The Ultimate Fall Adventure Awaits With These 3 Haunted Places in Arizona

If someone asked me my favorite haunted place in Arizona, I'm not sure I could pick just one. From Wild West lawlessness to mining towns with sordid pasts, it's easy to see why a few restless spirits might be roaming around the state. I've managed to pick three spooky destinations — a historic hospital-turned-hotel, an old copper mine, and a saloon once frequented by notorious outlaws — that would be perfect to visit this fall.

1. Jerome Grand Hotel, Jerome

The Jerome Grand Hotel in the ghost town of Jerome might be my favorite haunted place in Arizona simply because it is, without a doubt, the most haunted place in the state. It wasn’t always a hotel; the 30,000-square-foot building opened in 1927 as United Verde Hospital. Over 9,000 people died in the hospital before it closed in 1950, most of them mine workers who suffered tragic accidents or succumbed to disease from the harsh conditions they endured. 

After sitting abandoned for over 40 years, the Altherr family purchased the building with plans to turn it into a hotel. Once it opened in 1996, guests almost immediately began reporting unexplained phenomena, such as hearing hospital gurneys being wheeled up and down the hallways. The third floor, where the hospital's operating room was located, is where most of the activity occurs. And then, there are the resident ghosts. A hospital caretaker allegedly committed suicide in the boiler room, and maintenance man Claude Harvey was crushed to death by the elevator (the very same elevator that's in the hotel today) in 1935. If you stay at the hotel, you can record your ghostly encounters in the guestbook located in the lobby. They fill a 300-page journal every year!

2. Palace Restaurant & Saloon, Prescott

In continuous operation since 1877, the Palace Restaurant & Saloon in Prescott, Arizona, was a popular watering hole for miners, businessmen, and even notorious outlaws, like Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. Legend has it that Earp killed two people in a gunfight behind the saloon in the 1870s. The basement was a known opium den, and it was connected to underground tunnels that facilitated other illegal activities, such as prostitution. Both employees and patrons have experienced things they can't explain in the saloon, including drink glasses sliding down the bar all by themselves.

3. Copper Queen Mine, Bisbee

Our final destination is the historic Copper Queen Mine in the charming town of Bisbee. The entire town is allegedly haunted because of its mining history, and the Copper Queen Mine is said to harbor the spirits of mine workers who either met an untimely demise or simply spent so much of their lives in the mines that they didn't know where else to go in the afterlife. Today, the Copper Queen is open to the public for tours, and the guides are former miners. You'll descend over 1,500 feet below the surface and listen to firsthand accounts of what life was like toiling away in such harsh conditions. Don't be surprised if you see the lights flicker or hear the rhythmic clank of pickaxes on the walls.

Have you visited any of these haunted places in Arizona? If so, which one is your favorite?

Feeling inspired? Try planning your own trip using Only In Your State’s itinerary planner.