Hanford Haunted Place: Scary Stories from Inside Hanford’s Haunted Bastille Jail

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🕯️ We Explored The Bastille: Hanford’s Haunted 1800s Jail (FULL INVESTIGATION & HISTORY) | Witch Dark Tales #hauntedplace #thebastille #hauntedjail #hanford #scarystories 


Deep in the heart of Hanford, California stands a chilling relic of the past: The Bastille—a stone fortress that once served as Kings County’s jail. Built in 1897 and modeled after the infamous French prison, this place has seen decades of suffering, death… and possibly something that still lingers.

In this Witch Dark Tales podcast, we uncover the true history of The Bastille, explore the abandoned halls after dark, and reveal terrifying paranormal claims from locals who swear this place is still haunted.

👁️ Voices in empty cells
🕯️ Cold spots and phantom footsteps
🚪 Doors slamming with no one around
🔒 Spirits of inmates who never left

We walk the same granite halls that once held California’s forgotten prisoners—and what we captured gave us chills. Some buildings are abandoned… but others are alive with memories that refuse to fade.

🎙️ Featuring immersive narration, real ghost stories, and an exclusive nighttime walkthrough of The Bastille’s interior.

🕷️ TURN OUT THE LIGHTS. HIT PLAY. AND JOIN US IN THE DARK.

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📍 LOCATION: The Bastille, Hanford, CA
🎥 Filmed & produced by Witch Dark Tales
🎧 Also available as a podcast episode on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

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💬 Have you experienced something strange at The Bastille or in Hanford? Drop your story in the comments—we might feature you in the next episode!

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📌 Subscribe for more haunted places, real ghost stories, and creepy California history:
🔔 Don’t forget to like, share, and tap the bell so you never miss an episode.



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SOURCES:

https://hanfordsentinel.com/news/local/the-bastille-is-a-reminder-of-hanfords-wild-west-days/article_c790a2ae-f03c-5525-aab0-4c2f79b48250.html

https://kingsriverlife.com/04/08/bloody-marys-lair-the-lost-souls-of-the-bastille-part-2/



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Episode Transcript

(00:07):
Tucked away in the heart of downtown Hanford, CA sits A
stumbling stone building few dares to explore after dark.
Locals call it the Basil and abandoned jail with chilling
repetition. Some say you can still hear the
cries of prisoners. Others swear something darker

(00:28):
lurks inside. Tonight, on Which Dark Tales
podcast we uncover the secrets, spirits and sinister of the
past. We are here at the Bastille in

(00:49):
Hanford, CA where it was said tobe haunted.
Not only was his place haunted through historical research, a
woman named Maria Roja was UN alive by the jailer or an inmate
on the 2nd floor. Come to find out, it was
historically true. Hi my witches and norms, welcome

(01:17):
to overstart Toast podcast. We're your host Diamond Witch
and today we are here in Hanford, CA at a haunted place
known as the Bastille. Well, it used to be a prison
like a jail cell back in the days because it's technically
Kings County and then they turn it now into storage.
But it also had like different. It was also like a restaurant

(01:37):
and a club and I heard people came over here even for their
prom and stuff. But the story was allegedly
there's a woman named a bloody Mary where she passed away here
by, you know, unaliveness herself.
And people said they've seen her.
So within this podcast, we're going to be reading people's
comments and also telling the history and scary stories of

(01:59):
this place. So stay tuned.
And let's let's just let's just go.
Oh, don't forget to like and subscribe.
And then audio and real subscription is advice strong
and dull language. Let's go this haunted place in
Hanford, CA built in the late 1800's, the Bastille, Hanford's

(02:20):
county jail. Constructed with thick granite
walls and narrow quarters, it housed criminals, outlaws and
the mentally ill for decades. It wasn't just a place of
confinement. Stories of spread of suicides,
mysterious deaths and even alleged mistreatment within its

(02:43):
walls. Locals feared it and miss tried
to escape it. Some never made it out.
People say the air changes as you approach the Bastille.
Cold, heavy and unsettling. Over the years, locals and ghost

(03:05):
hunters alike have reported unexplained activity here, from
disembodied voices echoing from the cells, shadows darting down
the hallways, apparition of former prisoners pacing back and
forth, the sound of jail cells slamming shut when no one is
around. Some believe a malevolent

(03:27):
president remains inside locked a former inmate who died
violently during his sentence. Others claimed the building is
cursed from decades of sufferingand abuse.

(03:48):
On the second segment, we will be telling people's scary
stories of the experience there at the Bastille, a user writes.
So it was the summer of 2003. That place was a club.
I had a few friends that were clubbing.
So I get a call by 1:00. My friend Angie asked if I can

(04:08):
go pick them up since they had been drinking, so I agreed.
So as I walked in hardly any people were there because it was
almost closing time. I think there was only 15 people
left on the club but all of themwere on the dance floor
including my friends that I had gone to go pick up.

(04:29):
As I'm standing waving to my friend to let her know I was
there, she waved back. When the song was over and she
started walking towards me whereI was standing.
I heard a voice whispered in my left ear saying this one is mine
and all of a sudden suddenly grabbed my left buttocks hard.
I freaked out. I made a 360 ASAP and I didn't

(04:50):
see anyone around. I asked my friend did you see
anyone behind me? She said no why?
The lights were on and if someone was behind you I would
have noticed. Till this day I have never
forgotten how that happened to me.
I get chills every time I go to farmers market and just stared
at the building. There's a lot of energy in that
area. Thank you user, for sending that

(05:14):
scary story. Now, I'm not from Hanford.
I've never been to the Bastille,only for this recording of the
podcast. It's the family market across
the street. And #2 babe, if nobody was there
behind you and you felt someone grabbed you, I'm pretty sure it

(05:39):
was a paranormal experience. Now you guys, I always say this,
just because paranormal things don't happen to other people,
you cannot discredit them. Even if you don't want to
believe the fact that there's anopportunity, the fact that you
have the opportunity to hear someone's personal experience,

(06:01):
you should never judge them until it happened to you.
When I went to the Bastille, notinside, but outside the
building, I felt sad. I felt like I wanted to cry.
There was so much sadness oozingout of the building.
You don't have to be a psychic or sensitive to even feel that.

(06:22):
I'm not a psycho or a medium. I'm just a person who likes to
hear people's scary stories. And when I went there, I wanted
to cry. I'm about to cry right now.
But again, thank you for sendingyour scary story and for audio
listeners and on YouTube drop down a comment and let me know
what do you guys think about herscary story.

(06:48):
On to 1/3 segment. A user named Caitlin sent us her
personal paranormal scary story and it reads.
Back in the early 2000's, the Bastille basement was turned
into a night bar. My mom's boyfriend at the time
was a cook in the kitchen for the bar and he knew how much my

(07:10):
mom was into the paranormal and told her to come one night at
closing time, which happened to be around 11:00 PM at the time.
I was attached to my mom's hip so I went with her.
I remember when we got there, the bar was just closing up so
the lights were on. People were still there.

(07:33):
The first thing I noticed was that the bar area had been
completely covered in pennies and the overall feel was almost
industrial work, if that makes sense.
You can see all the open steel work of the building.
It was cool, but very eerie too.Once my mom's boyfriend was done
cleaning up, he took us on a tour starting with the cells

(07:57):
that were still in the basement.If I remember correctly, there
are 8 cells down there, 4 on each side on the right side on
the last cell. They claimed that it was haunted
so naturally we went to go checkit out.
At first I didn't want to go in the cell because the light in
the cell was flickering and I was maybe 8 years old at the

(08:19):
time. I was so scared.
I eventually stepped into the cell and the weight that you
felt the minute you stepped in was so intense I couldn't be in
there any longer. Then we made our way to the
spiral staircase. At the top of the staircase, it
attaches to the courthouse that is still next door.

(08:42):
Stories say that a woman hanged herself at the top of the spiral
staircase. They even had it blocked off
when we went up there as respectto her.
My mom used to take pictures allthe time of the Civic Center
courtyard, the Bastille and the old courthouse, and I remember a

(09:02):
few she got out of the windows in the courthouse.
You can see a figure standing there at what would be the top
of the spiral staircase where the lady had hanged herself.
I have never talked to my husband who grew up here as
well, about the stories of the Bastille until the other day and

(09:25):
he said details that I experienced.
It sent chills down my spine andall over my body.
A few years later back the popular show Ghost Hunters came
and did some research and they agreed that it was for sure some
spirits trapped inside the end. Thank you Caitlin for sharing

(09:47):
your personal scary story. I love that you've remembered
every details from the Pennies to the aspiring staircase, and
also that there were eight cells, 4 on each side.
I've never been inside, but I'veheard about the cell.

(10:08):
We are here at the base of the Bastille.
It's late, it's quiet, and this place already feels wrong.
We've heard reports of footsteps, whispers, and even
growling noises. Being here, it made me wanted to
cry. I just felt as if there was so

(10:31):
much history here where it was bleeding through the walls.
I don't know if that makes sense, but you can just feel so
much sadness. The building is beautiful, but
within its walls, if the walls can talk, I'm sure they will

(10:53):
tell us so many things. We came to document a forgotten
jail, but left with more questioning than answers.
The Bastille isn't just an old building.
It's a tomb of secrets, suffering, and spirits that
refuse to be silenced. Hanford's Bastille may be

(11:16):
abandoned, but it's far from empty.
So what do you guys think about this place?
Do you believe that it's haunted?
Drop down a comment and let us know.
But with that being said, thank you guys for watching and audio
listeners, thank you for listening.
We'll see you on Monday for audio and Sunday for visual.

(11:38):
But with that being said, blessed be my witches and norms
and have a great evening. Blessed be everyone, bye.