Visitors Bureau lists “haunted” spots to visit in Monterey County
MONTEREY PENINSULA, Calif. (KION) Ahead of Halloween, the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau released a list of haunted sites that can be toured or experienced from your car.
The Point Sur Lightstation is the first on the list, and it has seen its share of shipwrecks. The lightstation is believed by some to be a haven for lost souls, and some locals say they have seen an old man standing at the window looking over the ocean, even though the quarters are vacant.
The lightstation has resumed tours, but visitors are required to wear face coverings and practice social distancing. It is located just north of Big Sur off Highway 1.
Another lighthouse made the list too- the Point Pinos Lighthouse. It is still functional, and its keepers have shared their stories in the logs on its website. It has also seen several shipwrecks.
Point Pinos is not currently open for tours, but it can be seen from Pacific Grove Golf Links and Asilomar Boulevard.
Tor House was featured on the Travel Channel show "Ghost Adventures" in 2017 when the paranormal hunters looked for the ghost of poet Robinson Jeffers. He lived at Tor House with his wife in the early 1900s, according to the visitors bureau, and reportedly said, "all that we heard or saw was beautiful-- and hardly human."
The Tor House and nearby Hawk Tower are located on Ocean View Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Guided outdoor tours are available on Fridays and Saturdays.
The Stokes Adobe, which housed Restaurant 1833 until 2017, used to be the home of James Stokes, according to the visitors bureau, and stories suggest that his medicines killed more people than they helped. There have been reports of disembodied female voices calling for help, moving furniture and silhouettes in clothing from the 1800s.
The building is located at 500 Hartnell Street in Monterey. The restaurant is no longer open, but you can see the adobe from the street.
The Stevenson House got its name from an 1879 stay by author Robert Louis Stevenson, according to the visitors bureau, but in the 1800s, it was a boarding house for artists and nomads called the French Hotel. The bureau said the Giradin family lived there, and they all died horrible deaths in the house. Some believe they still haunt the property, and there are reports of some seeing the family housekeeper in a black dress or Mrs. Giradin. Visitors also report rocking nursery chairs, overheard coughing sounds and sudden bursts of scent.
The Stevenson House is located at 530 Houston Street in Monterey.
Also in Monterey, Colton Hall is now a museum, but it used to serve as a jail and execution hall, according to the visitors bureau. Some visitors and staff have reported cold spots, eerie whispers and the feeling of being watched. They have also heard footsteps on the second-floor balcony where soldiers were put to death.
The museum is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is located at City Hall in Monterey.
The visitors bureau reports that ghosts have been sighted in Pebble Beach. The Ghost Tree is on a cliff at Pescadero Point, and it is the site where a surfer died in 2007. Visitors to the area also report seeing the "Lady in Lace," who is belived to be an area land owner named Maria del Carmen Barreto Garcia Madariaga, who died in 1856. She reportedly walks down the middle of the road before vanishing into the ocean.
Pescadero Point and the Ghost Tree are located on 17 Mile Drive.
Read more about Maria del Carmen Barreto Garcia Madariaga here.
Other sites in Monterey County that are reportedly haunted, but not mentioned by the visitors bureau, include the Los Coches Adobe, San Carlos Cathedral, the Monterey Hotel, the Custom House and the Carmel Mission.
