Podcast Summary: Twisted Tales with Heidi Wong

Episode: The Real Haunted Hotels That Inspired Stephen King’s 1408
Release Date: December 22, 2025
Host: Heidi Wong
Podcast Network: Crime House

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the chilling true stories of real haunted hotels that inspired Stephen King’s horror classic, 1408. Heidi Wong unpacks the twisted lives and mysterious deaths behind these infamous locations, with special focus on San Diego’s Hotel del Coronado (the inspiration for 1408's cursed room) and the President Hotel in Kansas City. She explores the historical facts, legends, and ongoing paranormal reports, interweaving her signature darkly witty commentary.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Story Behind Stephen King’s 1408 (03:18 – 13:06)

• 1408’s Premise:
  Heidi recaps the 2007 film and original short story: “It’s about a writer named Mike Enslin. He travels around the country staying in supposedly haunted places, and then writes about the experience. To him, it's a dream job. But at this point in his life, Mike is over it. He's been everywhere, seen everything, and his career is spiraling as a result.” (03:28)
• The protagonist’s skepticism fades as the supernatural forces in room 1408 escalate—from poltergeist activity and apparitions to psychological torment.
• The story’s key twist: there’s no escape—either “keep experiencing this living hell on repeat or take the express checkout, which is a noose that's suddenly hanging over the bed.” (06:58)
• Heidi notes: “For the person whose case inspired the story of 1408, there was no escape.” (09:40)

2. Kate Morgan and the Haunting of the Hotel del Coronado

(09:45 – 22:59)

The Life and Mysterious Death of Kate Morgan

• Heidi gives a detailed account of Kate Morgan’s tragic life: a series of personal losses, assumed aliases, and a mysterious final stay at the Hotel del Coronado in 1892.
• Kate checked in as “Lottie A. Bernard,” arriving sickly and alone, claiming she was waiting for her brother (a doctor).
• Her behavior grew odder: requesting drinks, burning documents, insisting on privacy, and ultimately buying a pistol.
• Kate was found dead on a staircase leading to the beach, a gunshot wound at her side, a pistol nearby.
• Immediate verdict: suicide. “But that was hardly the end of Kate's story, because it would soon continue on into the afterlife.” (13:01)

Confusion, Aliases, and Intrigue

• Police couldn't confirm “Lottie Bernard’s” real identity, leading to the nickname "Beautiful Stranger.”
• Through letters and telegrams linking aliases, the truth: “Kate Morgan was pretending to be an actual person who disappeared from Detroit six weeks earlier.” (14:38)
• Multiple mysteries: her non-existent brother, the elusive G.L. Allen (who paid her bill), rumors of pregnancy rather than cancer, and scandalous tales of an affair.
• “Why does she arrive at the Dell alone? Why didn't she have any luggage? Was she really sick? And who was this mysterious brother? Unfortunately, nobody was coming forward with answers.” (14:58)

The Ghost of Kate Morgan

• Hauntings began soon after: “Guests and staff have reported seeing an imprint of a woman on the bed that wouldn't go away...one man said his blanket was ripped off in the middle of the night by what seemed to be a shadowy outline of a woman.” (16:00)
• Memorable encounter: Guest CCM witnesses a period-dressed woman staring at her from the stairs: “If that's me, I’m getting right out of there. No packing, just straight through the door and grabbing an Uber.” (16:53)
• Hotel tried to hush stories, but Kate’s ghost persisted; her room, 3327, became infamous.

A Modern Paranormal Investigation

• In 1989, lawyer Alan May had two unnerving experiences; both times, he saw “a pair of eyes and a smiling mouth coming from the TV while it was turned off.” (18:31) Second encounter included a shadowy apparition and a voice urging him to discover “her true fate.”
• Alan’s research turned up a possible murder: “The gun that Kate brought was a .44 caliber, but the surgeon...said she’d been shot with a .38 or .40 caliber bullet. And apparently, Kate's husband carried a gun that could use that kind of ammo. It’s always the husband.” (19:24)
• Legendary ghost hunter Christopher Chacon’s 1992 study: surveilled the hotel for a year, accumulating 10,000 hours of data and hundreds of witnesses' stories—concluding the hauntings were real and “classic” in form.
• Oddly, most paranormal activity centered not on Kate’s room, but the maid’s—implying unknown connections.

Influence on Stephen King

• Heidi sums up the thread: “The story caught the attention of one Stephen King and it inspired him to write 1408. Thankfully, Kate Morgan's spirit won’t drive you to your death. The hotel staff says she's pretty harmless, and her old room is one of the most requested at the Dell, so you can stay there if you’re brave enough.” (22:40)

3. Bonus Story: The President Hotel and Room 1046

(24:31 – 31:33)

• Heidi bridges to another haunting hotel tale “since we’re on the topic of haunted hotel rooms”—the infamous unsolved case of “Roland T. Owen,” real name Artemus Ogletree, in Kansas City, 1935.
• He checked in with no luggage, gave a fake name. His behavior was strange—locking himself in, taking no visitors except for a mysterious “Don.”
• Days of hauntingly odd encounters culminated in his brutal murder. “He’d been stabbed multiple times in the chest, struck in the head so hard his skull was broken…straws of strangulation. And somehow, he was still alive. But Roland said that nobody had done this to him. He claimed that his injuries were from falling on the bathtub. Yeah, okay.” (28:04)
• His mother only identified him a year later. Letters had been sent home from “him” after he’d died.
• The murder remains officially unsolved, the room allegedly haunted by his lingering spirit: “from cold spots to footsteps, to faint sounds of music, it seems like Artemis can’t let go.” (31:03)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On ghostly guests:
  • “Imagine the most terrifying hotel stay where the impossible becomes real and terror lurks in the shadows. And a room is already occupied not by another guest, but by a ghost.” (01:18)
• On hotel ghost stories:
  • “Why is it always like a poetically depressed woman?” (14:27)
• On paranormal encounters:
  • “She turned towards CCM's room and looked right at her. If that's me, I’m getting right out of there. No packing, just straight through the door and grabbing an Uber.” (16:53)
• On historical details:
  • “But the strangest thing about this is that none of it actually happened in the room where Kate had stayed.” (21:08)
• Heidi’s signature wit:
  • “It's always the husband. Could this be why Kate's ghost had lingered at the hotel all these years?” (19:32)
• Channel sign-off:
  • “Until then, stay curious and remember, there's no reason to fear the dark—unless you try to hide from it.” (31:22)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [03:18] Recap of 1408 and fiction vs. reality
• [09:45] Detailed history of Kate Morgan and Hotel del Coronado
• [14:24] Aftermath and early media fascination with the "Beautiful Stranger"
• [16:00] Guest ghost sightings and chilling accounts
• [18:31] Alan May’s haunting experiences and murder theory
• [21:08] 1992 Paranormal investigation findings
• [22:40] Stephen King's inspiration confirmed
• [24:31] The President Hotel, Kansas City, and the murder of Artemus Ogletree
• [31:03] Aftermath and speculation; comparison with haunted hotel stories

Tone & Style

Heidi Wong narrates with a sardonic, empathic, and slightly gothic sensibility—melding historical detail with humor, skepticism, and genuine fascination with the macabre. She brings to life the personalities behind the legends and the complexity beneath the horror—inviting listeners not just to shiver, but to reflect on the pain and mystery that often sit at the heart of famous hauntings.

Conclusion

Heidi draws clear connections between these real hotel hauntings and the themes in 1408—psychological dread, isolation, haunted pasts, and the inescapable nature of trauma. For true fans of both horror fiction and true crime, this episode offers an immersive mix of history, myth, and paranormal possibility.

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