Hotel Del Coronado's Kate Morgan Mystery Part 1 of 2

Dead Move—Kate Morgan and the Haunting Mystery of Coronado: A Scholarly Analysis (Available Now)—in 2008, John published a nonfiction book that totally redefined the story of the woman whose ghost is said to haunt the Hotel del Coronado near San Diego. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, you will find the true crime story as fascinating as he has. Using the hotel's own official book (Beautiful Stranger) and other resources, he found startling new evidence that turns the traditional legends on their head. The dead woman was not Kate Morgan, as is commonly supposed. Kate Morgan was the ringleader of a conspiracy to blackmail the owner of the Hotel del Coronado, John Spreckels. The woman who died was a beautiful young runaway from Detroit named Lizzie Wyllie. Available now! You can order the book at your local bookstore, or buy it online at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble's online store.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Hotel Del
• Kate Morgan
• Coronado
• Ghosts
• Ghost
• Beautiful Stranger
• TAPS
• SCP
• South Coast Paranormal
• San Diego

[SCPdave]

Mr. Cullen, I think your book is FANTASTIC! Obviously I think so, otherwise I would not have asked you if I could feature this video I produced. The puzzle pieces are all there, and you Mr. Cullen put them all together. You're not relying on "parlor tricks" or "imaginary friends"....you, my friend, rely on the cold hard facts. Well done sir! Well done!

[hotmale196636]

I have A clear Picture Of The Ghost walkin thru The Courtyard that I took back in 2006

[SCPdave]

Oh wow. Is the footage somewhere I could have a look at it? I would love to see it :)

[bvent2000]

Scholarly Analysis...I think NOT.

Lizzie Willie was ruled out back in 1892. Lizzie had pierced ears and the body found at the Hotel Del did not. The woman is actually Lottie Barnard. Note the difference of one letter in the last name. She was from Detroit and is listed in the city directory. Go to San Diego Paranormal Research - Hotel Del Coronado page for proof. BTW...According to a descendant of Tom Morgan he was a postal worker not a gambler.

[SCPdave]

Thanks for watching Bonnie :) How are things going?

[girardta]

as a basis for a book. Somewhere along the line, you somehow convinced yourself that instead of being a product of your well developed imagination, that you would push it off on the public as a true crime story, undoubtedly in the hope it would boost sales. Your insistence in continuing to do so is simply dishonest because your book is a fraud. You know it, and I know it. Does the name Clifford Irving mean anything to you?

[girardta]

John, the key to your problem can be found below where you state, "I believe ...." That's all it is: your BELIEF. You haven't one iota of evidence to support your belief. Kate Morgan abandoned her husband and ran away with another man. When abandoned by him, she killed herself. That's the most simple explanation for the event and is supported by facts. I cautioned you years ago to apply Occam's Razor, and you did not do so because you had already contrived this convoluted story (Cont.)

[JohnTCullen]

@SCPdave Thank you for your kind words, Dave. Much appreciated, and wonderful job on the two videos. I had a lot of fun discussing the 'ghost' and the rest of this fabulous San Diego story, in which we all share a remarkable bit of history. Please give my best regards to the entire crew, and best wishes in all that you do.

[JohnTCullen]

The choice to anoint Kate Morgan, not Lizzie, as the dead woman was made because Lizzie was pregnant at her death, and Kate was not. Lizzie's 'ruined' state was the key to the blackmail plot. Morgan presented as an obvious choice, known as a grifter, and having planted the 'gambler' legend in Los Angeles weeks earlier. Those are just a few elements of my scholarly analysis, documented and reasoned at the johtcullen w*bs*te and in my books. We are all entitled to express our views--that's mine.

[JohnTCullen]

The Beautiful Stranger was not murdered, but committed suicide out of depression, loneliness, and physical agony from the 'terrible medicines' she was taking (as described by the leading medical authority who examined her corpse, Dr. B. F. Mertzmann). As the search for her identity began, the first ID on the body was a beautiful Detroit runaway named Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Wyllie. As the Spreckels coverup closed in, attention shifted to a grifter -- Kate Morgan.

[JohnTCullen]

While John Longfield, Kate Morgan, and Lizzie Wyllie ("Mrs. Lottie A. Bernard") were trying to pull off their ill-timed and ill-fated blackmail attempt at John Spreckels' hotel, John was in Washington DC, negotiating with President Benjamin Harrison and Congress over the future of the doomed Hawai'ian monarchy. A hint of scandal from Kate Morgan's false accusations might have harmed his cause very badly, and the plotters had to be stopped by any means.

[JohnTCullen]

As we all exercise our right to express our opinions, I believe (for reasons amply documented on my website johntcullen) that the dead woman at the hotel was not Kate Morgan but Lizzie Wyllie. The entire legend as it has come down to us was a coverup by Spreckel's agents to shield him from Kate Morgan's blackmail attempt using Lizzie Wyllie (the Beautiful Stranger) who was pregnant. It all went horribly wrong, and Spreckels lost his Hawai'i sugar plantations anyway a few weeks later.

[JohnTCullen]

A few years ago, you wrote to me and apologized for your sick behavior. It's obvious that you cannot help yourself.. Because you and Vent are so full of venom, I can't feel sorry for either of you, as pathetic as you both are. I still have those emails from you, Terry, with date/time stamps. You called yourself names and agonized about your problem. You feel you 'own'' the Kate Morgan story, and nobody can take it from you. Just ask yourself: Why? But that would be logical--not your style.