Stevenson House

Monterey, CA · Historical Buildings

Stevenson House museum was an 1800s boarding house where author Robert Louis Stevenson once stayed (and it's now named for him). It is believed to be haunted by Manuela Giradin, who owned and ran the establishment. In 1879, Manuela's husband died of typhoid fever, and her two grandchildren came down with the disease as well. Manuela so exhausted herself tending the children that she caught it herself and died December 21, 1879 but her grandchildren survived. The ghostly events happen around this date, and include a nursery rocking chair rocking by itself, the phantom smell of carbolic acid (a disinfectant used in the 1800s), and the apparition of a woman in a black dress and a high lace collar.

Geographic Information

Address
530 Houston Street
Monterey, CA
Get Directions »
GPS
36.5974004, -121.8932698
County
Monterey County County, California
Nearest Towns

Quick Answers

Is Stevenson House really haunted?
Visitors rate Stevenson House at 95 out of 100 on our EHP (Estimated Haunted Probability) scale. So far 3 people have shared firsthand experiences from this location in the comments.
Where is Stevenson House located?
The address is 530 Houston Street, Monterey, CA. GPS coordinates: 36.5974004, -121.8932698.
What kind of haunted place is Stevenson House?
Stevenson House is listed under Historical Buildings in our California section.
What is the nearest town to Stevenson House?
Monterey, CA is the closest town, about 0.2 miles away, with Pacific Grove (1.9 mi.) and Seaside (2.5 mi.) also nearby.

Please note: It is your responsibility to acquire appropriate permissions before investigating any location listed on this site. Private property should be respected at all times, as should all posted signs concerning trespassing, hours of operation and other regulations.

Share Your Experiences

Comments (3)

  • Dave |

    I once went to the Stevenson house to do research for a college paper I had to write. It was a week day and nobody was in the garden but me. I sat on one of the benches in the back of the house. It became scary quiet. As I sat there alone, the hair on the back of my neck stared to stand up. I than got the strangest feeling I was being watched from someone inside the house. The feeling was so overwhelming that I had to get up and leave the property. At the time I visited the house, I did not know anything about the ghosts that supposedly live there. It was not until one of my sister-in laws was reading a book on the ghost of Monterey that the haunting at Stevenson house came up. Freaked me out! A few weeks later I went on a guided tour and was told of all the strange happenings that occur in the house.

  • Edward |

    i have an image of what appears to be a ghost taken just last night. I took the photo around 10:30pm last night to send to a friend about some work the following day...all it was was a photo of a bunch of trash bags and other things that were in a homeless encampment that were to be thrown in a dumpster the following day...my friend is the one that noticed the "ghost" in the background...I didnt until he told me where to look and to enlarge the picture. I have been browsing websites all night tonight and have yet to find a photo anywhere close to the one I took last night in regards to clarity and quality...where would I send this photo to to get an opinion?

  • Raj |

    I once went to that house as well. I was in the house all alone with nothing but a flashlight in my hand. I changed my flashlight battery that same day to make sure that it would last for at least a few hours. But then, as i stood there in the middle of the living room, i heard a loud noise go "Bang". Turned out to be a door that was shut hard. But as i remembered, the door had already been closed, so something must have opened and slammed it again. So i called out "is anyone there" and all of a sudden the lights blew out and glass was shattered everywhere. I turned my flashlight on and squared up to the ghost and calling out its name. Then i just felt something touch me and next thing you know............. The ghost is clapping my cheeks

Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the truest sense, ghost stories. Haunted Places makes no claims that any of these stories are factually accurate or scientifically provable.