As All Hallow’s Eve nears and the veil between the worlds grows thin, perhaps you might want to explore some nearby sites that are reputed to be haunted? Here is a short list of local ghostly places. So, get out your Ouija Board and get ready to talk with the beyond…boo!

Claremont Hotel and Spa
41 Tunnel Road, Berkeley
In the late 1800s, this site contained a castle-like home, but in 1901 it burned to the ground. The Claremont Hotel opened in 1915, and to this day, folks say they can smell smoke in their smoke-free rooms. On the fourth floor, said to be the most haunted, witnesses report flickering lights and TVs that come on by themselves. The culprit is said to be the ghost of a little girl who died there at age 6, either in the hotel or in the fire. Her apparition has been glimpsed—her favorite room is Room 422.

The Bordello
1247 E. 12th Street in Oakland
An old house built in 1887 was a former saloon and brothel and is reputed to exhibit very active paranormal activity—everything from chairs being moved to figures of men and women sighted around the house. The historic record suggests one bar fight lead to a stabbing in the saloon in the early 1900s.

Also, this building was located at the water’s edge (before the 880 was built) and sailors would visit for drinks and entertainment. These sailors would then be Shanghaied, that is dragged downstairs to the basement and involuntarily shipped off to work on other ships. Some are said to have died down there.

The Faculty Club at UC Berkeley
South Fork of Strawberry Creek on the Berkeley Campus
Berkeley’s Faculty Club was originally designed by famous Berkeley architect, Bernard Maybeck, and has been around since 1902. It has rooms for dining, meetings, and lodging. It is said that room 219 is haunted by the ghost of a long-dead man.

Swell Bar
1539 Lincoln Avenue in Alameda
This local drinking establishment is haunted by the original bar owner. Reports from patrons and staff say that lights turn on and off by themselves, doors open and close of their own accord, and pool balls roll across the table without being touched.

USS Hornet
707 West Hornett Avenue, Alameda
This retired aircraft carrier and historic landmark is also a museum. It is said to be the most haunted warship in the world. It has been used as a setting on many movies and has been featured on several TV shows, including MTV’s Fear, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures and Scariest Places on Earth.

Watch this video of a ghost on the USS Hornet.

The Lafayette Park Hotel
3287 Mt Diablo Blvd in Lafayette
Patron report hearing the ghost of a little girl calling for her mother, as well as doors slamming shut, and pictures falling off the walls. People have also claimed to feel unexplained chilly spots.

Alcatraz Island
This former maximum-security prison set on an island is now a museum and tourist attraction. Visitors and tour guides alike have reported unexplained screams, slamming of cell doors, banjo music, and unexplained footsteps. The site has been investigated by professional ghost hunters.

Hotel Rex
562 Sutter Street in San Francisco
Hotel housekeepers repeatedly said that they saw the apparition of a Chinese man with a clever, especially on the 4th floor. Many guests also reported hearing the sound of horseshoes in the alley behind the hotel when there were no horses there. The building once housed Chinese immigrants during the Gold Rush.

Nob Hill Inn
1000 Pine Street, San Francisco
The elegant Nob Hill Inn that was built in San Francisco in 1907 is said to be home to at least 22 happy spirits with a sense of humor. Although they are said to be friendly and not harmful, they like to play pranks with electricity, appliances, or doors and hide people’s personal objects.

Presidio Officer’s Club
Presidio Park, San Francisco
Ghost hunters have said they have not only seen, but captured on film, the apparition of an aristocratic woman in a flowing black dress gliding across the dance floor. The ghost spotting was during the daytime.

Stow Lake
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
The story of the Stow Lake Ghost has been around for over a century. In Golden Gate Park, a lady was walking her baby in a stroller. As she sat on a bench to rest, she didn’t notice that the stroller had rolled into the lake. She asked everyone she saw if they had seen her baby, and finally went to look in the lake and was never seen again. Urban legend has it that at night, a statue in her honor will come to life and ask you if you’ve seen her baby.

The Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate, San Francisco Bay
The Golden Gate Bridge is the number one suicide location in the United States, with an average of 25 deaths per year (that’s more than a thousand since construction). While the ghostly jumpers might still be there, another lesser-known entity has been spotted in this vicinity. In 1853, the S.S. Tennessee sank in nearby. Since that time, crew members on other boats have reported passing the Tennessee without seeing it on their radars.