PART FOUR Mission San Juan Bautista
Driving up the California coast we arrive at another one of the famous California Missions. Mission San Juan Bautista was founded by Padre Fermin Francisco de Lasuen in June 1797. The mission was named for Saint John the Baptist. It was the 15th Mission in California and also the largest of all the missions. The church has three aisles instead of the usual single aisle in other missions. Three of the nine bells of the chapel area remain in the steeple today. The mission was built upon land that once belonged to the Mutsun Tribe of Indians. The Mutsun Tribe were hunters and lived in small adobe villages. 
The Mutsun’s were able to endure their early existence because they took sanctuary at the missions. Violence, starvation and disease were not as widespread as in other areas of California. The Mutsun’s dissolved their spiritual practices and converted to Christianity. The last surviving purebred Mutsun died in 1930. Her name was Ascencian Solorazona and is buried in the Indian Cemetery beside the Mission church. Her grave is marked by a red cross and a plague in her memory. The Mission Cemetery has 4300 mission Indians that were buried on the sacred ground in unmarked graves. The San Andreas Fault lies along the base of the hill just below the cemetery. 
The entire town of historic San Juan Bautista boasts a haunted history and offers a ghost tour during the Halloween season. The historic buildings look like scenes straight out of an old western, and can offer a perfect movie set. In fact, Mission San Juan Bautista was used as a movie location set for the eerie 1958 Hitchcock film, “Vertigo”.
Some say the rodeo grounds just east of the Mission plaza are extremely haunted by the Native Americans buried in the near by Mission cemetery. The livestock has been known to act a bit strangely as if a ghostly entity diverted their attention. They say you can feel the energy of the ghosts as you cross the grounds.
Ghost hunters who have walked the Mission grounds after dark have mentioned they have seen unexplained shadowy figures that later appear in their photographs. The images seem to be wearing hooded garments, or dressed as a monk or a nun. 
The garden area appears to be very tranquil, but restless monks often appear in pictures. Screams have been heard in the gardens late at night. The muffled shrieks seemed to be coming from within the nearby gardens—yet seem muted as though they were miles away.
When you visit the mission, take a few moments and study the tiled floor. The church floor tiles have traces of animal prints that were made as the tiles were set out doors to dry in the sun light. Perhaps some of these animals’ spirits are trapped within the Mission Walls. Stroll the haunted streets of San Juan Bautista and wander on the grounds of the old mission. The shadows in the moonlight could be padres on their way to the gardens.
Old Mission San Juan Bautista
406 2nd Street
San Juan Bautista, CA 95045
831-623-3428
From Phoenix: Drive l 10 West…take HWY 101 North….and take HWY 156 East.
For more info: www.mvdghostchasers.com
Debe Branning nazanaza@aol.com
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