Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Haunted Road, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim
and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion is advised. Hey friends,
my Fall speaking tour has officially been announced, So head
to Amybrunie dot com. That's amybruni dot com to see
(00:22):
if I will be appearing near you, either for my
ghost story filled lecture series or any of the numerous
conventions and strange escapes trips I have coming up. Hope
to see you in person soon. In eighteen seventy seven,
prospectors made a discovery and a canyon in Arizona's Mule Mountains,
(00:44):
just eight miles from the Mexican border. The ground underneath
the area, known as Mule Gulch, was rife with copper.
Just three years later, a town was formed. By nineteen ten,
more than twenty five thousand people had arrived in Bisbee
seeking out their fortunes. Throughout the two thousand miles of
mining tunnels under the town, people mined copper, silver, and gold,
(01:08):
and a rare and precious kind of turquoise price today
called Bisbee blue that was discarded as mining by product.
In the early days, the copper Queen mine was Bisbee's
most productive mine, producing an unusually high grade of copper ore.
But it wasn't just the town's most productive mine. It
was bringing in the highest yields in all of Arizona.
(01:31):
In the midst of the mining boom and all the
wealth coming from it, the town needed a luxury hotel.
The Phelps Dodge Corporation, which owned the Copper Queen mine,
built the Copper Queen Hotel as a place to host
its investors and visiting dignitaries. It opened in nineteen o
two to rave reviews. The Bisbee Daily Review called it
a magnificent hostelry unsurpassed in the territory. With every equipment
(01:55):
and excellent management, Bisbee was prosperous for the mine owners,
but for the miners themselves things were different. They worked difficult,
dangerous jobs for minimal pay. The unrest grew so pervasive
that in nineteen seventeen, two thousand men gathered in protest,
only to have most of them rounded up by strike
(02:15):
breakers and hired guns from the mining company and deported
to New Mexico. The mining companies were so rich and
had so much control over the town that they owned
the newspapers and were able to squash any news of
the strike of the miner's treatment. About one thousand men
were detained for several months by the government for questioning.
(02:35):
It was one event in a series of conflicts over
Bisbee's affluent, but very dangerous years. The Copper Queen still
stands in Bisbee today, and the hotel remembers the town's
dark history, at least the ghosts inside it. To I'm
Amy Bruney, and this is haunted road. The newspaper went
(03:00):
on to describe the newly opened hotel by saying, we
entered the office after passing an easy flight of stairs,
to find it beautifully furnished with California redwood and attractively paneled.
A large mantle over the fireplace is one of the
finest obtainable. The lady's parlor to the right, occupying a
very sightly position, is exceptionally fine and tastily arranged in mahogany,
(03:25):
with rich green silk, plush and satins. Beyond the parlor
and leading into the office, is a large and commodious
billiard parlor, substantially arranged with tables and chairs and other equipments.
Beyond this is a buffet, a barber shop, washroom, bathrooms,
et cetera, all thoroughly furnished and up to date. It's
(03:46):
worth noting that the newspaper was owned by a close
friend of an executive of the Phelps Dodge Corporation, but
the description does sound enticing, especially of the dining room.
