San Diego County holds California's top three most haunted places

With Halloween approaching, San Diego County holds the top three of 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.

Hotel Del Coronado ranks #1. Elisha Babcock Jr. and H.L. Story opened the Victorian resort in 1888; President Benjamin Harrison visited in 1891, and Marilyn Monroe filmed 'Some Like It Hot' on the beach outside in 1958.

Star of India ranks #2. The iron-hulled ship launched in 1863 as the Euterpe and was renamed Star of India in 1906; her original commanding officer, Captain William John Storry, died on the return voyage and was buried at sea. Four separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 1875. Visitors and crew report footsteps on the rigging when no one is in the ratlines, and the sound of canvas snapping when the sails are furled.

Also in the top ten: the Whaley House (#3), an 1857 house museum in Old Town San Diego.

The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, 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:Hotel Del Coronado, 1500 Orange Ave., Coronado, is a working hotel with a history tour and a free daily museum.Star of India, 1492 North Harbor Drive, San Diego, is open daily for self-guided visits at the Maritime Museum.Whaley House, 2476 San Diego Ave., San Diego, offers daytime and evening tours, with extended hours in October.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/california/The fact sheet, with San Diego numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/california/Photos: the Hotel Del Coronado, the Star of India and the Whaley House, on the fact sheet.Venue contact: hoteldel.com and sdmaritime.org and whaleyhousesandiego.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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