There’s something unforgettable about staying in California’s historic hotels—the creak of old staircases, the charm of another era, and the scent of ocean air or towering redwoods. But some of these places offer more than just history.
Across the state, many of the most haunted hotels in California are known not only for their beauty, but for the lingering spirits said to still roam their halls. From coastal resorts to mountain lodges, these locations are tied to real ghost stories, unexplained sightings, and chilling local legends.
If you’re brave enough to book a stay at one of these California haunted hotels, you may experience more than a peaceful night’s sleep. Guests have reported strange noises, shadowy figures, and creepy encounters that spread urban legends.
Haunted Hotels in California (Quick Overview)
Scroll down for full details, ghost stories, and what to expect at each haunted hotel.
Hotel Name | Location | Year Built | Known For | Can You Stay? |
Hotel del Coronado | Coronado (San Diego) | 1888 | Ghost of Kate Morgan | Yes |
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel | Los Angeles | 1927 | Marilyn Monroe & Montgomery Clift | Yes |
Queen Mary | Long Beach | 1936 | Haunted ship, Room B340 | Yes |
Glen Tavern Inn | Santa Paula | 1911 | Cowboy Calvin & Room 307 | Yes |
Brookdale Lodge | Brookdale (Santa Cruz Mountains) | Early 1900s | Ghost of Sarah | Limited |
Queen Anne Hotel | San Francisco | 1890s | Mary Lake spirit | Yes |
National Exchange Hotel | Nevada City | 1856 | Gold Rush spirits | Yes |
Cosmopolitan Hotel | Old Town San Diego | 1820s | Ysidora Bandini | Yes |
Santa Maria Inn | Santa Maria | 1917 | Rudolph Valentino | Yes |
Truckee Hotel | Truckee | 1873 | Lady in Red | Yes |
Biltmore Hotel | Los Angeles | 1923 | Black Dahlia | Yes |
Haunted Hotels In California Map
Use this interactive map to explore the most haunted hotels in California and plan your next overnight stay—if you dare.
Most Haunted Hotels in California You Can Actually Stay In
From historic coastal resorts to tucked-away mountain lodges, these haunted hotels in California offer more than just a place to rest—they come with stories that refuse to fade. Each haunted place on this list is known for real ghost sightings, unexplained activity, and legends passed down through generations. If you’re looking for a stay that blends history with the paranormal, these are the places where guests say you might not be alone.
Hotel del Coronado
- Location: Coronado (San Diego)
- Built: 1888
- Why it’s haunted: Linked to Kate Morgan’s mysterious death.
- Can you stay there? Yes
- Notable ghost stories:
The Hotel del Coranado is a picture-perfect Victorian beach resort. Yet, visitors of this beautiful establish soak up more than just the sunrays, they also soak in the haunting acts of Kate Morgan.
In November 1892, a young woman checked into the hotel under an alias named Kate Morgan. A short time later, she was found dead on an outside staircase that leads down to the picturesque San Diego County shoreline. Only this picture was one of a lady with a gunshot to her head.
Eventually, the coroner would declare that it was self-inflicted. Speculations over why a beautiful, young lady would kill herself quickly rose. And, over time, the coroner’s report has been disputed.
Since that fateful night of November 29, staff and guests have reported that Kate has been responsible for playful pranks, cool breezes, flickering lights, and fleeting apparitions. Maybe she’s trying to get someone to solve her death. Or, it’s possible that she’s found her forever home in this majestic ocean-side hotel.
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
- Location: Los Angeles
- Built: 1927
- Why it’s haunted: Haunted by Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift.
- Can you stay there? Yes
- Notable ghost stories:
Opened in 1927, and home to the first Academy Awards, the Roosevelt is a shrine to Old Hollywood. And, it allegedly remains home to some of the biggest stars of Hollywood’s golden era.
Of all the hotels on this list, none blend glamour and goosebumps like the Hollywood Roosevelt. And, nothing embodies that fact more so than the ghost of Marilyn Monroe who reportedly haunts her old suite.
Guests, staff and paranormal investigators have reportedly seen the ghost of Marilyn in a full-sized mirror. Tales of her apparition primping herself have become local lore since her controversial death in 1962.
A second ghost reportedly haunts this inn, as well. A former lady of the night is said to terrify guests in Room 307 and across the floor. The local legend claims that this lady was beheaded after finishing her time with a client.
Joining Marilyn in residence at the Roosevelt, is former star Montgomery Clift. The former leading man stayed at this hotel for three months 10-years prior to Monroe’s death. He was also fond of playing the trumpet, which guests have reported hearing in the middle of the night.
