3 California Hotels Listed Among Most Haunted In America

With the Halloween season in full swing, thrill-seekers hoping for a ghostly encounter would be wise to head to California, which is reportedly home to 3 of the most haunted hotels in America.

The Daily Meal last month listed 25 of the most haunted hotels based on reported sightings from staffers, guests and even — get this — paranormal investigators. The list is chock-full of different types of hauntings, including reports of iPods playing on their own, unexplained sounds, apparition sightings and even ghosts who stand at the edge of your bed and kick to wake you up.

On that list: The Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles and the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Here’s what the report had to say about the hotels.

Hotel Del Coronado

Legend has it a woman named Kate Morgan got into an argument with her estranged husband on the train on Thanksgiving Day, then he abandoned her. She checked into the Hotel del Coronado by herself and waited four days for a lover to join her before she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Many have experienced paranormal happenings in her third-floor room, such as flickering lights, unexplained scents and sounds, items moving, opening and closing doors, drastic changes in temperature, footsteps, and voices. Some also claim to have seen Morgan, also known as the “beautiful stranger,” in the hallways and along the seashore.

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

The Hollywood Roosevelt is haunted by a handful of famous people including Montgomery Clift, who is often seen near and in his old room, 928, practicing the trumpet and watching over maids. Marilyn Monroe has been documented in suite 1200, where she stayed when her modeling career was just taking off. She mostly appears in mirrors. Other resident entities include a little girl in jeans and a pink jacket, a tuxedoed man in the Blossom Ballroom, and a man in a white suit playing the piano. Apparently, the operator will sometimes get calls from empty rooms, only to find the phone off the hook and no one in sight.

The Queen Mary

The Queen Mary is an old luxury ship that carried soldiers during World War II. About 49 of them died onboard, and as many as 150 spirits haunt the vessel. Screams and other aggressive noises have been documented in the boiler room, where an 18-year-old sailor was reportedly sliced in half by a watertight door. People have also witnessed a creepy little girl playing hide and seek in an empty swimming pool. Check out the Queen’s Salon to catch the woman in white dancing in complete silence. There are over 300 rooms on this ship and if you stay in one, hotel staff will offer you a chest containing a Ouija board, tarot cards, a crystal ball, and other ghost-hunting props. You may just experience slamming doors, temperature changes, knocking, and kids crying.

Stephen King fans will recognize at least one of the hotels on the list — The Stanley in Estes Park, Colorado. The horror author and his wife stayed in room 217 and on their first night, King dreamed that his toddler son was being chased down the hall, according to the report. The dream inspired him to write the plot of his eventual bestselling book, “The Shining,” which was later turned into one of the most iconic horror movies in history.

Room 217 is said to be haunted by Elizabeth Wilson, a former head housekeeper — and now, apparently, a ghost — who has been seen folding guests’ clothes and climbing into the beds of unmarried couples in an effort to push them apart.

If that doesn’t suit your fancy, you might consider heading to California, home to three of the most haunted hotels: the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, The Hollywood Roosevelt in Hollywood and The Queen Mary in Long Beach.

Marilyn Monroe is said to haunt suite 1200 at the Roosevelt. She used to stay in the room in the early stages of her career. As many as 150 spirits of dead soldiers are said to haunt The Queen Mary, a high-end ship that was used during World War II. Roughly 49 of them died aboard the ship, the authors wrote. Today, guests who choose to stay at the converted vessel are given a ouija board, tarot cards and a crystal ball, among other ghost-hunting items.

“Screams and other aggressive noises have been documented in the boiler room, where an 18-year-old sailor was reportedly sliced in half by a watertight door,” the authors wrote. “People have also witnessed a creepy little girl playing hide and seek in an empty swimming pool.”

New York, South Carolina, Louisiana, Maryland and Texas all have two hotels on the list. Others that have one include Massachusetts, Florida, Washington, D.C. and North Carolina.

Click here to read the full report.

Read Also:

• 'Hocus Pocus' Movie Returning To California Theaters
• California's Top Fears 2018: What's Creepier Than Clowns

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Photo of Hotel Del Coronado lobby, Ashley Ludwig