The article continued, saying, the dining room is one of
the most cheerful and attractive to be seen anywhere. China
and silverware is all of special design, having a monogram
(04:06):
of the hotel on every piece. The glassware in the
buffet is composed of a selection of some very rare
in some of unusual design. Every piece is cut glass
with the monogram c Q etched upon it, and many
designs have never been used in any hotel before. The
silver wine coolers are of unique design as well. The
(04:27):
Italianate style hotel costs more than seventy five thousand dollars
to build, twenty five thousand dollars of that on furnishings alone,
which would have totaled close to two point five million
dollars today. The hotel originally had seventy two guest rooms,
with each floor sharing a single bathroom, but was eventually
remodeled to have private bathrooms and only forty eight rooms
(04:50):
in the smaller rooms on the higher floors. Some people
lived in them long term. Despite all of these success
and prosperity in the town, things were not peace and
Bisbee miners especially were discontent with their working conditions in
pay from the mining companies. During World War One, the
price of copper soared, yet the mine owners did little
(05:11):
to improve quality of life for their employees. Although union
activity had been suppressed in the area for years, several
local mines successfully organized during the war. Sheila Bonnard wrote
a history of the ensuing events. On June twenty fourth,
nineteen seventeen, the Industrial Workers of the World presented the
Bisbee mining companies with a list of demands. These demands
(05:35):
included improvements to safety and working conditions, such as requiring
two men on each machine and an end to blasting
in the mines during shifts. Demands were also made to
end discrimination against members of labor organizations and the unequal
treatment of foreign and minority workers. Furthermore, the unions wanted
a flatweight system to replace sliding scales tied to the
(05:58):
market price of copper. The mining companies refused, and about
half of all the miners in Bisbee went on strike
on July twelfth, nineteen seventeen. The town was rocked by
what came to be known as the Bisbee Deportation. Early
that morning, in an effort to quash the strike, roughly
(06:20):
two thousand sheriffs vigilantes rounded up about two thousand men
and brought them to Bisbee's baseball field. The majority of
them were striking miners, but some had nothing at all
to do with mining in the town. Two men, one
striker and one mine supervisor, were shot and killed. The
Phelps Dodge Corporation censored local telegraph lines so no news
(06:42):
of the action could reach the outside world. In fact,
by nineteen twenty five, the company owned every daily newspaper
in the mining districts of southeastern Arizona in an effort
to censor any negative press about the company. Nearly twelve
hundred men refused to denounce the strike. They were her
into box cars with floors covered in cattle manure and
(07:03):
transported across the border into New Mexico and left there
for several days. Two days later, US troops arrived and
detained many of them for several months. As Sheila Bonnard wrote, Meanwhile,
Bisbee authorities mounted guards on all roads into town to
ensure that no deportees returned and to prevent new troublemakers
(07:24):
from entering. A kangaroo court was also established to try
other people deemed disloyal to mining interests. These people also
faced deportation. President Woodrow Wilson eventually set up a commission
to investigate the Bisbee deportation, but it was found that
no federal laws applied, and the state of Arizona refused
(07:47):
to prosecute the copper companies. Responsible Mining declined in the
nineteen thirties and forties across the state, but the Copper
Queen continued to produce for decades longer, until the yields
came so low that the company finally closed operations in
nineteen seventy five. Today, the once thriving mining town has
(08:07):
only about five thousand residents, and the town is primarily
a bohemian haven for artists and creatives. The Copper Queen
is still hosting guests, though in fact it's the longest
continuously operating hotel in Arizona. When the mines closed, the
Phelps Dodge Corporation attempted to sell the hotel, only to
come up short on offers, so the company offered the
(08:29):
hotel for one dollar to any local who wanted to
purchase and restore it. An artist named Stephen Hutchinson and
his wife Marcia purchased the Copper Queen. According to a
former employee interviewed for an oral history project, it was
this shift in ownership that changed Bisbee from a dwindling
mining town to one attracting the more nonconformist elements the
(08:51):
town has today. By nineteen eighty four, the New York
Times was reporting on Bisbee's newer residence. A handful of
artists and writers sprinkled among waves, but one part time
resident describes as a ragtag collection of terminal sixties hippies,
new ageists, experimental environmentalists, burned out Vietnam vets, overdone drug cases,
(09:11):
and others. Many celebrities have stayed at the Copper Queen
over the years, including Harry Houdini, John Wayne, Michelle Pfeiffer,
and Julia Roberts. According to legend, John Wayne wance through
fellow actor Lee Marvin through a window of the hotel.
While today the hotel has modern amenities, it still feels
true to its Victorian roots. The lobby has an antique
(09:34):
reception desk and lush, old fashioned furniture. According to Heather
McMahon from the Society of Architectural Historians, much of the
original glazing, interior woodwork, and Italian imported mosaic tile flooring
in the lobby is intact, and the original tiffany stained
glass ceiling still remains today. The hotel rooms are also
(09:54):
decorated with historical details like vintage style wallpaper three five fifteen.
