10 Haunting Ghost Legends of the West Coast

Today, the Pacific Coast is known as a sleek, high-tech corridor of innovation and ambition, stretching from Seattle’s shimmering skyline and cutting-edge tech campuses down through Silicon Valley’s startup sprawl, all the way to the cultural pulse of Los Angeles and the sunny coastal energy of San Diego. It’s a region defined by forward momentum, where glass towers rise fast, fortunes are made in code, and the future is written in microchips and venture capital. But beneath that polished exterior lies a much older, more haunting story.

Not so long ago, this same coastline was a very different world—one of dusty gold rush towns, fog-shrouded harbors, and lawless outposts clinging to the edge of the continent. These were places carved out by pioneers, gamblers, sailors, and fortune-hunters—people who came west chasing wealth, redemption, or escape. Many found none of those things. Instead, they met violence, betrayal, disease, or quiet despair. Their names faded from the record, their stories lost to time… or almost lost.

Because some say not all of them truly left.

From the creaking decks of long-retired ocean liners to the cell blocks of abandoned prisons, from coastal cemeteries to century-old hotels where doors still slam without reason, the ghosts of the Pacific are said to linger—restless, unresolved, and very much present. Some wander the cliffs and beaches where they took their last breath. Others appear inside grand old buildings that refuse to forget. These spirits may be seeking peace, clinging to memory, or they may be caught in some eternal echo of the past. Regardless, they have become part of the strange and spectral legacy of the West Coast.

With that in mind, here are ten eerie tales of spirits who may still haunt the Pacific shoreline—some steeped in folklore, others grounded in a traceable, unsettling truth.

10. The Burnley School of Professional Art in Seattle

The Burnley Ghost is one of Seattle’s most intriguing paranormal legends, said to haunt the former Burnley School of Professional Art building, now part of Seattle Central Community College on Capitol Hill. The ghost is believed to be an 18-year-old boy who died after falling down a stairwell in the early 1900s. Over the years, students and staff have reported a range of eerie phenomena, including loud footsteps in empty halls, doors slamming on their own, furniture moving inexplicably, and phones dialing themselves in the dead of night.

One of the most dramatic incidents occurred during a séance in the 1960s, when a rock allegedly crashed through a window and landed in a basement hole containing the skeleton of a strange animal. The spirit was said to be mischievous—especially toward female students—knocking objects over, tugging hair, and giving unexpected shoves.

Paranormal activity reportedly subsided after the school moved in the 1980s, but the legend of the Burnley Ghost continues to haunt Seattle’s ghost stories.

9. The Lone Fir Cemetery in Portland

Lone Fir Cemetery in Portland, Oregon, established in 1855, is one of the city’s oldest and most storied burial grounds, with over 25,000 graves scattered across its peaceful, tree-lined landscape. While serene by day, the cemetery has long been associated with eerie sightings and ghostly encounters after dark.

Visitors have reported shadowy figures moving among the headstones, and one chilling account describes an elderly man with a long white beard who vanished after letting out a blood-curdling scream. The cemetery holds a tragic history, including mass reinterments from steamboat disasters, unmarked graves of Chinese immigrants, and forgotten patients from a 19th-century asylum buried in the infamous Block 14.

One of its most well-known legends involves the spirit of Emma Merlotin, a French courtesan murdered in the 1880s, whose ghost is said to appear near her grave in period clothing. Lone Fir is not only a site of mourning and memory but also a magnet for ghost stories, especially during the annual “Tour of Untimely Departures,” which blends history with the supernatural.

8. The Battery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City

Perched on a rocky outcrop just off the coast of Crescent City, California, the Battery Point Lighthouse has stood as a beacon of mystery since it was first lit in 1856. Accessible only during low tide via a narrow strip of land, the lighthouse features a charming white cottage and tower that once housed generations of lighthouse keepers and their families. It survived the devastating 1964 tsunami that ravaged much of Crescent City and was eventually restored and reopened to the public as a historic site. But beyond its scenic charm and maritime legacy, Battery Point is also steeped in ghostly lore.

Jerry and Nadine Tugel were the final resident curators of Battery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City before it was automated and transitioned into a historic site. As the couple living on-site, they reported numerous eerie experiences, most notably how Jerry’s slippers would mysteriously turn around in the middle of the night, despite Nigel’s denials of moving them.

