The Ghosts of Arizona

Big Nose Kate’s Saloon is located in the center of Allen Street which is the main street running through Tombstone. Tombstone was founded on a mesa between the Dragoon and Huachuca Mountains after Ed Schieffling who was a prospector found a rich deposit of silver. From 1880 to 1889 Tombstone was a booming silver mine town. The town has a colorful history one memorable event is the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral between Wyatt Earp and his posse and the Clayton & McLaury gang which has also been depicted in westerns.

Big Nose Kate’s Saloon Building opened in 1881 at which time it was a high-class establishment called The Grand Hotel. The Clantons and the McLaurys stayed here the night before three of them were killed in the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. The building was built on top of a silver mine shaft, which runs underneath the town. The owner of the Grand Hotel was a prosperous ex-prostitute known as Big Nose Kate (Mary Kate Harmony). She was originally from Texas and saved Doc Holiday’s life by getting him out of jail. He was grateful to her and although they never married they lived together in Tombstone.

Since 1985 this establishment has been called Big Nose Kate’s Saloon and offers food and beer on tap. There is a dining area and bar on the first floor and another bar in the basement. There is also a store called The Shaft which sells “unique Southwestern” attire and other items of interest.

During the time of the Grand Hotel, there was a handyman known as Swamper who worked for the hotel in exchange for room and board. He had a room down in the basement it is said that he tunneled into the silver shaft and had quite a silver cache hidden somewhere in the basement.

Apparitions in the saloon

The staff at the saloon have named an entity Felix who shows up dressed in 1880s attire and can be seen wandering around the halls and rooms of the building.

There is also a female spirit dressed in 1880s attire with shoulder-length ringlets and holding a parasol. She has been seen listening to musical entertainment from the balcony.

A male apparition has been seen sitting at the bar in the basement. This entity wears a long-sleeved shirt.

There have been spirits of cowboys seen standing in doorways and sitting at either the basement bar or the first-floor bar.

Unusual mannequins

There were two mannequins placed on the closed-off balcony. While the owner, his brother, and friends were sitting at a table after hours the female mannequin suddenly fell from the balcony to the floor below. The male mannequin turned its head as if to take a look and those below made a hasty retreat.

Objects moving on their own

Glasses on bars and tables have been known to move by themselves. Items and objects move about the building and doors and cupboards open on their own. Trash can lids have removed themselves, fallen to the floor, and rolled about.

Cold spots and footsteps

In various areas of the building, people have felt cold spots and gusts of cold wind. On the stairs from the first floor to the basement and in the first-floor saloon booted footsteps and the jangling of spurs have been heard. Witnesses have heard disembodied voices coming from the basement.

Spooky spirits

There is an unseen male entity who likes to pinch waitresses, pull on their bows, and hide their pens. He can also get nasty and likes to push female employees on the lower part of the staircase leading to the basement and calls their names.

Another male entity likes to protect female employees. When one female employee noticed that two men had had too much to drink and were bothering other patrons she decided to go over and ask them to leave. As she stood by them she felt the strong pressure of a male hand on her shoulder. The two drunks looked at the spot above her shoulder and saw someone whom the female employee couldn’t see and left quickly.

There are many eyewitness accounts and paranormal investigations have come up with interesting results. Obviously, these ghostly entities enjoy Big Nose Kate’s Saloon.

Apparitions enjoying another bar

Another favorite haunt with ghostly beings is Coyote Joe’s Bar and Grill in Prescott. It is located on Montezuma Street which is one of the main roads that runs through historic downtown Prescott. This building was built in the late 1800s and housed the historic Arizona Hotel which was also the home to one of Arizona’s first brothels. Underneath these buildings on Montezuma Street were tunnels that were used for opium dens and also provided laundry delivery routes used by Asian immigrants.

This brick and wood building has two floors and a basement. Coyote Joe’s Bar and Grill has been here since 1997 and has become a successful restaurant/bar and live music establishment. The business office is in the basement. The main floor houses the kitchen, the restaurant area which is separated from the bar area by a brick wall, a billiard room, and a patio for outdoor dining and events. Upstairs there is a banquet room and a large apartment.

Strange happenings

Not long after the owners moved in a well-endowed apparition of a woman who was dressed provocatively appeared by the hostess's desk. She floated through the restaurant area and right through the brick wall into the bar.

