The Ghostess with the Mostess

Every morning before school, I have my kids go outside and check the weather for themselves so they can dress accordingly. “It’s sooooooo hot,” they will whine, or “I wish we could have snow days” on another typical, beautiful Coronado day. As Winifred Sanderson says, “Oh look, another glorious morning. Makes me sick!” But every so often, I get the announcement that brings joy to my fall-loving heart. “It’s Kate Morgan weather!” they shout from our cool, foggy patio. Our Coronado queen, icon, legend, and did I mention ghost?

Most locals are familiar with the story of Kate Morgan, who checked into the Hotel del Coronado using the pseudonym “Lottie A. Bernard” in 1892. She died under mysterious circumstances, and legend has it she has never left! I don’t blame her; who would want to leave Coronado? I actually heard about Kate long before we lived here. When I was young and growing up in New Mexico, my dad had a conference in San Diego. His travel agent arranged everything and had put him up in the Del. When he traveled home, he told us he had a crazy experience at the hotel. He explained he was going to bed, and

he heard a faint knocking. He ignored it, thinking it was a noisy neighbor, but after a couple of minutes, the knocking got louder. He got up and opened his room door to find a group of ladies staring at him. They informed him he was staying in Kate Morgan’s hotel room and asked if they could come inside and check it out. The thought of my dad standing in the corner in his pajamas while all these women were looking around and taking pictures makes me laugh. Little did I know, that was not the last time I would hear about our spirited girl!

Halloween is huge in our house, we have so many fun traditions and lots of spooky fun. Unfortunately, I may have had a little too much spooky fun when my son was younger, and I told the story of Kate, which I believe low-key traumatized him. During the pandemic (talk about scary) the Del set up a fun, ghostly photo op that was outside in the courtyard. My best friend and I loaded up our kids, excited for any sort of normal activity, and walked over to the hotel. It was the perfect weather, foggy, and the thrill of Halloween in the air. We spent the morning wandering the halls, and someone pointed us in the direction of her room. The kids nervously tip-toed across the hall and put their ears up to the door, which, in retrospect, was a little rude to the poor guest in the room. I stood behind them and rapped my knuckles on the wall beside the door, and boom. Two kids were laughing, one kid flew down the hall, and one kid (my poor son) was hysterically crying. I felt terrible and have already started saving for future therapy bills. Not long after, we were hanging out on the beach, and the marine layer rolled in. The beach was pretty quiet, aside from the occasional couple power-walking along the water. Out of nowhere, a figure appeared in the distance. As they got closer, I noticed they were dressed all in black, with what appeared to be a black umbrella. “That’s odd,” I mentioned to the kids, and joked that Kate came to say “Hi.” That was enough for my son, who immediately asked to go home. We packed up, and I turned around to look once more. To this day, I like to think it was her.

I know she must just love Halloween in our little Hallmark town. The decorations at Garage Buona Forchetta, the City of Coronado’s Halloween Happenings festival at Spreckels, and the epic trick or treating on Orange and beyond. Hopefully she has a fun night, gets lots of Almond Joys and Reeces, and has a peaceful rest back at the historic Hotel del Coronado. Happy Haunting Coronado! ◆