Base doesn’t help either.

Hidden Valley Road to Spring Valley Lake

A old Daily Press interview with Kym LaFountain of Spring Valley Lake revealed that she lives with spirits, not just on Halloween. Her house is occupied by both the living and the dead, she says, hearing knocks, moving objects and voices all year round.

The LaFountain family also sees dark figures in their hallways, as does their business. The house was built in 1989, unusually modern for so much paranormal activity, but nonetheless, Spring Lake Valley has officially entered the haunting neighborhoods of the High Desert.

Stoddard Wells Road: beware of hitchhikers

Tales of a two-century-old miner haunt parts of Stoddard Wells Road. He is said to have died of thirst while working in the limestone mines at the time, unable to find refuge from the relentless sun of the High Desert.

Some say he haunts the neighborhood wearing Little House on the Prairie clothes and a wide-brimmed hat, others say he is completely naked. Regardless, I would think twice before picking up a hitchhiker on Stoddard Wells Road.

The Man Burned Palmdale

The Uncanny USA podcast spoke to Myke Con, a Palmdale resident who says he was visited by a nightmarish apparition when he was a child.

One night, he saw something dark move past the bathroom light of his childhood home and slowly advance toward him. As he got closer, Con made out a silver foil-like outfit and exposed internal organs with smoke billowing from open sutures. Where the head should have been, there was instead a charred piece of charcoal with defined facial features.

He shared a room with his grandmother and as the apparition got closer, his sleeping grandmother abruptly sat up and slapped Con in the face before lying back down, likely pushing him out of the figure’s path.

Apple Valley Haunted House

A Daily Press article highlighted the Hoffman’s Haunted House in Apple Valley. The family set up cameras around the house to capture the teenage vandals, but instead captured something scarier than they could have imagined.

They captured a blue orb in a swath too inexplicable to pass off as a piece of dust or debris. Debating what that might be, the Hoffmans began putting the pieces together.

Jim Hoffman remembers smelling strong odors of cigar smoke in the house from time to time, even though no one in the family smoked. Debbie Hoffman remembers often feeling cold drafts running through her legs and being awakened in the night by someone shuffling papers, only to find herself in an empty room.

She also saw a little old man in a sweatshirt standing at her living room window. The family believes it may be that of a previous owner of the home who they believe to be GW Spohn based on his initials carved into the workbench in the garage of the Wichita Road home.

Giant Rock in Landers: extraterrestrial encounters?

Not exactly haunted, but mysterious nonetheless, Giant rock at Landers is the famous place for countless UFO Sightings in the High Desert. Giant Rock is said to have long been a place of gathering and indigenous spiritual ceremonies long before its current reputation, perhaps providing a link to the supernatural.

Aliens are more than just a Halloween costume for visitors to Giant Rock, who since the 1950s have gathered in the alien landscape, binoculars in hand, to capture close encounters of the third kind.

The site is marked by the Integratron, a dome-shaped structure designed by “ufologist” George Van Tassel in 1957 that he said would connect it to visitors to the planet Venus. If haunted houses in cheesy High Desert towns aren’t for you this spooky season, perhaps you can try your luck with a “real” encounter.

McKenna Mobley is a reporter at the Daily Press and can be reached at [email protected].

This article was originally published on Victorville Daily Press: Victor Valley Local Legends and Hauntings Remembered This Halloween