Preston Castle

September is here, which means Strange Tides is heading back to school, Tide Riders—and trust me, this is one campus you definitely don't want to visit after dark. For the first installment of the Schoolhouse Scares saga, we're rolling into Ione, California, to explore the strange, tragic, and seriously spooky history of Preston Castle. Built in the 1890s as part of the Preston School of Industry, the massive Romanesque Revival fortress housed generations of young wards—and over the decades, its halls witnessed illness, punishment, escape attempts, violence, tragedy, and eventually abandonment But that's only half the story. Today, Preston Castle has earned a reputation as one of California's most haunted historic sites. We'll cruise through decades of reported paranormal encounters, from phantom footsteps and shadow figures to mysterious voices, unexplained touches, strange sensory experiences, and some downright bizarre overnight investigations. And naturally, we'll be paddling straight into the Tinfoil Teepee, where we'll ask the big question: Are we dealing with ghosts, residual memories, environmental weirdness, something created by human belief... or something WAY stranger? Grab your flashlight, Tide Riders. Class is officially in session. Sources: Preston Castle Foundation. “About Preston Castle.” *Preston Castle Foundation*. https://prestoncastle.org/about-us/ Preston Castle Foundation. “Preston Castle in Ione, CA.” Preston Castle Foundation - https://prestoncastle.org/ City of Ione. “Preston Castle.” City of Ione - https://www.ione.ca.gov/about-ione/page/preston-castle “Preston School of Industry.” Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_School_of_Industry “What’s the story of spooky Preston Castle in Ione CA?” The Sacramento Bee, September 14, 2024 - https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/history/article291051915.html McManis, Sam. “Discoveries: Ione’s Preston Castle opens up about its harsh, haunting past.” The Sacramento Bee, June 27, 2015 - https://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/travel/sam-mcmanis/article25499146.html “The Harsh, Eerie History Of Preston Castle.” Merced County Times, January 5, 2025 - https://mercedcountytimes.com/the-harsh-eerie-history-of-preston-castle/ “Explore Outdoors: Historic Ione castle, haunted or cool?” KCRA, November 1, 2024 - https://www.kcra.com/article/explore-outdoors-preston-castle-ione-amador-county/62764594 “Historic Haunt.” San Joaquin Magazine, 2020 - https://sanjoaquinmagazine.com/2020/09/historic-haunt/ “Preston Castle Haunt Marks 15 Years of Screams.” Ledger.news (On the Vine), October 2, 2025 - https://www.ledger.news/on_the_vine/preston-castle-haunt-marks-15-years-of-screams/article_d7eb6092-a6cb-4c1e-9929-55a7bced4796.html “Preston Castle.” Haunted US - https://hauntedus.com/california/preston-castle/ Josh N. “The Haunted Preston Castle.” Beyond Haunted, September 23, 2025 - https://beyondhaunted.com/california/preston-castle “Lowe-cation: Preston Castle” A&E, July 27, 2017 - https://www.aetv.com/articles/lowe-cation-preston-castle “What Happened in the Basement of Preston Castle?” Distractify, November 5, 2025. - https://www.distractify.com/p/what-happened-in-the-basement-of-preston-castle