Reporting by McKenna Mobley, Victorville Daily Press
A major vein of tourism has been cut from the living ghost town of Randsburg, whose population of 45 relied heavily on the hungry off-road traffic it was used to for years.
Roughly 2,200 square miles of Mojave Desert land surrounding the Highway 395 town has been closed to OHV use since January. The decision ended a six-year legal battle to protect desert tortoise habitats and Lane Mountain milkvetch, an endangered desert plant.
The OHV closure, coupled with flooding and road closures in January, has severely weakened the Randsburg economy.
“The town of Randsburg is really going through it right now,” resident Ciara Green told the Daily Press. She says the townspeople have been desperately trying to attract more people to town by hosting events and sprucing up infrastructure.
Randsburg is an unincorporated community 61 miles north of Barstow. Established in 1895, Randsburg is one of the smaller towns in Kern County’s gold and silver mining belt. The prosperous boomtown set up saloons, gambling halls and brothels to help keep some of the fortune in town.
However, Randsburg’s prosperity started to dry up by 1934 with the depression and depleted mines.
Most residents moved on to the next boomtown, but some stayed, the descendants of whom can still be found in the tiny ghost town. They kept Randsburg alive with shops, restaurants, salons and places to stay for the night.
Now, residents also rely on spooky tourism to bring in money.
Randsburg started a new tradition last year with haunted ghost tours. Head guide of the tours, Marie Mason, previously told the Daily Press that Randsburg offers the only real ghost tour in a real ghost town in the nation.
Because 90% of the ghost town’s income previously came from dirt bikers and other off-roaders, Randsburg residents are hoping to pivot their reliance to the spooky season instead.
Paranormal tours are helping Randsburg bounce back
The 90-minute Halloween Paranormal Tours are led by Mason, who is a real ghost hunter with experience in all things paranormal. The night hunt takes guests to several hotspots around the haunted town. It starts with a historic, guided trolley ride before ghost enthusiasts make their way on foot to four separate haunted locations.
The Randsburg Halloween team uses the same technology that expert ghost hunters on television do, including the Spirit Box SB7 that the spirits communicate through, and five SLS cameras that can detect ghost activity.
Mason allows each participant to handle the equipment for a hands-on experience.
New this year, ghost tour participants will tour the haunted underground speakeasy, the 1895 icehouse, Old Corner Bar, Miner’s Poker Murder Cabin and the Red-Light District cabins. VIP tickets include a roast beef sandwich dinner, a bar token and a smaller investigation group.
Hotels and campgrounds will be open for overnight stays during the tours. Cabin rates start at $165 for one room.
Tours are offered between 6 and 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 26, Oct. 30 and 31 this year. Early bird tickets are $40-55. For more information or to book a tour, visit RandsburgHalloween.eventbrite.com.
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This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press.