The Julia Lowell Room has a vintage prostitution license framed
on the wall, as well as red carpeting, a fringed lampshade,
and opulent floral headboard. Other specialty themed rooms include those
dedicated to famous former guests like Harry Houdini and John Wayne,
(10:17):
said by the hotel to be his favorite specialty suite,
chosen for its close proximity to the saloon. In addition
to hotel rooms, it now contains a restaurant, the nineteen
o two Spirit Room, that still has its original tin
ceiling and a saloon. Is it any surprise at all
(10:40):
that this hotel is rumored to be extremely haunted? I
didn't think so. In fact, the Copper Queen keeps a
ghost log at the reception desk for guests to record
any activity they witness during their stay. Over the fifty
years the log has been available, guests have filled more
than ten entire books with their accounts. But it's not
(11:01):
just the hotel. All of Bisbee is said to be
charged with supernatural energy, which some attribute to large limestone
deposits under the city believed to fuel paranormal activity. Hotel
employees report seeing doors and windows open on their own,
feeling mysterious cold spots, having electronics malfunction for no reason,
hearing phantom footfalls or people calling their name when no
(11:23):
one is there, and even seeing full body apparitions. Laurie Doland,
a front desk clerk working in overnight shift, described an
experience she had at two a m. As I entered
the dining room, I saw a strange woman standing against
one of the columns. I clearly saw that she had
reddish brown hair, which she wore up in a bun,
brown eyes, and a healthy pink complexion. She also wore
(11:47):
a high collared blouse and was about, I guess in
her mid twenties. Immediately I knew this woman was a ghost.
I could only see her body from the waist up.
Since then, Doland says she has heard footstock and the
sound of a skirt swishing when she's alone in the
dining room. The spirit of a former front desk clerk
(12:10):
named Howard is also said to linger behind, watching over
employees to make sure they're doing their jobs. Rose, another
employee who passed on, is seen sitting in the lobby
keeping an eye on the front door. While there is
activity all over the hotel. There are some rooms that
are especially haunted, like Room three fifteen, the Julia Lowell Room,
(12:31):
named after a woman who is rumored to have taken
her own life in that room. According to the legend,
in the nineteen twenties and thirties, Julia was a beautiful
courtesan who fell in love with one of her regular
clients who would not leave his wife to be with her.
There are no records of any suicides in the local papers,
so it's entirely possible the story is fabricated. But keep
(12:53):
in mind that during the time frame in question, the
Phelps Dodge Corporation owned both the hotel and the newspaper,
so it would have been very easy to keep secret
any news that cast their holdings in a negative light,
fabricated or not. Julia's spirit lingers in the hotel today,
most often appearing to men. She is said to sit
(13:14):
on the foot of their beds, touching their feet or
whispering in their ear. When women are sleeping. In Room
three fifteen, she's also said to pull the covers off
the bed. According to the Haunted Places, Former chambermaids have
also reported hearing a soft female voice whispering don't trust
men while cleaning the vacant guest rooms. In addition to
(13:36):
her presence in Room three fifteen, she can also be
seen walking up and down the hotel's main staircase dressed
in a long black gown. An unnamed spirit is said
to linger in Room four oh one, whose appearances go
hand in hand with a phantom smell of cigar smoke.
(13:56):
He's described as a distinguished looking older man with a
white beard who wears a black top hat. Some have
said that when they've spotted him, he's been holding a
revolver in his hand. Room four twelve is also called
Billy's Room in honor of the ghost boy believed to
haunt the room. A portrait of Billy hangs in the
room today. He's said to be between five and nine
(14:18):
years old and is believed to have died by drowning,
though various accounts say it happened either in a hotel
bathtub or in the San Pedro River nearby, with suspected
foul play involved and his parents covering up what really happened.
According to accounts from hotel staff and guests, adults can
hear him, but he appears wearing nineteen twenty style nickers
(14:39):
to children. Adults have said they've heard Billy running through
the hallways, giggling, jumping on furniture, or playing with doorknobs.
A bartender at the Copper Queen said that whenever running
water is present, Billy can be heard crying. According to
America's Most Haunted Hotels, a little girl having dinner at
the hotel claimed to be playing with a little boy
(15:00):
under the table, though no one was there. Guests are
encouraged to leave candy out for Billy to prevent him
from playing pranks like moving or hiding their belongings. He's
said to take the candy and leave the wrappers behind.
