A Central Valley grocery store dubbed the most haunted in America, where graveyard-shift workers reported a watching presence and a claw-scarred figure — the building now operates as a Dollar General Market.
1750 Robertson Boulevard, Chowchilla, CA 93610
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
The building that housed the haunted Save Mart now operates as a Dollar General Market, an ordinary retail store open to the public during business hours. There is no ghost tour.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Standard retail store and parking lot in a shopping center
Equipment
No Photos
Est. 1980 · Regional folklore landmark: 'America's most haunted grocery store' · Original Chowchilla Save Mart, later a Dollar General Market · Subject of multiple Central Valley paranormal features
Chowchilla is a small agricultural city in Madera County in California's San Joaquin Valley. For years, one of its grocery stores — a Save Mart on Robertson Boulevard — was the subject of persistent ghost stories told by employees, especially those working the overnight 'graveyard' shift.
The original store eventually closed and Save Mart opened a newer location elsewhere on Robertson Boulevard, which reportedly carries no paranormal reputation. The former store building, at 1750 Robertson Boulevard, was later occupied by a Dollar General Market, with apartments behind the shopping center. The haunting lore stayed attached to the building rather than to the Save Mart brand, and reports reportedly continued under the new tenant.
The legend was amplified beyond the original anonymous ghost-story submissions by regional coverage — including the Weird Fresno blog and a Backpackerverse feature calling Chowchilla 'home to the most haunted grocery store in America,' along with other paranormal write-ups — which together gave the site an unusual level of attention for an ordinary supermarket. A frequently repeated rumor holds that the shopping center was built over a burial ground, but this is unverified local speculation and is not supported by any cemetery record.
Sources
The Chowchilla store's reputation rests on employee accounts that have been retold across several independent regional outlets, giving it more corroboration than typical single-source rural lore. The original Shadowlands seed describes a janitorial worker on the graveyard shift sensing a presence throughout the aisles and in the upstairs break room, a swing-shift employee feeling the same presence only in the break room, and people reporting figures walking the empty store around 2 a.m. on Saturday nights when no one was scheduled.
Later coverage by Weird Fresno, Backpackerverse, and a pop-culture write-up introduced the store's most famous resident: a male apparition nicknamed 'The Clawed Man,' whose face is said to look as though it has been raked by sharp claws. According to these accounts a former employee came face-to-face with the figure in the frozen-food section. Witnesses also described doors opening and closing on their own and items leaving the shelves, with similar reports said to continue after the building became a Dollar General, and shadow figures reported in the apartments behind the center.
A recurring rumor claims the shopping center was built over an old burial ground without relocating the graves, sometimes citing nearby sinkholes as 'evidence.' This is unverified speculation rather than documented fact, and it is noted here only as part of the legend, not as history.
Notable Entities
Visit the Chowchilla shopping center that locals and several regional paranormal writers have called 'the most haunted grocery store in America.' The original Save Mart closed in the 2000s and the building is now a Dollar General Market; the entry documents the legend rather than offering a tour of an active store.
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