Upstairs the owner has seen the banquet area filled with a white, smoky substance that disappears right away. People have heard voices and footsteps and have seen doors open and close by themselves. Much to the annoyance of the cooks kitchen utensils fly off shelves by themselves and the oven tends to turn off before the food is fully cooked. Amazingly enough through the help of an entity, children are able to get chocolate from a vending machine simply by asking for it.

So go for the great food and drinks and make some friends from the world beyond who have chosen to stay here.

Apparitions at a hotel

The Jerome Grand Hotel is a huge 5 story Spanish Mission-style building built on top of Cleopatra Hill in Jerome. It is the highest building in the entire Verde Valley. The town of Jerome was built in 1876 due to a profitable copper mine. The guest rooms are on the upper floors while the first floor houses the hotel lobby, gift shop, restaurant, and kitchen. The lobby décor is of the 1920s era and the 1926 Otis elevator is the oldest original “self-service” elevator in Arizona.

The United Verde Hospital was built in 1927 serving Jerome, the Verde Valley, and the surrounding communities. It closed in 1950 but was maintained as a hospital building until 1971. Around 1971 artists began to come to Jerome and set up an artist’s community. Tourists would come to the arts and crafts shops. So hotels became a profitable venture. The old vacant hospital building became a hotel. This building was bought in 1994 by the Altherr family from the Phelps Dodge Mining Company and opened in 1996 as the Val Alan’s Jerome Grand Hotel.

Unhappy spirits

This building had a reputation for being haunted even during the time that it was the United Verde Hospital. The people at the hospital then and even today in the hotel can hear talking, coughing, hard breathing, moaning, and cries of distress on every floor. Some of these manifestations may have originated from the deadly flu epidemic which caused a high death toll in Jerome.

Apparition of a bearded man

There is the bearded apparition of a miner who enjoys being among the living. While being a hospital a night duty nurse had just turned off the call lights and gone downstairs when the lights came on again. She went upstairs to scold the lone patient on this ward an invalid who was in bed where he should be. The invalid told the nurse of a bearded man who glided down the hall turning on the lights. Another time a nurse was about to leave the floor when she saw a bearded man standing at the very end of the hall. As she quickly approached him he disappeared. Guests at the hotel have seen him, especially on the second and third floors.

Hauntings of the third floor

On the third floor, the ghost of a 6-year-old boy appears to guests, smiles, and then disappears. Very common occurrences are the sounds of footsteps in the hall and on the stairs, fans that turn themselves on and off, and locked doors that are unlocked during the evening hours. A guest in room 32 watched in amazement as the bathroom door opened and closed by itself. Maids cleaning rooms and hallways have been teased by entities. They have heard their names called when they have been completely alone. Doors to rooms and closet doors have slammed shut on the maids. One unseen entity didn’t like the noise coming from a maid's vacuum. He rudely rushed by her as a strong, cold, unseen presence and nearly pushed her over.

Happenings in the lobby

In the lobby, doors are opened by unseen presences. One employee heard a commotion in the gift shop and discovered items flying off the shelves. After another employee had arranged chairs in front of the main desk she turned away and when she looked back the chairs had been moved back. One employee had a nice show. The plaque posted on the wall containing the hotel rules lifted itself off the nail and flew to the middle of the lobby carpet. The main desk has also gotten calls from empty rooms. The apparition of an old lady dressed in a white dress appeared in the stairwell next to the elevator.

The sad apparition

Then there is the unhappy entity – Claude M. Harvey. In 1936 the then hospital’s fireman engineer, Claude M. Harvey who was known by everyone as Scotty was discovered dead in the basement. The elevator had pinned him to the ground crushing his head. Since the elevator was in good condition and Scotty wasn’t a man to contemplate suicide it could possibly have been murder. However in those days with no CSI and no forensic evidence, nothing came of it. So Scotty hangs around perhaps looking for proof of what actually happened to him.

Manifestations attributed to him include lights seen in the elevator shaft. The sounds of the creaking iron elevator when the building is vacant. A shadowy figure of a man has been seen in the basement, on the stairs, and in other parts of the hotel. There is often an angry demeanor about him. Employees at the lobby desk have felt an angry glare from a presence on the stairs. The feeling is so strong that when they look up to see the shadowy figure on the stairs it retreats up the stairs.

The hotel has been investigated by ghost hunters and paranormal activity has been recorded on film. There is no actual guarantee that one will experience anything but it might be interesting to share a room with an unseen roommate.