A Medley of Hauntings - Part 1

When you run or lead a ghost tour, you hear a lot of personal accounts of hauntings and sightings from people who want to share. As the 2022 season wound down, I looked back at some of the eerier stories that came onto our radar from surprising sources.

The return of the Weatherford ghost(s): A lot of locals have told us of having a paranormal experience inside one of the Weatherford's bars or restaurants. The Zane Grey Ballroom is highly atmospheric and I’m never surprised when a new sighting or phenomena is reported there. But over the past decade, the experiences were sporadic and many seemed to be repeats from the 1990s. Not in 2022! Whether it was the end of the pandemic or a renewed interest in the paranormal, strange happenings were going on upstairs. A woman who had toured with us earlier in the evening said her group went back to the Zane Grey to continue the party when she had to use the bathroom. After finishing she went to wash her hands, then looked up into the mirror.To her amazement she saw the clear outline of a female standing behind her–a ghostly, wispy outline that didn’t dissipate when she turned! The guest tried to snap a photo with her phone but couldn’t get her fingers to work. So she said she hit “call” and tried to get her mother. No go there, either. Another bathroom story, about the same time, came from a woman who was positive someone came in after her. But when she finished, no one else was in the small room or down the hallway.

That’s just two stories from upstairs. The bartenders–especially Britt– reported weird happenings throughout the summer. Britt said she’s always felt a female ghostly presence in the bar, but her antics (ice-throwing, doors closing, moving of the glasses) increased as visitors and patrons returned en masse. The downstairs bars (Charleys, the Gopher Hole) also had strange phenomena, including shadow figures and falling bottles.

Hotel Monte V Renovates: This story really creeped me out, and it came from a reliable source. It may have actually happened at the end of 2021: The Monte V decided to take advantage of the lull in business caused by the pandemic and renovate some of its rooms. This incident occurred close to room 220, aka “the Meat Man” room. According to our source, the crew was tearing into one of the room’s walls–whether for rewiring or insulation, I’ve forgotten. This was to be a two-day job, but when they started that morning, all sorts of strange phenomena occurred. The TV reception went out in that whole wing and phone calls were made to the front desk with no one on the line. Lights were erratic, flickering on and off, and strange noises were heard in the halls. Later in the day, the work crew found a bloody nightgown that had been sealed inside the room’s original wall! When they finished their work, everything calmed down in the hotel. Very creepy!

Join us on a Freaky Foot Tour and learn more about both of Flagstaff’s historic hotels, the Weatherford and the Hotel Monte Vista.

Boo.