Up next, we will be chatting with Jenna Lampanham. Her
family owns and operates the hotel, and she has stayed
(15:21):
in virtually every room there. She's had some wild experiences
and we're going to chat with her all about them.
That is coming up after the break. I am currently
joined by Jenna Lampinin, who it sounds like, just kind
(15:44):
of does everything at the Copper Queen at the moment.
Is that correct, Jenna?
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Yeah, I go where I'm needed. I help out with
whatever the other managers might need from me HR stuff,
groups and event planning.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Now your mom owns the hotel, correct, yes, ma'am. Yeah,
so you've had probably years and years of experience visiting there,
and now you've recently actually made the move to Bisbee.
I love that. So I actually have only been to
Bisbee one time, and I want to say it was
in like two thousand and seven or eight, and it
was specifically to visit the Copper Queen. I stayed there
(16:22):
for one night before I was doing an event in
Tombstone and it was beautiful and I honestly cannot believe
I haven't been back yet.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Oh yeah, Well, anytime you're welcome to come on out.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
It's got a really great history. We covered that in
the first half, but we love to talk about the ghosts,
and so just someone who has spent a long time
there or you know, and probably had many experiences there,
what would you say is the most prevalent type of
paranormal activity that people can experience.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Yes, So, in my opinion, there's many, many, many spirits here.
When I was just visiting here, I've obviously spent a
lot of time in almost every single room in the
hotel I've stayed in overnight, and every room it's so interesting.
(17:17):
Every room you go in has a completely different feel,
a completely different energy, and you can just feel that
it's different, different spirits, different energies kind of in every
room and throughout every floor. As you go up throughout
the Copper Queen, it sort of feels like you get
more and more disoriented, Like I still sometimes am like, wait,
(17:41):
which room is that side on? And it's almost like
being on a ship. You kind of get up there
and the energy gets thick with them, I mean, in
my opinion's spirits. So I mean, people, it really depends
on what room you're in, what how open you are
to sensing the energies around you. You know, particularly I
(18:07):
like Billy's room because I think he's a pretty active
ghost in our hotel.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
And now, which room is Billy's Room.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Four twelve, so top floor.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Okay, And what happens in there? What can people expect
to experience?
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Well, my personal experience when I was in there was
that I kept waking up in the middle of the
night hearing what sounded like a little kid running back
and forth like and it sounded to me like it
was just at the foot of the bed, so he
would just it didn't sound like it was coming from
the hallway or ups or you know, there is no
upstairs right above me, so downstairs or anywhere else. It
(18:45):
sounded like it was just like you know how kids
will do that, They'll run back and forth and back
and forth. And it kept waking me up in the
middle of the night. And on the third night, I
whipped out of bed and I went out the door
because I'm like, this has got to be a kid
running in the hallway, even though it sounded like it
(19:06):
was in the room. And yeah, there was no kid there.
There was no one staying on that floor at all.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
I mean, I think that could catch some people off guard.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Yeah, I mean, I think he's harmless. What I started
doing is leaving candy on There's two beds in that room,
so I would leave candy all the way on the
other side of the room, kind of on the other
side of the other bed over there, and the running
noise is stopped, but the candies would be slightly pulled
under the bed.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
I always wonder what happens when we do that, because
I've done that before, and I'm like, is the ghosts
upset with me because I'm giving it candy and it
can't have the candy? Or can it have the candy?
Or is it like ghosts cbs where like they can
smell the candy. I have so many questions.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
I guess it probably depends on the spirit, would be
my opinion on that, you know, because maybe, yeah, I
think it would depend on the spirit. Were they all
already angry in the first place? Are they more just
a playful spirit like I think Billy is.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Yeah, that's great. I love that I see. I feel
like sometimes hotels, just because having investigated so many of
them at this point, I sometimes I feel like, and
I think we've talked about this on the show before,
how they kind of become a place not just for
people who died there, but people who really enjoyed visiting
it in life for whatever reason. Absolutely, And I kind
(20:26):
of get that vibe from the Copper Queen. Do you
feel like those are thereist those kind Absolutely?
