GhostWalk: COM contest asks visitors
to guess how many stories are true

If you think you know a lot about Santa Paula history, know about its historical characters, legends or just feel you’re lucky you might want to take a chance on winning a special contest.

Visitors to the 2014 GhostWalk 20th Anniversary exhibit at the California Oil Museum, (1001 East Main St.) have the chance to enter a contest that tests their knowledge based on stories that have given GhostWalk guests shivers over the last two decades.

According to Carlos Juarez he and Dee Helsel, the creative director for the GhostWalk event worked with California Oil Museum staff on the exhibit, which Juarez curated. 

Historian, author and GhostWalk Founder Mary Alice Orcutt Henderson also consulted on past stories that over the years have entertained thousands and thousands of guests from throughout Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties.

First, said Juarez, “We got through all the past stories - it’s a lot of reading! - and then we created a little summary of each story staged over the past 20 years,” an estimated total of about 150 stories. 

“You know a lot of people ask each year how many of these stories are true,” a refrain that prompted the exhibit’s contest to determine how many GhostWalk stories are based on real people or events.

Juarez was coy on the totals, noting only “Some of our stories are true, others are written with artistic license and some are completely fake!”

Each year GhostWalk benefits the Santa Paula Theater Center that sponsors the event and Juarez, a SPTC board member, said he consulted with Board President Leticia Mattson about the contest.

Those attending GhostWalk 2014 also took part in the contest, which ends November 23 when the exhibit - which also includes photos, props and other memorabilia detailing the history of GhostWalk - comes to a close.