Ghost Town: Hornitos, CA

Today Anthony and I took a trip up to the ghost town of Hornitos. This little town is snuggled in the dry cow-dotted hills near Merced. We wound our way on the curvy road into this small town that still has occupants. They have some of their historic buildings from the 1850's. First was the Wells Fargo outpost, then the Masonic building. We even spied on a pile of brick that used to be the building that housed the Ghiradelli Chocolate Company. The stagecoach stop houses a snack and souvenir shop, we grabbed a couple of ice creams. We made our way to the Hornitos Jail: http://malakoff.com/goldcountry/mchoj.htm When we first saw it, it was pretty much frozen in time. It has been kept in great condition. We walked around the jail, its pretty much a stone box with two small windows. Anthony thought it would be cool to takes some pics of the inside, since the jail is locked up most of the year, he climbs up on a pile of stones someone has placed under one window. He poses the camera to take some pictures stretching his arm. He takes a few shots then comes down from the rocks. As he comes down, I am standing right beside him and i hear what sounds like a man clearing his throat. Now, mind you we are the only people in the area. All the houses around us are in disrepair and not inhabited. I look at my husband and ask, "did you hear that?" He looks at me and says "I did, it sounded like it came from inside the jail." We left wondering if it was "Chinese John" possibly? Maybe!