Did we capture a ghost in the mirrors of this room in Shinn House?
Spoiler: It was The Author and a trick of the camera.

The Ghost of Shinn House: Revisited

I first wrote about the alleged Shinn House ghost in one of my first blog entries (somehow over three years ago?!). In revisiting that entry recently, I realized that in the between-time I had found a few other stories about the ghost that deserve to be shared—and there is no day more appropriate to share ghost stories than Halloween! The Ohlone College Monitor, the local community college's student newspaper, published an article in 1974 sharing the first-hand experiences of the house's caretaker at the time, David Bentham.

Ohlone College Monitor, March 14, 1974
Note: Click on images to view in higher resolution.

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A few weeks later, the San Jose Mercury-News published a similar article about David Bentham's experience with the "ghost":

He's No Ghost-Believer—But!...
Strange Noises Bug Curator of Fremont's Shinn House

By Jim Wilson, San Jose Mercury, March 30, 1974

FREMONT — Ghosts in the Shinn House?
David Bentham doesn't believe in ghosts.
"I don't want to be accused of being a nut or have people look at this fine old house as a freak but...
"There has been noises, a door slamming and sounds like someone pacing the floor, that can't be explained. And one night I heard the upstairs bannister rattling like someone was shaking it," Bentham admitted with a sly grin.
The 27-year-old "professional student" as he calls himself has "baby-sat" off and on for nearly three years in the 16-room Victorian mansion built about 1876.
"Old houses fascinate me. One day I saw this old house sitting vacant, all alone, and I nosed around to find nothing was being done to restore it," said Bentham.
That's when he joined the official historical society for Fremont, the Mission Peak Heritage Foundation, which has been active in preserving and restoring old landmarks and homes in the city. He is now vice chairman of the foundation and calls himself the head curator of the Shinn house.
It was then, that Bentham started sleeping over night in the house to "stave off burglars and vandals" or so he claims. He admits, however, to an almost morbid attraction to the old building.
Bentham also likes to dress the part.
He often wears an 1880-style long coat and vest with a gold watch chain.
"The costume goes well with the rest of the show. I wear it when showing people around the house and grounds," he smiled.
The three-story house and four-and-a-half acre gardens in the Shinn Historical Park at 1269 Peralta Blvd., are now his main projects when not attending history classes at San Jose State College.
Bentham would rather publicize the Sunday's open house for the general public at the park and house than talk about the ghost. The event will feature an antique auction by the Country Club of Washington Township and the foundation to help raise funds for restoration of the building.

Julianne Howe, "David Bentham, Esq.," 1972.
Collection of the Washington Township Museum of Local History.

There seems to be more than just an overactive imagination on the part of Bentham, however. He claims several other people have heard the strange noises.
Dr. Robert Fisher, the city's leading historian and chairman of the foundation has also heard the ghost they call "James," according to Bentham.
"One night Dr. Fisher heard it. The next night I heard it. We started accusing each other of staging it until we discovered we had been out of town when the other stayed the night in the house," he recalled.
Bentham is quick to point out every old house makes strange noises such as creaking and groaning as the temperature drops at night. The Shinn house is also near a railroad track and a train going by causes strange vibrations in the old wood building.
"In fact, the first night I stayed in the house a loud banging noise scared me so badly I left in a hurry. The next day I discovered the tracks and figured it must have been the banging of boxcars."
"But some of the noises can't be explained," he stated seriously.
He said a door upstairs in the attic has slammed several times. It took several such incidents for Bentham to locate the door. "It is always open after the slamming, yet there appears to be no outside influence that could cause it," he added.
"And there has been walking around noises upstairs," he mused. "Something like someone pacing. The story is that James Shinn, a Quaker, who came to California in 1856 used to pace back and forth in the attic when upset. The floor is worn in the area."

David Bentham standing with an antique car (Rolls Royce?)
in front of the Shinn House, ca. 1970s

However, since the city installed a sprinkler system in the attic the pipes on the floor may be upsetting the ghost's pacing joked Bentham. He hadn't heard anything, not even the door slam, since then.
Another time Bentham claims to have heard the upstairs bannister rattle "like someone was shaking it." It was the night the city council was voting funds to repair the building.
He also claims to have been startled one night while reading downstairs by the sound of "someone getting up and planting his feet on the upstairs floor."
Bentham, who still says he is not convinced of a ghost, added there doesn't seem to be any pattern to the noises. And research into the history hasn't turned up any violent crimes.
"I just don't know the reason. Several family members died in the home but naturally. And one time there was a family cemetery on the property that has since been moved," he added.
Moving away from the ghost angle which he claims he'd like to avoid, Bentham launched into plans for restoration and the history of the old building.
James Shinn and his wife, Lucy Ellen, came to this area in 1858 and first lived in a cottage (still on the site) that was built by the former owner, Capt. William Simms in about 1852.
Capt. Simms was the first American owner of the land after the Mission land grant was broken up. It was originally 150 acres, according to Bentham.
The land was originally a peach orchard and the Shinns went into the nursery business, importing trees from the Orient. Many exotic trees are still in the gardens.
The mansion was built in 1876 following the design of a Bavarian cottage but one gable was placed off center so the home wouldn't look too pretentious.

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Dr. Robert Fisher, founder of Mission Peak Heritage Foundation, shared this touching tribute in the organization's newsletter the Mission Peak Reporter after Bentham's death on June 28, 1984:

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Speaking of Dr. Fisher, here is his experience with the ghost, as published in the October 31, 1985 Oakland Tribune:

Many ghosts are relatively benign. About 12 years ago, on a warm spring night, Joanne and Robert Fisher were restoring Fremont's 19th-century Shinn House when they became aware of ‘a presence.’ Windows slammed, doors slammed, and the Fishers heard somebody limping across the house dragging a leg. James Shinn, who built the house in 1876, reportedly had a stroke late in life and walked in a such a manner, according to Robert Fisher, who founded the Mission Peak Heritage Foundation.

Eager to catch a prankster, he rushed to the attic, where sounds of a slamming window seemed to be emanating. But nobody was there and the window wouldn't open. It had been jammed shut for nearly 50 years. In another incident, Joanne Fisher said she reached into a downstairs closet to retrieve signs for the Shinn House opening. Suddenly, she became aware of the ghost of Shinn. ‘All of a sudden, I got ice cold all over and I'm sure the hairs on the back of my neck were standing straight up,’ she said. Turning around suddenly, she said, ‘James, you're scaring me! Please leave!’ James retreated. But every once in awhile, according to Joanne Fisher, he decides to return. He never hurts anybody. ‘Perhaps he is happy we're taking such good care of his home and he hangs around in gratitude,’ she said.

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Well, that's all for now! I will leave you with this cute picture of four of Joseph and Florence Shinn's children celebrating Halloween with their carved pumpkins.

Happy Halloween!

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