Wayfarer’s Chapel

Informant:

T. N.  had a very unique upbringing in that her father was in the Air Force, which caused her family to relocate extremely often. When she was young, her younger sister tragically died of leukemia at the age of five, and her father soon died in an airplane accident. Her mother remarried afterwards to another Air Force veteran who then worked in real estate, which also led to several relocations. T.N. grew up all around the United States but spent most of her time in Tampa Bay, Florida until she moved to Indian Wells, California for her Senior year of high school before matriculating to USC. She now resides in Palos Verdes Estates, California.

Folklore:

“Okay… My second haunted PV place is short and sweet. Wayfarer’s Chapel is an iconic place for people to get married. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the ‘40s… It is absolutely beautiful and has a breathtaking view over the Pacific and the peninsula. I haven’t heard any concrete stories, but supposedly the grounds are haunted. Not sure if it’s true or not, but apparently there is a massive white owl that is always active at the chapel at night. There are also supposed to be strange flying-insect species around the chapel at nighttime that can’t be identified. While I don’t know too much about why people suspect it of being haunted… I just have always heard that it is haunted…”

Analysis:

Growing up close to Wayfarer’s Chapel, I can admire its beauty from afar… At the bottom of the hilltop. I don’t feel a strong urge to visit it. Like my Mom, I haven’t really heard anything particularly horrifying about the chapel, yet I do not really want to visit to see for myself. There are weddings there pretty frequently, so in my opinion, it couldn’t be too haunted. Or at least not during the day… It was also designed by a world-renowned architect. I’m not sure if that adds or detracts from the spookiness of the chapel.