The following are reportedly haunted locations in California, in the United States. This list is sorted by county.
Butte County
* The local
Bangor fire-station 55 was allegedly haunted for several years by a wailing spirit. In 2009 the station was torn down, releasing the spirit which according to legend can still be heard echoing through the hills to this day.
Los Angeles County
* The
Hollywood Sign
The Hollywood Sign is an American landmark and cultural icon overlooking Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Originally the Hollywoodland Sign, it is situated on Mount Lee, in the Beachwood Canyon area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Spelling ...
in the
Hollywood Hills
The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California.
Geography
The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains.
The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...
neighborhood of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
is reported by believers to be haunted by the ghost of actress
Peg Entwistle
Millicent Lilian "Peg" Entwistle (5 February 1908 – 16 September 1932) was a British stage and screen actress. She began her stage career in 1925, appearing in several Broadway productions. She appeared in only one film, '' Thirteen Women'', ...
, who committed suicide by jumping off the "H" letter of the sign, out of grief and intoxication.
* The
Lincoln Heights Jail
Lincoln Heights Jail is a former jail building complex in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located adjacent to the Los Angeles River and situated about southwest of the Lincoln/Cypress station. The original building ...
in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles is allegedly haunted by the seven inmates who were beaten by guards on what is known today as
Bloody Christmas.
* The
RMS Queen Mary
RMS ''Queen Mary'' is a retired British ocean liner that sailed primarily on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard-White Star Line and was built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. ''Queen Mary'', along with , ...
is a retired British
ocean liner
An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships).
Ca ...
permanently moored in the harbor of
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
that offers ghost tours for its supposed
hauntings
The list of reportedly haunted locations throughout the world, that are locations said to be haunted by ghosts or other supernatural beings, including demons. Reports of haunted locations are part of ghostlore, which is a form of folklore.
Ar ...
.
* The Vogue Theater projection room is said to be haunted by a ghost named "Fritz" who was a former projectionist at the Vogue Theater.
*
The Viper Room
The Viper Room is a nightclub and live music venue located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. It was established as The Viper Room in 1993 and was partly owned by actor Johnny Depp. The other part owner was Sal J ...
is a famous nightclub in
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...
,
West Hollywood
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...
. The club was claimed to be haunted after the incident that caused the death of actor
River Phoenix
River Jude Phoenix (; August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993) was an American actor, musician and activist.
Phoenix grew up in an itinerant family, as the older brother of Rain Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix, and Summer Phoenix. He ha ...
in 1993. Claims include the disappearance of its ex-owner and bad luck among club goers.
* The
Cecil Hotel is said to be the most haunted hotel in the county. The hotel is known for hosting many murders, suicide, and other unnatural deaths. The latest death in the hotel was the death of Canadian student
Elisa Lam
On February 19, 2013, the body of Canadian tourist Elisa Lam (; born Lam Ho-yi) was recovered from a large cistern atop the Stay on Main hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, where she had been a guest. She was last seen alive on January 31 and was re ...
in 2013.
Marin County
* '
Camp Bothin'' was an old tuberculosis hospital and an Indian residence before it was made into a
Girl Scout
Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...
camp. It is said you can see the ghost of a nurse pushing a cart down the halls, patients who died there moaning, and even Native American Spirits.
Monterey County
* Restaurant 1833 in
Monterey
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...
takes its name from the year the building was built. Previously it was Stokes Bar & Restaurant, named for proprietor James Stokes, an English sailor who masqueraded as a physician. He committed suicide after his sons caught him ''
in flagrante
''In flagrante delicto'' (Latin for "in blazing offence") or sometimes simply ''in flagrante'' ("in blazing") is a legal term used to indicate that a criminal has been caught in the act of committing an offence (compare ). The colloquial "caught ...
'' with his daughter and now haunts his former bar, along with Hattie Gragg, a later tenant of the place. Patrons reportedly hear an unseen person whisper, "Excuse me, can you help me?"
Orange County
*
El Adobe de Capistrano
El Adobe de Capistrano, or El Adobe, is a restaurant located in at 31891 Camino Capistrano in San Juan Capistrano, California. It has been operated since 1948 and is in a building composed of two historic adobes near Mission San Juan Capistrano. ...
