The Long Beach Post explored the city’s most haunted places, from Sunnyside Cemetery to the Queen Mary, in a series of videos leading up to Halloween on Thursday.
Our newest video takes a peek inside the former Long Beach Station 12 in North Long Beach, which landed on a list of the nation’s 10 most haunted firehouses.
The former station on Gundry Avenue—now used as a City Council field office—has been haunted for years by the ghost of John Makemson, a firefighter who died of natural causes in 1988.
Firefighters have reported numerous paranormal experiences over the years, including waking up unable to speak or move, or to the sound of screaming or a voice talking to them.
Known as “Smokey,” Makemson lived across the street from the station—and is believed to have never left.
We spoke with firefighter Brian Fisk, who worked at the station in the late 1990s and early 2000s, along with his 15-year-old daughter Savannah, whose earliest memory is encountering John at age 3.
The memory still lingers with her; while at the station this month, Savannah heard Makemson whisper, “You’re back … “
In the days leading up to Halloween, we’ll feature a collection of our past Haunted Long Beach videos:
- Sunday, Oct. 27: Hear the riveting stories of some of the ghosts who roam the graves of Sunnyside Cemetery, the oldest burial ground in Long Beach.
- Monday, Oct. 28: Numerous paranormal experiences have been reported at the old Breakers building in Downtown, which boasted an abandoned tunnel and creepy staircases that once played host to famed celebrities.
- Tuesday, Oct. 29: Take a stroll down Igor’s Alley in Los Cerritos, the setting of a popular high school urban legend. Boys would tell their girlfriends the story of Igor, an immigrant laborer who reacted poorly to losing his job …
- Wednesday, Oct. 30: Come aboard the Queen Mary, where numerous ghost stories have been shared for decades, including that of a worker who died in the ship’s engine room.
- Thursday, Oct. 31: Take a peek inside the former Long Beach Station 12 in North Long Beach, which is said to be haunted by the ghost of a firefighter, in the premiere of our latest in Haunted Long Beach.