Haunted places in California
17 documented places
California's ghost stories follow the state's history in layers. The oldest belong to the Spanish era, at Mission San Juan Capistrano, founded in 1776 and scarred by the church collapse of 1812. Then come the Gold Rush, with Murphys Hotel in Calaveras County, and early San Diego, where the Whaley House stands on the ground where "Yankee Jim" Robinson was hanged.
The best-known stories belong to the state's big attractions: the Hotel del Coronado and Kate Morgan, found shot on a beach stair in 1892; the Hollywood Roosevelt, host of the first Oscars; the Queen Mary at Long Beach; Alcatraz; and Sarah Winchester's mansion in San Jose.
Not every reputation survives a look at the sources. The brothel and murder legends of the Glen Tavern Inn appear to be invented, the Whittier Mansion's reputation rests on one 1989 book, and the Stow House story rests almost entirely on a 2023 television episode. We say so on each page.
Every place, most famous first
RMS Queen Mary
California, United States
The 1936 Cunard liner moored as a hotel in Long Beach, California, famed for tales of a girl at the pool, a crewman at Door 13 and a haunted cabin, B340.
Winchester Mystery House
California, United States
Sarah Winchester's 160-room San Jose mansion, built for decades until 1922: the facts behind the rifle-ghost legend, the TV visits and the tours today.
Hotel del Coronado
California, United States
The Del, Coronado's huge 1888 wooden beach resort near San Diego, where Kate Morgan, found shot on a beach stair in 1892, is said to haunt her old room.
Whaley House
California, United States
Old Town San Diego's 1857 Whaley House, built on the ground where 'Yankee Jim' Robinson was hanged, is known for heavy footsteps and Whaley family ghosts.
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
California, United States
The San Francisco Bay island prison (1934-1963), whose ghost lore of cell 14-D and Capone's banjo comes from books and TV. The Park Service doesn't endorse it.
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
California, United States
1927 Hollywood hotel, host of the first Oscars, said to keep Marilyn Monroe in a mirror, Montgomery Clift on the 9th floor and a girl in blue by the pool.
Leonis Adobe
California, United States
An 1840s ranch house in Calabasas, California, now a museum, where Basque rancher Miguel Leonis is said to drop his boots upstairs and leave a scent of soap.
Amargosa Opera House and Hotel
California, United States
A 1920s borax company hotel and theater in Death Valley Junction, revived by dancer Marta Becket, where guests report voices, a ghost cat and a crying child.
Mission San Juan Capistrano
California, United States
Mission San Juan Capistrano (1776), Orange County: the 1812 church collapse, Magdalena's candlelit face, the faceless monk and a 2013 Ghost Hunters visit.
Glen Tavern Inn
California, United States
The Glen Tavern Inn, a 1911 Tudor-style hotel in Santa Paula, California, seen on Ghost Adventures, though its brothel and murder legends appear to be invented.
Murphys Hotel
California, United States
Murphys Hotel, a Gold Rush inn in Calaveras County, California, opened in 1856; staff call Room 9 its most active room, but the ghost lore is thin.
Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant
California, United States
Restored 1820s Bandini adobe turned stagecoach hotel in Old Town San Diego, where Ysidora Bandini is said to haunt Room 11 alongside a ghostly cat.
Woodside Store
California, United States
The 1854 redwood Woodside Store in San Mateo County, California, a pioneer store turned museum, said to be haunted by the ghost of Doc Tripp's giant dog.
Berkeley Faculty Club
California, United States
UC Berkeley's 1902 Faculty Club by Bernard Maybeck, where a long-resident history professor is said to recite poetry and a gentlemanly ghost keeps watch.
El Adobe de Capistrano
California, United States
A San Juan Capistrano restaurant in two Spanish-era adobes, including an 1812 jail whose cell, now a wine cellar, is said to be haunted, plus a headless friar.
Stow House
California, United States
An 1873 Carpenter Gothic ranch house in Goleta, California, now a history museum, whose ghost story rests almost entirely on a 2023 Ghost Adventures episode.
Whittier Mansion
California, United States
A sandstone 1896 mansion in San Francisco's Pacific Heights that briefly served Nazi Germany in 1941; its haunted reputation rests on one 1989 book.
On the map
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