They also claim to have seen Clift, who died four years after Monroe, walking up and down the hallways working on his lines.
Queen Mary
- Location: Long Beach
- Built: 1936
- Why it’s haunted: Deaths aboard ship tied to paranormal reports.
- Can you stay there? Yes
- Notable ghost stories:
The Queen Mary is quite possibly California’s most famous “hotel,” and it isn’t on land. Retired to Long Beach, the RMS Queen Mary is a floating time capsule with a reputation for restless spirits.
From the engine room to the long-sealed (and now periodically reopened) Stateroom B340, billed as the ship’s most haunted quarters, guests and investigators have long proclaimed hearing knocks, having their covers tugged, and hearing odd footsteps.
If sleeping on a floating California urban legend is your goal, then enjoy being a terrified “Queen” for the night on this haunted vessel.
Glen Tavern Inn
- Location: Santa Paula
- Built: 1911
- Why it’s haunted: Violent past tied to lingering spirits.
- Can you stay there? Yes
- Notable ghost stories:
Built in 1911, during the region’s oil boom, this California haunted inn and historic hotel hosted Hollywood luminaries and, according to local history, weathered a few Prohibition-era shenanigans as well.
In particular, two of those era’s shenanigans have continued to haunt the Glen Tavern Inn for nearly a century.
Cowboy Calvin is the resident apparition in Room 308 where he continues to haunt guests and staff. Calvin was killed during a poker game after being accused of cheating. Calvin was shot in the head with a pistol. Many years later, during renovations to restore inn back to its original charm, Calvin’s cowboy hat was found. And, yes, the hat still had the bullet hole right through it.
A second ghost reportedly haunts this inn, as well. A former lady of the night is said to terrify guests in Room 307 and across the floor. The local legend claims that this lady was beheaded after finishing her time with a client.
Brookdale Lodge
- Location: Brookdale
- Built: Early 1900s
- Why it’s haunted: Ghost of a drowned girl named Sarah.
- Can you stay there? Limited
- Notable ghost stories:
Ghost stories flow from this redwood retreat like its brook that runs through the heart of this two-tiered, timbered grandeur.
Local lores center on a young girl apparition named “Sarah,” that’s said to have drowned in the early 1900s. Lodge visitors and staff have long reported sights, sounds, and the sense of being watched near the old Brook Room.
Queen Anne Hotel
- Location: San Francisco
- Built: 1890s
- Why it’s haunted: Former headmistress spirit Mary Lake.
- Can you stay there? Yes
- Notable ghost stories:
Once a genteel girls’ school in the 1890s, this Victorian-era hotel is tied to tales of the headmistress, Mary Lake—especially Room 410.
Guests have described blankets pulled up neatly, a calming perfume, and the oddly comforting sense that someone is tidying up.
Local outlets regularly include the Queen Anne in roundups of the city’s most haunted spaces, noting how the building’s original purpose lingers in the vibe of the rooms and parlors.
It’s one of San Francisco’s coziest haunts. Some would even describe it as being more maternal than menacing.
National Exchange Hotel
- Location: Nevada City
- Built: 1856
- Why it’s haunted: Gold Rush era hauntings.
- Can you stay there? Yes
- Notable ghost stories:
Operating since 1856, making it one of the oldest ghost hotels in California history, the National Exchange is a Gold Rush relic turned beautifully restored boutique stay. Ask a local and you’ll hear about the Presidential Suite’s curtain moving on its own or a hand parting the fabric as passersby watched.
Ghost hunters and paranormal enthusiasts have echoed the local lore of this place being one of the Sierra foothills’ most haunted hotels.
And, if the urban legends of haunting spirits didn’t interest you, the spooky ambience of a candle-lit bar and floorboards that creek like in a horror film, practically invite the imagination and wandering apparition.
Cosmopolitan Hotel
- Location: Old Town San Diego
- Built: 1820s
- Why it’s haunted: Spirit of Ysidora Bandini.
- Can you stay there? Yes
- Notable ghost stories:
In the heart of Old Town’s State Historic Park, the Cosmopolitan began as Don Juan Bandini’s adobe home (1820s) before its stagecoach-era expansion.
Legend says that most of the paranormal activity takes place in or around Room 11. Many investigators, staff and visitors believe that apparition is Ysidora Bandini, daughter of the original owner and proprietor.
It’s believed that her spirit still resides in the Hotel where flickering lights, opening and closing of doors, cold spells, and other noises have been attributed to Ysidora.
