All states / California
Explore 55 haunted places in California. Read ghost stories, local history, source notes, and visiting information in the PHASM Haunted Atlas.
San Jose, California · Historic house
Sarah Winchester’s sprawling San Jose mansion carries two intertwined mysteries: the extraordinary house she built and the stories later told about why she built it. Voices reported without visible speakers and basement haunting traditions accompany rooms that preserve decades of alteration and craftsmanship.
Crescent City, California · Other
Battery Point Lighthouse's ghost lore comes largely from accounts attributed to keepers and docents. HauntBound describes footsteps climbing toward the lantern room, a rocking chair apparently moving without an occupant, displaced slippers, and cigar odors in otherwise empty rooms. Some storytellers identify a longtime keeper, while others suggest multiple presences; those identities remain conjectural. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
Silverado, California · Natural landmark
Black Star Canyon's hiking folklore includes unexplained voices, drumming-like sounds, a woman in white, and a dark figure described by some witnesses as a demon. HauntBound attributes these accounts to hikers, paranormal communities, and regional tour narratives. Claims identifying Indigenous figures or assigning a supernatural cause remain interpretations, not established history. The canyon is included as a recognizable named landscape, with legal trails and present land-management restrictions taking priority over any legend or suggested nighttime exploration. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
Bodie, California · Ghost town
Bodie’s abandoned storefronts carry a curious curse: people who take even a small relic are said to be haunted by misfortune until they return it.
Placerville, California · Hotel
The Cary House's most familiar ghost is a former employee called Stan, whose turbulent death is part of the hotel's oral tradition. HauntBound describes guests hearing doorknobs turn and footsteps approach, only to find the corridor empty. Another recurring account concerns piano music audible from a particular point near the staircase, while other retellings add a disappearing cat or woman. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
Santa Barbara, California · Other
Casa de la Guerra's ghost tradition centers on a woman in dark clothing said to appear near the rear of the property. HauntBound recounts competing guide interpretations, including a woman searching for her husband and a more general connection to the house's domestic past. Neither proposed identity is established by historical records cited in the account. The adobe's long family history gives the story its setting without resolving who, if anyone, witnesses encountered. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
Los Angeles, California · Hotel
Chateau Marmont appears in Los Angeles ghost lore through celebrity sightings said to continue after death. Visit California specifically recounts reported appearances of John Belushi and photographer Helmut Newton. HauntBound emphasizes that much of the hotel's paranormal reputation circulates through informal stories and tour narratives rather than organized investigations. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
Pasadena, California · Road or bridge
Colorado Street Bridge's ghost stories include a man in glasses who supposedly disappears during an encounter and a woman glimpsed on the span. HauntBound also recounts unexplained forms or sounds in the arroyo below. A construction-worker-in-concrete story is unverified oral tradition and is not presented as historical fact. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
West Hollywood, California · Other
The Comedy Store's ghost lore reaches back to its earlier life as Ciro's nightclub. HauntBound recounts staff and performer stories of a uniformed man nicknamed Gus, a figure in a bomber jacket, and a woman resembling a showgirl. The basement also appears in investigator anecdotes, including an account of sudden physical distress. The club's former and present names refer to the same venue, and neither its backstage history nor a paranormal reputation grants access to nonpublic spaces. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
Culver City, California · Hotel
Culver Hotel folklore focuses on Harry Culver's former office and the nearby corridor. HauntBound recounts staff stories of a figure resembling the founder, windows slamming in an empty room, and a supposed continuing interest in the office safe. That last detail is a storytelling explanation rather than a confirmed motive or identity. These are employee traditions associated with a working hotel, with ordinary hospitality access and guest privacy taking precedence over ghost-hunting curiosity. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
San Diego, California · Other
The Davis-Horton House's reported hauntings include a woman in Victorian clothing, unexplained meowing upstairs, and a male figure associated by storytellers with Karl Offer. HauntBound also recounts moving cold spots, whispered names, and touches reported by visitors. The historic house's different occupants supply competing interpretations of who the figures might be. Its supernatural reputation has been reinforced by television and paranormal programs, rather than established by those appearances. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
Sacramento, California · Hotel
The Delta King's haunted reputation follows the riverboat into its present hotel and theater role. HauntBound recounts staff stories of a male figure, interpreted as a former captain, watching from a theater balcony or walking an upper deck. A young blonde girl, sudden drafts, and lights behaving oddly appear in other versions of the lore. The captain is not securely tied to a named historical death aboard the vessel. These details make a specific Sacramento waterfront ghost tradition while leaving the identities and supernatural causes appropriately uncertain. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
Wilmington, California · Other
Drum Barracks' ghost stories include footsteps, dragging sounds, tobacco odors, and displaced objects, with the Model Room often singled out. HauntBound recounts a woman called Maria in old-fashioned dress, sometimes associated with perfume, and a visitor's encounter with a man dressed as a Civil War soldier. Staff interviews and television features helped circulate these accounts. As a museum housed in surviving military quarters, the site combines interpretive history with anecdotal haunting traditions rather than verified supernatural evidence. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
San Diego, California · Cemetery
Old Town San Diego’s El Campo Santo holds stories of restless spirits associated with graves disturbed by city streets.
