There are so many words to describe the town of Jerome in Arizona: fun, kitschy, weird, artsy, historic… haunted. However it’s described, one thing for certain is that this old mining town is unique.
Situated at the top of Cleopatra Hill overlooking the Verde Valley, Jerome started as a mining claim in 1876. With the promise of riches, financiers developed the United Verde Copper Company in 1883. The United Verde Mine became the leading copper producer in the Arizona Territory, employing about 800 men, and was one of the largest mines in the world. The town’s population peaked in the 1920s with a population of 15,000. The Great Depression, devastating fires, and strikes eventually led to Jerome’s downfall and by the 1953, the population was less than 100.
The remaining hardy souls developed the Jerome Historical Society and promoted Jerome as a historic ghost town. Today, Jerome thrives on the tourism industry, beckoning artists, history buffs, and even ghost hunters.
With our affinity for weird historical sites, we’ve visited on several occasions. We planned our weekend around staying one night in Jerome’s most intriguing building: the Jerome Grand Hotel.
The Jerome Grand Hotel towers over the town of Jerome. It’s the highest commercial building in the Verde Valley. This building built in 1926 with the original intent to serve as the United Verde Hospital. It was once listed as the most modern and well equipped hospital in all of the western states. During the days as a hospital, numerous deaths from illnesses and mining injuries occurred here. Some deaths were even suspicious. With this level of activity, the Jerome Grand Hotel is now considered Arizona’s most haunted building and is a popular location for paranormal investigators.
We thought it would be fun to spend Halloween weekend at the hotel, however when we called a few weeks in advance, we learned the hotel was completely booked out for the entire 2 weeks before Halloween! So we made reservations for the week after and requested the least haunted suite. We don’t consider ourselves “ghost hunters” instead preferring to visit these places for the historical factors. The spooky atmosphere is sometimes a fun added bonus but truthfully, I’m mildly afraid of the dark. 😛 How do you know if the darkness is empty or if someone is lurking there?
We stayed in the one bedroom suite with balcony views overlooking Jerome.
I want to say I caught an orb in the right side of this photo but husband says it’s all in my head. 😀
An online search for ‘Jerome Grand Hotel’ will yield hundreds of accounts from visitors about hauntings they experienced, and even several videos of odd occurrences. There was the caretaker who hanged himself in the boiler room, a handicapped man who wheeled himself off a balcony, and an executive who shot himself in Room 32.
Displays of hospital artifacts dot the hallways. Most hospital deaths occurred on the third floor where there was an operating room. Some guests have claimed to have heard the wheels of a hospital gurney rolling across the floor.
The original 1926 Otis elevator, the oldest self service elevator in Arizona, still functions today. In 1935, the body of maintenance man Claude Harvey was found dead in the basement after having his head pinned underneath the elevator. While ruled an accident, many believe it suspicious since the elevator was functioning just as normal. His spirit is reportedly seen around the hotel, especially in the basement.
We had dinner and drinks in the hotel’s popular restaurant, The Asylum, which was still decked out in Halloween decor.
Husband got a decent night’s rest except for an incident at night where I credit it to the ghostly atmosphere. He says it’s because I worked myself into a frenzy and I argue that I never do that. 😉 But clearly he wasn’t thinking about the people who died on this floor, on the ones above and below. You know the feeling when you’re on the edge of sleep but can still hear everything going on around you and that translates into your dream? This is what I experienced all night. It sounded like objects in our room were being thrown about. The noise got so bad I woke up shouting “GET OUT!” Whether it was my subconscious yelling at any spirits or a ghost telling us to leave, I have yet to determine. My husband however, was extremely confused at being awoken by his wife shouting ‘get out’. 😀 He gives me the side-eye every time I can’t help laughing to myself when I recall this tense moment.