Haunting at the Historic Santa Maria Inn

by Diane
(Los Angeles, California)

The Santa Maria Inn is located in the Central Coast region of California. This area is often referred to as “Wine Country”. It is registered as a historical landmark and is known for being a popularity retreat for politicians and celebrities.

Since opening in the year of 1917, many notable names have stayed at the Santa Maria Inn. These include Charlie Chapman, Jean Harlow, Rudolph Valentino, Bette Davis, John Wayne, and Clark Gable. In fact, if a celebrity is known to have stayed in a particular room, a star will be on the outside of the door and the name will be inside of that star.


I visited the region to attend my niece’s graduation. I opted to stay at the Santa Maria Inn. My room had a star on the outside of the door that distinctly displayed the name of “Jean Harlow”. My room included two twin beds; however, I stayed at the inn alone. I opted for the bed that was closest to the window and the air conditioner. Upon deciding to settle in, I sat down on the side of the room I had chosen and turned on the television – not expecting anything out of the ordinary.


Within just a few minutes, the area became very cold. I had not turned on the air conditioner; however, I figured it must be on. So, I went over to turn it off. To my surprise, it was off. I was stumped by this. I walked to the other side of the hotel room, but the temperature was normal – no cold air at all. Then, I walked back to the side of the room that I had chosen. It was unbelievably cold! It was at this point that I felt as if something strange was happening. In fact, I entertained the idea that the ghost of Ms. Harlow may be visiting her old room.


As this thought entered my mind, I went for my camera. I knew enough about ghosts, spirits, and the paranormal that – if something strange WAS happening in the room – I may be able to catch it with my camera. When I got my camera off of my nightstand, the batteries were dead. I had just put in new batteries to take pictures at the graduation, so, I thought this was very strange. I tried to take a picture…nothing. I went ahead and decided to put new batteries in the camera. The device would still not work. I was highly perplexed by this. The area of the room that was cold remained that way for about another half hour. Then, the temperature evened out and was normal.


Upon researching the Santa Maria Inn, you will find that the structure is considered to be haunted by many. The following outlines the experiences others have had at the inn:


• A ghostly sea captain and his mistress have been observed floating towards the end of a bed in one of the rooms.
• Ghostly party guests have been observed in the building.
• Doors slam closed.
• The hands on various clocks have been observed spinning.
• The sound of a ghostly piano playing a tune has been heard.
• Lights go on and off.


I – personally – am not saying that the Santa Maria Inn is actually haunted; however, I can say that what I experienced there was highly unusual and I am quite curious now…. It was very interesting, to say the least.