The Gilded Ghosts of Santa Cruz's Golden Gate Villa

Golden Gate Villa is said to be cursed, haunted, and steeped in violence. The the story goes that a man who was in love with his step-daughter and murdered her and committed suicide when he couldn't have her for himself...but what does the historic record actually say? In this episode, we look into the life and times of Major Frank McLaughlin; learning about the man behind the murder to better understand the motivations behind his horrific crime.https://citegeistpod.com/Have a ghost story you want to share? Leave a voice note or send an en email at https://citegeistpod.com/contactPodcast Instagram: http://instagram.com/citegeistpodPersonal Instagram: http://instagram.com/joshua.spellmanChannel illustration byGiAnna Ligammari: https://virtualgia.com/GiAnna's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virtualgia.zipRoyalty Free Music: "Behind the Veil" by 8er41SOURCES“Agnes L. McLaughlin (1875-1907) - Find a Grave...” n.d. Accessed February 14, 2026. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/143555501/agnes_l-mclaughlin.Dormanen, Susan. n.d. “The Golden Gate Villa.” Santa Cruz Public Libraries. Accessed September 10, 2021. https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/files/original/dac12ae750afce922632b1d9a1f17930.pdf.Gillespie, Metzgar &. Kelley. 1896. “Our Home Defenders.” Still image. United States. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b53219.Herald, Los Angles. 1916. Deutsch: Francisco Villa Auf Seinem Hengst Sieben Meilen Vor Seiner División Del Norte, Nördlich von Ojinaga, Chihuahua. January. Archivo General de la Nación Weekly journal-miner. March 15, 1916. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francisco_Villa.gif.Holcomb, Gwyneth. 2025. “Ask Lookout: Why Is There a ‘Door to Nowhere’ above Front Street?” Lookout Santa Cruz, February 7. https://lookout.co/ask-lookout-why-is-there-a-door-to-nowhere-above-front-street/story.Johnston, Frances Benjamin. 1897. “McKinley & Cabinet.” Still image. United States. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/89708610/.Los Angeles Examiner (Los Angeles, California). 1907. “Slays Daughter, Then Himself.” November 17.“Metroactive Features | The Haunting of Santa Cruz.” n.d. Accessed September 12, 2021. http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/10.29.03/haunting-0344.html.My Vxw Site Napiwc. n.d. “Haunted Houses of Santa Cruz.” Accessed February 12, 2026. https://www.santacruzghostdirectory.com/haunted-houses-of-santa-cruz.Newspapers.Com. n.d. “7 Dec 1907, Page 1 - Santa Cruz Evening News at Newspapers.Com.” Accessed September 14, 2021. http://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=4203848&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjU1Mzc5MDMzLCJpYXQiOjE2MzE2MjAzMTAsImV4cCI6MTYzMTcwNjcxMH0.RvcF17nCqc3CPgInOgE9pYOuOODX01oAtIjpmA0sC0A.Oroville Daily Register (Oroville, California). 1907a. “Clipped From Oroville Daily Register.” November 18.Oroville Daily Register (Oroville, California). 1907b. “McLaughlin Major Frank-Oroville Daily Register 18 Nov 1907, Mon ·Page 1-Part 1.” November 18.“Patricia Wilder Obituary - Santa Cruz, CA (1924-2014).” n.d. Accessed February 14, 2026. https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/obituaries/patricia-sambuck-wilder/.“Patricia Wilder Obituary (1924 - 2014) - Santa Cruz, CA - Charlotte Observer.” n.d. Accessed February 14, 2026. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/charlotte/name/patricia-wilder-obituary?id=17236590.PinkMelody428. 2020. “Haunted Locations / Scary Stories.” Reddit Post. R/Santacruz, December 3. https://www.reddit.com/r/santacruz/comments/k66ptw/haunted_locations_scary_stories/.San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco, California). 1907. “Agnes M’Laughlin Betrothed to Sam Rucker.” November 17.Santa Cruz Evening News (Santa Cruz, California). 1907. “Services Over the McLaughlins.” November 19.“Santa Cruz Is Weird.” n.d. Accessed February 14, 2026. https://www.thecobrasnose.com/xxghost/santacruz.html.Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, California). 1907a. “Poverty Pitiful at the End.” November 19.Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, California). 1907b. “Tragic Death of Major McLaughlin and His Daughter Agnes.” November 17.Santa Cruz Weekly Sentinel (Santa Cruz, California). 1907. “Tragic Death of Major McLaughlin and Daughter.” November 23. Newspapers.com.“Sweet House Dreams: Golden Gate Villa, 1891 Queen Anne Victorian in Santa Cruz, California.” n.d. Sweet House Dreams. Accessed September 10, 2021. http://sweethousedreams.blogspot.com/2018/06/golden-gate-villa-1891-queen-anne.html.The Main Sheet. 1916. July 10. http://archive.org/details/mainsheet1191271917indo.The San Francisco Call Bulletin (San Francisco, California). 1907. “Frank McLaughlin Kills Daughter and Himself at Santa Cruz.” November 17.Tom Brezsny, dir. 2012. Golden Gate Villa - 924 Third Street Santa Cruz California - Lavishly Ornamented Victorian. 5:46. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jd72cnY_6E.Wikipedia. 2021. “Golden Gate Villa.” May 13. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/...