Haunted Houses of California: A Ghostly Guide

by Antoinette May

From San Diegoâ s Whaley House to Sonomaâ s Valley of the Moon Saloon, California offers an amazing array of haunted sites. Enriched with historical background and generously illustrated, this fascinating, fun-to-read guide documents dozens of chill-inducing spots throughout the state, including hotels, bars, schools, historic buildings, and natural areas. Among the intriguing sites listed are the famous Winchester Mystery House, the infamous Red, White, and Blue Beach, and a host of lesser-known gems like the Easkoot House in Stinson Beach.

Genres: Ghosts, Paranormal, Nonfiction, Travel, Ghost Stories, History, Folklore

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm thinking that this charming book itself is haunted. I'd think that after three revisions, updates and expansions over the course of sixteen years that someone could have fixed the murky, undated photos, the missing captions, the punctuation and spacing hijinks and primitive misspellings. The apostrophes have a life of their own and some of the writing and quotes are subject to sudden disappearances. Still, I enjoyed this book, it's really very cute and has an index and good spirit.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take a bumpy tour through California’s most famous haunted places. Yes, the photographs are small and fuzzy. Yes, the grammar is questionable. Yes, the author is gullible, especially to psychics, and the facts are fast and loose. However, no other person except Antoinette May has even attempted this feat. She has researched and reported on the history of 41 haunted locales throughout the Golden State, from Marin to San Diego.

One of my favorite stories was about the Brookdale Lodge near Santa Cruz. It starts like this…

“Kim Gilbert’s one of those gorgeous blondes who slink through mystery novels. Her likes spring from the pages of Raymond Chandler,Dashiell Hammet, Mickey Spilllane. Voluptuous figure, long golden hair, husky voice—she’s a mystery buff’s dream come true.

But Kim isn’t a figment of a writer’s imagination. She’s a real tell it like it is type whose father is a police lieutenant. A spunky lady who wants to be a cop herself. She’s also a free spirit who believes in spirits — at least one of them — because she’s seen it herself.

In 1989, Kim’s parents, Lee Ann and William Gilbert, bought the once famous Brookdale Lodge …..”

[Marilyn Lagier · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was kind of an interesting book--and it really makes me want to see a ghost as I do believe in them. But whomever was the editor/publisher of the book didn't do the best of jobs as there were several places in a story where sentences were dropped or, in one case, an entire two pages of a story several chapters earlier was repeated within a ghost house explanation that was somewhere else. Nevertheless, it was interesting, as I said, to read about all the different places in California that are considered haunted--and I've only been to a couple of them but never felt any ghostly presence. Darn!

[Arkrayder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly interesting book. Great way to learn some of the history of California. Only problems I had was that the editing was pretty bad. Lot of misspellings and gaps between words, sentences, etc. also the photographs were under exposed and hard to see any details in.

[Sally Kilpatrick]

As ghost books go, this one was well written. Mind you, there are some formatting errors include a duplicate page right in the middle of a story I was enjoying.

Also, be forewarned that some might be more legend than truth, ie the Winchester Mystery House. That said, eh, roll with it.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very groovy and entertaining edition.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. I mainly picked it up because I wanted to know more about the haunting of the Hotel del Coronado, nearby where I grew up. It's a great book with some good info on hauntings throughout the state of California.

One thing that continued to trip me up as I read it was the errant spelling errors. At one point, a house that was built in 1829 was cited as being photographed in the 15th century. Anyone who knows anything about that kind of thing knows photographs didn't exist until the 1840s-1850s. And California wasn't settled by many people until the mid-late 16th century.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed. I was looking for a good mix of historical background and ghostly encounters. At times, the history was confusing to follow and little attention was given to the spectral. I found numerous typos, grammatical errors, and sentences that suddenly stopped. There wasn't enough evidence to convince me of why any location was deemed "haunted". Would have liked to have more about personal encounters (the author's or otherwise).

[James Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice book on haunted houses and hotels in California: You get to know the back story of each haunted place and their location: just in case you want to check it out for yourself. Not to worry, all locations mentioned in the book are accessible to the public. I really like how well the author research the local lore of each story so as to give the reader a better understanding of why a particular location obtained it's reputation as being haunted.

[Tonya Bush · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It was recommended to me a few years ago by my mother-in-law who loves ghost stories as much as I do. I could not put the book down. The author provides great historical background details to help the reader really understand what caused these spirits to linger. They were very thorough in their research and the stories were so intriguing I didn't want the book to be over. I just may read it again!

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book while I was travelling in California in May. I enjoyed learning about the history of the various houses May includes in her book but I did feel as though there wasn't enough focus on the spooky going-ons in some of the locations. The various spelling mistakes, punctuation errors, etc where annoying which is why I only gave the book two stars instead of three.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought a box of ghost story books from one of my favorite authors in the genre. She was clearing out her online bookstore and $50 bought a box full of them. Most of them have been ok, one was absolutely unreadable, and, so far, this one has been the best. It is well-written, throws in a good amount of history, and isn't full of the gobblety-gook that one sometimes finds in the genre.

[Jen]

I just briefly skimmed through it, and then returned it to the library. I was curious to see what kind of places they'd include. It may be a good read - I don't really know. That's why I didn't give it a star rating - I didn't really give it a chance.

[Josephine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because it was very interesting and a bit creepy because it talks about many houses that people think are haunted. this guide describes how some people actually tries to go in and explore the house. it also describes how quiet the neighborhood and how people began moving away.

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting tour of haunted places in California, and not just the ones open for tourists. The author is a bit too credulous when it comes to phenomena like psychics and ghost photography, but that's only a problem for a few of the entries - overall, it's a solid read. (B+)

[Audrey Harrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, I am originally from California and have visited many of these amazing locations with book in tow to know the histories!

Highly recommend!

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually used this book as a guide back in the day of places to go and have my picture taken at, hoping that somewhere in the background would be a huge scary ghost head or something, lol.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun book about many of the haunted houses. Of course, the Winchester House is in there.

[Kristie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book to read to children while camping ;)