Many tourists come to California to visit its sunny beaches and vast tourist locations. However, California is home to many haunted locations as well. For those interested in the occult, these places have twisted stories and unexplained mysteries. From ghost stories to horrible tragedies, California is the place to be. 

The RMS Queen Mary

     A famous retired ocean liner, known as the RMS Queen Mary, is said to be the most haunted hotel in America. Before becoming a 3-star hotel in Long Beach, California, she was a famous ocean liner that carried 2.2 million passengers. The Queen Mary also set sail during World War II, carrying 810,000 military personnel. Although, despite being a historical monument, beneath its elegant interior, there lie dark horrors. 

    While carrying soldiers, many died from heat exhaustion, and the ship was known as Hell. Queen Mary is also known to have over 100 spirits, the most popular being Stateroom B340. Even crew members refuse to go inside due to the immense paranormal activity. In one experience, a woman felt her bed covers ripped off her, and she then saw a man looming over her.  Apparently a third-class passenger, Walter J., suddenly died mysteriously in 1948. Many believe it is his ghost that haunts the place, but everyone has their own opinion. Twelve years later, a man had supposedly killed two women and was locked in his room by staff. During the night, he screamed and banged on the door, saying

something was in the room with him. His mangled ripped apart body was found in the morning. Queen Mary has gained many names over the years such as the Gray Ghost, Hell, the Ship of Woods, Mary of Teck, or as I would say, the Bloody Mary. 

The Cecil Hotel 

     Built-in 1924, the Cecil Hotel has attracted many to its horrible and mysterious outcomings. The Cecil Hotel has been notorious for many suicides and murders. The most famous case is of Elisa Lam, who was found dead nude in the water supply tank. During the 3-week period that she was missing, many complained that there was low water pressure and that the water tasted “funny,” not to mention the “brown” color of the water. After the complaints, the maintenance worker checked inside the water tank. To everyone’s horror, Elisa Lam’s dead decomposing body was found in the water tank. Hotel guests felt sick to their stomachs realizing they had drank the water where her body had been for 3 weeks. A video of her “acting strange” before her disappearance started to surface as investigations started. The last known footage of Elisa Lam shows her hiding and walking in and out of the elevator as if someone was following her. She then starts to click multiple buttons frantically. Theorists suspect she was playing a paranormal game, known as “the elevator game,” a game in which you click buttons in a certain order to reach another world. Others suspect that it was her bipolar disorder that led to her strange actions. Some believe she was murdered, but in the end, her death was ruled an accidental drowning. 

     Other than all of the mystery and tragedies, Cecil Hotel has had 2 known serial killers as guests. Known as the “Night Stalker” serial killer, Richard Ramirez had almost all of his known killings take place during his time at the Cecil Hotel. In 1991, serial killer Jack Unterwedger had also stayed at the Cecil Hotel. Due to all of this, the Cecil Hotel has attracted many to its horrific occurrences. 

Hauntings of the Hollywood Sign 

     California’s famous landmark is also home to one of its most infamous urban legends. 1900s actress, Peg Entwistle, also known as The lady in white, is said to be the one who haunts the area. After climbing on top of the letter H of the Hollywood sign, she jumped to her death at the age of 24. The reasoning behind her suicide is because of a review of one of her films, which could have possibly been career-ending. Now, she shows up as the Lady in white to hikers who wander off to the area where she had killed herself. She isn’t seen as the beautiful actress she once was anymore, instead, a skeletal face with hollowed-out eyes appears to those unfortunate enough. If these hikers are alone, she will get them to share her own cruel fate. Many suicides have taken place since Entwistle’s death, but one man was found with his head decapitated and his body parts mutilated, right next to where Entwistle had killed herself. The famous landmark, the Hollywood Sign, isn’t just a sight to behold, but something to keep a distance from. 

The Whaley House 

     In 1856 construction began on what will be known as one of the most haunted houses in California. The Whaley house is a historic landmark being here for over a century and known for its misfortune. Shortly after the house was built the Whaley son was born, however, his passing occurred just 18 months after being born. He died from scarlet fever. More devastation started to follow, a fire broke out in the part of the house which was a convenience store. The Whaley family would move away but would then return after investing in a stock that helped financially. They would soon return to fix their beloved home which was destroyed by a fire many years back. The house was finished in 1868, but following the completion of the house nearly twenty years later, one of the Whaley children took their own life. Leading up to Violet’s suicide, her husband had left her 2 weeks into marriage, he had only hoped to obtain some of the Whaley family fortune. During this time women were shamed for having their husbands leave them, and young violet couldn’t handle the shame. At the age of 22, she shot herself in the chest. To escape the misfortune, Thomas Whaley would build another house not too far from the original. However, Thomas Whaley would soon meet death due to his decline in health in 1888. 

Many believe that all the tragedy surrounding the house could have been because of where it was built. The building site of the Whaley house just happened to be on top of a cemetery. A man had also been executed on the property for stealing a boat years before the construction of the house.

     After many years Francis Whaley decided to take on the responsibility of restoring the house in 1909. Instead of living in the home as his family once intended he turned it into a site for tourists. Now, many come to visit the house to experience its paranormal activity. Many mysterious sounds, smells, and ghost sitings have been reported since its opening as a tourist attraction. An interview with someone here locally can tell us what he saw in the house, “I saw a woman sitting on a couch from a mirror, I felt very scared and shocked, I ran back to make sure I wasn’t seeing stuff.” said Daniel Trujillo. I asked a few more questions about other things other people have experienced. Such as weird smells, unexplained sounds, and drop in temperature, he said no to ever experiencing any of these things. I asked my final question, “Would you recommend for people to come to visit the house?” he replied, “Yes, I hope they can see the same lady I saw and say Hi to her for me.” Many fans of the paranormal have been attracted to this house, and many plan to go here. 

If you are having suicidal thoughts please reach out and call this number 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Please don’t prank call this number.

Sources Used: 

Theculturetrip

Usghostadventures

Travelchannel

sdghosts

wikipedia.org