Ghost buffs and fans of local history (not to mention great hotels) won't want to miss Incredible Ghosts of Old Monterey's Hotel Del Monte, the story of "The Most Elegant Seaside Establishment in the World." Located on the grounds of what is now the Naval Postgraduate School, the exclusive Del Monte was once a sprawling resort and the "Queen of American Watering Places." Movie stars, royalty, and American presidents were among the guests who enjoyed its many attractions. In addition to offering a fascinating glimpse into the colorful history of a fabulous resort, this book details a number of ghostly apparitions and occurrences that have been reported there, many of them featuring the Del Monte's mysterious Man in Gray.

Softcover
48 pages, illustrated $5.95

One evening while cleaning up after a party, a La Novia Room worker saw a gray bearded man enter the room from the adjoining terrace and walk toward him. Very lifelike in appearance, the middle-aged man looked only slightly out of place due to the out-dated clothes he wore. (In telling of the incident at a later date, the employee described the man as having been attired in an old-fashioned pin-striped gray suit, with a white shirt and a large black bow tie.) So lifelike was the figure, the worker didn't equate him with the Del Monte ghost, and as he came closer the employee politely said, "Excuse me, sir, the party has broken up." With this comment the figure appeared to hurry its pace-almost as if it began to float -and when he approached to within a few feet of the worker he totally and mysteriously vanished! During the entire episode, which lasted but a very few seconds, the employee described the room as having become icy cold . . .

With the La Novia Room visitor's sudden disappearance, the shaken worker did a disappearing act of his own as he left the room on the run. Upon finding his fellow kitchen crew employees, who were hard at work in the upstairs ballroom, he told them his story and refused to return to the La Novia Room alone. Finally, after considerable time and much soul searching, he felt he was ready to return to his duties. In the company of a security officer he entered the La Novia Room and in a loud voice he called, "Okay, you've had your fun. Could you leave us please so we can do the work." Upon this request, the worker sensed the ghost's presence leave, and with considerable relief and a hearty "Thank you!" to the security officer, he completed his duties without interruption . . .