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Most recently I was talking about that with we had
Patty Nagrie come up to the hotel. We had her
here just a few weeks ago, and me and her
got to do some ghost hunting and we were talking
about one of the rooms. There was a very strange
energy in and we were communicating with the spirit in
(20:55):
that room. This was on the third floor, and it
wasn't a that died there, It was just a spirit
that had good times there. I mean, this hotel is
so old. I think a lot of people have come
through and enjoyed themselves here and maybe even if they
didn't pass on the premise, have come back from a
more permanent stay.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Right, And I do feel like I think, just coming
from the human perspective, you know, why wouldn't we want
to revisit places where we had wonderful memories? And I mean,
if we had that ability, if I could close my
eyes right now and fly off somewhere and relive or
be somewhere that made me really happy. I would absolutely
do that, So it makes sense. How do your guests feel.
(21:38):
Do most people that come do they know that they're
staying at a haunted hotel? Or does this ever catch
people off guard?
Speaker 2 (21:44):
I think most people know. I think what catches people
off guard sometimes sometimes it excites them. Sometimes it catches
them a little bit off guard is when they ask, so,
is it haunted? And I tell them absolutely yes. Sometimes
they're a little unsure or or oh no, or you know,
or they don't want to really be in a haunted room,
(22:05):
or they ask me, well, which room is not the
least haunted, and I'm like, I can't really help you.
The whole hotel is a little haunted, you know, but
that doesn't mean in a bad way. That doesn't mean
that spirits are going to hurt or scare you or
anything like that, you know.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Right, But some people are just very scared of the
idea of ghosts. And I don't you know, I think,
you know, like you were saying that hotel, I think
that it is kind of an energy throughout the entire building.
I think I'm sure you know, there's probably certain rooms
that might be more haunted for whatever reasons. But like
you were just saying, I don't think that necessarily gets
(22:41):
you out of having an experience for sure.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Right, Yeah, there's no promises with that, because I think
that a lot of the ghosts, the spirits and energies,
you know, travel around through halls in different rooms. But
there are definitely a few rooms that i'd say are
like occupied.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
You know, well, let's talk about those. What would you like?
What rooms do you think are maybe the most active
in what happens in them?
Speaker 2 (23:09):
So I'd say, again, Billy's is probably the most active
in my own experience. I always sends him whenever I'm
in that room. And when we also did a seance
recently with Patty and Agree, and we were communicating with
the spirits of the hotel, and we found out that
Billy doesn't really come downstairs. You know, they say that
(23:32):
only children can really see Billy. So a lot of
children say they see him jumping on the couch and
the lobby. But my guess at that would be because
I don't think Billy comes downstairs. I only ever sends
him right outside of that room or in that room upstairs,
And I think that there's actually two children ghosts in
(23:53):
our dining room downstairs, and I think they run around
the lobby and jump on the couch. And these two
have actually been captured on camera. And it's the reason
that our dining room is named nineteen oh two the
Spirit Room.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Oh, how interesting? And so what's the connection that they
just they call it nineteen oh two the Spirit room
because it's haunted or was there something specific?
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Uh? Yeah, because the spirits are haunting that the two
that we have on in that picture there, and it's
really clear. You can see it really looks clearly looks
like two children ghost ghosts in the background of the picture.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Oh, that's fascinating. I'll have to see if I can
find it online and link it to people so they
can check it out.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Yeah, I'll see if I can send it to you too.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
I think that's great that you name your restaurant after
your ghosts.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
It's I mean, they were probably here first.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
So absolutely. Okay, So what are some other rooms? I
feel like I thought two eighteen or something, but I
could be misremembering. Are there other rooms?
Speaker 2 (24:55):
There's Julia Loll which is three point fifteen.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
Oh, okay, that might be it.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Jually A Lull was a prostitute in sometime in the
early nineteen hundreds, and her father was actually the first
manager here and he knew she was running her business
as an escort, and he just wanted her to be
close by him. So he had her setup in a
(25:24):
room which was which is still near a back exit
of the hotel, so that her johns could come and go.
