Boo!

If you stop and think about it, the days of the wild west aren’t that far behind us, and Arizona used to be wild as all get-out. Miners, ranchers, and sheep herders didn’t always get along well, and of course there have always been jilted lovers and jealousy, especially back when women were fairly scarce on the ground! So it’s no wonder that Arizona has so many haunted places! And in addition to those ghostly spots, we’ve got a lot of ghost towns in various stages of ruin that can be fun to visit. Here’s a run-down of just a few of the ghost towns and haunted places in Arizona – just in time for Halloween!

HAUNTED PLACES

NAU: Morton Hall

Morton Hall is said to be haunted by the ghost of a student named Kathy, who hung herself in the stairwell.

I have to start with this one because my granddaughter Trinity hadn’t been at Northern Arizona University for more than a couple of days before she heard the story of how Morton Hall is haunted by the spirit of poor Kathy, a lovelorn student who hanged herself in one of the stairwells.

Shortly after poor Kathy was discovered, the body of a stillborn baby was found in the basement. Students who live in Morton Hall have reported that posters fly off walls, and that Kathy herself roams the halls in her blue nightdress with a rope around her neck. Trinity says one of her friends had a dorm room at Morton but never heard anything besides the usual creakiness of an old building. But you never know!

If you want to see Morton Hall, which is a beautiful building, October is a fantastic time to go – the leaves will be gorgeous around Flagstaff. Only students are allowed inside, however, because Morton Hall is still a dorm.

Hotel Monte Vista, Flagstaff

The Monte Vista, just off Route 66, was paid for by the citizens of Flagstaff because they needed a swank place for all the classy visitors that started showing up in the 1920’s. There are rumors that a system of tunnels exist under the hotel that go around to other areas of Flagstaff, including Morton Hall. In actual fact, several relics from gambling and moonshine have been found underground.

The ghosts include a bellboy who will sometimes knock on doors and announce room service but when guests open the door, no one is there. Also, people hear a baby crying in the basement, and guests sometimes say they woke up in the middle of the night feeling like they are being watched. Some male guests have felt ghostly hands over their mouths so they can’t breathe. In the early 40’s two prostitutes in room 306 were killed and thrown out the window. In room 305 there is a haunted rocking chair, and when it rocks itself, people sometimes hear knocking from the closet. You can still stay at the Hotel Monte Vista if you dare!

Bird Cage Theater, Tombstone

Of course Tombstone would have hauntings – it was quite the wild and famous place! Tombstone is a great place to visit, and when we took the granddaughters down to southern Arizona, they liked Tombstone better than Bisbee! The Bird Cage Theater in Tombstone used to be a house of ill-repute, and many brutal murders were committed there. They say 26 people died at this place, including one working girl called Margarita, who they say had her heart cut out.

Besides Margarita, other spirits are said to haunt the theater, and the former owner was nearly strangled to death during a séance! You can go on an official guided ghost tour at the Bird Cage next time you are there. October, by the way, is an ideal time to visit because of the lovely weather. Be sure to check Groupon and the internet for discounts on all kinds of tours and events at Tombstone. Don’t miss the gunfight!

Oliver House, Bisbee

The Oliver House is a bed and breakfast in Bisbee – a great place to visit after your adventures in Tombstone! Because it used to be a popular place for adulterous meetings, it’s no surprise that there were murders there. People say they hear loud gunshots, that doors open and shut by themselves, and ghostly footsteps are heard when there is no one there. You can still stay there if you like!

Jerome Grand Hotel, Jerome

Jerome is a colorful place with lots of wonderful little restaurants and shops where you can buy all kinds of unique art. You’re sure to notice one building with a skeleton apparently climbing the wall, and several places in Jerome are said to be haunted. The Jerome Grand Hotel is the most famous one, and it started life as a hospital for wounded miners and the mentally ill. People say that you will be bumped by ghosts of nurses and hear voices moaning and coughing. You might even see an old miner who died in the elevator shaft. You can book a room at this hotel even now!

Vulture Gold Mine

The Vulture Gold Mine is two attractions in one – it’s haunted, and it’s a ghost town! It’s reportedly haunted by violent ghosts who throw rocks and scream. You can take guided tours of this ghost town if you’re brave enough.

Superstition Mountains, Apache Junction

The Superstition Mountains are beautiful and deadly - many have gone in and never come back.

Everybody has heard the story of the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine, but not everyone knows that many people claim that ghosts of Apache armies haunt the mountains and you can hear their screams. Some even say that cannibals wander the Superstitions. What IS a fact is that many people have disappeared in the Superstition Mountains, never to be seen again. That being said, there are lots of gorgeous hikes in the Superstitions, and October is a fantastic time of year to do those hikes. Lost Dutchman State Park is an ideal place to start your visit to the Superstitions.

