The Legend of Kate Morgan: The Search for the Ghost of the Hotel del Coronado, by Alan M. May

The Legend of Kate Morgan: The Search for the Ghost of the Hotel del Coronado, by Alan M. May. 1990 softcover. 201 pages, very nice condition.

Stories of ghostly happenings have been circulating at the Hotel del Coronado for many years, all thought to be related to the death of a beautiful young woman, Kate Morgan, who stayed at the hotel in November 1892. Hotel guests, employees, and even paranormal researchers have attested to some supernatural occurrences at The Del. Witnesses report flickering lights, televisions that turn on and off by themselves, dramatic shifts in room temperatures, odd scents, unexplained voices, the sound of strange footsteps, mysterious breezes which cause curtains to billow when windows are closed, and objects which move of their own accord; still others claim to have seen the ghost of Kate Morgan herself.

Kate Morgan, a pretty woman in her mid 20s, checked into the Hotel del Coronado alone on Thursday, November 24, 1892 (Thanksgiving evening). During her stay, hotel employees - many of whom had frequent interactions with Kate - reported that she had appeared ill and very unhappy. She had also told quite a few employees that she was waiting for her brother (who she said was a doctor) to join her - but he never showed up. Five days after she checked in, Kate was found dead on an exterior staircase leading to the beach. Kate had a gunshot wound to her head, which the San Diego County Coroner later determined was self-inflicted. A search of her hotel room revealed no personal belongings. In fact, there was nothing to identify "the beautiful stranger" except the name she used when she registered: Lottie A. Bernard (from Detroit). Eventually, Lottie Bernard was identified as Kate Morgan, originally from Iowa, and the wife of Tom Morgan. Reportedly, Tom Morgan was a gambler, who may have made his living gambling on the railroad. Since that time, paranormal activity has been reported in the room Kate stayed in during her 1892 visit and in other areas of the hotel.