When the Hotel del Coronado opened its doors in 1888, it was the largest resort hotel in the world. Over the years it has hosted numerous high profile guests, including heads of state, A-list Hollywood actors and, if reports are to be believed, more than a few ghosts.
The most famous of these is undoubtedly Kate Morgan, who checked herself in to the Del one November morning in 1892 and checked herself out 5 days later with a bullet to the head. Or at least that's what the authorities believed.
But, who was Kate Morgan?
Kate Morgan, age 24, arrived on Thanksgiving Day, alone and unhappy. According to hotel employees, she said she was waiting for a gentleman to join her. After five lonely days, Kate supposedly took her own life.
At the time of her death, police could find nothing to positively identify her, so a description of Kate was telegraphed to police agencies around the country. As a result, newspapers began to refer to Kate as the “beautiful stranger.” After Kate Morgan’s identity was confirmed – she was married but estranged from her husband – it was surmised that she had arrived at The Del hoping to rendezvous with a lover.
Kate had been employed as a domestic in a wealthy Los Angeles household. From there, she traveled by train to the hotel, where fellow passengers reported that a woman matching Kate’s description had argued with a male companion, who then deserted her en route. During her stay, Kate was described as sickly and sorrowful, venturing into San Diego to buy a handgun, and the San Diego coroner later confirmed that Kate had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
But something about Kate's death didn't add up. The bullet that was taken from her head didn't belong to the gun that was found in her hand. She also checked in under an alias and lied about her reason for being at the hotel. While we may never know for sure what happened to Kate, one thing's certain: she never left the hotel. Guests and workers alike have reported seeing a woman matching Kate's description, period clothes and all, walking the halls of the hotel. And guests who spend the night in her old room report drastic temperature changes and feelings of being watched at night.
The Ghost of Kate Morgan, which wanders around the hotel premises
According to the hotel’s book, Beautiful Stranger: The Ghost of Kate Morgan and the Hotel del Coronado, since that time, guests and employees have attested to ghostly goings-on. Most have to do with Kate’s original third-floor guestroom, where visitors have experienced flickering lights, a television that turns itself on and off, breezes coming from nowhere, inexplicable scents and sounds, items moving of their own accord, doors that randomly open and close, abrupt changes in room temperature, and unexplained footsteps and voices. The story of Kate Morgan continues to intrigue hotel visitors, and the room in which she stayed is the most requested guestroom at the hotel.
Independent paranormal researchers, in turn, have documented supernatural activity in Kate’s room using high-tech gadgetry, including infrared cameras, night vision goggles, radiation sensors, toxic-chemical indicators, microwave imaging systems, and high-frequency sound detectors.
There have also been Kate sightings in hotel hallways and along the seashore. Another very “active” area is the resort’s gift shop, Est. 1888, where visitors and employees routinely witness haunted happenings and giftware mysteriously flying off shelves, oftentimes falling upright and always unbroken.
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| The Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, California |
Special thanks to https://www.therichest.com/ and https://hoteldel.com/ for providind me with the info of this story!
