Wine Cellar Creeper: Part One

This true ghost story started with an innocent celebration. It was our 20th wedding anniversary, and we went to one of my favorite restaurants in Orange County. I have been there with friends a few times before, and I did a little impromptu investigation during one of those visits. So I know the place is haunted. The location is an old home built in 1905, then it burnt down in 2017, then it was rebuilt and reopened in 2018. It is a beautiful location with delicious food.

The first time I went there, I walked in and instantly I could feel spirit energy there. I felt residual and active energy. My friend and I sat upstairs on the balcony at first then we moved inside to sit at the bar. We were having martinis, so my ghosty senses were on high alert. I could feel chaotic energy coming from the wall behind the bar, so I finally got up to look what was behind there and there was a beautiful private dining room with the most unique glass chandelier. But, that’s not what I saw at first. I saw a surgery room. Then I saw flashes of what went on in there. A doctor, nurses, a patient, surgical devices, and blood. Then in the next flash, I saw a woman sitting up and screaming on the surgical table. I quickly backed up and headed to the bathroom so I could comprehend what I was seeing. The bathroom was down a hall behind be just a few feet. That’s when I saw a little girl standing in the hallway.

She scared the crap out of me!! So I went to walk by her to get to the bathroom and she disappeared. All I felt was ice cold air where she was just standing. That really scared the crap out of me, because I thought she was a real person. I finally got to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror to make sure I wasn’t dreaming this. I know when I drink alcohol at a haunted location, my guard is down and the spirits know my guard is down. I don’t know how, but they do.

When I got back to the bar, I told my friend what just happened. She said I needed to tell someone…..which is not my favorite thing to do, but what the heck…I had liquid courage going by that point. So I asked the bartender if the place was haunted. He did not skip a beat, and he said it was. Then I told him that I am a medium and then I told him what I saw. First, he said that a lot of people have seen the little girl, especially the employees, and some have quit because of it. Then he says that the original owner of the home was a doctor and ran his practice out of there. He was a family practice doctor and he delivered babies. Well, that explained that residual energy I was getting flashes of. So I asked if he had any idea who the little girl was? He said they have a couple theories, but no proof. She could have been the doctor’s daughter, or one of his patients. She is a mystery.

I did go back to the hallway to see if I could communicate with her, but I did not even sense her energy hanging around. Then the next time I went with friends to have dinner there, I tried to communicate with the little girl again. She was a no show.

Now back to our 20th Anniversary dinner. I was so excited to take my hubby there. So we got a hotel room near by and took an Uber to the restaurant. It had been a couple years since I was there. Actually November 2019 was the last time, and it was still as beautiful as ever. The only difference is they added dining tables to the front court yard area of the restaurant to make accommodations during COVID.

I wanted to go an hour before our reservation, so we could sit upstairs at the bar and have a drink before going to our table. And, I wanted to do a little investigating of that room and hallway again. But, when we got there they said the bar was closed, but they could take us to our table. It’s a long story, but I already had a challenging day, so the bar being closed did not make me a happy girl. I asked if I could at least get a drink and walk up there. I stumped the two hostesses… and I wasn’t about to explain why I wanted to go up there. As this is going on, a gentleman who works there walked in. He took over. He said of course we could have drinks up there, and he would serve us himself, and whenever we are ready to be seated he would gladly seat us in his section outside in the front courtyard.

This nice gentleman, (I am going to call him Raff, because he is a big part of this story), walked us upstairs, let us pick where we wanted to sit, then took our drink order. As soon as he left I opened my spidey senses up. I could feel the residual energy, but not any active energy at that point. Then Raff came back with our drinks. That’s when I told him that I knew the place was haunted and asked him if he had ever any interesting experiences there. He said he has had a few experiences, like feeling that someone is watching him, and random cold spots throughout the restaurant. But, no apparitions. After talking to him and getting the sense that he believed in the paranormal, I told him that I was a medium. Then I told him what I experienced the last two times I was there. He was so excited. He said he has heard many people talk about the little girl in the hallway. And he new that the original owner was a doctor. Then he says to me….

Words that were music to my happy little medium ears….”Have you investigated the hidden cellar?” THE WHAT????? I HAD NO IDEA THERE WAS A HIDDEN CELLAR!!! Raff then says, “I will take you down there after dinner.” Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday, and Merry Christmas to me!!!! I am beyond excited at this point. I had to collect myself and make sure my hubby was ok with this. Which he was.

Our dinner was amazing! We sat outside under all of the twinkle lights. It was a beautiful night. Raff brought over champagne on the house to celebrate our anniversary. We shared a dessert, paid our bill, then got up and followed Raff back into the restaurant. The manager was inside and Raff had already told him about me, and that I wanted to see the cellar. The manager was excited to have me check it out, and he wanted to know if I sensed anything down there.

We follow Raff through the kitchen and behind a wall are the stairs that go down to the cellar. We get down the steep stairs and the room is filled with wine racks around the sides and there is a big wood table with chairs in the middle. Raff then tells us that you can rent this room for a small private dinner. It is dark and small down there. I start to feel panic. Not my panic, but a spirits panic. I then placed my hand on the brick wall to my right.

That’s when the room changed. I could sense a man and he was showing quick flashes of what happened to him in that cellar. I could see the room, but there is only brick walls and a dirt floor. Then I see a man sitting in a wood chair in the middle of the room. He is the spirit that is communicating with me. He looks beat up. He is tied to the chair with only his boxers on. He is crying and yelling, “I DON’T KNOW!!” Over and over. Then I see three men in suits standing around him. That’s when I feel a horrible pain on the side of my head. One of the men hits the guy in the chair in the head with the barrel of his gun. Hard enough to make me feel it. These men are yelling at him and hitting him, and this poor guy is bleeding, drooling, and crying. I could feel his fear and his pain.

Now this next part is not for the faint at heart….men are really going to cringe….WARNING… Next thing I see is one of the guys in a suit, has a hammer and a nail. He slams the hammer down on the nail into this poor mans private parts. I instantly pull my hand off the wall and feel like I am going to throw up. But, before I can get out of this cellar, I hear a gun shot. I instantly know that one of the men shot this poor guy in the head.

I don’t say anything after that. I just turned around and quickly walked back upstairs. My hubby came up right behind me, and he could tell that I wasn’t right. Then Raff followed, as I headed to the front to get out of there. They could tell I was shook up, and I saw the manager on the way out and I quickly handed him my card and said if he wanted to know what I saw or felt, he could call or email me. I had to get outside. I could not wrap my mind around what I just saw and felt. It was like I was there. I knew this incident took place long ago, but it felt like I witnessed it happen right there and then.

While we waited for our Uber, I told my husband that it was horrible what I just witnessed. I didn’t want to talk about it in the car so I briefly told him what I saw. He said he could tell that whatever I saw, it wasn’t good.

There is a lot more to this story, and it’s about to get really frightening. But, I am going to break up the story. I hope you enjoyed Part One.

Until then……