They also heard unexplained footsteps climbing the spiral stairs to the tower, witnessed the lighthouse light inexplicably go out without any alarm being triggered, and observed their cats exhibiting fear, only walking on furniture in certain rooms while avoiding the floors. These incidents occurred despite there being no one else on-site, leading to the suggestion of paranormal presence—possibly two adults and one child—echoing through the quiet lighthouse halls during their residency.

7. Pebble Beach in the Monterey Peninsula

The Lady in Lace is a haunting and tragic figure, often spotted along the misty cliffs of California’s Monterey Peninsula, particularly on foggy nights. Witnesses describe a solitary woman in a delicate lace gown—sometimes barefoot—wandering near the dramatic vistas of Pebble Beach and Ghost Tree.

Local lore blends history with folklore: some believe she’s the spirit of Dona María del Carmen Barreto, a wealthy landowner who once roamed these grounds before her husband’s death prompted her withdrawal from society. Legend has it that Dona María del Carmen Barreto eventually grew weary of her isolated existence and sold her beloved coastal estate for just 12 cents an acre—roughly $500 in total.

But even after parting with the land, her spirit never truly left. According to local lore, she still haunts the rugged cliffs near Ghost Tree, drifting through the dense coastal fog and weaving in and out of traffic like a memory that refuses to fade. Drivers have reported near-misses with a woman in flowing lace, only for her to vanish into the mist, leaving nothing behind but the echo of waves and the blare of startled horns.

6. The Custom House in Monterey

The Monterey Custom House, considered the oldest government building in California, was initially built in 1827 to oversee trade and collect tariffs from ships arriving in Monterey Bay. While it stands today as a historic landmark, it also carries a darker reputation. According to local lore, two murders occurred within its walls—one involving a Mexican man and the other a young boy.

Their restless spirits are said to linger in the building, and visitors on ghost tours often report unexplained cold spots, disembodied footsteps, and an overwhelming sense of unease. Once a hub of maritime commerce, the Custom House also served as a temporary haven for sick and dying sailors.

In the late 1800s, the Monterey Custom House was also used as a private residence, and with it came disturbing tales that still unsettle those who hear them. One family claimed their infant son—still too young to crawl—was inexplicably moved from his bed basket and placed in the cold ashes of the fireplace, with no explanation for how he got there. The chilling incident left the family shaken, and it remains one of the building’s most unsettling accounts.

In another story, a woman claimed she encountered the ghost of a Mexican man who told her he and his young son had been murdered over buried gold. His spirit, she said, had one final request: to be exhumed and given a proper Catholic funeral.

5. James Dean’s Cursed Porsche, Little Bastard

This next entry isn’t a ghost story in the traditional sense, but it’s so steeped in eerie coincidence and tragedy that it deserves a place among the supernatural. In 1955, rising star James Dean was killed in a car crash at a dusty crossroads near Paso Robles, California, an unassuming stretch of road that still feels like the middle of nowhere today.

However, what makes the story truly chilling is a prophetic encounter that occurred just days before his death. Alec Guinness, the legendary actor later known for playing Obi-Wan Kenobi, claimed he met Dean outside a Hollywood restaurant and saw the silver Porsche Spyder Dean had just bought. Guinness said he was immediately overcome by a terrible feeling and warned Dean not to get into the car, telling him that if he drove it, he’d be dead within a week. Dean laughed it off. Exactly seven days later, he was gone.

But the story doesn’t end there. The wreckage of Dean’s Porsche, nicknamed “Little Bastard,” seemed to carry a sinister legacy of its own. Troy McHenry, a doctor and racecar driver, was killed while driving a vehicle that used salvaged parts from Dean’s crashed car. Another man was injured in a separate crash involving parts from the same vehicle.

Even spookier, it’s said that the wrecked chassis fell and crushed a man while it was being transported to an auto show. Whether cursed or just an extraordinary chain of misfortunes, the death of James Dean and the dark legend of his Porsche remain one of Hollywood’s most unsettling tales.

4. Culver City in Santa Monica

The Entity Haunting in Culver City is one of the most disturbing and controversial cases in American paranormal history. In 1974, Doris Bither, a single mother living near Santa Monica, claimed invisible forces were violently attacking her in her home. These alleged assaults included physical beatings and repeated sexual attacks by what she described as three male entities—one large and two smaller. Her teenage sons witnessed some of the attacks and reported objects flying across the room, unexplained lights, and foul odors.

