Halloween may only be one day a year but for those who love the spooky holiday will celebrate all October long. Those haunted hayrides with fake chain saws might not be scary enough to get your adrenaline pumping. So if you want to get terrified right out of your pants, check out our list of the most haunted places in San Diego and Los Angeles.
San Diego
Casa de Estudillo
4002 Wallace St
San Diego, CA 92110
Source: Instagram, @vlovessf
The staff in the home turned museum have cited seeing ghostly faces in mirrors, a floating monk in a brown robe wandering the room that was once used as a chapel and hearing music when there is no music player in the area.
Commander of the San Diego presidio, Captain Jose Marie de Estudillo, began building his Mexican style adobe mansion in 1827. Not only is the casa haunted but it is also reportedly the famous place where Ramona got married in Helen Hunt Jackson’s very famous novel Ramona from 1884.
Villa Montezuma
1925 K Street
San Diego, California 92102
Source: Facebook
The owner, Jess Shepherd, was a spiritualist who would hold musical séances in the center of the mansion. He believed he could channel the souls of long dead great musicians. People who visit the villa state that they can still hear piano music being played at strange hours. There is reportedly another ghost of a man who hung himself in grief over the death of his wife in the observatory tower. Passerby’s say they have seen the body hanging in from of the window and a ghostly face in the windows at night.
Built in 1887 for Shepherd by the spiritualist society and two ranchers, Villa Montezuma has gone though many owners, several who have had terrible misfortunes. The San Diego Historical Society currently owns the mansion.
Whaley House
2476 San Diego Avenue, San Diego, California 92110
Source: Instagram, @abbeydumo
A state recognized haunted house, Whaley House has been called the most haunted home in America. Some of the ghosts who hang around here are the 18-month-old son of the Whaley’s (you can often hear a baby crying upstairs) and Violet Whaley who shot herself through the heart after her divorce. There have been reports of cigar smoke, impressions in pillows and beds, and alarms going off for no reason.
Before Thomas Whaley and his family purchased the land, the plot was the location of public gallows where there were a reported ten thousand hangings. Yankee Jim Robinson was hung here off the back of a wagon. It was said his rope was too long so it took almost 45 minutes for him to die. They say he still haunts the land. The house was built in 1857 and is the oldest brick structure sill standing in Southern California.
Los Angeles
The Queen Mary
1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90802
Source: Instagram, @thequeenmary
There are tons of hauntings surrounding one of the most famous ships in history. The most famous surround John Henry, a young man who worked in the engine rooms. He was crushed to death while trying to escape a fire in Engine Room 13. To this day, it is sais that you can still hear the screams. Knocks can also be heard and the door to the engine room can be hot to touch. There are reportedly over 150 hauntings on The Queen Mary including the ghost of a chef who was cooked in his own oven!
The Queen Mary made her maiden voyage in 1936. She was a luxury cruise liner until World War II when she was converted into a troopship. During the war, the ship reportedly cut into her companion ship to escape enemy ships. However, she cut the other ship in half and left 300 survivors in the water to be eaten by sharks or to drown. You can go on The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor for a night of terror.
Pico House
424 N Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Source: Instagram, @2headedxtim
The Pico House’s three main floors, tunnels, and courtyard are home to stories of footsteps being heard late at night and shadowy figures leaning over balconies.
Don Pio Pico built the opulent hotel in 1870. During the Chinese Massacre of 1871, it was reported that 18 to 23 Chinese men and boys were killed by an angry mob. After Don Pico fell into financial ruin, so did the estate, eventually turning into a brothel until it fell into the state’s hands.
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
7000 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Source: Instagram, @benjamin.s.china
There are two celebrities who haunt the most famous place on our list: Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift. Clift likes to pace his suite on the 9th floor while Monroe has been seen in the full-length mirror that was once hung in her poolside suite.
This gorgeous hotel was built in 1927 and has over 300 rooms and suites. The 1st Academy Awards were held here and that is where the celebrities got a taste of this hotel. The iconic building has had many notable residents including Monroe who lived there for two years and Clark Gable and Carole Lombard paid five dollars a night for their penthouse.
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