Paranormal activity checks in at Monterey County hotels

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Paranormal activity checks in at Monterey County hotels
September 30, 2010
Kathy Strong
mydesert.com

From the sacred grounds of Big Sur to the swashbuckling port of Monterey Bay, Monterey County harbors irresistible ghost stories that make an October visit eerily fun.

Restaurant 1833, the Stokes Adobe, Monterey (www.restaurant1833.com): This classic tile-roofed adobe in Old Monterey was built in 1833. The two-story building was purchased in 1834 by English sailor James Stokes, who jumped ship in Monterey with a stolen medical case and opened up a medical practice. It is said he went on to kill a significant percentage of the population, including then Governor Jose Figueroa.

Stokes returns at night to rattle the newly redone restaurant, as does a happy ghost named Hattie Gragg. She is regularly reported as an elderly woman in an ankle-length skirt causing flashing light and mysteriously salting wine glasses.

Monterey Hotel, Monterey (www.montereyhotel.com): This 1904 boutique hotel hosts 40 charming rooms, as well as the ghost of “Fred” and a few other spirits.

Most amazing is his presence in room 217, where guests and ghost hunters have heard a male voice talking about 75 stairs. Televisions and radios pop and apparitions are commonplace.

Point Pinos Lighthouse, Pacific Grove (831) 684-3176; www.ci.pg.ca.us/lighthouse): Opened in 1855, Point Pinos Lighthouse is the oldest continuously operating light station on the West Coast. A tale surrounds Emily Fish, who became keeper in 1893.

The “socialite lightkeeper” was a bon vivant of her day until poor health required a replacement in 1914. Today, her apparition is believed to wander the second-floor rooms, moving objects and leaving behind the scent of perfume.

The Ghost Tree, The 17-mile Drive, Pebble Beach: Tucked along scenic 17-Mile Drive is a grotesquely twisted Monterey Cypress tree where the apparition of a “lady in lace” has caused several minor accidents. Local ghost hunters believe this woman — who wanders in flowing robes or possibly a wedding dress — is the ghost of Doña Maria del Carmen Barreto, former owner of 4,000 acres in what is now Pebble Beach.

La Playa Hotel, Carmel-By-The-Sea (www.laplayahotel.com): This historic hotel was designed in 1905 as the home of artist Chris Jorgensen and wife Angela Ghirardelli, heiress of the famous chocolate family. One afternoon, their favorite niece Alida drowned in an undertow. Today, it is believed Angela and her niece are fixtures at their beloved Carmel home and can be spotted on the terrace or walking the gardens.