JOURNEY (ATA INFLIGHT) . OCTOBER 2004
City Frights: Haunted Hotel San Carlos

By Kathy Summers

Guests wandering the haunted hallways of the Hotel San Carlos (202 N. Central Ave. 866-253-4121; (www.hotelsancarlos.com, www.hauntedaccommodations.com) often report hearing the unearthly laughter and frolicking footsteps of four schoolchildren fatefully lost in time. Others notice an aura of water from the old well that drowned them.

Haunted legend: Built in 1874 for the city’s first schoolhouse, the well pumps water from the historic hotel’s basement. The site sits at the center of a countercurrent, say local Native Americans, giving it mystical properties associated with the gods of learning.

Resident specters: Despite a recent $4 million renovation, the hotel’s original architect is said to haunt the penthouse while the original head housekeeper resides in the maid’s closets and basement, according to hotel lore. But the most tragic legend belongs to Miss Leone Jensen who, shattered by the loss of a bellboy’s love in 1928, jumped to an untimely death from the hotel’s seventh floor. Guests still report seeing her young, ethereal figure dressed in white, accompanied by unexplainable breezes.

Spook yourself: Take a 45-minute walking tour, including haunted areas generally off limits and other haunted sites in the neighborhood. Offered October-May, Friday and Saturday 8 pm; tickets for the tour are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and younger.