The El Cortez

After the incident at Villa Montezuma we drove downtown to clear our minds about what just had happened. I bring up the El Cortez story and Neo tells me it again emphasizing his disdain for the place and how much he hates it as we drive toward the Coronado Bridge. Most of the night he had been getting headaches whenever we encountered something paranormal and then we stopped at a red light.

He complains about his head again and I look outside my passenger window and non-chalantly say “Oh wow, there goes the El Cortez”. We both were shocked that we ended up there, it’s like something had guided us there or he drove there subconsciously. He did not want to be there or open up to any spirits so we quickly got onto the freeway. Maybe the little boy in Neo wanted final answers.

*****

-Neo’s Story-
“Growing up I went to the El Cortez which I believe was in the early 90’s during the renovations. I went with my sister to visit her husband’s family member who was working on the El Cortez during its renovation. I remember being in an open area which I later found out to be the ball room. I was around 7 years old wandering and looking around, but for some reason I felt I wasn’t alone.

I remember the hairs standing up on the back of my neck as I noticed a presence of a little boy around the same age as me wanting to play. It seemed like an anxious presence, excited to see someone his own age. At the same time I felt that there was another spirit, a woman that was older; around late 20’s to early 30’s but I couldn’t seem to tell if there were a relation between the two. Being young I paid no attention to what I was feeling. I was probably afraid to see something I didn’t want to.

So we went about our visit and soon left and I didn’t put much more thought into it after that. About four years later I was talking to my sister and brother in-law and somehow we began to talk about the El Cortez as we passed it on the freeway. To my astonishment they began speaking of stories they had heard of it being haunted. But to me it was like I already knew.”

Neo believes the young boy is around 6 and the woman may be his mother. It’s possible they died in the 80’s and have stuck around for unknown reasons. Neo believes it may have been a suicide on the woman’s part. People who live in the apartment buildings are said to have stories as well but most are unreliable.

The El Cortez was opened Thanksgiving Day in 1927 and hosted stars, celebrities, and even presidents but by 1981 the grand hotel was no more. It fell into disrepair and anytime before 2000 you could find news of how haunted the El Cortez was. Thanks to renovations in the early 90’s until 2002 the real estate companies covered up the fact that several bodies were found on several of the top floors after it had been a crack house, drug haven and homeless retreat. Now the former hotel is a condo complex and even though you can have events there such as weddings and runway shows you’d have to be someone special to investigate if it’s haunted.