HAUNTED PALM SPRINGS

ORCHID TREE INN

261 SOUTH BELARDO ROAD
PALM SPRINGS

Abandoned for nearly two decades, this motel started life as the 10-unit Sakarah Apartments in 1934. Following several ownership changes, it became the Orchid Tree Inn in 1952 and was eventually expanded to encompass nearly a full city block. During its heyday, the place hosted such stars as Troy Donahue, Tab Hunter, and Anthony Perkins, before ultimately shuttering in 2005. Despite being ravaged by two fires in 2007, it stands largely intact, though delipidated, today – a gorgeous, haunting reminder of Palm Springs’ early days.

COMMUNITY CHURCH OF PALM SPRINGS

283 SOUTH CAHUILLA ROAD
PALM SPRINGS

Next door to the Orchid Tree Inn sits the once-celebrated Community Church of Palm Springs. Designed in the Gothic Revival style by William Charles Tanner in 1935, President Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, attended services there while visiting the desert in 1954. Shuttered since 2004, the once stately parish is charred and decaying today, following mass devastation resulting from two fires that tore through the property in 2013 and 2022. While there have been talks of transforming the church, as well as the Orchid Tree Inn, into a boutique resort, those plans have yet to come to fruition.

CHARLES NAYWERT HOUSE

530 WEST TAHQUITZ CANYON WAY
PALM SPRINGS

This towering abode is the site of one of Palm Springs’ most notorious crimes, the still unsolved July 4, 1984 double murder of art dealer (and suspected diamond smuggler) Charles Naywert and his housepainter, Carl Ernest Hinsenkamp, in a scene “The Desert Sun” described as being more brutal than the Manson killings. Per reports, police had a prime suspect in mind from the start, but no arrest was ever made due to a lack of evidence. The residence, which bears a strong resemblance to the infamous Los Feliz Murder House, was sold by Naywert’s estate following the murders and was later owned for a time by actor Gary Oldman.

TOM NEAL HOUSE

2481 NORTH CARDILLO AVENUE
PALM SPRINGS

This ranch-style dwelling was once the home of actor Tom Neal (most famous for his role in the 1945 noir “Detour”), who, on the afternoon of April 1, 1965, shot and killed his third wife, Gail Kloke, following an argument over their impending divorce. He was ultimately found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and, while awaiting sentencing, infamously posed for a photo shoot outside of the residence/murder scene, feigning much grief. Following a six-year prison stint, Neal relocated to Los Angeles and passed away just eight months later, one of Hollywood’s most tragic cautionary tales.

HAVEN FOR PETS

66330 DILLON ROAD
DESERT HOT SPRINGS

Established by Charles Stewart in 1964, this 2.5-acre parcel located on a dusty stretch of isolated road is the only official pet cemetery in Riverside County. Originally part of the popular Dogtown grooming/boarding facility, the site has somewhat of an abandoned feel today, populated by overgrown foliage and fading headstones. It, nevertheless, remains the final resting place of more than 2,000 of the Valley’s most beloved pets, including the furry friends of such luminaries as Michael Landon, Jimmy Van Heusen, and Fred Williamson. Liberace buried six of his dogs onsite and President Gerald Ford laid First Pets Liberty and Misty to rest on the premises.

DESERT MEMORIAL PARK

31705 DA VALL DRIVE
CATHEDRAL CITY

Originally established on Halloween day 1956 (how’s that for spooky?), this 60-acre cemetery is home to myriad distinguished souls, most notably Frank Sinatra, who was interred, alongside a bottle of Jack Daniels and a pack of cigarettes, in Section B-8 on May 20, 1998. His famous eternal neighbors include Sonny Bono, Busby Berkeley, William Powell, and Suzanne Somers. It was also here that actor Tom Neal staged a post-conviction photo shoot while awaiting sentencing for the slaying of his third wife in the hopes of garnering sympathy with the judge and the public at large. In a truly callous twist, Neal posed not at the gravesite of his wife, though – she was buried over 120 miles away – but a young child who had been killed in a robbery.

WALTER H. MORGAN HOUSE

49499 EISENHOWER DRIVE
LA QUINTA

San Francisco oyster tycoon Walter H. Morgan relocated to the desert in 1921, purchasing 1,400 acres of land on which he commissioned Gordon Kaufmann to design a sprawling homestead for himself and an exclusive lodging for his well-heeled friends. Completed in 1926, the La Quinta Resort went on to become one of the area’s most beloved hotels. Sadly, Morgan did not live to see its success. Suffering from considerable health and financial woes, the businessman took his own life in the garage of his residence in April 1931. His ashes were spread on the grounds surrounding his home, which still stands today in all of its Spanish Revival glory, just north of the hotel’s main pool.

LA CASA

49499 EISENHOWER DRIVE
LA QUINTA

Tucked along the southern edge of the La Quinta Resort is another former private residence designed by Gordon Kaufmann, this one crafted in 1927 for oil magnate William Graham and his wife, Eleanor. Known as La Casa, the charming abode served as a favorite retreat of Greta Garbo throughout her lifetime. Acquired by the hotel in the 1970s, the dwelling is currently used as a special events venue, but the screen legend is still said to frequent it on occasion from the great beyond. It was also there that Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner married his pick, Theresa Nist, in January 2024, before divorcing her just three months later.

CLARK’S TRAVEL CENTER

82253 INDIO BOULEVARD
INDIO

This roadside pit stop is where Reverend Jimmy Swaggart picked up a lady of the night before being promptly pulled over by the police on October 11, 1991. The scandal (Swaggart’s second such offense) led to the temporary shut-down of the televangelist’s ministry and a massive media blitz, which then Indio Police Chief Jerry Graves told “The Desert Sun” garnered “the most intense interest in a news story that I’ve been involved in.” In an only-in-the-desert twist, a bronze plaque now marks where the incident occurred, quite fittingly displayed just outside of the travel center’s restrooms.

COACHELLA VALLEY PUBLIC CEMETERY

82925 52ND AVE
COACHELLA

Legendary writer/producer/director Frank Capra deemed the Coachella Valley his lucky charm, penning several of his hit films in the area and ultimately living his final years in La Quinta, with frequent visits to his beloved La Quinta Resort. So it is no surprise the icon chose the desert as his final resting place. Following his funeral at nearby St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church on September 6, 1991, where 175 mourners honored his truly wonderful life, Capra was buried at the Coachella Valley Public Cemetery, next to his wife, Lucille, in Section 17-7.

JOSHUA TREE INN

61259 29 PALMS HIGHWAY
JOSHUA TREE

It was at this “eccentrically eclectic” roadside motel that Gram Parsons spent his last days. Said to have been a favorite getaway for the country star (as well as a frequent stomping ground for John Barrymore, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi and John Wayne), the property sits just a few miles from Joshua Tree National Park. Parson’s final stay took place in Room 8, where the singer overdosed in the early morning hours of September 19, 1973, before being rushed to nearby Hi-Desert Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at the age of 26. His memory remains alive and well on site, though, with a guitar statue on display in the courtyard and a sign on the office door reading, “Home of Gram Parsons’ Spirit.”