Restaurant in
San Juan Capistrano
San Juan Capistrano (Spanish for "St. John of Capistrano") is a city in Orange County, California, located along the Orange Coast. The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census.
San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when St. ...
, which comprises the home of Miguel Yorba built in 1797 and the town's Juzgado (court and jail) built in 1812, is reported to house a ghost in former jail cell, now the restaurant's wine cellar.
[Rubin, Saul, Southern California Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, p. 130, Pequot 2004.] In addition there have been reports of a headless
friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
in front of the restaurant.
*
Black Star Canyon
Black Star Canyon is a remote mountain canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains, located in eastern Orange County, California. It is a watershed of the Santa Ana River. Black Star Canyon is a popular destination for mountain bikers as well as hikers du ...
, in the
Santa Ana Mountains
The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside co ...
above
Irvine Irvine may refer to:
Places On Earth Antarctica
*Irvine Glacier
*Mount Irvine (Antarctica)
Australia
*Irvine Island
*Mount Irvine, New South Wales
Canada
*Irvine, Alberta
* Irvine Inlet, Nunavut
United Kingdom
*Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotla ...
, was the site of an Indian massacre in 1831, a murder in 1899, and a fatal road accident in the 1970s. It is reportedly the site of various cult activities, cryptid sightings, and paranormal events, and is frequented by ghost hunters. It is said to be haunted by the ghosts of Spanish conquistadors (taking the form of black penguin-like apparitions) and a primate-like cryptid known as "Black Star Sam".
*
Katie Wheeler Library The Katie Wheeler Library is a public library in Irvine, California. The current structure was built on land that belonged to the Irvine family. In 2008, the site was dedicated as a historical landmark.
History
The original structure of the Katie W ...
, in
Irvine Irvine may refer to:
Places On Earth Antarctica
*Irvine Glacier
*Mount Irvine (Antarctica)
Australia
*Irvine Island
*Mount Irvine, New South Wales
Canada
*Irvine, Alberta
* Irvine Inlet, Nunavut
United Kingdom
*Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotla ...
was the original ranch of the Irvine family. Now in use as a library, some report seeing a woman in blue, believed to be Kathryn Helena Irvine. The ghost of a "tall man" has also been reported and this is believed to be the ghost of James Irvine.
*
Yorba Cemetery
Yorba Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Yorba Linda, California, originally part of Bernardo Yorba's Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana. It was deeded to the County of Orange in 1967.
In 1858, the 40,000 square-foot plot of land was willed to the Cath ...
, in
Yorba Linda, California
Yorba Linda is a suburban city in northeastern Orange County, California, United States, approximately southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and had a population of 68,336 at the 2020 census.
Yor ...
is allegedly haunted by the Pink Lady. The legend is that she appears on June 15th of every other year. Her identity is unknown but believed to be a woman who died in an accident coming home after a high school dance.
San Diego County
![San Diego - Whaley House 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/San_Diego_-_Whaley_House_01.jpg)
* The
Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado, also known as The Del and Hotel Del, is a historic beachfront hotel in the city of Coronado, just across the San Diego Bay from San Diego, California. A rare surviving example of an American architectural genre—the wooden V ...
,
Coronado, California
Coronado (Spanish for "Crowned") is a resort city located in San Diego County, California, United States, across the San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. It was founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1890. Its population was 24,697 at the ...
was completed in 1888, and its best-known ghost story centers around a woman named
Kate Morgan
Kate Morgan ( – November 28, 1892) was an American woman who died under mysterious circumstances, and is thought by locals to now haunt the Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, California. She was buried at nearby Mount Hope Cemetery in Division 5 ...
who checked into the hotel days before her suicide in 1892. In the 1980s, a San Diego historian identified Kate Morgan as the hotel's Victorian Lady in Black ghost. After Morgan became the hotel's most famous ghost, the details surrounding the real Morgan's mysterious death became the subject of many conspiracies and ghostlore that continue to this day. But Kate Morgan may not be the only alleged ghost haunting the grand, Victorian hotel as there are over 30 documented deaths at the hotel from 1890 to 1980.
