Around the late 1800s, Albert Robinson, a freed slave, moved to Julian. There he met his wife, Margaret, and opened up a restaurant. It was also part bakery, and Margaret would often bake apple pies. Soon, Albert grew the building into the Hotel Robinson, complete with fourteen guest rooms.
On June 10, 1915, Albert Robinson passed away. When he died, the town refused to allow his remains to be buried in the "white" cemetery and he was finally laid to rest forty five miles west of Julian. Margaret continued to run the hotel until 1921 when she sold it to Martin Jacobs who eventually changed the name to its present "Julian Hotel". Still a hotel to this day, all of the rooms are fitted with period furniture from the late 1800s. It may be the oldest continuously operating hotel in Southern California.
But when the new owners acquired the Julian hotel, they noticed it had a couple of spirits. The first was a violent spirit that would occasionally break windows. It often appeared as a ORB of fire or shooting lights. An exorcist was brought in, which stopped the actions of whoever this spirit was. The other ghost is believed to be Albert Robinson.
Albert is reported to still haunt Room #10, where he is said to have resided back when he was alive. His bed is often messed up on its own, furniture is re-arranged back to the way it was long ago, and the smell of pipe smoke lingers in the room. Additionally the spirit will hide small objects and slam doors now & then.
Other incidents that have occurred include shadows moving past a stained glass window, the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs from the second floor, and windows opening and closing on their own. A menu has been seen floating in the air and lace curtains have been pulled open as if someone was looking out.
Near the hotel a woman reported seeing the ghost of Albert in the mirror of the second floor room as she prepared herself for a day at the nearby Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve. She described the ghost as decayed, but not a skeleton.
If you stay at the hotel just be aware that you are NOT ALONE!