And the story goes that she fell in love with
one of them who was married, and he didn't reciprocate
that love and didn't want to leave his wife, and
she hung herself in the rafters right outside of the room.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Oh okay, And so I can imagine that room has
some stories to tell. What happens when people stay in
that room.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Well, people will say, men will say they feel very
very easy in that room. Women sleep just fine. Men
will say that their feet are tickled or scratched or
pulled in the middle of the night. I know people
have had a lot of experiences in that room. I've
only been slept in that room one time, and I
(26:15):
felt very safe and protected. And then again when Patty
was here, she was saying that Julia Lull had taken
some kind of liking to me and follows me around
here at the hotel when I'm working.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Oh, that's great, she's seeing another child of the proprietor. Now,
would you say that most of the spirits there are
intelligent or do you think there are some that are
just kind of more residual in nature, just kind of
going about their business.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Oh, I think it definitely varies from both of the
things you just said, Like it depends like there's some
that are more just like residual energies, and it's really
it's really wild to walk throughout the floors and kind
of sense that, like that's that same disorienting feeling because
there's just so many energies and so many memories and
(27:11):
kind of dollar spirits. But then there's also the stronger
ones like Billy, like Julia, and then there's another spirit
two that people don't talk about as much too. One
is a They call him the no Name Man, or
he might also be the smoking Man. We're not really sure,
(27:31):
but it's it's the unnamed room, which is four oh one,
which almost might be more haunted than Billy's room.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Yeah, it sounds like a more ominous type haunting. Is
that is that true? Like what happens. Is it just
a little more I don't want to say negative, but
just maybe a little more dark or heavy.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
It's kind of creepy feeling. Like most recently people have
told me they've had they had the same exact experience
that I had when I was in that room, And
it kind of felt validating to me because they told
me right away that they felt uncomfortable sometimes using the shower.
They felt a little watched over, nothing like evil or harmful,
(28:18):
but just like there was something keeping an eye on them,
and the door was creaking open and unlocking and opening
by itself, not the bathroom door, but the main door.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
I meant those times that you don't want to feel
like spirits are watching you, it's when you're like in
the bathroom right, showering and whatnot. I remember, I think,
I there are years ago. I don't remember that psychic
Sylvia Brown, she was the next level back in the
eighties or whatever. Again, my mom was well if you
google her, she had very big fingernails. She's very famous.
(28:50):
She did a lot of stuff on like Montell Williams
and whatnot. But she used to always say that spirits
were incapable of watching you shower or do your business
in the bathroom. And I believed her because I was
like nine. But now I'm thinking, why is there just
some sort of like spiritual entery, Like I mean, there
(29:13):
might be you.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
Can kind of try to like block that out, like
exactly energy away, but I don't know about that being
from their side, them not being able to I'm not
sure why that would be possible.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
No, I don't think so. I just thought it was
so funny later on in life, how I just took
her word for gospel. I was like, yeah, they can't
they can't see you.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
They're like, wait a minute, let me think about this.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
They can't watch you. That's too funny. But yeah, I
mean that's when you feel very vulnerable. So I could
see why that would be creepy to people. So note
that folks wanting to stay in room four oh one,
the no Name room, Peeping Tom ghost potentially yes. And
now do people ever witness apparitions in the hotel?
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Yeah, I mean I've seen the more out of the
corner of my eye. I know other people have seen things.
