Jeffery W. McKelroy

by Jeffery W. McKelroy

Four hundred and sixty miles to the south of Madrid, New Mexico along Interstate 25 will take you almost to the border with Mexico and all the way to Bisbee, Arizona. If Bisbee sounds familiar, it is probably because it plays prominently in many Western movies and is at least frequently mentioned. No other state in the Union personifies what the West was and is like Arizona. It’s expansive badlands and sweeping mountains have been the backdrop for countless outlaw tales and old west adventures. The boomtowns and mining camps of the late 1800’s were the scene of struggles between the lawless and the law. Its deserts were the battle ground where the Indian Wars were fought. The history of Arizona is written in blood and whiskey, and some say the spirits of the past still linger to tell the tale.

In Mule Pass Gulch in the middle of the Mule Mountains, about 90 miles from Tucson, sits the old west town of Bisbee. Long before Bisbee was founded the pass was traveled by Spanish explorers, Mexican soldiers and settlers and Apache. In 1880 Bisbee was founded as a mining town and named after one of the major backers of the Copper Queen Mine, Judge Dewitt Bisbee. With the success of copper, gold, and silver mining in the area, the town grew quickly. Miners poured in overland from the east and from across the seas seeking their fortune. Hotels, saloons, gambling halls and houses of ill repute also made Bisbee their home, hoping to shake out the pockets of the miners. That good fortune was so good that it supported an entire strip of bawdy businesses in Brewery Gulch that provided the men of the mines with all the beer and women they could afford. The wealth just kept coming, in what seemed like an endless stream and by 1910 the population had climbed to over 9,000. Open pit mining for copper began in 1917 to meet the demands of World War I. But unfortunately, the boom days were not to last and by the 1950’s the mining operations were on the decline and so was the population. Although there was still plenty to be mined, the mining companies could not compete with the higher wages of other industries during the post war economic boom. By the mid 1970’s all of the mines had closed up shop and it looked like Bisbee was on its way to becoming a ghost town. But the allure of its small-town charm and the beauty of the surrounding mountains began to attract artists and writers looking to escape the big city. Soon the promise of cheap real estate and good weather also began to appeal to retiring Baby-Boomers, and so Bisbee continues to thrive. Although the raucous and rowdy boom days are over, not all its modern residents are convinced that those who came before them have all gone, at least not in spirit anyway. Possibly not everyone in the old frontier cemetery is resting in peace.

What was once a popular resting place for traveling dignitaries and mine executives seems to be a popular gathering place for their spirits. Upon entering the Copper Queen Hotel, I was immediately taken with the lobby. The wooden ceiling and exposed dark timbers lit by a simple yet elegant chandelier give one the feeling of stepping back in time. Nothing much seems to have been updated in it’s history, more so preserved in its original state. Even the furniture in the lobby, harkened back to the hey-day of the town and the hotel. I checked in, in the early afternoon but weary travelers, hikers, backpackers and bikers were already settling in at the old saloon for a beer. The mood seemed jovial and I was eager to check in and join them. I made my way up the old creaky stairway to my room. I could smell the age of the wood and blaster in the afternoon heat. I reached my room at the top of the stairs and as the door swung open on squeaky hinges I imagined that it does not look much different now than it did over 100 years ago. It was cozy and unpretentious, and the bathroom looked like something out of a cowboy movie. If the tile had ever been replaced, I couldn’t tell. After settling in, I made my way to the bar to get a drink and talk to the employees and maybe some of the locals. Some of the best ghost stories are told with a beer in hand.

I soon discovered that the employees at the Copper Queen Hotel are so accustomed to the strange happenings that they hardly seem surprised when guests recount their paranormal experiences. In fact, supernatural activity is such a regular occurrence that even the new employees eventually stop being frightened by the events and simply are annoyed at best. One such former employee by the name of Margarette who still liked to frequent the old saloon, had several stories of the apparition of a young woman who is frequently seen walking through the Café and sometimes appears in one of the guest rooms on the third floor. “The young woman appearing to guests seems to happen a lot.”, explains Margarette, “I’ve seen her myself, or a glimpse of her I should say. I went to an unoccupied guest room one afternoon because we had a complaint that the alarm clock was going off there. I stepped in. I turned it off and then from behind me in the direction of the door to the room I heard ‘Thank you.’ In a woman’s voice. I turned around and I saw someone in a white dress turning the corner into the hallway. When I got to the door and looked out there was no one there.”

