The 6 Most Terrifying, Spooky Places To Visit In Arizona This Halloween

Reported to be one of the most haunted hotels in Arizona, we’ve heard enough ghost stories from former guests to question an overnight stay. Some ghostly experiences were innocent enough, noticing a closed door suddenly open or hearing strange noises that could be explained away with some rationalization.

Other experiences, though, make our hair stand on end. My dad stayed here once when he was younger. The keyword here is ONCE. He and his roommates all experienced sleep paralysis for the first time that night, which seems more than a coincidence. A dark figure stood over them and not only did each of them mention being unable to move but also, at some point, unable to breathe. One of our readers mentioned hearing fingernails scraping the door, heavy breathing in the room, and the sound of the TV moving as just a few of the occurrences during her overnight stay. Yikes!

Unable to book a stay at the Grand Hotel? Maybe eating a late dinner at their restaurant will be enough to satisfy whatever spooky craving you are looking for. The restaurant is located in the same building as the hotel so you're bound to experience similar hauntings.

For another classic haunted stay, check out the Gadsden Hotel in Douglas. If you’re lucky to snag a stay in room 333, be prepared for a higher rate of ghostly experiences than in other areas of the hotel. Some guests have reported some aggressive, physical behaviors from ghosts, like getting into bed with them and hearing someone attempt to open their doors.

Another haunted hotel in the ghostly city of Jerome, guests from this hotel have reported more benign, though still spooky, happenings. This includes unexplained knocks on the door and also watching doors suddenly slam shut.

If you want a haunted stay that won’t make you wet yourself, maybe spending the night at the Hotel Vendome in Prescott would be the perfect place to start. Guests and some of our Facebook readers have mentioned experiencing plenty of spooky activities happening here, most of which come from a former guest and her cat in room 16. Some activities include suddenly smelling perfume in the room, finding objects moved around, and even hearing the cat meow.

Another spooky location that gets many people talking about similar eerie feelings is this old, abandoned prison. Built during Arizona’s territorial times, plenty of visitors report uneasy feelings in various cells but most notably in the infamous Dark Cell. This was used as both solitary confinement and as a sensory deprivation punishment for unruly prisoners. Most prisoners died from tuberculosis but a small percentage experienced more violent deaths, such as suicide and homicide, during their stay. Perhaps those folks never really left.

By the way, here is an image of that dark cell upon walking in. I tried entering once years ago. I think I’ll pass the opportunity once again.