I know children see spirits a lot around here, and
then their parents will come and write it down. We
have ghost logs behind the front desk that anyone at
all can either look at before their stay or also
(30:19):
after their stay, right down their own experiences in And
it's just like a bunch of worn old books with
just thousands of stories in it of people what they've seen,
what they've experienced.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
I love that now. I think I've read somewhere those
went back decades? Is that true? Yes, that's amazing. A
lot of hotels weren't really doing that type of thing
that far back, so I mean that must be just
really valuable information to go through. Like I mean, I
can't imagine like reading experiences that are happening now, but
(30:53):
then flipping back in books from like the sixties and
seventies and seeing that people were reporting the same thing.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
Yeah, that's what I'm saying, yeah exactly, and then seeing
that people are seeing or sensing or experiencing such similar
things in sometimes like the same room or in the
same way. And it's so interesting. And I always recommend
the books to people if they're just waiting in the
lobby or want to check them out. I mean, I
find them so interesting.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Yeah, I mean I would love to flip through those. Now,
what about shadow figures. Are they something that people see
regularly in the hotel.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
I'm not sure. I'm sure they have, and I'm sure
they're in the logs. I know that I have. I
know that there's I don't know if we could consider
him a shadow figure or really what it is. But
there is a back part of the hotel that is
kind of like a small alleyway, and one side of
(31:53):
it is like the back of the building, and then
there's like a narrow alleyway along there that has kind
of a cave wall, and it's very, very, very creepy,
and I always got so creeped out anytime I went
back there, and I kind of pushed myself to walk
through that cave alleyway. It goes back pretty far and
(32:15):
then rounds the corner a little bit, so you can't
even see the exit, and it's very narrow and cobwebby
and dimly lit and creepy all around, and I always
got maybe I just got really spooped and so I
was kind of hyping it up to myself, But I
always got an evil feeling back there, And that's the
(32:35):
only time I've sensed any type of evil or anything
like that around the hotel at all is that back area,
and I also saw it looked like I also would
get that same feeling in the back of the kitchen area,
(32:56):
and I would go down there sometimes to get some
waters something, and there would be no one around, you know,
middle of the night kind of thing, when I was
staying in the hotel years ago, and I would always
get that feeling from the very back of the kitchen,
and it always I saw twice actually what seemed like
(33:16):
a dark figure darting, but I only saw his back
leg and it was very clearly like a back leg
like you know when you just look up and you
see like the back legs like of someone that just
ran into the back part of the kitchen. And then
I did discover after walking through that back alley that
the back of the kitchen is actually connected to that
(33:38):
back alley through like a large vent, So it might
be the same energy that I That would make sense
why I was sensing it in the back of the
kitchen and also sensing it in that back alley because
they're actually connected in the very back that's interesting.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
I was actually going to ask you if they were
connected in some way, like if there was a door
or something.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
Yeah, I didn't realize it first, and then I went
that all the way all the way back there because
I was always too scared to go all the way back.
And there's a big vent there connecting them. Hmmm.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Interesting. I mean, who knows what happened in that alley
right back in the day. It probably saw some things,
I know.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
Yeah, And so we actually communicated with that spirit at
the seance, and his name is sal He says that
he was poisoned and that he's he's not an evil spirit,
he's just he's upset and you know, rightfully, so he
was poisoned. I'm not sure if he knows who or what,
(34:35):
but he's kind of eternally lurking back there looking for
the poison that killed him, or you know, looking for answers,
and and that's what we discovered when we communicated with
him at the seance.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
Well, that's great that you're like having full communication with them,
you know, that's really valuable. That was gonna be my
next question, like who were your most chatty ghosts and
what do they seem to to want to let you
know about?
Speaker 2 (35:02):
So, yeah, Saal was actually probably one of the most
chatty ghosts during that because the sales was held in
the dining room, which is, you know, right next to
the kitchen and all that. And I was trying to
express that like I sent something evil back there and
it's not Maybe it's not sal Maybe it's not that spirit.
And Patty suggested that she felt like there might be
(35:24):
a presence of a portal back there and maybe and
with a portal, sometimes more evil things slipped through or
show themselves in that area. And I'm like, Okay, that
would make a lot of sense why that area feels
so heavy and disorienting. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
And I also find that some of these you know,
locations that become you know, sort of investigated a lot
or talked about a lot as far as ghosts and hauntings,
they almost act as a bit of a beacon to
spirits in the area because they know people are there
actively look to talk to them. It's almost, you know,
(36:02):
they're just kind of like, I mean, I imagine anyway, this
is just me and my but I feel like, you know,
I've just yeah, especially with the hotel, but I've met
so many spirits over the years and my investigations that
aren't from anywhere near where I'm investigating, but they kind
of expressed this. You know, no one was paying attention
to us, but we could we could see ghosts getting
(36:24):
interaction here, and so that could be it too. Now
have there been Are there any ghosts there you feel
like might have any sort of unfinished business other than
poisoned sou that might need something or want help? Or
do you feel like they're all pretty at ease and
okay with being there?
