California is best known for being full of sunshine and celebrities. However, there is also a much darker side that includes a whole host of haunted hotels!
Let’s take a look at the twelve most haunted hotels in California.
1. Hotel del Coronado, San Diego

The property is famously haunted by the ghost of a woman named Kate Morgan, who was believed to have been the murdered wife of a card shark circa the 1800s.
Reports of paranormal activity in the hotel include faucets turning on by themselves and unexplained noises.
Regular ghost nights are offered, and guests can rent the most haunted rooms in the hotel at a special rate! [BOOK A ROOM]
Learn more about the hauntings at the Hotel Del Coronado, California
2. Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Los Angeles

Montgomery Clift and Marilyn Monroe are the spirits said to roam the halls.
For a time in the 1950s, Marilyn Monroe took up residence in Suite 1200, and while the room itself is not particularly haunted, people frequently report seeing her reflection in a mirror in the lobby, which used to hang in her room.
Meanwhile, actor Montgomery Clift is haunting his old room number 928 and can be heard running lines in the room. Other ghosts haunting the hotel include a little girl named Caroline, who drowned in the hotel pool. [BOOK A ROOM]
Read more on the haunted Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
3. Glen Tavern Inn, Santa Paula

Guests often report cold spots, shadowy figures, and disembodied voices. There is at least one little girl among the resident spirits, although many believe there are multiple children here who are seen and heard laughing on the second floor.
Room 307 is haunted by a ghost named Calvin and a prostitute who was found decapitated in the closet during the prohibition era! [BOOK A ROOM]
Read more about the haunted reputation of Glen Tavern Inn, Santa Paula, CA
4. Queen Mary Hotel, Long Beach

There are said to be many spirits haunting the vessel believed to date back to its time in service as a troop transporter, refugee carrier, and passenger ship.
The hotspots onboard include the engine rooms, the nursery, and passenger cabins. [BOOK A ROOM]
Read more on the haunted Queen Mary Hotel, Long Beach, California
5. Napa River Inn, Napa

The Napa River Inn is an excellent example of haunted accommodation in California, with the first reports of paranormal activity dating back to the early 1900s.
One spirit who is regularly spotted is Captain Albert Hatt Jr, the original owner’s son. Guests and staff have also seen Robert Keig’s spirit -another former owner.
However, the most prominent spirit at the Napa River Inn is a woman dressed in white. [BOOK A ROOM]
6. Union Hotel, Benicia

Sometime in the late 1800s, it is claimed that a young woman hanged herself in her hotel room, and she is now haunting the property.
She is often seen looking out of one of the hotel room windows, and guests have reported hearing her talking and crying. [BOOK A ROOM]
7. Chateau Marmont, West Hollywood

The ghost is believed to be comedian John Belushi who died from a drug overdose in one of the bungalows in the early 1980s.
Bungalow 3 was where he died, and many who stay there describe feeling his presence, and people do not like to look in the mirror.
One young boy who had no knowledge of the death or who Belushi was claimed to have seen him in the bungalow during his family’s stay and was able to pick him out of a selection of photographs. [BOOK A ROOM]
8. Zaballa House, Half Moon Bay

Room 6 is the hub of paranormal activity in the hotel, and guests report hearing jangling keys, alarms going off, and windows rattling. Despite this, the owner denies any knowledge of a ghost in the hotel! [BOOK A ROOM]
9. Amargosa Opera House & Hotel, Death Valley

There is little left of the town these days aside from the opera house & hotel and a scattering of empty buildings.
However, it still attracts lots of visitors who come to stay for the chance of encountering one of the many ghosts said to reside here!
These include a little child who is thought to have drowned in a bathtub, a spirit cat, and the evil spirit of a hanged man in one of the rooms! [BOOK A ROOM]
10. Queen Anne Hotel, San Francisco

It’s widely regarded as the most haunted hotel in San Francisco and has been welcoming paranormal enthusiasts for decades.
The most well-known spirit known to haunt the hotel is Mary Lake. She was the headmistress when the building was a girl’s boarding school in the 1890s.
Her ghost is behind lots of activity on the fourth floor, mainly in room 410 – her old office!
Countless guests have reported seeing her mist-like figure, wandering around the hotel wearing period clothing. Not just that, you’ll often feel her presence and hear her pacing around her old office!
Guests staying in room 410 also report strange sounds and unsettling tapping noises from furniture in their room. [BOOK A ROOM]
11. The Delta King Riverboat, Sacramento

One of the most haunted places in Sacramento, the Delta King has a long history of hauntings.
From 1927 it was used as a commuter between San Francisco and Sacramento, until 1940 when it was drafted into World War II and used as a floating barrack, troop transport, and floating hospital.
With this colorful history it’s little surprise there are stories of ghosts.
The spirit of an old captain of the ship is still wandering the decks and wheelhouse. His apparition has been witnessed by members of staff and guests in the balcony during productions, and his disembodied footsteps above deck.
The ghost of a young girl has been seen several times. She’s reported to have dirty blonde hair and wears a long dress. Crew members tell of her giggling, and footprints on the deck left in the morning dew.
Dorothy Milette, a Hollywood actress, is believed to have jumped overboard to her death in 1932. She was the common-law wife of MGM producer, Paul Bern.
After hearing of Bern’s recent wedding to Jean Harlow, Millette, who was being cared for in a sanitorium, escaped. Paul Bern was found dead in his home in Benedict Canyon on September 5, 1932. Though all signs pointed to suicide, Millette was found dead a day later, after jumping overboard from the Delta King on September 6. [BOOK A ROOM]
12. 1859 Historic National Hotel, Jamestown

The two hotel buildings were the first permanent structures built in 1848, and in 1859 Heinrich and Hannah Neilson established a hotel, bar, and restaurant, that later became known as the National Hotel.
If you spend a weekend here you may just come into contact with the most prominent ghost at the hotel, Flo. She’s a friendly spirit, but her appearance may startle you. Her apparition is known to wander through the rooms in the early hours.
Although there are no specific names for other spirits here, there’s no shortage of paranormal activity. Lights are known to turn on and off by themselves, doors slam by unseen forces, and the disembodied cries of a woman can be heard. [BOOK A ROOM]
Read more about the haunted 1859 National Hotel.