In Old Town, San Diego sits one of the most actively haunted houses in the world. The Whaley House was built by Thomas Whaley in 1857 and stayed in the family until his daughter, Corrine, died in 1953. The house is the oldest brick structure in Southern California and has housed a granary, a store, a school, a theater and the county courthouse. The house has now been restored as a historical museum, which can be visited during daylight hours. Many employees and visitors have seen ghosts throughout the house, including a figure of a woman in the courtroom, footsteps, a man at the top of the stairs, a ghost dog running down a hallway, a rocking chair moving, and a baby. People have also smelled perfume and cigars when no one else has been in the house.

 
The Queen Mary (a British Ocean liner) has been permanently docked since 1967. The ship was originally used in WWII and then as a luxury transatlantic ocean liner. It is now a museum, with a restaurant and hotel. Although many ghosts have been seen and/or heard on board, the most consistent siting is in a hallway leading to the propeller shafts. In 1966, a young crewman was crushed in doorway #13, during a drill. Usually a loud sound occurs and then the young man appears. Another ghost with a black beard, wearing overalls, has also been seen numerous times in this hallway. Ghosts are often seen and heard in the pool area, even leaving wet footprints on the deck when no one was around.

Sara Winchester was heiress to the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. and was told by a medium that spirits had placed a curse on her by those who had been killed by the guns her family manufactured. She moved into a home in San Jose and was told to keep building onto the house to please the spirits. Construction started in 1884 and occurred 24/7 until her death—it now has 166 rooms. They built mazelike corridors and dead ends. Sara consulted the ghosts in her séance room. Very cold spots and strange smells are still consistently found throughout the house.

In 1876, 18 year old Flora Sommerton, a San Francisco debutante left her parents home because she refused to be a part of an arranged marriage. She didn’t come back, and was never found. She died in 1926 in a flophouse in Montana. Flora was wearing a bridal gown, and to this day, her ghost is seen in that same dress, walking up Nob Hill. The ghost appears early in the morning or late at night, when there isn’t much traffic.

Recent sitings of ghosts have occurred at all of these spots. The public can visit all of these places, but it is never guaranteed you will see a ghost. What you will know, or maybe even feel there is that you are in one of the most haunted places in California.