Parapsychologists Barry Taff and Kerry Gaynor from UCLA’s parapsychology lab investigated the case over several weeks, documenting strange phenomena including cold spots, electromagnetic anomalies, and eerie orbs of light. In one now-infamous photo, a bright arc of light appears to hover over Doris while she sits on her bed, despite no visible light source being present. The case gained further notoriety when it inspired the 1982 film “The Entity,” although the real-life events were even more traumatic and unsettling.

While skeptics have attributed Doris’s experiences to mental health issues or past trauma, many believe her case represents a rare, extreme form of poltergeist activity. Even after moving, Doris claimed the phenomena continued to follow her, suggesting that whatever haunted her was not bound to the house, but to her.

3. Queen Mary in Long Beach, Southern California

Most people are familiar with the tragic tale of the Titanic, but fewer are aware of her larger, faster, and arguably more luxurious counterpart—the RMS Queen Mary. Launched in 1936, the Queen Mary served as a transatlantic ocean liner and later as a World War II troop ship, earning the nickname “The Grey Ghost” for her stealth and speed. After decades of service, she retired in 1967 and is now permanently docked in Long Beach, California, where she operates as a hotel, museum, and one of the most famously haunted locations in the world.

The Queen Mary’s ghost stories are as vast as her decks. Among the most well-known spirits is that of an 18-year-old crewman who was tragically crushed to death during a watertight door drill in Engine Room Door 13 in 1966. Visitors and staff have reported seeing a young man in blue overalls roaming the narrow passageways, only to watch him vanish near the site of his death. Another long-standing tale centers on Jackie, a playful spirit said to be that of a young girl who drowned in the second-class swimming pool. Guests have heard her laughter echo through the empty chamber, spotted small wet footprints, and even seen her legs swinging beneath a piano bench, disappearing the moment anyone approaches.

Room B340, once closed off to the public for years, is considered one of the ship’s most paranormally active areas. It is linked to a woman who reportedly died under mysterious circumstances in the 1940s. Guests who’ve stayed there claim to have had their bedsheets ripped off, witnessed flickering lights, and seen the brief, chilling image of a man standing at the foot of the bed before vanishing into thin air.

2. San Juan Capistrano

Mission San Juan Capistrano is one of the most historically significant and architecturally striking of California’s 21 Spanish missions. Founded on November 1, 1776, by Saint Junípero Serra, it’s located in present-day San Juan Capistrano, in southern Orange County.

The Ghosts of San Juan Capistrano are woven into the town’s long and storied past, centered around the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano. One of the most enduring spirits is Magdalena, a young Indigenous girl believed to have died in the devastating 1812 earthquake that destroyed the Great Stone Church. Legend has it that she was clutching a candle during the service, and some visitors claim to see her face reflected in the mission’s windows on quiet, moonlit nights.

Another commonly reported apparition is a faceless monk, said to drift silently through the mission’s northern cloisters. Others have heard the echoing footsteps of a ghostly soldier near the entrance. Just beyond the mission, the nearby Los Rios Historic District adds to the town’s supernatural mystique, with sightings of a lady in white who appears beneath old pepper trees, mourning silently among the centuries-old adobe homes.

1. Hotel de Coronado in San Diego

The Beautiful Stranger, better known as Kate Morgan, is the most famous ghost said to haunt the historic Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. On Thanksgiving Day in 1892, a young woman checked into the hotel alone under the alias “Lottie A. Bernard.” Described by staff as elegant, quiet, and visibly distressed, she claimed she was waiting for a gentleman companion who never arrived. Five days later, she was found dead on a staircase leading to the beach, reportedly from a self-inflicted gunshot wound—though some have speculated her death may have been murder. With no ID on her, newspapers dubbed her “The Beautiful Stranger.”

Since that tragic day, strange occurrences have been reported throughout the hotel, particularly in Room 3327, where Kate is believed to have stayed. Guests and employees have reported experiencing flickering lights, TVs turning on and off, cold spots, mysterious footsteps, and items moving on their own, only to fall upright, at the hotel’s gift shop.

Some have even claimed to see a woman in a black Victorian dress wandering the halls or gazing out toward the ocean before fading away. Though her presence is often described as gentle and sorrowful, it leaves a lasting impression on those who encounter it.