Is This Ghost Town Cursed?

    Take a walk through Bodie, California, and you can’t help but wonder: Is this abandoned town haunted? 

    It’s easy to imagine the ghosts of the people who used to live there. You can picture them inside the old houses and crumbling hotels. 

    But according to legend, Bodie isn’t just haunted. It’s cursed. It’s said that anyone who takes anything from the town—a rusty nail, a broken dish—will soon have terrible, terrible luck.

    Take a walk through Bodie, California, and you might wonder: Is this place haunted?

    It’s easy to imagine the ghosts of the people who used to live there. You can picture them inside the crumbling houses and hotels.

    But legend has it that Bodie isn’t just haunted. It’s cursed. It’s said that if you take anything from the town—a rusty nail, a broken dish—you’ll soon have very bad luck

    Take a stroll through Bodie, California, and you can’t help wondering: Is this abandoned town haunted?  

    It’s easy to imagine the ghosts of the people who once inhabited Bodie. You can picture them inside the decaying houses and crumbling hotels. 

    But according to legend, Bodie isn’t only haunted—it’s also cursed. It’s said that anyone who takes anything from the town—a rusty nail, a broken dish—will soon suffer terrible, terrible misfortune.

    In 1859, gold was discovered in a distant area in the California desert. People rushed there, hoping to get rich. This place was named Bodie, and it became a lively town of 10,000 people. 

    Bodie was a tough place to be, though. It had hot summers and harsh winters. No one paid attention to laws, so crime was a problem all year round. That’s why people left after the gold ran out. Bodie became a ghost town—an abandoned town that no longer has people living in it.

    Today Bodie is a state park. About 200,000 people visit there each year. Many decide to grab a souvenir. Bad idea! Removing anything from the park is a crime. But there’s another reason to leave Bodie as you find it. Taking a treasure—even a tiny one—just might ruin your life.

    In 1859, gold was discovered in a distant area in California. People rushed there, hoping to get rich. This place was named Bodie. It became a town of 10,000 people.

    Bodie was a tough place to be, though. Summers were hot. Winters were harsh. Crime was a big problem. So people left when the gold ran out. Bodie became a ghost town—an abandoned town where no one lives.

    Today Bodie is a state park. About 200,000 people visit there each year. Many decide to grab a souvenir. Bad idea! Taking anything from the park is a crime. But there’s another reason to leave Bodie as you find it. Taking a treasure—even a tiny one—just might ruin your life.

    In 1859, gold was discovered in a distant area in the California desert. People rushed there, hoping to get rich. This place was named Bodie, and it became a lively town of 10,000 people. 

    Bodie was a difficult place to be, though. It had hot summers and harsh winters. No one paid attention to laws, so crime was a constant problem. For these reasons, people left after the gold ran out. Bodie became a ghost town—an abandoned town that no longer has any residents.

    Today Bodie is a state park. Approximately 200,000 people visit there each year, and many decide to grab a souvenir. That’s a bad idea, because removing anything from the park is a crime. But there’s another, perhaps more compelling, reason to leave Bodie as you find it. Taking a treasure—even a tiny one—just might ruin your life.

    Every year, dozens of people send back items they’ve removed from Bodie. Many of these people include letters that tell of their terrible misfortune. Some say they got sick or lost their jobs. Kids claim to have failed tests or had their pets suddenly die. 

    In reality, these bits of bad luck have nothing to do with stealing from Bodie. The curse was made up by park rangers. They wanted visitors to be too afraid to take items from this important historical site.

    So what do you think? Did it work? If you ever visit Bodie, will you grab a souvenir?

Maybe it’s better to be safe than sorry—and buy a T-shirt to remember your trip instead. 

    Every year, dozens of people send back things they’ve removed from Bodie. Many include letters that tell of their bad luck. Some say they got sick or lost their jobs. Kids claim to have failed tests or had their pets die.

    In truth, these bits of bad luck have nothing to do with Bodie. Park rangers made the curse up. They wanted to stop people from taking things from this important historical site.

    So what do you think? Did it work? If you visit Bodie, will you take something?

    Maybe it’s better to be safe than sorry. You can buy a T-shirt to remember your trip instead.

    Every year, dozens of people send back items they’ve removed from Bodie. Many include letters describing the devastating consequences of their crimes. Some say they’ve experienced illness or unemployment. Kids claim to have failed tests or had their pets unexpectedly die. 

    In reality, these bad experiences have nothing to do with stealing from Bodie. The curse was invented by park rangers who wanted to discourage visitors from taking items from this important historical site.

    So what do you think? Was the rangers’ plan successful? If you ever visit Bodie, will you grab a souvenir?

    Maybe it’s better to be safe than sorry—and buy a T-shirt to remember your trip instead.