Speaker 2 (36:43):
Well? I did wonder about that, but I think they're
here by choice. I mean we did communicate with them
throughout the ghost hunt. I would ask every room we
went into and every spirit that reached out to us,
I would say, can I ask a question? And I
would ask, are you trapped here? Is there anything I
(37:03):
can do for you? Like? I love this hotel, This
is my family's hotel. I love the spirits here, I
love the people here. You know, this hotel is my life,
And so I would ask them, what is there anything
I can do for you? And they all said that
they're here by choice, and we didn't sense any type
of you know, struggle with that. I think some of
(37:25):
them are pained by what was going on in their
previous lives or their deaths, but I don't think there's
any spirits that are trapped here.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
Yeah, Now, are there any any rumors about the hotel
or supposed ghost stories or history that many people believe
to be true? But you know it's not or like
anything false out there that you would love to correct,
you know.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
I'm sure there's a lot like.
Speaker 1 (37:54):
Sometimes those urban legends go around and you're like, nah,
it's not true.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
Especially in a yes. Yeah, I mean the one that
I hear like a lot is that Billy is downstairs
jumping on the couch. But I already said, like, I
think that. I don't think Billy comes down here at all.
I think that's the children ghost in the in the
dining room. Maybe the smoking Man. I'm not sure if
the smoking I don't think I've really seen the smoking man.
(38:22):
A lot of people say they see him around the
third floor wearing a top hat and that it smells
like cigars. I think they say the third floor, but
I haven't really had any run ins with him, although
he may be the same ghost that haunts for a
one so I'm not sure. I'm not sure about that one.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
Now, So if people do want to come visit the
Copper queen. I mean, I don't. Do you guys offer
ghost tours investigations? Do they just stay? Do they eat
an the Delicious restaurant? Like what do you recommend?
Speaker 2 (38:54):
Okay, well, I yeah, we have our dining room, we
have our saloon. Anyone is welcome to come in and
take a look on all the floors and go on
our second floor landing. We have a beautiful piano you
can sit down and play. We have some game tables
up there. We also have Lavender jeep tours in town.
(39:16):
We have ghost tours that are available. You can ask
about them at the front desk, not through us particularly,
although I will say I'm actually working on something right
now to bring back ghost tours within the hotel. We
used to do it a long time ago, and I'm
working on bringing that back. So pretty soon here we'll
(39:38):
probably be having more like insider ghost tours, you know
where I have a lot of stories. I'm sure if
you really get me going, I would just go on
and on about because, like I said, I've stayed in
almost every room, you know, so I realized that through
the last ghost hunt with Patty Nagree that I'm like,
I have endless stories about this place. I think we
(40:00):
should bring this back.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
Yeah, I would love to. I love that town. It's
so fun. It seems kind of artsy and quirky, and
I love that about it. And the hotel's beautiful and haunted,
which is what we all love. So I highly recommend
a visit to anyone out there listening. And Jenna, you've
been lovely. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
Oh yeah, and I just wanted to say one more
thing too. We are also doing a lot of events
coming up. Stay tuned on Instagram and on our website
and Facebook, and keep an eye out for all the
cool events coming up that we're going to be having.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
I love that well, thank you again, super appreciate it,
and hopefully I will it won't be fifteen years before
I visit next time.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
Yeah, please come out anytime, and maybe I'll take you
on on a little ghost hunt and I'll probably remember
a lot more stories than too.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
The Copper Queen is one of the most famous haunts
in Arizona, and I think it's the perfect example of
a hotel that continues to be a beacon for guests,
living and otherwise. So many stories have emerged from this
ornate beauty in the middle of a mountain mining town.
Some beautiful, some terrifying, but it certainly sounds like something
(41:16):
you should experience for yourself. Who knows, maybe you'll become
part of its story too. I'm Amy Bruney and this
was Haunted Road. Haunted Road is hosted and written by
me Amy Bruney, with additional research by Taylor Haggerdorn and
(41:39):
Cassandra de Alba. This show is edited and produced by
rema El Kali, with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive
producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. Haunted Road
is a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild from
Aaron Manke. Learn more about this show over at Grim
and Mild, and for more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
(42:04):
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows.