HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Nine vintage cabooses on Clear Lake's shore, rated by USA Today as the number-one place to sleep with a ghost — a gaunt figure in striped pajamas seen in the Celebrations caboose
2870 Lakeshore Blvd, Nice, CA 95464
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Rates start around $270/night per caboose. Nine cabooses available, most with Jacuzzi tubs. Full breakfast included.
Access
Limited Access
Caboose-style accommodations require climbing steps to enter; lakefront property on relatively flat terrain.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1989 · Railroad Caboose Preservation · Clear Lake Recreation History
Clear Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake entirely within California's borders, occupying a broad volcanic basin in Lake County north of the Napa Valley wine region. The shores around Nice, on the lake's western edge, attracted tourism and recreation development through the twentieth century.
The Featherbed Railroad was founded in 1989 by a father-son team who shared an interest in historic railroad equipment. Their concept was to acquire decommissioned railroad cabooses — the distinctive end-cars that once housed train crews — and convert them into overnight accommodations on the lake's shore. The property now comprises nine themed cabooses, each with a Jacuzzi tub, lakeside views, and access to the property's beach, pier, and boat launch. A complimentary full breakfast is served daily.
The property has received consistent recognition for its unusual accommodations. TripAdvisor awarded it Certificates of Excellence for three consecutive years, placing it in the top ten percent of hotels worldwide in that program. Hotels.com listed it among the world's ten most unusual hotels, and it has been featured on the Travel Channel and the local program Eye on the Bay.
The property's mailing address uses Nice, CA, though the post office and most mapping software defaults to Upper Lake. The two communities sit adjacent to each other on the western shore of Clear Lake.
Sources
The Featherbed Railroad's paranormal reputation centers on a single specific caboose: the one called Celebrations, which the property decorates for Halloween each year. Multiple guests have described the same apparition independently — a gaunt man wearing striped pajamas, seated on the bed, who is present when they enter but does not interact with them.
The figure is not threatening in any account. He simply sits. Guests who have reported him describe him as thin, still, and dressed in the kind of striped pajamas associated with an earlier era of railroad work — suggesting, though not confirming, a connection to railway labor history.
USA Today named the Featherbed Railroad as the number-one place to sleep with a ghost in a nationally published travel feature, citing the consistency of accounts from the Celebrations caboose. ABC News covered the same property in a roundup of haunted sleeps. The property's website includes a section titled 'Our History and Mystery,' acknowledging the haunted reputation without elaborating on the specific ghost narrative in publicly available text.
The railroad-worker identification comes from inference rather than documentation: the striped pajamas, the caboose setting, and the figure's posture suggest a man at rest in a work context. No named individual has been identified.
Media Appearances
Book one of nine themed vintage railroad cabooses on the shore of Clear Lake. The Celebrations caboose has produced the most consistent ghost reports — multiple guests have independently described seeing a gaunt man in striped pajamas sitting on the bed. USA Today named the property its top pick for sleeping with a ghost.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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