Los Angeles County holds three of California's ten most haunted places

With Halloween approaching, three Los Angeles County places rank among California's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index. The index ranks 554 California sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

Comedy Store ranks #5. William Wilkerson renamed the Sunset Strip venue Ciro's in 1940, and Mitzi Shore built it into the Comedy Store in 1976. Four separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 2022. Staff describe a man in a 1940s uniform nicknamed Gus watching from the wings, and a Los Angeles Times investigation reported an orb sighting during a walkthrough.

The Queen Mary ranks #7. The former ocean liner launched in 1934 and served as a troopship nicknamed the Grey Ghost during World War II, permanently mooring in Long Beach in 1967. In the engine room, watertight Door 13 killed at least two crew members, including an 18-year-old during a 1966 drill. Two separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 1960. Staff and guests report a figure in blue coveralls near the door, and a woman in white dancing in the Queen's Salon. A local investigation traced the Stateroom B340 murder legend to a 1980s staff invention.

Statewide, the Hotel Del Coronado ranks #1, and the Winchester Mystery House, the state's most famous haunted site, misses the top ten.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound. The ranking shows each site's documented record.

Visiting:Comedy Store, 8433 W Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, is an operating comedy club with shows most nights.The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Hwy., Long Beach, is a hotel and museum open daily, with Halloween-season ghost tours running through Oct. 31.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/california/The fact sheet, with Long Beach numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/california/Photos: the Comedy Store and the Queen Mary, on the fact sheet.Venue contact: thecomedystore.com and queenmary.comA short version follows.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

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