If you ask any local where the most haunted town in Arizona is, chances are they will point you towards Jerome. The old mining town certainly looks like it could be haunted thanks to its winding streets, weathered buildings, and other areas of the town slowly decaying. Since Halloween is just around the corner, now is as good a time as ever to hear a few ghost stories. Today, we’re going to focus on stories that originate from Arizona’s Ghost City that may cause the hairs on the back of your neck to rise. Looking for a real-life Arizona horror story? Here it is. Enjoy!

1. Connor Hotel
The Connor Hotel, 160 Main St, Jerome, AZ 86331, USA
Dave/Flickr
You’ll hear of multiple hauntings that occur in this hotel, which was built in 1898, including spooky occurrences happening in the bar area and in the hotel rooms upstairs. But rooms 1 and 2 are rife with ghostly activity, which includes everything from hearing the radio randomly turn on (even when unplugged) and spotting figures standing in the room at odd hours. However, there is at least one gruesome story that happened here. Of course, as one of the oldest hotels in Arizona, there's bound to be something dark in its past, right? Right.

Anna Hopkins, the wife of the local mining company’s chief engineer, believed that her husband was in some kind of relationship with a local schoolteacher and decided to enact revenge herself. In 1922, Hopkins threw carbolic acid into the face of the teacher in the downstairs cafe of the Connor Hotel. The stories are a little hazy as to what happened to the teacher; some say she survived her injuries and relocated to Spokane, where she later died while other stories state that the teacher suffered a painful death a few weeks later as a result of her injuries. What we do know, however, is that a few months later Hopkins was convicted of assault for the incident.
2. Husband’s Alley
Joyce Cory/Flickr
At one point in time, prostitutes could be found throughout Jerome, when brothels were located right next to saloons and women could walk throughout the town to "advertise" their business. Eventually, these businesses were re-located in the streets behind Main and these became known as the old Cribs District or "Husband’s Alley." These businesses were located right behind the saloons, where men could get a few drinks, gamble, then sneak right out the back door for another kind of entertainment.

Sex work operated on a hierarchical scale. At the high end of the scale were classy ladies who worked in brothels operated by madams who had a relatively cushy job. They often only provided (expensive) companionship for lonely men living in a town almost devoid of women, and had access to healthcare, security, and education. At the low end of the scale were women working in the cribs, who somehow managed to see 30 to 80 clients per day. It was an immensely dificult job that had no guarantees of safety and many women who worked in the industry succumbed to the illnesses or violence associated with the job.

There are many stories about the horrors these sex workers endured and history just barely remembers a few who died at the hands of their clients. One woman, named Sammie Dean, died after being strangled in 1931 by the son of a powerful member of town. She is said to haunt the building she previously lived in and there’s no doubt that the spirits of other women who died from similar fates still linger in the area.

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3. Jerome Grand Hotel
Jerome Grand Hotel, 200 Hill St, Jerome, AZ 86331, USA
Michael Martin/Flickr
Ah, welcome to the most haunted place in Arizona - or so they say. Jerome’s famous old hospital turned hotel is often called the most haunted place in town. Built in 1926 as the United Verde Hospital, this was actually the fourth hospital to be built in town and operated until 1950. It maintains a spooky presence in town, sitting on the hill above any other building and can be seen from nearby communities like Clarkdale.

As the hospital of an old mining town, there’s no doubt this building saw a lot of horror and a lot of deaths during its 24 years of operation and hotel guests regularly report numerous incidents. These include everything from hearing keys attempting to unlock doors, items moving in the rooms, sounds typically heard in hospitals, and other odd occurrences.

One haunting in particular comes from the hospital’s old maintenance man, Claude Harvey, who was found dead in 1935 from a gruesome elevator accident. Some of the hotel workers report hearing or even briefly seeing Harvey still at work in the floors downtown stairs.
4. United Verde Mine
United Verde Mine, Jerome, AZ 86331, USA
pdvos/Flickr
Once upon a time, mining jobs were both lucrative and extremely dangerous. While death rarely occurred inside the mine, it wasn’t uncommon for miners to die from injuries sustained during the job. These usually occur in jobs associated with explosions but any injury that involved something like leg amputation would probably result in death a few months later after infections invaded the body.

According to some people, miners still haunt their old work place, including the spirit of Headless Charlie. You can probably guess that Charlie lost a certain body part during a mining accident and a tale is told that he wanders the old mine in search of it. The mine is currently closed and off-limits, so you’re unlikely to run into him, but if you somehow find yourself near an abandoned mine shaft, definitely do NOT enter. Interested in more of this mine's history? Check out the official AZGS website for lots more information!
5. Liberty Theatre
Liberty Theatre & Gifts, 110 Jerome Ave, Jerome, AZ 86331, USA
Alan Levine/Flickr
Jerome’s first silent film theatre happens to be in pretty good condition...from the inside. The original signage from the Liberty Theatre is long gone but you’ll find the upstairs floors laid out the same way as when it closed in 1929. This building is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a former patron. The woman immigrated to the United States from Germany and was involved in a passionate, though tumultuous, relationship with another immigrant that eventually ended in her death.

Following an argument, the woman left to calm down while watching a movie. Little did she know that her boyfriend followed her to the theatre and sat behind her during the movie. He waited until a particularly loud scene when the organ music thundered through the theatre and strangled her to death. The woman’s ghost is said to haunt the upper floor of the theatre.

These stories are pretty creepy! We would recommend checking out one of the many historical tours offered in the town, such as those provided by Ghost Town Tours for detailed accounts of various haunted places in Jerome and a chance to hunt for a ghost.

Do you have any similar experiences from visiting Jerome or other parts of the state? If you want to explore other areas in Arizona that are known to be haunted, check out our article that features some spooky ghost tours in Arizona.

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Arizona Horror Story

Tori Jane | August 22, 2022

Is Jerome haunted?  

Well, we suppose the answer to that lies in whether or not you believe any of the allegedly haunted places in Arizona are really haunted. But, if you were to ask any local, they’d tell you: Jerome sure is. Its history is steeped in wild, wild Western lore and lots of folks supposedly lived and died here during those times. It’s a small town in Arizona like no other, though, as it fully embraces its legendarily “haunted” status – especially in October. Fall in Arizona is a magical time, but fall in Jerome, Arizona, is the best time of all.  

What are some allegedly haunted places in Jerome?  

It seems like everywhere you turn in this little artist town, you’ll find ghosts. It might be true; Jerome is rumored to be one of the most haunted places in Arizona, and that’s thanks to it haunted building after haunted building. Perhaps the most infamous example of haunted Jerome comes in the form of the Jerome Grand Hotel, which, once upon a time, was a literal insane asylum where awful things happened to people. It’s supposedly the single most haunted hotel in Arizona, home to numerous wayward spirits and, as a result, lots of ghost tours. Other haunted places in Jerome – allegedly – include Ghost City Inn, and there are rumors of the old Haunted Hamburger restaurant maybe having a spook or two, too.  

Where are some haunted places in Arizona?  

There are other notoriously haunted places in Arizona outside of Jerome, too. Some of the most infamously haunted locations in Arizona include hotels in Flagstaff like the old Hotel Weatherford and the Hotel Monte Vista, both of which are said to be haunted by the spirits of cowboys and ladies of the night past. Tombstone, Arizona is located in the far southern reaches of the state and is famous for its ghosts and haunted locations. The Superstition Mountains are another allegedly-haunted locale in the Copper State, and legend has it that there are more than just ghosts here: there are also scary cryptids, too.  

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