Real Ghost Stories

11 True Ghost Stories, From The ‘Shining’ Hotel To ‘The Amityville Horror’

Published September 16, 2023
Updated March 12, 2024

From the true story behind The Conjuring to the murders that inspired The Amityville Horror, these real ghost stories might make even the skeptics believe in the paranormal.

Not everybody believes that there are real ghost stories buried in the annals of history. Skeptics are confident that there’s an absolute separation between the realms of the living and the dead.

On the other hand, most people also know someone who has had an experience that they can’t fully explain. The list of these kinds of accounts across history is staggering, though there’s also little scientific proof to back them up.

But whether or not you are a believer, these 11 real ghost stories will undoubtedly leave you unnerved.

Real Ghost Stories

YouTubeThe real ghost story that helped inspire The Conjuring 2, the Enfield haunting shocked London in the late 1970s.

From the real-life Stanley Hotel that inspired Stephen King to write The Shining, to the apparitions of enslaved people wandering the Myrtles Plantation, these true ghost stories may even have you reconsidering what you think you know.

The Real Ghost Story Of Kate Morgan, The Beautiful Stranger

Real Ghost Story Of Kate Morgan

Wikimedia CommonsKate Morgan, otherwise known as the “beautiful stranger.”

It was 1892 and Kate Morgan was a grown and capable 24-year-old woman. According to California’s notorious Hotel del Coronado, she checked in to the resort on Thanksgiving Day.

Some say she never checked out.

Employees recalled that Morgan said she was waiting for a gentleman to join her. After five days as a guest, the ghost story goes, nobody showed and Morgan shot herself in the head. With nothing was found at the scene to identify her, police telegraphed her description to authorities around the country.

The media dubbed her the “beautiful stranger” for her description and it was soon discovered she had an estranged husband. Her gentleman caller, it was presumed, was a lover. Morgan was also reportedly pregnant when she killed herself.

Hotel del Coronado

FlickrThe Hotel del Coronado where Kate Morgan committed suicide.

Before her suicide, Morgan worked as a household caretaker in an affluent suburb of Los Angeles. During her travel to the hotel, onlookers saw her verbally spar with an unidentified male. He got off mid-route and abandoned her, leaving Morgan melancholy upon her arrival.

Though unclear whether this figure was her husband or not, Morgan sorrowfully wandered into town and procured a pistol.

According to Beautiful Stranger: The Ghost of Kate Morgan and the Hotel del Coronado, there’s no shortage of people who’ve reported paranormal activity in the hotel.

Guests have experienced flickering lights, a rogue television, and a change in temperature that appears out of nowhere and vanishes just as inexplicably. Doors have opened and shut on their own, footsteps and voices have been heard but no people have been seen.

A paranormal investigation team stays in room 3327 of Hotel del Coronado, where the famous ghost of Kate Morgan is said to haunt.

Because human curiosity knows no bounds, Morgan’s room has been the most requested room of them all at the hotel. Even a group of independent paranormal researchers stayed there to document the so-called hauntings.

The team employed infrared cameras, night vision goggles, radiation sensors, indicators for toxic chemicals, microwave imaging systems, and high-frequency sound detectors.

Though Morgan stayed in Room 3327 (formerly 302), her apparition has appeared elsewhere. There have been several sightings in room 3519 (formerly 3502 and intended for maids), for instance. Guests have reported objects moving independently. Stranger still, the hotel owner’s mistress also killed herself at the resort after discovering she was pregnant.

Of course, countless guests had already reported seeing her, both in the hallways and by the beach.

The hotel gift shop, too, has seen unexplained phenomena, with items flying off shelves and often landing right-side up. Ultimately, it’s unclear what exactly is going on at the hotel. An elaborate ruse by management? Buyer’s remorse on behalf of guests? Or, possibly, real paranormal activity in plain sight.

author
Marco Margaritoff
author
A former staff writer for All That’s Interesting, Marco Margaritoff holds dual Bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a Master's in journalism from New York University. He has published work at People, VICE, Complex, and serves as a staff reporter at HuffPost.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.