Some guests have reported a Lady in Red ghost, not to be confused with Truckee’s ghost, roaming around Rooms 4 and 5. It’s also believed to be Ysidora in a red gown.
Whether you come for the balcony rooms, period furnishings, or the layered history of early San Diego, the Cosmopolitan is one of the most engagingly gentle paranormal spots in the region.
Santa Maria Inn
- Location: Santa Maria
- Built: 1917
- Why it’s haunted: Ghosts of former guests including Valentino.
- Can you stay there? Yes
- Notable ghost stories:
This 1917 hotel originally featured only 24 rooms. Since then, the Santa Maria Inn now boats of 164 rooms. It also boasts of some incredible ghost legends of past Hollywood stars still residing there.
The Inn has never been shy about its star-studded guestbook with names like Charlie Chaplin, Bing Crosby, Bett Davis, and Rudolphi Valentino. President Hoover was also a guest at one point. However, it’s the ghost of Valentino that still haunts the Santa Maria especially Room 221.
Guests have reportedly seen Valentino’s ghost knocking on doors and even leaving an indentation on the covers of the bed in Room 221.
Peppy is the name of another apparition that roams the grounds. Local legend states that she was a cocaine addict and always peppy.
Whether it’s Valentino, Peppy, or other ghosts, guests and staff have also claimed to have heard the piano playing by itself, seen mysterious footprints, doors opening and closing by themselves, cold spells, and other paranormal activity.
Truckee Hotel
- Location: Truckee
- Built: 1873
- Why it’s haunted: Lady in Red legend.
- Can you stay there? Yes
- Notable ghost stories:
The heart of historic downtown Truckee features more than just the historic Truckee Hotel. It also boasts of several paranormal encounters. Most notably, is the Lady in Red that is seen in and around the Truckee Hotel on what some describe as Truckee’s most haunted road.
The hotel was first built in 1873 as the American House. It didn’t adopt the town’s name until 1976. Yet, the Lady in Red has reportedly been a resident poltergeist for generations.
Those who have seen her, describe this ghost as wearing a red gown. Popular local lore believes that she was a lady of the night, who was murdered by a customer after finding her with another client. Many believe that she remains at the hotel to torment guests.
Biltmore Hotel
- Location: Los Angeles
- Built: 1923
- Why it’s haunted: Linked to Black Dahlia
- Can you stay there? Yes
- Notable ghost stories:
The Black Dahlia is one of the most famous cold cases of the 20th century and it took the nation by storm in 1947. Now, the ghost of The Black Dahlia, real name Elizabeth Short, causes guest to storm out of the Biltmore Hotel trembling with fear.
Short was brutally murdered between January 9, 1947, and January 15, when her mutilated body was found. She was last seen at the Biltmore Hotel on the 9th, which is why people believer her ghost is trapped there.
Her apparition is dressed in all black and seen roaming the halls. Both visitors and guests have reportedly seen her in the elevator as well. Her gruesome death has been widely explored in pop culture to this very day, as her restless spirit continues to haunt the hotel.
Sources for California Haunted Inns and Hotels
ABC7 News. (2019). Stay in a haunted hotel room at the Santa Cruz Mountains’ Brookdale Lodge
Hotel del Coronado. (2013, December 19). Hotel Del Coronado’s famous ghost story.
Hotel del Coronado. (n.d.). Kate Morgan: The mystery begins.
Los Angeles Times. (1998, October 30). Hunting for a haunting. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-oct-30-ls-37464-story.html
Los Angeles Times. (2001, July 5). Itinerary: Marilyn.
Lookout Santa Cruz. (2023, October 29). Ghost stories of the Brookdale Lodge.
NBC Los Angeles. (2024, July 31). Queen Mary’s Room B340— the ship’s “most haunted”—returns.
NBC Los Angeles. (2024, May 1). Dark Harbor returns to haunt the Queen Mary after a frightful four-year hiatus.
National Exchange Hotel. (n.d.). Story.
San Diego’s Historic Cosmopolitan Hotel. (2019, July 9).
SFGATE. (2024, March 25). After closures and controversy, Santa Cruz mountain resort Brookdale Lodge.
SFGATE. (2023, October 27). San Francisco’s most haunted places, mapped.
The Glen Tavern Inn. (n.d.). Historic Glen Tavern Inn.
Viacheslav, A. (2024, October 1). “Upstate” California’s Gold Rush Country rich with haunted hotels. Los Angeles Magazine.
Wikipedia contributors. (2025, August). National Exchange Hotel.
