Haunted Places in California

Come on a journey with me to look at five haunted places in California. Many say that movie stars haunt one of these places, a battleship-turned-hotel, and its various ghosts.

Buckle Up and get ready for these haunted places in California:

The Queen Mary

Nicknamed the Grey Ghost, the builders constructed the Queen Mary to cross the Atlantic.

There are many different places that are notably the more haunted areas. The first room we will be exploring is the Stateroom B340, and this room has had problems even before it became a hotel. In 1948, a man died in the room and the circumstances of his death are unknown. A woman reported being woken up, in 1966, by someone pulling off her bed covers. When she looked at the foot of the bed, she saw a man standing there. She screamed for the steward and the man disappeared. Still to this day mysterious things happen like someone knocking on the door in the dead of night, the bathroom lights turning on, and even the bathroom’s water is running despite no one staying in the room for days.

The next room is the Mauretania room. The story goes that in 1989 two women went to clean the room for a VIP reception. When the women entered the room, they found someone sitting on a chair in the middle of the room and not speaking. When the third woman came to help, she said that the person was staring and asked the person to move, but they didn’t move. So, they went to call security and the person faded right in front of them.

The hotel has converted the Mayfair room, formerly the beauty salon, into offices. In 2001 a worker came in early to get to work, about 5-5:30am, and she felt like things were a little off. She brushed off the feeling and went about her tasks before sitting down at her desk not too much later she felt as if someone brushed up against the back of her chair. A few moments after she saw a figure in white walk across the room and go through the door.

The next place, First Class Swimming Pool, but it hasn’t been used because of issues with the California codes. Many people have seen a few different ghosts. One is a young woman in a tennis skirt that walks downstairs and disappears behind a pillar, another is a woman in a wedding gown next to the pool with a little boy in a suit, and one more is a little girl in a blue and white dress who seems to disappear in a moment. 

The last place that I will be going over is Hatch Door #13 aka Shaft Alley. This is actually the site of an awful accident that had one of the crewmen crushed to death. Many people claim to hear someone running behind them and regularly see the ghost of the young man around the area. Other people have reported to have made contact with the crewman when they noticed spots of greasy fingerprints on their face.
If you would like to learn more about this haunted hotel check out this blog and this video by the Buzzfeed Unsolved team.

Alcatraz

Many people are already aware of the maximum security and minimum privilege prison that held the worst of the worst. Not surprising, but there are many different ghosts who have never left the confines of Alcatraz.

Cell 14D is said to be extremely haunted. Alcatraz punished prisoners who broke its strict rules by using this cell. In the 1940s a man had died in this exact cell. The guards found him strangled on the floor. There is the rumor that the night before his death he was screaming about a creature with glowing eyes trying to kill him.

In the cell blocks A, B, and C there have been reports of visitors hearing crying and moaning. A psychic had reported encountering a spirit named Butcher. When they checked, there was a man with the nickname Butcher that was assassinated in the 1940s.

If you choose to go visit Alcatraz make sure that you are listening for banjo music from Al Capone. The infamous gangster would often strum along with the prison’s banjo band. He worried that he would be killed if he practiced in the open, so he practiced in the showers.

To learn more about the hauntings of Alcatraz check out the Watchers investigation of Alcatraz. After reading all about Alcatraz make sure to check out this website to book a tour if you dare!

The Whaley House

Before it was even built, the Whaley House was already haunted. How is that possible? The town famously executed people on the site where they built the house.

The most famous of the executions was the execution of a thief by the name of Yankee Jim Robinson. He often makes eerie noises, loud footsteps, and leaves footprints. Yankee has been haunting since he died and would scare the family members of the Whaley household.

The Whaley family turned a portion of their house into a general store when they moved in with Thomas, his wife, and their children. Unfortunately, after the family moved in their young son Thomas died of scarlet fever inside the house. Some say that you can hear tiny footsteps, a baby crying, and some even say they can hear him giggling.

Misfortune followed them a few months later when the general store caught fire. After the fire, the family moved to San Francisco for a few years and then returned to live in the house. A few years later another tragedy hit the family when one of their younger daughters, Violet, ended up getting a divorce and committed suicide by shooting herself in the chest. Many people report seeing a young woman on the second floor of the house and many people believe this to be Violet.

People have also seen/heard Thomas and Anna, Thomas’s wife. People have seen Thomas dressed in his coat and top hat. Some People say that they can smell Anna’s signature French perfume. The crystals in the music room have swung with no prompt while the lights have turned on and off by themselves.

If you would like to learn more and even book a tour of the place this website has a lot of information and you can book a tour from them. You can also check out the Watchers investigation of the Whaley House for more info as well.

Point Sur Lighthouse

At this light house (as it seems to be with many lighthouses) is the site of many shipwrecks. The section of the coast is also the site where an airship, the USS Macon, crashed in 1935. One of the volunteers at the lighthouse has heard a female voice many different times saying things like “Now she wants you to go home” and “Pokey, go to bed”. The volunteer believes this voice to be from Catherine Ingersoll, the wife of a lighthouse keeper.

Ruth, a female ghost, reportedly haunts the kitchen, cooking as she did when alive. Ruth will often close doors in the kitchen. The volunteer believes that the ghosts that are currently there are nice and aren’t malevolent.

This same volunteer has seen many different apparitions. One was a woman, in her late 30s maybe early 40s, with long sleeves and a poofy long skirt. The woman looked up at the volunteer and then disappeared. The volunteer has also said to have encountered a male ghost looking in one of the windows as she was cleaning.

This blog has a long interview with the volunteer that has experienced these happenings. It also has a video of some evidence that the volunteer had gathered on her own and with the reporter.

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

People say the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in California is one of the most haunted places in the state. Located in the heart of Hollywood, the hotel has been a popular destination for celebrities and tourists alike since its opening in 1927. The hotel has been the site of many paranormal sightings and reports over the years. Montgomery Clift’s ghost, a silent film star, is said to haunt the hotel’s hallways and lobby bar.

Marilyn Monroe, a frequent ghostly guest at the hotel, and a mysterious woman in white are said to wander the corridors. The hotel has also been the site of many unexplained occurrences such as lights flickering, strange noises, and unexplained cold spots. There have been reports of items moving on their own, and even the occasional ghostly apparition.

It’s no surprise that the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, with its long and storied history, is considered one of the most haunted places in California. The hotel remains a popular destination for those looking for a unique and spooky experience. To check out more about this place click here.

Thanks for Reading all About the Haunted Places in California!

Thank you for joining me on another spooky journey through one of the 50 states. If you would like to learn more about spooky things in California check out the Cryptids of California. Don’t forget to check out the other haunted places in the USA and the Cryptids of the USA.