Ghosts of Jerome, Arizona
High atop Cleopatra Hill in Arizona, clinging precariously to the steep slopes, lies Jerome, a town steeped in history and whispered tales of the supernatural. Once a booming copper mining town, then a near-abandoned ghost town, Jerome has reinvented itself as an artist’s haven and a tourist destination. But beneath the vibrant facade of art galleries and quirky shops, lies a past riddled with mining accidents, violent disputes, and untimely deaths, leaving behind a lingering sense of the spectral. Today, with a population of around 400, Jerome’s colorful history has given it a reputation as one of the most haunted towns in Arizona, a place where the echoes of the past resonate with the present.
During its heyday in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Jerome was a bustling metropolis of approximately 15,000 residents, fueled by the rich copper deposits that lay beneath Cleopatra Hill. The town’s reputation for lawlessness and vice earned it the moniker "The Wickedest City in the West," bestowed upon it by a New York newspaper. The town’s history is filled with stories of misfortune. Miners often faced perilous working conditions, saloon brawls frequently escalated into deadly gunfights, and the lure of opium dens ensnared many. Such a tumultuous history has led to a plethora of ghostly tales that add to the allure and mystique of Ghosts of Jerome, Arizona.
Spook Hall
One of Jerome’s most renowned paranormal hotspots is the Jerome Community Center, affectionately known as "Spook Hall." Formally named Lawrence Memorial Hall, the building stands on a site with a particularly colorful past. Before the construction of Lawrence Hall, the land was occupied by a collection of small shacks or "cribs" used by the "sporting ladies" who catered to the town’s male population. One tragic tale speaks of a prostitute who met a violent end within one of these cribs, stabbed to death by a miner. Her restless spirit is said to linger in front of Spook Hall, appearing briefly before moving towards a nearby hotel, only to vanish into thin air. The history of Ghosts of Jerome, Arizona is intrinsically linked to locations like Spook Hall.
During Jerome’s boom years, vice was rampant, with some estimates suggesting that over 100 prostitutes operated within the town. The ghost associated with Spook Hall is just one of many unfortunate women who lost their lives in this rough-and-tumble mining town. It’s a somber reminder of the harsh realities faced by many during Jerome’s wild west days.
Mile High Inn
The Mile High Inn is another location in Jerome where spectral tales abound. Originally built in 1899 as the Clinksdale Building, the structure was constructed with unusually thick walls to ensure its fire resistance, a testament to the frequent fires that plagued the town. Later, the building became the famed bordello of Madam Jennie Banters, a shrewd businesswoman who became one of the wealthiest women in northern Arizona. Jennie and her "ladies" entertained countless men within the walls of the Mile High Inn.
As Jerome evolved and sought a more "civilized" image, the brothels were forced to relocate from Main Street to an area that became known as "Husband’s Alley." Despite her success, Madam Jennie Banters also met a tragic end, allegedly murdered by a client after moving her business. Though prostitution became illegal, it continued to thrive in Jerome until the 1940s. This kind of location only solidifies the notion of Ghosts of Jerome, Arizona.
Over the years, the building transitioned into a hardware store on the lower level with apartments upstairs. Eventually, it became the charming eight-guest-room inn that welcomes tourists today. But, according to many, it also continues to host Jennie Banters and several other spectral residents.
One of the inn’s most popular ghostly inhabitants is Jennie Banters. She’s often seen in the Lariat and Lace Room and keeps a watchful eye on the kitchen, where objects are known to fly off shelves when they aren’t properly stored. Jennie is also said to move furniture and turn on radios in rooms as maids arrive to clean them. A phantom cat, believed to have been Madam Jennie’s pampered pet, is also frequently seen by both staff and guests. This spectral feline brushes against people, leaves paw prints on made beds, and its meows and claw-sharpening sounds can be heard throughout the inn.
Adding to the spectral menagerie, an elderly gentleman, dressed in vintage work clothes and a felt hat, has been seen looking out of the window in the "Pillow Talk" room. He is also said to leave indentations on the bed. In the "Kiss and Tell" room, wall hangings and pictures are often rearranged or placed in the armoire, whose doors open and close on their own. Furthermore, a younger, less friendly male spirit is known to startle guests and staff. This shadowy figure blows cold winds through guest rooms and appears with a grumpy expression in the Victorian Rose Room and the restaurant.
Other paranormal phenomena reported at the Mile High Inn include locked doors opening and closing, mysteriously rearranging furniture, utensils flying off counters, cold winds blowing through rooms, and a statue that turns itself around. The scent of roses or perfume is often detected in the Victorian Rose Room, and water faucets tend to turn on and off inexplicably. The restaurant and kitchen are particularly active, with whistling heard in the bar area, metal signs flying off the wall, glasses sliding off tables, a woman’s singing, and electrical devices turning on and off at will. The legends and stories of the Mile High Inn are a significant part of the charm and mystery of Ghosts of Jerome, Arizona.
Connor Hotel
Just down the street from the Mile High Inn stands another haunted hotel, the Connor. Built in 1897 by David Connor, "Connor’s Corner" was a three-story brick hotel offering 20 guest rooms, a saloon, card rooms, and billiards on the first floor. Constructed with stone quarried nearby and brick shipped from Cottonwood, Arizona, the hotel was considered a luxurious establishment for affluent citizens and travelers, renting for $1.00 per night. However, the Connor Hotel faced a turbulent history, including several fires.
Despite its initial success, Connor’s Corner was destroyed by fire in September 1898. Fortuitously, David Connor had purchased insurance, allowing him to rebuild immediately. Over the following years, Jerome experienced more fires, and the Connor Hotel was repeatedly damaged, only to be rebuilt with insurance money. Its stone structure often helped save the downtown district from complete destruction.
When the Connor Hotel reopened in August 1899, it quickly gained a reputation as one of the finest hotels in the West. It boasted amenities such as full electricity, a call bell in each room, and a bus for transporting guests to and from the train depot. However, as Jerome’s mining fortunes declined, so did the Connor Hotel’s. By 1931, it had closed. David Connor’s son continued to rent out the ground floor for commercial businesses, but the hotel rooms remained vacant.
When the mines closed in the 1950s, Jerome became a ghost town, and most buildings were abandoned and neglected. In the late 1960s, new residents began to move in, drawn to the historic town, transforming it into an artists’ community and tourist destination. The old hotel reopened with ten larger rooms, but it was no longer the luxury hotel of its past.
In the 1980s, the hotel closed again due to safety violations and remained empty until the 21st century. In 2000, the current owners began renovating the hotel, bringing it up to safety standards and restoring the rooms to their historic splendor while adding modern amenities. Today, visitors can enjoy a blend of past and present, and perhaps encounter a spectral guest or two.
In Room 1, legend has it that the hotel’s electrician was frightened by whispers and the sounds of women laughing. He felt cold chills and spent the night sleeping in his van. Since then, other strange events have been reported, including armoire doors opening on their own and odd images appearing in photographs. In Room 2, objects, including furniture and guest items, tend to move around. In Room 4, guests and staff have reported hearing a dog’s growl and an old man coughing. The Connor Hotel adds another layer to the complex tapestry of Ghosts of Jerome, Arizona.
Jerome Grand Hotel
Perched high on Cleopatra Hill, overlooking downtown Jerome, is another haunted hotel, the Jerome Grand Hotel. Originally the United Verde Hospital, which opened in 1927, the building was constructed by the United Verde Copper Company for its employees and their families. The hospital was a much-needed facility in a town of approximately 15,000 people. A magnificent structure, it was the highest building in the Verde Valley and the last major building constructed in Jerome. Built to withstand mining blasts and fires, the hospital was an engineering marvel constructed on a 50-degree slope.
By 1930, the five-story Spanish Mission-style building was described as one of Arizona’s most modern and well-equipped hospitals. However, like the Copper Company, the hospital couldn’t survive once the copper deposits dried up. The townspeople moved on, and the hospital closed in 1950.
It stood abandoned for 44 years but was maintained until 1971 in case of an emergency. In 1994, the Altherr family purchased the building and began restoring it to its current glory as the Jerome Grand Hotel. Efforts were made to maintain the historic integrity of the building, and in 1996, it reopened. Almost immediately, reports of hauntings surfaced, perhaps due to the many deaths that occurred there or the emotional trauma suffered by those housed in its asylum. The Jerome Grand Hotel is considered one of the most haunted buildings in Arizona.
Shortly after the hospital opened, patients and staff began hearing voices, coughing, moaning, and crying from empty rooms. Some believed these sounds came from the spirits of those who died during the 1917 flu epidemic. One of the first reports was of a woman dressed in white seen on a hospital balcony shortly after its opening. Thought to be a nurse, the phantom lingered for years but hasn’t been seen since the building became a hotel.
One spirit that has haunted the building for many years is that of an old bearded miner. His appearance was first reported by a hospital patient who saw the man gliding down the hall, turning on all the lights. Another nurse reported seeing a bearded man standing at the end of a hallway, only to vanish when she approached him. Today, hotel guests report seeing the ghostly vision of a bearded man, especially on the second and third floors. Another spirit, a small boy of about six years old, has also been seen on the third floor.
