SeeCalifornia.com

As you celebrate Halloween this week at theme parks or in a city or town, you think about the spooky side of life and you may see lots of pretend ghosts. If you believe that ghost hauntings are real, measurable phenomena and not just something concocted out of one’s imagination, then you shouldn’t be surprised to know that California is filled with REAL ghosts. They don’t just come out on Halloween, though it is the time when they receive the most recognition.

According to a man who has studied California ghosts, Richard Senate says every mission in California has ghosts, and usually more than one. Senate has spent 30 years investigating the paranormal and gives excellent tours that allow audiences to draw their own conclusions. San Fernando Mission, the Queen Mary in Long Beach and the William Hart Museum in Newhall offer aspiring ghost hunters great opportunities for paranormal experiences.  Here’s Senate’s list  of 13 places to see ghosts.

Some haunted California hotels – See complete list

• Murphys Hotel opened in 1856 and has hosted notable guests Mark Twain, Horatio Algiers Jr., John Jacob Astor, Thomas J. Lipton, J.P. Morgan, and former President Ulysses S. Grant. Copies of the original registration signatures may be viewed today in the hotel’s lobby. Haunted? Oh yeah!
• Hotel Jeffery in Coulterville established in a Gold Rush town is so filled with energy that vacuums burn out constantly and a variety of ghosts play tricks on hotel staff and guests.
• Queen Mary is the indisputable haunted ship. There are quite a few locations with cool spots, pitter patter sounds of a child who isn’t there, and adult ghosts on board you may experience when you spend the night.
• Cary House in Placerville has several ghosts who mostly do odd things such as jiggle the handles on doors and are involved in maintenance.
• Hotel del Coronado was one of the first hotels to have electricity. It’s a beautiful hotel that has hosted celebrities, kings, queens, and yes, ghosts. We have personal stories from relatives who worked there and experienced them.
• Monterey Hotel in downtown Monterey has Fred, who likes to tinker with mechanical things and door knobs. He worked in the hotel as a maintenance guy. He just never left after he died.

A final note: I casually spoke with a man yesterday as I was getting out of my car and he waited next to me to get  into his. Just out of the blue he mentioned ghosts and the Queen Mary ship as one special place he likes to study them with his paranormal group. I told him I seldom have unusual things happen though people around me do, and he said that’s pretty common. Some people are more psychic. OK.