 The third floor, in fact, seems to be the most active area of the hotel. Doors open and close on their own and sometimes refuse to allow guests to open them at all. Televisions and radios turn on in the middle of the night, sometimes in unoccupied rooms such as Margarette experienced. There is also the spirit of a small child who seems to be very sad that has been seen in some of the fourth-floor rooms and in the hallway of the same floor. The notorious haunting at the hotel draws visitors in search of a ghostly encounter as well as professional ghost hunters from around the country. Countless photographs of unexplained mists and orbs have been taken and there are many reports of personal experiences. For those who have spent the night at the Copper Queen there is no doubt that something strange is going on there.

The Copper Queen is only one of many haunted hotels in the town of Bisbee. At the Bisbee Inn it is said that the spirit of an old woman wanders the halls and tends to show up from time to time in room 313. The ghost of the former owner’s wife haunts the Clawson House Inn. She is kept company by the spirits of three miners who were murdered there during the violent mining strike in the 1890’s. At the Bisbee Grand Hotel guests frequently spot the apparitions of several spirits in period clothing silently going about their business, but unlike many of the other hauntings in town there never seems to be any type of poltergeist activity. It is almost as if a silent movie is playing, overlaid on to reality. In contrast, the Oliver House, built in 1909 seems to be extremely active. Twenty-seven deaths, including a mass murder, have been recorded there in its long history. The story most often recounted about the Oliver House takes place somewhere around 1920. The wife of the local Sheriff was having an affair with a mine employee. The husband found the two together in room 13 where he shot both of them to death. His thirst for blood not yet quenched, he returned to the lobby and shot and killed everyone he came across. He then drove to the edge of town and shot himself. Even the atmosphere feels oppressive in the old building. At the time of this writing, the Oliver House was permanently closed, but I was not only able to get a look inside, I was able to spend some time in the infamous Room 13. All the rooms are very simple with sparse furnishings and some rooms only offering a shared bathroom. Room 13 was not much more than one room with a bed and clawfoot tub and a sink. The room certainly felt dreary but that could also be because the hotel had fallen silent with it’s closure.

            The old saloons of Brewery Gulch seem to have their fair share of ghostly goings on as well. It appears there is no drinking establishment in Bisbee without a resident ghost or three. The Grand Saloon is one such place. The locals are convinced that the spirits of the miners and cowboys who drank here long ago refuse to leave. While visiting the saloon I met several colorful characters taking a break from the oppressive summer heat at the bar. One such character was an older biker who goes by the moniker “Wide Slide”. When I asked him if he had ever seen a ghost there, he said, “Well, I wouldn’t say seen. No. I ain’t seen one but sure as hell felt one. I was using the restroom and while doing so, some one goosed me on my right butt cheek. I jumped and kinda laughed because I figured it was one of my buddies playing a joke. I turned around to look and I was still the only one in the restroom. I got outa there pretty quick and I didn’t tell that story for a couple years. I guess I got ghost-goosed!”

For the ghosts of the saloon there is no last call. Full bodied apparitions have been seen in the stock room and in the restrooms. The image of a man in a cowboy hat is sometimes seen in the bar mirror when no one is there. Staff members have heard a voice coming from the dark after the bar is closed and everyone has gone home. Some have heard the sound of footsteps behind them but turn to find that there is no one there. 

The Stock Exchange Saloon also reports the presence of the paranormal in the form of dark shadowy figures that hide in corners or dart behind furniture and across doorways.

Opened in 1902, St. Elmo’s Bar was one of the rowdiest in all of Bisbee. The miners flocked here every payday and it was not uncommon for things to get out of control. There were several knife fights and murders at the bar that have apparently left a psychic imprint on the old building as it too is reportedly haunted. Some of those that have had these experiences have found them unsettling, but all agree that it makes sense for these spirits to linger in Bisbee’s old Saloons. Where else would a hard-working miner want to be after the work is all done?

The Cochise County Courthouse in Bisbee also appears to be the location of a highly active haunting. The courthouse opened in 1931 and Judge John Ross was the first judge to hold court there and some say that although he died long ago, he intends to be the last. His ghost is regularly sighted roaming the halls of the old building. He has been seen by security guards in the lobby and by clerks in the records room. The smell of cigar smoke often accompanies poltergeist activity such as drawers opening and closing or the elevator not working properly. Most of those in Bisbee believe that although it is startling to see the ghost of the old judge, he is simply looking after the courthouse that he loved so much.

Bisbee is a fascinating place, full of passionate stories of success and failure, glory, and despair. The wealth of historic buildings are the perfect backdrop for so many ghostly tales. Bisbee is a town that truly exists suspended in time. It is a place where spirits walk among the living and neither seems to mind that the other is there.