Eureka, California · Hotel
Eureka Inn folklore includes an elegantly dressed figure known as the Top Hat Man, reportedly seen around the lobby, elevator, and piano. HauntBound attributes those accounts partly to writer Kathleen Berry's collection of staff experiences. A second tradition concerns a young girl on an upper floor, with drawers said to open when guests look away. These are recurring local accounts rather than independently demonstrated hauntings, and named room reputations should not be read as an assurance that an overnight guest will experience anything unusual. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
Eureka, California · Natural landmark
Fort Humboldt's haunted reputation centers on the surviving hospital building. HauntBound recounts a figure seen at a window, commonly identified in local lore as a former commander, along with objects reportedly moved between staff visits. Other stories mention voices, shadows, and doors operating in apparently empty spaces. The park's historical interpretation and its ghost folklore are separate layers; visitors should respect the buildings and the site's serious military and Indigenous history. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
Santa Monica, California · Hotel
At Santa Monica's Georgian Hotel, staff anecdotes form the core of the haunted reputation. HauntBound recounts a greeting heard in an empty hallway, calls apparently originating in unoccupied rooms, and footsteps after hours. A briefly transparent figure is associated with the former speakeasy space, though no secure historical identity is attached. The hotel's restaurant and guestrooms share one historic-property profile, and its supernatural reputation should not be mistaken for unrestricted access throughout the building. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
Santa Paula, California · Hotel
At Glen Tavern Inn, much of the ghost lore centers on the upper floors and the names Calvin and Rose. HauntBound describes them as a gambler and a woman connected to the building's supposed Prohibition-era nightlife, while cautioning that their stories lack firm identification in primary records. Other accounts describe a child in the lobby or second-floor passages, a window apparition, and occasional notes from an unattended piano. The haunting is best presented as the hotel's evolving folklore, with access governed by ordinary guest and event arrangements. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
Beverly Hills, California · Historic house
Greystone Mansion's ghost reputation draws on accounts of sounds and cries inside the house, attributed in older folklore listings to nighttime staff. HauntBound links that tradition with the widely discussed deaths of Ned Doheny and Hugh Plunkett, while noting that the property's public interpretation does not corroborate supernatural claims. The unresolved questions around historical events should not be filled with ghost-story certainty. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
Eureka, California · Hotel
Historic Eagle House's ghost stories include a tobacco-associated figure called the Captain, a kitchen presence called Frank, and a woman named Abigail connected with disruptive restroom incidents. HauntBound also recounts a trickster child and a red ball on the upper floors. Staircases feature prominently in reports of people who seem to disappear before a witness reaches them. The identities come from successive retellings by staff and visitors rather than confirmed historical matches. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
Los Angeles, California · Theater
Hollywood Pantages Theatre folklore includes a tall man in upper-floor corridors, often interpreted as Howard Hughes because of his former offices there. HauntBound recounts pacing and apparent passage through walls where earlier doorways are said to have existed. A separate story concerns a woman glimpsed around the mezzanine, with cold spots and a sense of occupancy appearing in staff retellings. Historical association alone does not identify an apparition. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
San Diego, California · Hotel
Horton Grand Hotel lore centers on the names Roger Whitaker and Ida Bailey. HauntBound recounts a gambler story associated with shaking beds, shifting bathroom objects, and the impression of someone resting on a freshly made bed. Another tradition describes a woman or mist linked to Bailey and the surrounding historic district. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.
Coronado, California · Hotel
The most famous lingering guest at the Hotel del Coronado is Kate Morgan, whose 1892 death has given the seaside hotel more than a century of ghost stories.
Mendocino, California · Hotel
MacCallum House's ghost tradition is unusually tied to its own room descriptions: a former family bedroom is associated with Donald MacCallum. HauntBound recounts rocking chairs moving gently, footsteps on wooden floors, flickering lights, opening doors, and occasional floral scents. The supposed presence is generally characterized as benign. The family's documented residence explains the attribution without proving a spirit remains. All rooms and dining areas stay within one historic-house profile, with no claim that a booking guarantees paranormal activity. A single secondary directory remains the principal detailed story source unless additional story evidence is listed. No paranormal claims are independently proven.