[Owens, Craig. ''Haunted by History Vol. 1: Separating the Facts and Legends of Eight Historic Hotels and Inns in Southern California''. Sad Hill LLC.]
* The
Whaley House in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
was built by the Thomas Whaley family in 1857. The home once hosted the town courthouse, general store, granary, theater, and morgue. It evolved into a commercial hub of
early San Diego, before "
New Town
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
" was developed several miles to the south. This National Historic Landmark, now a museum, is allegedly haunted by members of the Whaley family as well as a man who was hanged on the spot before the house was built. It has been called "the most haunted house in America" by
Life Magazine
''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...
.
* Near the Whaley House is the
Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant
The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant in the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is a registered national historic landmark, built in the early 19th century by Juan Bandini and later purchased by Albert Seeley to serve as a stagecoach hotel. In ...
, also known for at least one ghost in residence, the daughter of its original owner
Juan Bandini
Juan Bandini (1800 – November 4, 1859) was a Peruvian-born Californio public figure, politician, and ranchero. He is best known for his role in the development of San Diego in the mid-19th century.
Early history
Bandini was born in 1800 in Lima ...
. Reports also claim hauntings by a wandering cat and
Lady in Red.
* Rancho Buena Vista Adobe, a historic rancho in
Vista
Vista usually refers to a distant view.
Vista may also refer to:
Software
*Windows Vista, the line of Microsoft Windows client operating systems released in 2006 and 2007
*VistA, (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) ...
dating from 1852, has been reported to be one of the most active paranormal locations in
San Diego North County.
* The Avo Playhouse, a 1948 cinema in Vista converted to a playhouse, where apparitions, mysterious footsteps and cold drafts have been reported since the 1990s.
* The
Escondido Public Library
The Escondido Public Library is a public library system serving the city of Escondido, which is situated in San Diego County, California.
The collection of the library contains 166,629 volumes, circulates 514,792 items per year and serves a
pop ...
, a 40,000-square-foot, two-story library opened in 1980 in
Escondido, where employees and volunteers have reported disembodied voices, unexplained equipment malfunctions, cold spots and sightings.
* The
San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park
San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park honors the soldiers who fought in the 1846 Battle of San Pasqual, the bloodiest battle in California during the Mexican–American War. The battle was fought between United States troops under the co ...
, site of the 1846
Battle of San Pasqual
The Battle of San Pasqual, also spelled San Pascual, was a military encounter that occurred during the Mexican–American War in what is now the San Pasqual Valley community of the city of San Diego, California. The series of military skirmishes ...
, the bloodiest battle in California during the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
. Witnesses have reported seeing ghostly soldiers in uniform on horseback, and heard voices, including one who mentioned
Andres Pico
Andres or Andrés may refer to:
*Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US
*Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France
*Andres (name)
*Hurricane Andres
* "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7
See also ...
, the leader of the
Californios
Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californians, Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish language, Spanish-s ...
.
* The Julian Gold Rush Hotel and the Pioneer Cemetery in
Julian, have reported sightings of ghosts from the town's
Gold Rush
A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...
era.
* Employees of the
Del Mar Fairgrounds
The Del Mar Fairgrounds is a event venue in Del Mar, California. The annual San Diego County Fair is held here, which was called the Del Mar Fair from 1984 to 2001. In 1936, the Del Mar Racetrack was built by the Thoroughbred Club with foundin ...
have reported seeing floating apparitions on the top floor of the grandstand, and a paranormal research group recorded a figure moving through the room.
San Francisco
* The
Queen Anne Hotel in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
is a historic hotel in Pacific Heights. The Hotel used to be a girls boarding school in the 1800s. The headmaster, Mary Lake, is believed to still haunt the hotel.
*The
Hotel Union, particularly room 207, has been reported to be haunted
*
Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pris ...
and
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, also known simply as Alcatraz (, ''"the gannet"'') or The Rock was a maximum security federal prison on Alcatraz Island, off the coast of San Francisco, California, United States, the site of a for ...
are rumored to be haunted by some of the 1,576 inmates that lived there, and before that
Miwok
The Miwok (also spelled Miwuk, Mi-Wuk, or Me-Wuk) are members of four linguistically related Native American groups indigenous to what is now Northern California, who traditionally spoke one of the Miwok languages in the Utian family. The word ' ...
