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Reportedly haunted locations in California

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The following are reportedly haunted locations in California, in the United States. This list is sorted by county.

Alameda County

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  • The Alameda Naval Hospital located in Alameda, California was a 77 acre large complex completed in 1941 to serve U.S. soldiers during the Pacific War and later Vietnam War. The facility was closed in 1975 before becoming the Alameda FISC building until the building was finally closed and abandoned under congressional authorization in 1997. Visitors have claimed it is haunted by spirits.[1] The hospital’s main building was destroyed in 2009 after a two-alarm blaze was reported on the building grounds.[2]

Los Angeles County

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Orange County

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  • El Adobe de Capistrano Restaurant in San Juan Capistrano, which comprises the home of Miguel Yorba built in 1797 and the town's Juzgado (court and jail) built in 1812,[7] is reported to house a ghost in former jail cell, now the restaurant's wine cellar.[8] In addition there have been reports of a headless friar in front of the restaurant.[8]
  • Black Star Canyon, in the Santa Ana Mountains above Irvine, 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".[citation needed]
  • Katie Wheeler Library, in Irvine 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.[9][10]
  • Yorba Cemetery, in Yorba Linda, California, is allegedly haunted by the Pink Lady. The legend is that she appears on June 15 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.[11]

San Diego County

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Whaley House
  • The Hotel del Coronado, Coronado, California, was completed in 1888, and its best-known ghost story centers around a woman named Kate Morgan 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.[12]
  • The Whaley House in San Diego was built by the Thomas Whaley family in 1857.[13] 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" 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.[14]

San Francisco

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  • The Queen Anne Hotel in San Francisco 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.[15]
  • The Hotel Union, particularly room 207, has been reported to be haunted.[16]
  • Alcatraz Island and Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary are rumored to be haunted by some of the 1,576 inmates that lived there, and before that Miwok Indians believed that evil spirits inhabited the island.[17]
  • Golden Gate Bridge, Over 1000 people have committed suicide by jumping off the Bridge, resulting in claims of it being haunted.[18]
  • Chambers Mansion 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.[19]

Santa Clara County

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  • In Sunnyvale, Toys "R" Us 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.[20][21] The Toys "R" Us was closed in 2018, and in 2021 the building is now run by REI.
Winchester Mystery House
  • The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose is supposedly haunted by the ghost of its eccentric builder, Sarah Winchester. 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

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La Purisima Concepcion

The La Purisima Mission is purportedly 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.[22][23]

Ventura County

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  • The Glen Tavern Inn is a historic 1911 Arts and Crafts hotel in Santa Paula, 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.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Abandoned Buildings at the Alameda Naval Base | USC Digital Folklore Archives".
  2. ^ https://www.sfgate.com/health/article/fire-at-abandoned-alameda-hospital-burns-safely-3166350.php [bare URL]
  3. ^ Tejeda, Valerie (2014-10-31). "Is the Hollywood Sign Haunted?". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  4. ^ "A Tough Cell - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. 1997-09-10. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
  5. ^ "The Queen Mary arrives in Long Beach - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  6. ^ "The Cecil Hotel is Known as LA's Most Haunted for Many Horrifying Reasons".
  7. ^ Hoover, Mildred Brooke and Douglas E. Kyle, Historic Spots in California, p. 264, Stanford Univ. Press 2002.
  8. ^ a b Rubin, Saul, Southern California Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, p. 130, Pequot 2004.
  9. ^ "Orange County's Most Haunted Places". CBS Los Angeles. September 30, 2013.
  10. ^ "Irvine Katie Wheeler Library". SoCal Landmarks. 31 October 2021.
  11. ^ Johnson, Eric (October 29, 1998). "City's sleeping spirit: Legendary Pink Lady hasn't appeared since sighted in the 1980's". Yorba Linda Star. p. 1.
  12. ^ Owens, Craig. Haunted by History Vol. 1: Separating the Facts and Legends of Eight Historic Hotels and Inns in Southern California. Sad Hill LLC.ISBN 978-0997688108
  13. ^ Whaley House Museum. Whaleyhouse.org. Retrieved on 2010-11-04.
  14. ^ Bell, Diane (October 28, 2011). "Get into the Halloween spirits at a real haunted house". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  15. ^ Auerbach, L.; Martin, A. (2011). The Ghost Detectives' Guide to Haunted San Francisco. Linden Publishing Company, Incorporated. ISBN 9781610350679. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  16. ^ May, Antoinette (2004-10-31). "IS THERE A SPIRIT HERE TONIGHT?". SFGate. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
  17. ^ Hauck, Dennis William (2002-08-27). Haunted Places: The National Directory: Ghostly Abodes, Sacred Sites, UFO Landings, and Other Supernatural Locations. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-4406-7322-1.
  18. ^ Hauck, Dennis William (2002-08-27). Haunted Places: The National Directory: Ghostly Abodes, Sacred Sites, UFO Landings, and Other Supernatural Locations. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-4406-7322-1.
  19. ^ "Top 25 Most Haunted Places in California". LA Ghosts. 2020-03-15. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  20. ^ Boubion, Gina (April 26, 1993). "Ghost Lets Playful Side Show in Pranks at Haunted Toy Store". The Houston Chronicle. pp. A2.
  21. ^ Koeppel, Dan (June 23, 1991). "Ghost Sightings Aren't Spooking Sales at Toys 'R' Us". Chicago Tribune. pp. C8.
  22. ^ "La Purisma Mission Haunted History". Travel Channel. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  23. ^ Writer, Laurie Jervis/Contributing (5 February 2012). "Spooky stories haunt La Purisima Mission". Lompoc Record. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  24. ^ Owens, Craig. Haunted by History Vol. 1: Separating the Facts and Legends of Eight Historic Hotels and Inns in Southern California. Sad Hill LLC. ISBN 978-0997688108
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