Other phenomena include phantom footsteps, doors opening and closing, objects moving, and electrical appliances turning on and off. Many of these events occur before the housekeeping staff, who often hear their names called out by phantom voices. The hotel lobby is another active area for spirits, with doors opening and closing, chairs being rearranged, and items flying off shelves. The lobby desk has also received phone calls from empty rooms.
Near the old 1926 elevator, a finely dressed elderly woman in white has often been seen standing. But the hotel’s most famous ghost is Claude Harvey, a hospital maintenance man in 1935. Harvey, known as "Scotty," was found dead under the elevator in the basement. While his death was ruled an accident, the inquest determined that the elevator didn’t kill him. Some believe he jumped to his death, while others suspect he was murdered. Strange occurrences began in the building after his death, especially around the elevator. Lights have been seen in the elevator shaft, and the sound of the creaking elevator has been heard, even when there was no power.
Others have claimed to see a shadowy man in the basement, on the stairs, and near the elevator. The spectral man has been described as furious. Many speculate that Harvey has unfinished business and seeks justice for his murder. Though his spirit is said to make people uncomfortable, he has never hurt anyone.
Other spirits roam the hotel, attributed to tragic events such as a man in a wheelchair falling from a balcony, a shooting, and a caretaker who hanged himself. A woman in white is sometimes seen in the hallways, and a small child has been seen running through the bar area. Guests and staff report being pushed in the hallways, doors slamming shut, ghostly cries, and photographs developing with ghostly hazes and orbs. The Jerome Grand Hotel is a focal point for understanding the Ghosts of Jerome, Arizona.
Ghost City Inn
Like many locations in Jerome, the Ghost City Inn lives up to its name with a spirit or two lurking behind its historic facade. Originally a boarding house for middle managers, the building has served as a private residence for the Garcia family for over 50 years, as well as a restaurant, a spiritual retreat, a funeral home, and an art gallery. In 1994, the building was restored to become the bed and breakfast it is today.
The historic building is said to be home to a female spirit most often seen in the Cleopatra Hill room. A male spirit has been spied in the hall outside the Verde View Room. Doors slam shut on their own, and spectral voices are heard when no one is in the building.
Crib District
Below Main Street, as you enter Diaz Street, is the Crib District, affectionately called "Husband’s Alley." During Jerome’s decadent times, brothels and bordellos were everywhere. As the town sought a more "civilized" image, these businesses were banned from Main Street and relocated to the Crib District, where numerous women provided "entertainment" to the miners. At one point, it was estimated that over 100 prostitutes plied their trade in Jerome, including notable madams like Nora "Butter" Brown and Jennie Bauters. Brown, known as a no-nonsense businesswoman, owned the first brothel in Jerome. Jennie Bauters, who operated her business in what is now the Mile High Inn, became the most popular madam and one of the wealthiest women in Arizona.
Those women who weren’t pretty enough to work in the "respectable" brothels plied their trade from small shacks along the alley, referred to as "cribs." Both high-class brothels and cribs remained a mainstay in Jerome long after they were made illegal, continuing to operate into the 1940s. Today, visitors can imagine hearing the voices of the "soiled doves" calling from their vanished cribs.
Many have reported paranormal phenomena in this alley, including the feeling of being watched, phantom footsteps, the scent of perfume, and strange shadows. The life of a prostitute in Jerome was difficult and dangerous, and several women lost their lives, including Sammie Dean, who was strangled by a customer. Her murder remains unsolved. Whether it’s Sammie Dean or other nameless women, some are said to haunt this once-ribald street.
More Phenomena
Just below the Jerome Grand Hotel on Cleopatra Hill is an abandoned building that was once a clinic, where many of those killed in the 1917 flu epidemic died. The building has a reputation for being haunted, with tales of former patients being seen in the windows. Further down the slope is the old Episcopal Church, where a white misty figure has often been seen.
Beneath the streets of Jerome, the mountain is filled with abandoned mine shafts and tunnels, said to be haunted by a miner dubbed "Headless Charlie." Decapitated in a mining accident, Charlie’s head was found, but his body was never discovered. Miners began to report unexplained footsteps, footprints, and a shadowy headless spirit.
The cemetery also has its own paranormal activity, with reports of dark figures, ethereal footsteps, and distant voices. The cemetery includes graves dating from 1897 to 1942. Ghosts of Jerome, Arizona has a reputation as one of the most haunted towns in the United States.
Jerome is known as "Ghost City" and has turned many skeptics into believers in the paranormal. The town’s rich history and tragic past have created an atmosphere where the veil between the living and the dead seems thin, making it a fascinating destination for those interested in the supernatural.