Villa Montezuma (Jesse Sheppard's House)

Jesse Sheppard’s house was built in 1887 and Neo and I decided to pay the beautiful, colorful, castle like structure a visit one dark and spooky night. Sheppard was a musician known for channeling spirits and would play Mozart on one hand and Chopin on the other. That night we drove to the front of the Sheppard house and didn’t really feel much of a presence, just a lady.

Then Neo decided to drive to the back of the house where you could see the rear tower. As soon as the dark silhouetted tower came into sight he felt this dark and evil presence that was extremely angry.
I felt the negative vibe as well since my side of the car was facing the tower. I was overwhelmed with fear and couldn’t look out the window. I think my window was down and I could feel an icy breeze tickle my cheek.

He didn’t stop the car, he drove further down the street and did a u-turn and came back around to see if the presence was really there. He did this against my will. I wanted to get away from the place. I was getting bad vibes. I didn’t want to look at the area, I kept her eyes closed and looked away from the house. He drove by again anyway and once again he felt the same presence exactly how he felt it the last time.

We started driving away from the house and I slowly started losing my breath. I felt like hands were slowly wrapping around my neck, getting tighter no matter how much I clawed at my throat the invisible hands kept clinching tighter and tighter.

My heart was beating out of my chest and I felt I was slowly being suffocated, losing focus and about to black out. I started crying, I was overcome with emotion. It wasn’t just fear that was running through my veins; I felt my heart drop into my stomach, I was utterly devastated.

I started hyperventilating and grabbing more frantically at my neck at invisible hands or rope, whatever was stealing my breath from me. I couldn’t feel my hands scrapping at my throat anymore. My neck was numb and the lights were starting to fade. It felt evil, so evil. Just when I thought I might lose consciousness the hands slowly loosened, feeling came back to my neck, and I was becoming more aware of my surroundings.

We were on the freeway rapidly putting distance between ourselves and the Villa. The presence had made itself known and it was going to mess with me as long as we stayed near it. So to clear my mind we drove downtown.

Months after this experience I was doing research for my story about the Villa Montezuma and I found out that Jesse Shepard had a servant that hung himself in the south tower after his wife died. Was the servant’s spirit making me feel his pain, had I angered him, did I remind him of someone? I may never know the answer but I do not like going by that house at night.

A unique modern castle-like home, Villa Montezuma is extreme in its appearance and in the ghosts that haunt it. Jesse Shepard (the owner) was a spiritualist musician and writer when the house was built in 1887 and would hold séances channeling Chopin on one hand and Mozart on the other. But when you open up to good spirits you sometimes get the bad as well. Jesse Shepard himself is said to haunt the villa as well as a woman and his former servant who, tormented with grief, hung himself in the tower after his wife passed away. Visitors have heard piano music coming from the locked séance room and a sad, mournful apparition is seen peering through the window of the cupola.