The Ghost of Kate Morgan and the Hotel del Coronado

The Ghost of Kate Morgan and the Hotel del Coronado - Unexplained Mysteries

See more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Morgan

Kate Morgan's murder/suicide at the Hotel del Coronado in November 1892 generated widespread publicity throughout the state. Because little was known about Kate's identity, the press began to refer to her as the "Beautiful Stranger". When it was later revealed that Kate had checked into the hotel under an assumed name, the public's interest only increased: Who was this "Beautiful Stranger"? Where had she come from? Why had she traveled to the Hotel del Coronado? And why had she killed herself?

On 33 oceanfront acres sits a Victorian castle called the Hotel Del Coronado, "The Del" was completed in 1888. When it was built, the hotel was the largest structure outside of New York City to be electrically lighted and Thomas Edison himself supervised the installation of the incandescent lamp invention. L. Frank Baum, the author of the Wizard of Oz, did much of his writing here, and is said to have based his designs for the Emerald City on the hotel.

Few who stay in the five-star Hotel Del Coronado know of the eternal guest who lives here until they run into her late at night. Kate Morgan checked in at the ornate hotel on Thanksgiving Day, 1892. She checked out with a gunshot wound to the temple five days later. The case was a sensation in local and national newspapers for weeks afterward, and writers have speculated on aspects of the case for over a century. Contemporary headlines obsessed over the mystery of “The Beautiful Stranger.”

Tom and Kate Morgan were a married couple who rode the trains in the late 1800s. Their occupation: con artists. Kate was apparently very attractive, and would lure men into a game of cards with her "brother" (Tom), so that they could prove their worth. Tom would swindle them out of whatever money they were willing to part with, and this is how the Morgans made their living. In November of 1892, however, Kate discovered she was pregnant and wanted to stop the train racket and settle down. While the two were riding towards San Diego, they had an argument because Tom did not want to change his lifestyle. Tom disembarked at either Los Angeles or Orange County. He was supposed to meet Kate in San Diego for Thanksgiving.

The couple apparently had a barn-burner and Tom got off in a huff at the station in Orange. It was the last time they would see each other. She may have been pregnant, and some historians have speculated that she was ready to file for divorce—a tough road to travel for a woman in 19th-century America.

Kate continued on to San Diego and arrived at the “Del” on the afternoon of November 24th. She entered through the “unaccompanied ladies” entrance, and had the clerk sign her in as “Lottie A. Bernard.” She claimed that she was waiting for her brother to arrive. Over the next few days, she complained to the hotel staff of headaches and pains. She asked a bellboy to get her wine, and later a jigger of whiskey from the bar. On Monday, the 28th, she took the train to San Diego and bought a pistol from Chick’s Gun shop, an establishment also frequented by Wyatt Earp while he ran various gambling houses in the “Stingaree” district downtown after his more famous stint in Tombstone, Arizona. Morgan returned to the hotel and was found the next morning by David Cone, the hotel electrician. Her body was lying on the stairs leading to the beach, a gun by her side, and a bullet hole in her right temple. The coroner guessed that she had been dead at least six or seven hours.

In his 1990 book The Legend Of Kate Morgan, trial lawyer and author Alan May theorized that Morgan was murdered by her errant husband, citing evidence such as corrosion on the supposedly new gun found next to her body, and the hasty coroner’s inquest which failed to ask key questions about the circumstances surrounding Morgan’s death.

Kate Morgan Ghost

“Kate is our most famous ghost,” says Hotel historian Christine Donovan. “We get more interest from the media on that one subject than anything else.” And why wouldn’t they? Whether it was murder or suicide, her violent end is custom-tailored for a haunting.

On the last five days of her life, Morgan stayed in Room 302. After a century of restoration and remodeling, the room has been redesignated #3327. According to hotel staff, it is usually booked months, even years in advance, especially around Halloween. Guests have reported swinging fixtures, flickering lights, telephone and TV malfunctions, and dark figures pulling sheets off the bed. One gentleman became so exasperated by phantom phone calls that he finally shouted at Kate Morgan to leave him in peace. The alarm clock buzzed three times (this was at 4:00 a.m.) and the calls stopped. Another guest stopped to unlock her room late at night and saw a pretty woman mirroring her actions a few feet away next door. The figure smiled at her. She hadn’t realized that she’d seen a ghost until she went inside and noted that the woman was dressed in turn-of-the-century period clothes. Parapsychological snoops have attested to activity in the room as well.

