Kate Morgan, Hotel del Coronado’s longest-term guest – er, ghost

You’re relaxing in your hotel room, the windows are shut, and you feel a sudden, inexplicable breeze. Or your TV set turns on and off suddenly, seemingly of its own accord. Or you’re lying in bed when, out of nowhere, in the dark of night, your covers are ripped right off of you by the most unexpected of roommates: a ghost.

Welcome to Hotel del Coronado’s Room 3327, where the spirit of the long-deceased Kate Morgan is believed to be resident. In 1892, the young woman — likely 24 years old at the time of her death — spent five days at the San Diego hotel, waiting, it is thought, for her lover, who never arrived.

Her death at the landmark hotel was declared a suicide. But “rumors persist about it being a murder,” said Hotel del Coronado historian Christine Donovan, who wrote the book “Beautiful Stranger: The Ghost of Kate Morgan and the Hotel del Coronado.” Another theory currently being investigated by Donovan and others is that Morgan’s death actually might have been accidental.

Whatever the cause of her passing, the spirit of Morgan seems pretty married to the Hotel Del. Staff maintain that her ghost has been spotted not just in her former room, but also in the hallways, the hotel’s gardens, the beach and the gift shop.

The shop Est. 1888, in fact, has difficulty “keeping glassware from ‘flying’ off shelves or pictures from falling off walls,” stated a hotel press release. “Because memorabilia related to Marilyn Monroe’s 1958 hotel filming of Some Like It Hot seems to be the most prone to tumbling, some long-time shop employees speculate that The Del’s resident ghost doesn’t like sharing the spotlight with Hollywood’s biggest star.”

If you are eager to meet Kate Morgan, request her old room when you call in to book. You certainly wouldn’t be the first to do so. But be warned that ghosts can be elusive — the room comes with no guarantees regarding sightings.

– Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Images: Re-created photos from “Beautiful Stranger: The Ghost of Kate Morgan and the Hotel del Coronado.” Credit: Hotel del Coronado

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This entry was posted on Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 9:35 am by Susan Derby and is filed under California, Hotels, San Diego, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.