1888 Bath House – Chime’s Antiques

The 1888 Bath House, currently operating as Chime's Antiques, stands as a historic commercial structure in Lake Elsinore, California, originally constructed in 1887 as the ornate Crescent Bath House and designed in the elaborate Moorish architectural style popular among resort establishments of the Victorian era. The building was constructed during California's late nineteenth century boom period when hot spring resorts and bath houses represented significant commercial ventures catering to wealthy clientele seeking therapeutic water treatments and recreational leisure in newly developed regional resort communities. The specific choice of Moorish architectural styling reflects the eclectic aesthetic preferences of the era and the aspirations of proprietors seeking to create exotic, luxurious environments distinct from the quotidian landscape of period American commerce. During its operational history as a bathhouse and subsequent transformations into various commercial uses, the building witnessed multiple tragic incidents that appear to have left profound spiritual imprints on the physical structure and its interior spaces. The most extensively documented paranormal associations involve the drowning death of a young boy identified as the son of a local mayor or prominent civic leader, an incident occurring in 1939 within the bathhouse facilities and representing a catastrophic loss within the community. An additional documented tragedy involves the death of a young girl who was struck and killed by a horse and carriage in 1898, an accident that occurred on or near the property and resulted in fatal injuries inflicted with sudden violence. Beyond these documented cases, paranormal researchers and long-term occupants report evidence suggesting the presence of a murdered man whose death circumstances remain shrouded in incomplete historical documentation, adding an additional layer of unexplained tragic death to the structure's history. Paranormal phenomena reported throughout the building are extensive and multifaceted, concentrated particularly in the basement areas and in the sections of the interior where antique china dolls are currently displayed and stored. Visitors and employees report full-body apparitions of the drowned boy appearing in various locations, sometimes accompanied by the sound of splashing water despite the absence of active water features in the spaces where apparitions manifest. Disembodied voices, including cries, moans, and unintelligible whispers, emanate from the basement and throughout the building's interior, particularly during evening and nighttime hours when fewer living occupants are present. Unexplained sounds including footsteps, scraping, and what investigators describe as the sound of objects being moved or manipulated occur in spaces with no current occupants or activity. Cold spots appear spontaneously in specific rooms and vanish without apparent environmental cause, suggesting localized manifestations of residual or conscious spirit energy. The apparition of the young girl is reported with somewhat less frequency than that of the drowned boy, though witnesses describe her appearance in period-appropriate clothing consistent with late nineteenth century fashion. Paranormal investigators have documented extensive evidence of the building's haunted status through audio recordings, photographic analysis, and eyewitness accounts from diverse visitors and staff members, establishing the 1888 Bath House as one of California's more thoroughly documented haunted structures.