Where to Go Ghost Hunting on California’s Central Coast

Have a little spooky story lover in the family? Skip the corn mazes and apple picking and make for the season’s more macabre experiences. This year, Monterey County, California, invites family travelers with an affinity for the darker side of autumn to explore chilling and haunted sites.

Colton Hall

Built in 1847, this historic building was originally constructed as a public school and town meeting hall before later serving as a jail and execution hall, where many soldiers were hanged. Today, visitors and workers report experiencing cold spots, the distant feeling of being watched and eerie whispers. Keep your ears open for footsteps, too.

Monterey Hotel © See Monterey

Point Sur Lighthouse

This lighthouse has seen its fair share of shipwrecks since it was built in 1889. The lighthouse is reputed to be a haven for lost souls whose spirits perished along the coast. Locals claim an old man stands at the window looking out over the ocean, even though the quarters are vacant. It’s also said the lighthouse is home to an 18-year-old woman who died of tuberculosis, and her haunting spooking visitors to this day. It’s even listed as one of the most haunted lighthouses in the country!

Monterey Hotel

This historic downtown haunt has both living and dead guests. Fred is a 1950s maintenance worker who died on the job and is said to still make his rounds, appearing in mirrors and tampering with the electronics in Room 217. A young girl is also claimed to wander the halls, while an Edwardian gentleman (reported to be the hotel’s original architect) materializing in a front-desk mirror.

© See Monterey

Point Pinos Lighthouse

It’s not only the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast (keeping watch over Monterey Peninsula since 1855), but it’s also got a plethora of ghost stories. One former keeper, Charles Layton was murdered at the lighthouse in 1894. The site’s most enduring spirit, however, is Emily Fish, who lived in and maintained the lighthouse from 1893 to 1914 and has been spotted regularly. Some even catch whiffs of her perfume.

© See Monterey

Pebble Beach’s Ghost Tree

Yes, there’s even a beach with a haunted spot. The Ghost Tree stands on a bleak cliff overlooking the sea and marks the site of cursed ocean waves crashing against Pescadero Point. In 2007, an experienced surfer died here trying to scale the 50-foot waves. A few hundred years ago, Maria del Carmen Barreto Garcia Madariaga owned thousands of acres, including Pescadero Point, and, since her death in 1856, has be purported to appear in a white lace gown strolling down the road and vanishing into the foggy ocean.