Somebody Said Boo

IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT

BOO

A skittery writer samples Arizona's mosthaunted hotels

BY ROGER NAYLOR PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICHARD MAACK

I woke shuddering, cold as the shady side of a tombstone. Now, this was the paranormal confrontation I expected at the Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee.

Because I requested the hotel's most-haunted accommodations, the staff installed me in 315, the Julia Lowell Room. A prostitute from the early 1900s, Julia favored 315 when plying her trade at the Copper Queen. Sadly, after being rejected by the man she loved, Julia took her own life. Today, her restless spirit lingers, as the story goes, appearing most often to male guests. She smiles and whispers and even dances seductively at the foot of the bed.

Now I seemed to be in her ghostly crosshairs. Only the presence of the departed could cast such an eerie chill, could freeze the very marrow of... wait a minute.

False alarm. Turned out it was just my wife's icy feet pressed against me. Poor kid forgot to pack her sleeping socks and she suffers worse circulation than the Tofu Weekly in cattle country. I shouldn't have been surprised. Ghosts don't like me.

I swoon for historic hotels. Grande dames like the Copper Queen, the Hassayampa Inn in Prescott and the Hotel Monte Vista in Flagstaff reveal the splendor of their youth in elegant bone structure and graceful lines. They've been lovingly restored after some hard times and now blush with character, charm and, since no history comes without a dollop of tragedy, ghost stories.

"I believe we have seven ghosts," said Copper Queen night clerk Candace Stewart. "But they're not scary. They're very polite and like to keep to their own agenda."

An agenda that did not include me. After rolling clear of the tundra toes, I tumbled back into dreamland and snoozed the night away with nary a goose bump raised. Instead of standing on end, my hair reclined like it hadn't a care in the world. It may have been the least spooky night I ever experienced.

Recently at the Hassayampa Inn in Prescott, I luxuriated also without incident in the Balcony Suite, called Faith's Room. In 1927, a honeymooning couple checked into the Hassayampa Inn. The husband went out for cigarettes and never returned. Three days later, Faith, the despondent wife, climbed into the bell tower and hanged herself. Some say she appears today floating through the room and down fourth-floor hallways. The scent of lilac follows her. Sometimes she weeps. She disapproves when things are moved around.

After an early encounter, Renae Bell, Hassayampa's director of housekeeping, never enters the room without announcing herself to keep on Faith's good side. "That's a very active room. One couple came downstairs demanding to know if the hotel was haunted," said Bell. "When the husband took a shower he felt someone washing his back. He started to say something to his wife but saw that she was still sitting on the bed. Another time a man was in the shower and got out to find his clothes all laid out for him. Faith really favors the men."

Great. Not only am I unpopular with ghosts in general, the flirty ones don't find me attractive.

Hoping my luck would change, I checked into the Hotel Monte Vista in Flagstaff where even no-nonsense John Wayne saw a ghost. For sheer number and diversity, the Monte V's roster of spooks stacks up against anyone's.

Photographer Richard Maack, general manager Saffron Coons and I huddled in the low-ceilinged lounge swapping ghoulish tales. We were one painted van and a talking dog shy of a "Scooby Doo" episode.

Besides the crying baby that once chased Coons and a maintenance man out of the basement, there's the woman who rocks by the window in 305, the murdered prostitutes who waken guests in 306 with chilling glares, the phantom bellboy (spotted by Wayne) who knocks on doors and declares "room service" in muffled tones, and my favorite, the bank robber.

In 1970, three men robbed a bank and stopped at the Monte Vista lounge to celebrate, although one had gotten himself shot during the getaway. While toasting newfound wealth, the wounded man died. Now, numerous bar patrons report being greeted by a cheery voice proclaiming, "Good morning."

I love that optimism. Here's a guy who made mistakes, sure, yet his spirit seems content. He doesn't menace, doesn't make bottles fly around the room. He just delivers a jolly salutation and loiters, as if hoping somebody will buy one last round.

In the name of research, I spent the evening haunting a barstool. Sadly, I heard not a peep from my invisible drinking buddy. On the spine-tingly side of midnight, I climbed the narrow stairway to my room, each step groaning like a herniated gravedigger.

First thing I noticed upon entering, a bottle of shampoo I had placed on the tub now lay on the floor. Gravity? Maybe. Or maybe someone from the Other Side deliberately waited until I was out, then wafted in to visit. That would be appropriate. Ghosts don't like me. AlLocation: 11 Howell Ave., Bisbee.

The Copper Queen Hotel

Additional Ghosts: A cigar-smoking man, often detected by the aroma of his stogie; a former female employee who helps out during busy times by watching the front door; a family dressed for winter; and a curious little boy, usually seen, and played with, by other children.

Additional Information: (520) 432-2216; www.copperqueen.com.

GHOSTLY GUESTHOUSE HORDES OF ORBS

Hassayampa Inn

Location: 122 E. Gurley St., Prescott Additional Ghosts: A man lost in thought lurking near the lobby fireplace, a man in a top hat who sits at the bar and the night watchman who makes late-night rounds jiggling door handles.

Additional Information: Toll-free (800) 322-1927; www.hassayampainn.com.

WE'LL LEAVE A LIGHTON FOR YOU

The Hassayampa Inn's "haunted" Room 426 (top) sits innocently empty. Some guests and employees have reported seeing an apparition float down the hotel's fourth floor hallways.

WATCH YOUR STEP

At Bisbee's Copper Queen Hotel, some guests say they feel a presence and smell cigar smoke in the empty stairwell (left).

MIRROR, MIRROR

Who knows if the Hassayampa Inn's resident ghost, Faith, still sees her reflection in the mirror of Room 426 (above, right), where she spent her honeymoon 80 years ago?

BE OUR GHOST

Hotel Monte Vista

Location: 100 N. San Francisco St., Flagstaff.

Additional Ghosts: A little boy who wanders the halls, a waltzing couple seen on the dance floor of the lounge and the “Meat Man,” a longtime boarder who died in his room and was known for hanging raw meat from his chandelier.

Additional Information: Toll-free (800) 545-3068; www.hotelmontevista.com.

HEAVEN ABOVE

Innocent cherubs (top) watch over an elevator at Flagstaff's Hotel Monte Vista.

ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK

Purportedly, a spirited waltzing couple sometimes occupies the dance floor of the Hotel Monte Vista's lounge (above).

HAUNTED HALLWAY

Western film legend John Wayne reported having a close encounter with a ghost in this hallway (right) at the Hotel Monte Vista.