Most Haunted Places in Santa Monica

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Santa Monica is an oasis of beaches, palm trees, and pines coated with the effervescent sheen of glitz and glamor. Known as Rancho San Vicente Y Santa Monica, Rancho Boca de Santa Monica, and Rancho La Ballona, wealthy Americans flocked from the East, riding the whispers of paradise.

From Hollywood’s golden age in the 1920s and onwards, it transformed into a getaway for the elite. Route 66 was extended in 1936, completing its westward journey to the brim of the Pacific. With so many people, faces, and names designing Santa Monica’s history, it is no surprise that its bedazzled shorelines are chock full of ghostly tales.

Ready to discover Santa Monica’s most haunted locations in person? Book a Santa Monica ghost tour with Santa Monica Ghosts!

The Looff Hippodrome

Other than beaches and the accompanying blistering sun, Santa Monica is known for its spectacular pier. It became the only “Pleasure Pier” on the West Coast upon its completion in 1916 and has since entertained and dazzled guests for generations. An industrious German carpenter named Charles I.D Loof brought the storybook Hippodrome, which sits upon the pier, to life that same year. This includes a carousel that was spoken about across all of the United States.

This whistle-based instrument became a point of consternation during the 1960s for many tenants of the Hippodrome. When the novelty of amusement parks faded out of American view, the upper floor was turned into apartments. Artists flocked to the seaside apartments despite the racket of the carousel downstairs. They were often awoken by the thin yet thunderous sound of the calliope. As the befuddled tenants made their way downstairs to see who was playing it, they found no one.

The instrument often would not be plugged in and would cease the second someone made it downstairs. In the 1980s, the second floor became offices. Few stay late, as rumors of dark figures on the carousel and spirits walking the roof are common knowledge.

The Georgian Hotel

Built in 1931, this magnificent hotel boasts a style fitting to a former era of great magnitude. The Art Deco building paid tribute to the roaring 20s just as it came to a close. The crippling effects of the great depression did not affect the elite coming into Santa Monica from Los Angeles. The Georgian Hotel catered to these high-class needs and did so with unrivaled elegance. Actors such as Clark Gable, Bugsy Siegel, Fatty Arbuckle, and Carole Lombard stayed at the Georgian. They were fascinated by its private, ocean-side views. It has been the tallest building in Santa Monica for many years in an otherwise wood-laden area.

Today, over 30,000 to 40,000 guests visit the Georgian every year, and a staff of over 70 is on hand to serve them. Upon entering the restaurant, many reported an intense “Good Morning” that seemingly came from thin air. Workers of the hotel are no strangers to unrecognizable sounds. Footsteps often trod through the hallways, and ever so frequently, they receive room service calls. These phone calls are made from empty rooms. Sounds of giggling are heard from the other end and persist well into the night.

Joan Crawford’s House

Located on the northernmost edge of Santa Monica, this private residency is not only haunted but has been possessed with terrible negative energy. It has led to the destruction and downfall of numerous individuals, the most famous being Christina Crawford, the daughter of Hollywood starlet Joan Crawford.

Joan Crawford’s career spanned five decades and adapted to the changes in film technology and the advent of sound. She became one of the most beloved Hollywood starlets during film’s golden age and inspired many with her rags-to-riches story. After her passing in 1977, her daughter Christina came forward with shocking accusations of both physical and mental abuse.

Since the house was constructed by Crawford, a small cottage sat here before her, and odd things have been occurring. Christina Crawford claims to have seen the apparitions of children. She reports rooms so cold that no one would go in them if they could help it. In 1990, due to fires emanating from the wall, professionals were brought in to examine the situation. Reverend Rosalyn Bruyere of the Healing Light Center claimed that it is an “Astral Center” and that a child, among others, was molested and tortured here before the Crawfords moved in. It’s believed the negative energy likely affected Crawford’s mental health.

Mount Saint Mary’s College

Atop the Brentwood Hills, overlooking the seaside hotels and condos of Santa Monica, Mount Saint Mary’s watches over the women of Los Angeles. Founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1926, it has been shaping the lives of Angeleno women since. It seems that some of these nuns still roam the hallways of the college, looking over their young and voracious students.

The apparitions of three nuns, dressed in traditional garb from the era, have been seen striding through the dormitory, Carondelet Hall. While the school is still run by nuns, traditional attire is rarely seen. The three spotted at Carondelet Hall are often seen late at night and generally disappear within mere seconds of their sightings.

In nearby Brady Hall, where classes are attended, other odd happenings are reported. Doors slam shut before swiping wide open again. Cold spots are often felt, and mysterious winds blaze through the hallway as if coming from nowhere at all. The Native Americans who inhabited the land before Spanish colonization believed that the Brentwood Hills were home to many great spirits. Great anxiety, dread, and oppression are often felt in the classrooms as well.

The Santa Monica Pier

While the majority of haunted tales emanating from the pier state the Hippodrome and its calliope are the primary spiritual suspects, there are others as well. The pier itself is said to be haunted by a headless ghost. He hides himself underneath it, waiting for his chance to strike. As drunken beach dwellers and the odd wanderer find themselves underneath the pier’s safety, they are strangled to death by this headless henchman, perhaps serving the devil himself.

Built in 1876 and fully constructed in 1916 with the addition of the Loof Hippodrome, there is much uncertainty about who or what has roamed the pier. Late at night, when the neon lights are gone, there is a certain eeriness that chills visitors to their bones. Perhaps it is just the sea wind or something more powerful.

Will Rogers State Beach

Bordering Santa Monica State Beach, Will Rogers State Beach is a beautiful option when the main section around the pier becomes overcrowded. But like most other locations in the area, it has seen its fair share of misery. They say there is a spirit of a woman whose toes gingerly press into the sand in the dark. She was left at the altar by an uneasy lover.

The night of her failed marriage, she took to the beach and threw herself into the waves. Those who dare cross paths or are unlucky to come across the sounds of her terrible wails are chased. There are stories of the begotten women scratching and scratching, sometimes until just mere shreds of the passersby’s face were left in her wake.

Haunted Santa Monica

Santa Monica’s beaches, amusements, and history may draw visitors in, flowing in from Route 66 to the edge of the Western world. However, the darker aspects of this fairy tale keep ghost hunters coming back time and time again. From the luminescent pier to the dungy dives along the coastline, the city is full of spiritual wonderment.

Take a tour with US Ghost Adventures on your next visit to discover some of the area’s most haunted places yourself!

Sources:

https://www.santamonica.com/santa-monica-history/

https://www.smconservancy.org/property/looff-hippodrome-2/

https://seeksghosts.blogspot.com/2019/06/haunted-santa-monica-pier.html

https://smdp.com/2013/10/08/glitz-glamour-and-ghosts-the-georgian-hotel-turns-80/

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ca-georgianhotel/

https://www.smconservancy.org/property/georgian-hotel/

https://thehollywoodhome.com/buyer-beware-these-hollywood-celebrity-homes-may-be-haunted/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Crawford

https://www.joancrawfordbest.com/bookssupernaturalexcerpt.htm

https://www.bigdeansoceanfrontcafe.com/hauntings-of-santa-monica/