Scottsdale Public Library, Scottsdale

A haunted library? Apparently so! The Scottsdale Public Library has four branches, and two of them – the Arabian and the Civic Center branches – are said to be haunted. The library actually requested a paranormal investigation there because of books and things moving around unaided, cold spots in different locations, and just a spooky atmosphere. Check it out!

Sahuaro Ranch Park, Glendale

I’ve been to Sahuaro Ranch Park many times and even attended a wedding in one of the buildings, but I’ve never seen anything ghostly. But the word from locals is that two ghosts haunt this 19th century ranch, and people claim to have seen a woman in a long dress vanishing around corners. Regardless of whether you see a ghost or not, this park is a great place to take the family for a picnic.

Pioneer Living History Museum, Phoenix

When they moved historic buildings to Pioneer Village, they moved the ghosts too!

We went here for Emily’s third grade field trip and it’s a pretty cool place – it’s 90 acres of buildings that are recreations of an old western town and it’s lots of fun to visit. You can get a sepia photo of yourself taken while you’re dressed up in old-time duds, see a gunfight, and much more. Supposedly, when some of the buildings were moved to the museum, the spirits that haunt them came along. Guests sometimes hear voices and see ghosts. You should check it out – it’s between Phoenix and Anthem just off I-17 and late fall and winter are the best times to visit this desert attraction.

GHOST TOWNS

If you drive around on desert back roads long enough, you’ll see plenty of old abandoned mines and ranch houses. They can be a lot of fun to explore, but here’s something you definitely need to stay aware of – there are old mine shafts all over the place in the desert. Some have fences around them, but they are usually barbed wire fences, which are not enough to keep a dog or a small child out. Mine shafts can be death traps, so make sure you keep your dog on a leash and don’t let kids wander off alone.

Arizona Ghost Town Loop

The Arizona Ghost Town Loop includes five ghost towns, and Canelo is one of them.

Just outside of Patagonia, Arizona, you can hop on a road that will take you on a loop that passes five different ghost towns. This Arizona Ghost Town Loop can be done in a day, and it’s a lovely drive. The Ghost towns themselves are a bit underwhelming, and there are a couple of places where you can’t even get out of your car, but it was something I had always wanted to do, and John and I had a great time driving this loop. You can read all about it in Western Outdoor Times Arizona Ghost Town Loop March 2020.

Cleator Ghost Town

Cleator used to be called Turkey Creek and was a mining town established in 1864. There was even a railway station there after Murphy’s Impossible Railroad was built between Cordes and Crown King. But once the mining declined, the population declined as well, and after James Cleator died (who founded the town), his son Thomas bought the place and lived there until he died in 1996. The bar is still open and it’s a popular spot for tourists and OHV drivers. As of 2020 it had just 8 permanent residents. Cleator is on the way to Crown King, and again, this is a great time of year to visit! Continue on up the gravel road to Crown King and have a burger!

Congress Ghost Town

Congress exists because gold was found at the Congress Mine in 1884. Pretty soon there were railroads passing close by, but then the mine petered out and finally closed in the mid ‘30’s. Not much is left of the original mining camp, and now Congress is basically a suburb of Wickenburg. The country around Congress is beautiful, though, and worth a visit.

Nothing Ghost Town

You’ve probably passed this place on the way to Vegas, because it’s on the highway between Wikeup and Wickenburg. The original founders gave up on Nothing in 2005, and then in 2009 some new owners tried to make a go of it, but within a year they gave up, too. Current population is zero. I have passed it many times and never tried to visit, and I’ve read that it is fenced off.

Two Guns, Winslow

I had never heard of Two Guns until our granddaughter Trinity told us about it. It used to be a tourist stop on Route 66, but then it was bypassed by Interstate 40. Now it’s just ruins of abandoned buildings and even the remains of a zoo that had mountain lions, panthers, and bobcats. Trinity and a friend went there to photograph the astonishing amount of graffiti that covers every square inch of much of the old place. Find it just off I-40 at exit 230 east of Flagstaff.

Tiptop

Tiptop was a rough drive that required 4 wheel drive, but it's been closed to the public since 2019.

Sad to say, the last I heard was that TipTop was bought by someone who blocked off the road and now you can’t go there. John and I were fortunate enough to visit beforehand. There are some ruins that are actually pretty good – some of them are almost as tall as I am, and there are doorways and window openings in the rock walls. We also found a few old graves. Tiptop was a rich silver mine back in the day and was one of the biggest towns in Arizona in the 1870s. A mill at Gillette (now also a ghost town and also closed to the public) processed the silver ore.

GO, BUT BE CAREFUL

These are just a few of the fascinating places there are to visit in Arizona. John and I are always wandering around the state visiting fun little places, and the back roads are full of surprises. Fall is the ideal time of year to visit these places, especially the desert places. Be careful, take lots of water, and have fun. Be aware also that on many backroad trips you won’t have cell service. And, Happy Halloween!

Boo!

Are You Brave Enough To Visit Some Ghost Towns, Haunted Places In Arizona?

By Margie Anderson