The Haunted Poltergeist Mine!

High in the mountains northeast of Bridgeport, California, sits the decaying remains of the **Chemung Mine**, an abandoned gold and silver operation with a history nearly as unsettling as the ghost stories surrounding it. The Chemung Mine was established around 1909 in the Masonic Mining District, during the final decades of the Eastern Sierra gold rush. The operation included a large mill, offices, bunkhouses, a general store, and tunnels driven deep into the mountainside. During its productive years, Chemung reportedly produced more than a million dollars worth of ore. But despite the gold coming out of the mountain, the operation was plagued by financial problems, lawsuits, ownership disputes, high transportation costs, and declining gold prices. The mill itself was reportedly torn down and rebuilt three separate times. By 1938, major operations at Chemung had ended. During the 1950s and 1960s, a prospector named Elton “Heinie” Heinemeyer continued working the old tunnels, apparently finding enough gold to keep himself going, but never discovering the fortune he was searching for. Eventually he left, and Chemung was abandoned to the wind, snow, and silence of the mountains. But according to local legend, something else never left. Chemung has developed a reputation as one of the stranger haunted locations around Bridgeport. The most famous story involves what has repeatedly been described as a *poltergeist* haunting the abandoned mine and mill. The legend claims that during the mine’s operating years, workers became angry with the mine owner, possibly over wages. During an argument, the owner supposedly ended up at the bottom of a mine shaft. Some versions say he accidentally fell. Others claim the miners deliberately pushed him. According to the story, his spirit remained at Chemung. But that hasn’t stopped the ghost story. Visitors have described the presence at Chemung as a poltergeist rather than a simple apparition. Stories involve unexplained disturbances around the ruins, objects seemingly being moved or knocked over, and an uncomfortable feeling of being watched around the mine workings. Even a Smithsonian travel piece from years ago mentioned the Chemung poltergeist legend, including the rumor that it had knocked over visitors’ camera tripods. And then there is the strangest detail of all. *The Chemung poltergeist supposedly comes out on Saturday nights.* Why Saturday? Nobody seems to know. The story has been repeated for decades. According to the legend, the mine owner’s spirit is relatively quiet during the week, but on Saturday nights the activity becomes more aggressive. Some versions even warn people against entering the mine tunnels on Saturdays, claiming people have disappeared inside, although these disappearance stories appear to be folklore rather than documented cases. There are also more modern strange stories from the property. One photographer who visited Chemung later discovered what appeared to be a person walking near the trees in his drone photographs. He said he never saw anyone while he was there and didn’t hear the motorcycle he suspected the mysterious visitor may have been riding. He ultimately believed there was probably a normal explanation, but admitted the experience was strange. Today the abandoned mill still clings to the mountainside above the Bridgeport Valley. Bullet holes cover portions of the surviving structures. Machinery has been stripped away. Mine entrances disappear into the earth, while collapsed buildings and enormous tailing piles remain scattered across the landscape. And the location itself adds to the atmosphere. Chemung sits in an isolated landscape surrounded by abandoned mines, forgotten settlements, and the remains of the old Masonic Mining District. Not far away is Bodie, arguably California’s most famous haunted ghost town. Travel farther into the Eastern Sierra and you find decades of stories involving strange lights, Bigfoot sightings, cryptids, ghosts, and the unusual folklore surrounding Mono Lake. Maybe the Chemung poltergeist is simply another legend created by an abandoned mine and generations of visitors telling stories around campfires. Maybe the story of the murdered mine owner was borrowed from another tragedy and attached to Chemung. But standing beside those collapsing buildings, looking into the darkness of an old mine tunnel, it’s easy to understand how the legend survived. Because according to the old story, somebody went down into the Chemung Mine and never came back out. And if you happen to visit on a Saturday night… *he might still be there.*