After years of reports and complaints, Room 3519 has also been extensively studied by psychic investigators. Ashtrays and other objects fall off tables, and the noise of footsteps and voices can be heard from the floor above. The problem here is that the next floor is the roof, as an unnamed Secret Service agent discovered in 1983 while staying in the hotel on assignment with then-VP George Bush. He immediately demanded to be moved elsewhere.

Manifestations have been recorded in other rooms besides 3327 and 3519, but seem to be confined for the most part to the third floor. The hallways here are much narrower than on the floors below. It is not a place for claustrophobics. This one will keep you up late: In 1999, a family staying in Room 3343 were driven to hysterics when the mother’s reflection in a bathroom mirror laid a singular moment of cognitive dissonance on them: “…her eyes were the size of Orphan Annie’s (two or three times their normal size) and each appeared to be configured like a bull’s eye.” (Cited in Ghostly Encounters At The Del: The Spirit of Kate Morgan And The Hotel Del Cornonado by Christine Donovan.)

Another unexpected center of activity is the Del’s gift shop. Donovan and the staff noticed that, “Things started happening when we began to sell Marilyn Monroe merchandise. [Monroe stayed in the hotel while working on Some Like It Hot, filmed here in 1958.] I think Kate might have gotten jealous when some of the attention was taken away from her.” Store employees have seen books fly off shelves, shadowy figures behind the counter after the place is locked up, and souvenir mugs that jumped off a ledge and landed on the counter below—all right side up. Donovan recently found an entire row of books in her office tuned around so that the spines were facing the wall. Some were upside down.

“Many of the sightings are from people who have some sort of sensitivity to this kind of thing,” Donovan has noticed. “They’ve been experiencing psychic things all of their lives and the hotel had been around so long that it’s full of psychic impressions for those who can experience them.” Non-sensitives seem to have an advantage if there are no expectations. “People who check in looking for the ghost don’t really have much luck. Kate seems to like catching people who aren’t looking for her. I don’t think these spirits want to be conjured.”

Kate Morgan Ghost Legend

The room Kate checked into was 302, which is now room 3312. But that is not the only haunted room. Room 3502, which was once a maid's room, is also considered haunted. Both rooms have experienced oddly functioning electrical equipment (lights turning on and off, etc) and cold breezes. Maids report that objects are moved around by unseen hands. Guests in the rooms (those who were brave enough to stay the night!) have exper- ienced oppressive feelings and curtains that move even though the windows are closed. Other people swear they have heard murmurings coming from somewhere in the room. Kate's ghost has been seen walking down hallways of the hotel and standing at windows. According to Alan May, an electrician told him that the light over the steps where Kate died will not stay lit. The bulb is replaced constantly, but the light always winks out. May also claims that while he was staying in one of the haunted rooms , he saw a face on the television (which was, of course, turned off at the time). This sighting was supposedly verified by one or two hotel employees.

Room 3502 has a history of its own. Apparently, the maid who was living there during Kate's stay may have become friends with Kate. What is known is that the day after Kate's funeral, the maid disappeared. There is some speculation that Tom Morgan may have killed the maid as well as his wife. One story even theorizes that when hotel staff found the maid's body, they surreptitiously removed it so as not to further upset the guests!

The hotel's Heritage Department has published an official book on this subject, written by the hotel's professional historian, titled The Beautiful Stranger: The Ghost of Kate Morgan and The Hotel del Coronado.[15] It avoids speculation in its research of historical documents available in local public libraries, historical societies, and university libraries as well as city hall and police files. The Heritage Department's book leans toward the official suicide verdict.

There are three other books available now. John T. Cullen has written two: his first, updated in 2008 is Dead Move: Kate Morgan and the Haunting Mystery of Coronado, Second Edition, is a non-fiction account of the mystery. His second is Lethal Journey, a novel published in August 2009.

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