Stevenson House Monterey: The Woman in the Black Dress
Posted by: 
Touchstone
N 36° 35.839 W 121° 53.600
10S E 598985 N 4050772
The historic Stevenson House in Monterey, California is the site for one ghost story.
Waymark Code: WM1DM
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 09/12/2005
Views: 70
The Stevenson House was named for the celebrated author, Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island, Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, Kidnapped), but was not actually owned by him. He was merely renting a room from the owner, Mrs. Manuela Giradin.
The story is told that some time after R.L. Stevenson left, the family of Mrs. Giradin came down with scarlet fever. Her husband apparently succumbed to the disease first and died. Her two children contracted the disease and she stayed up day and night trying to nurse them back to health. In the end, she ended up succumbing to scarlet fever (althought the two children survived). Now her ghost haunts the nursery, looking for the children she tried so valiantly to save. Among the strange sitings in the house are the following:
1) The nursery rocking chair will begin rocking all by itself, propelled by an unseen presence.
2) Visitors to the house will smell the sickroom disinfectant, carbolic acid, which was used in the 1800's.
3) A woman in a black dress has been seen in the nursery by both visitors and the curator, Barbara. Visitors figured that the woman was the housekeeper because she was in costume like the curator, Barbara. However, the woman vanishes before their eyes.
Come visit the historic old hotel and judge for yourself. The Stevenson House is listed on the State Historic Registry and is along The Path of History Tour of Historic Monterey.
Type: Ghost Stories and Local Haunts
Referenced in (list books, websites and other media): Not listed
Additional Coordinates: Not Listed
Website Reference: Not listed
|