Indians believed that evil spirits inhabited the island.
*
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...
, Over 1000 people have committed suicide by jumping off the Bridge, resulting in claims of it being haunted.
*
Chambers Mansion
The Chambers Mansion is a historic house that was built in 1887, and is located at 2220 Sacramento Street in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California. In 2010, CBS News declared the Chambers Mansion one of the "scariest haunte ...
was owned by a wealthy businessman named
Robert Craig Chambers. The story goes, after Chambers passed away, two of his nieces inherited the home. One of the nieces, Claudia Chambers, was cut in half by farming equipment. The spirit of Claudia Chambers has been reported to look out windows along with turning the lights on and off at a rapid pace.
Santa Clara County
* In
Sunnyvale
Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California.
Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the north ...
,
Toys "R" Us
Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loc ...
employees claimed seeing unusual rearranging of toys in the aisles, and reported sightings of a man in his thirties dressed in old clothing. Most customers were unaware of this legend. The Toys "R" Us was closed in 2018, and in 2021 the building is now run by
REI
Rei or REI may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Rei, a story arc of the anime ''Higurashi When They Cry''
*Rei, a shapeshifting godlike dragon in the Australian webcomic series ''Vainglorious''
*Rei I, II and III, episodes of ''Neon Genesis Eva ...
.
![Winchester House 910px](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Winchester_House_910px.jpg)
*The
Winchester Mystery House
The Winchester Mystery House is a mansion in San Jose, California, that was once the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of firearms magnate William Wirt Winchester. The house became a tourist attraction nine months after Winc ...
in
San Jose is supposedly haunted by the ghost of its eccentric builder,
Sarah Winchester
Sarah Lockwood Winchester (née Pardee; 1839 – September 5, 1922) was an American heiress who amassed great wealth after the death of her husband, William Wirt Winchester, and her mother in law, Jane Ellen Hope. Her inheritance included $20 m ...
. She is said to have built the rambling mansion to protect her from the spirits of all those killed with her late husband's famous line of rifles.
Santa Barbara County
![Bell Tower of La Purisima Mission](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Bell_Tower_of_La_Purisima_Mission.jpg)
The
La Purisima Mission
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
is haunted by ghosts of the
Chumash Tribe who died from diseases that were brought by the Spaniards. People at the mission report eerie whispers, indistinct shapes, cold drafts, and more paranormal activity, including a Spirit Soldier. It was also included in the paranormal show ''
Scariest Places on Earth
''Scariest Places on Earth'' is an American paranormal reality television series that originally aired from October 23, 2000, to October 29, 2006, on Fox Family, and later ABC Family. The show was hosted by Linda Blair, with narration by Zelda Ru ...
''.
Ventura County
* The
Glen Tavern Inn is a historic 1911 Arts and Crafts hotel in
Santa Paula
Santa Paula (Spanish for " St. Paula") is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. Situated amid the orchards of the Santa Clara River Valley, the city advertises itself to tourists as the "Citrus Capital of the World". Santa Pau ...
, that is reportedly haunted by the ghosts of children and adults from the 1910s and 1920s era. The inn is believed to be one of the most actively haunted buildings in the county despite a number of urban legends attached to the hotel.
[Owens, Craig. ''Haunted by History Vol. 1: Separating the Facts and Legends of Eight Historic Hotels and Inns in Southern California''. Sad Hill LLC. ]
See also
*
Reportedly haunted locations in the San Francisco Bay Area
There are many reportedly haunted locations in San Francisco, California. According to ghost hunters, over 100 sites in the San Francisco Bay Area are reported to be haunted.
San Francisco
;Russian Hill
Manrow’s House, was built in 1851 by ...
*
List of reportedly haunted locations in the United States
This is a list of locations in the United States which have been reported to be haunted by ghosts or other supernatural beings, including demons.
States with several haunted locations are listed on separate pages, linked from this page. Many of t ...
References
{{Ghosts
California, Reportedly haunted locations in