LURED BY LORE? VISIT THESE 12 HAUNTED HOTELS IF YOU DARE

WE'RE STILL RATTLED BY THE TALES OF THESE CALIFORNIA BUILDINGS, FROM CREAKY LODGES TO BIG-CITY GRANDE DAMES

- BY L.A. TIMES STAFF

IF YOU CHECK INTO an old, remote hotel on a dark and moonless night and the desk clerk makes a joke about haunted rooms and resident ghosts, would you: A) Be horrified. B) Grab your room key with excitement. For all those who answered B, this guide is for you. California, land of tech and Hollywood, of glittering cities, gorgeous beaches, stark snowy peaks and remote deserts, is also home to a striking number of haunted hotels.

There are graceful old buildings in tiny mountain towns, erected during the Gold Rush, with original wood flooring and ghost stories just as old. There are big city grande dames, updated with all the state-of-the-art modern amenities and lingering tales of haunting from historical misfortunes. And there are hotels in between, creaky lodges with hidden histories that evoke the dramas, intrigue and tragedies of times past. As reporters assigned to roam the state for stories, we have stayed in a lot of them, oftentimes unaware of their spine-tingling lore until arriving. We have listened to the whine of a strange floorboard in the night. We have talked to the housekeepers and bartenders who swear they've seen cutlery fly through the air and doors slam with no warning. We've briefly lain awake, wondering: What are we doing here? Just in time for spooky season, we offer you a guide to some of our most memorable haunted hotels in California. Will you have a paranormal encounter? We can't say. But staying at one of these spots may bring you, at the very least, a rush of adrenaline and interesting stories to tell.— Jessica Garrison

Niles Hotel

The dour baby freaked me out.

The Victorian-era portrait of a sullen-faced infant in a frilly smock hung right outside my door the last time I stayed at the Niles Hotel in Modoc County. I swear, the kid's eyes followed me as I dragged my suitcase down the long hallway with its blood-red carpet.