HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
1920s Dunsmuir home with a working mortuary in the basement, believed to bear the hand of Hearst Castle's architect
5957 Sacramento Ave, Dunsmuir, CA 96025
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Nightly rates for individual rooms; full property available as private vacation rental. Contact owner directly.
Access
Limited Access
Multi-story Victorian-era home; stairs required for upper-floor rooms.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1921 · Small-Town Railroad Era Architecture · California Mortuary History · Possible Julia Morgan Connection
Dunsmuir grew up around the railroad in the late nineteenth century, a railroad-division town tucked into the canyon of the upper Sacramento River below Mount Shasta. The house at 5957 Sacramento Avenue was built in the early 1920s and served as both family residence and working mortuary for the Young family, who operated their undertaking business from the basement. The current layout still reflects that dual purpose: bolts from the original embalming table are anchored in the concrete, functional body-washing faucets remain plumbed to the wall, and a hallway off the basement was designed wide enough to accommodate horse-drawn hearses.
Ownership passed through several hands across the mid-twentieth century. The current owners, who acquired the property around 2010, believe—though without documentary proof—that architect Julia Morgan may have contributed to renovations after a 1920s fire, citing her documented work on William Randolph Hearst's Wyntoon estate roughly 40 miles to the southwest during that period. Morgan was one of the most prolific California architects of her era, best known for San Simeon. No contracts or blueprints linking her to this address have been located.
The mortician's wife is said to have become increasingly reclusive in the house toward the end of her life, claiming the building was haunted. A fiction novel, The Mortician's Wife by Maralee Lowder, draws on the property's history as its primary setting. The property was briefly offered for sale at $899,000 and has operated as a bed and breakfast and vacation rental under various owners. As of the most recent public listings, contact is maintained through owner Nancy Brown.
Sources
On the first night of the Warner family's ownership around 2010, the house lost all electrical power simultaneously. Brad Warner, speaking into the dark, asked whatever presence might be in the building to allow peaceful cohabitation. According to his account, the lights came back on immediately, the computer restarted, and the fireplace reignited on its own.
Subsequent reports from guests and owners describe footsteps moving through empty rooms, a Bible lying open on a table with its pages slowly turning, and shower fixtures activating without human contact. Doors in the house are noted for slamming shut with force when no draft is present.
The most often-cited physical detail is a casket found in the basement containing the skeletal remains of a seventeen-year-old girl. The provenance of the remains has not been publicly documented, but local accounts treat the discovery as fact. The basement's original mortuary fixtures—embalming table anchor bolts, drainage faucets, and the horse-hearse corridor—add material weight to the building's dark reputation.
The Mortician's Wife, a novel by Maralee Lowder set at this address, treats the building as its central character: a house where the dead do not depart quietly.
Book a room in this early 1900s Dunsmuir home, believed by current owners to have been renovated by Julia Morgan while she worked on the nearby Wyntoon estate for William Randolph Hearst. The original embalming table bolts and body-washing faucets remain in the basement, and guests have reported doors slamming, unexplained electrical outages, and the sound of disembodied footsteps.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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