Tis the season to explore the spooky, the scary and the extraordinary in creepy California. It’s fun to become a paranormal investigator in Southern California where numerous reportedly haunted locations beckon the brave, and the curious. Here are a few road trips that will take you a few of the many haunted places in southern California. Old Town Temecula Two-and-a-half hours from the Santa Clarita Valley lies Temecula, famed for its vineyards and spas, but it is also known for its rich history. Temecula was established in 1859 and its history includes a violent massacre of as many as 100 Luiseño Indians who were ambushed and slaughtered in January 1874. The site, watched over by the Pechanga Band of Indians. One of the first hotels in Temecula, the Palomar Inn Hotel (28522 Old Town Front St. 92590) is known for many accounts of a man watching the housekeepers clean, then seconds later he disappears. Guests of the hotel say they hear voices when walking in the hotel’s halls. This hotel, on The National Register of Historic Places, has amassed many spooky stories over the years. In addition to the mysterious sounds, guests have felt cold spots in the hotel during their stays. Temecula is so haunted that several ghost tours are available of the Old Town area: Haunted Cable Car Tour Climb aboard an open-air cable car for a trip to Old Town Temecula. Along the way, your guide will share the spooky beginnings of this once Wild West Town. Enjoy photo opportunities in front of some of the most haunted locations in Temecula and walk the footsteps of the early settlers and pioneers. For more information, visit bit.ly/4hkZCb9. The KEA Grain Mill Just outside of Temecula, in the neighboring city of Murietta, sits the KEA Grain Mill in historic downtown Murietta. The towering structure is home to creepy sightings and mysterious happenings. Built in 1918, it has accumulated its fair share of ghost sightings since being boarded up in 1991. The most famous of these is a little girl dressed in blue. She’s been spotted numerous times wandering the grounds around the mill and in the window at the top of the mill. Haunted Bakersfield Just over the Grapevine, 84 miles north of the SCV is the Padre Hotel (1702 18th St., Bakersfield 93301). It’s considered to be a beautiful landmark with a haunted past. This luxury Western-themed hotel started off as a hub for nightlife the 1920s. Its grand opening was held on April 12, 1928. A fire on the seventh floor in the 1950s claimed the lives of a family with children, and in 1952 a devastating earthquake killed several people trapped in the hotel basement. In the decades since, people have heard the giggles of children and have even encountered the ghostly children of The Padre Hotel. In particular, the ghost of a little girl from the 1920s is particularly active. She reportedly likes to tug on shirts and aprons and has also apparently left a child-sized handprint on a column in the hotel’s Farmacy Café, which seems to come back no matter how many times employees clean it off. Also spotted has been a tall man in a white coat walking down the hallways. Housekeeping staff report they often feel they are being watched. When they turn to look, they catch a quick glimpse of a tall man in a long coat who quickly vanishes. Central Park (500 19th St., Bakersfield 93301) is said to be home to a woman in white. The majority of reports from those who have seen her suggest that she is most likely to appear in the early hours of the morning, just before daybreak. She is usually seen walking along the canal. Bakersfield High School (1241 G St., Bakersfield, 93304) has three areas of paranormal activity. The first area is the Quad, which, according to school legend, sits on top of what was once an unofficial graveyard used by a nearby hospital. Another hot spot is the Harvey Auditorium, which is haunted by a construction worker who was accidentally killed while the property was being built. He apparently fell from the rafters and ended up crashing through several floors. His apparition is now seen around the spot where he died. The third spooky sighting is of ghosts of two former students of the school. The young couple includes a boy wearing his letterman jacket while the girl is dressed in an old-fashioned formal gown. They are often seen standing on the bleachers, and students have also reported strange cold spots around the school. Closer to Home Los Angeles has many famous haunted locations, including the Queen Mary and the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. If you are looking for specters closer to home, yet off-the-beaten path, take a drive to the intersection of Laurel Canyon and Lookout Mountain, where drivers have reported seeing a “ghost carriage” pulled by two ghostly white horses crossing their paths around the stroke of midnight. The Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles recently closed after 100 years, and numerous accounts of hauntings. Photo Hotel Cecil. The Cecil Hotel (640 Main St., Los Angeles 90014), which recently closed, has had a reputation for tragedy. Multiple violent deaths and suicides took place on the premises after the hotel opened its doors in 1924, and at least two known serial killers were documented in the room logs. The Cecil was considered one of L.A.’s most haunted hotels even before the death of a young women in 2013 in one of the hotel’s rooftop water tanks. PHOTO CREDITS: Hotel Cecil and The Padre Hotel The post Looking For Haunted Locations? Try These. appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.