Phantom Miners of Vulture City, Arizona

In the late 1800's, a man named Henry Wickenburg established a mining colony in the deserts of Arizona.  Originally a quartz mining site, gold was discovered and the colony grew into the thriving mining town of Vulture City with over five thousand people living in or around it's midst.  However, Vulture City was not entirely peaceful.  

It is believed that spirits of dead miners haunt the remains of the gold mines at Vulture Mines, Arizona

Many claim jumpers, would pilfer from other miners and over the years it is known that eighteen men died in the town as a result of being executed at what was known as the hanging tree.  A tree that still stands to this day as well as other structures in the town.  The old gold mine shaft remains intact as well where it is thought that many miners died in a collapse.

It is known that eighteen "claim robbers" were hung on what Vulture City residents called "The Hanging Tree" which still stands.

Although a ghost town since 1942, it is thought that some of these miners, thieves and the like, still haunt the buildings and mineshaft. An eerie feeling passes over visitors as they make their way through the ghost town. And it is even thought that the spirit of a Native American brave haunts the area. It's headless figure has been seen near the cemetery where he was buried. Some visitors believe that the ghost of a child haunts the old school house on the premises.

Vulture City has been the object of many paranormal investigations. Several teams have made EVP recordings of voices coming from the old mine shaft. One famous team, the crew of Ghost Adventures, has even recorded the eerie sounds of a piano playing in the abandoned school house...  on a piano that no longer works!

The remains of the Vulture City Assay office still stand to this day.

The town is open for paid tours to this day, so you can check it out and see for yourself.  You just may hear the phantoms of Vulture City!


References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulture_Mine
http://www.arizona-leisure.com/vulture-mine.html
http://vultureminetours.com/

Location:

Latitude: 33.813866°
Longitude: -112.832183°

For driving directions and tour info, visit: http://vultureminetours.com/

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Ghosts of the Lost Dutchman Mine near Apache Junction, Arizona

Just fifty miles east of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, The Superstition Mountains hold a deep mystery that has only grown over time.  The Legend of the Lost Dutchman Mine.  Many have searched for it, none have ever found it, and many have died trying.  And for some who tried and survived, they have lost their minds.  Some say the mountain is guarded by some unseen force. To the Native Americans, it was know as the Thunder God.

Weaver's Needle in the Superstition Mountains near Apache Junction, Arizona is the supposed locale of The Lost Dutchman Mine

It all started back in early 1800s when a Dutchman named Jacob Walz stumbled into a local town carrying with him gold that he claimed he discovered in the nearby Superstition Mountains.  However, Jacob died before he could reveal to any other the location of the mine.

Soon, the Spanish conquistadors began looking for gold in those hills.  Many of them disappeared without a trace.  Other prospectors began exploring the hills to find "The Lost Dutchman's Mine", only to be never seen again.  The Apache tribe who lived in the area, refused to offer anyone help in finding this lost treasure.  The ominous reputation of the Superstition Mountains had begun.

In addition to those who went missing, would-be treasure hunters often turned up dead.  More often or not, with their heads severed and/or missing.  A great number have been found with bullet holes in their skulls.  The most notable losses being from the Peralta Massacre where hundreds were found slain.  A number of these deaths were from Jacob Walz himself in an attempt to protect his find.  There are those who believe that he even killed his partner who was supposedly with him, but was never seen again after a while.

The Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix, Arizona is the center of mysterious disappearances and killings since the early 1800s.

The deaths and disappearances have continued on over the decades and into the late 1900s.  There are those who believe that the ghost of The Dutchman, Jacob Walz is responsible for the deaths and disappearances.  Still trying to protect his find after all of these years.  There are others who agree with the Apache in that there is an unseen force protecting the mountains, perhaps the "Thunder God".  And there is also the possibility that there is something deep in those mountains that someone does not want people to find.  Something that a group of people would do anything to prevent it from being found.  One possibility could be centered on the legendary Cebola, one of the lost "Cities of Gold".

Today, the Superstition Mountains are Federally owned park land and are still a dangerous place.  A place where you don't want to just wander into without being prepared for the hostile environment.  Part of the reason the location of the Lost Dutchman Mine still remains a mystery to this day.

Not far from the Superstition Mountains, is a tourist attraction known as Goldfield Ghost Town and is located four and a half miles northeast of Apache Junction.  This place is said to be home to a "Mystery Shack" that is supposedly covering a mine of sorts and is very haunted.  A connection to The Lost Dutchman Mine?  Who knows, but it may be worth a look.

Goldfield Ghost Town gateway to The Superstition Mountains near-Apache Junction, Arizona

Goldfield Ghost Town
4650 N. Mammoth Mine Road
Goldfield, Arizona 85219
480-983-0333
www.goldfieldghosttown.com

American Ghosts and Hauntings Index by Region 

Ghosts of the Jerome Grand Hotel (formerly United Verde Hospital) - Jerome, Arizona

In 1926 the United Verde Copper Company began building a hospital for it's company workers on what is known as Cleopatra Hill in Jerome, Arizona. It open in 1927 as the United Verde Hospital and served many types of patients other than miners.  The hospital was built to withstand the blasts from the nearby copper mine and at the time was considered one of the most state of the art hospitals in the country. It had one of the original Otis elevators which were the first self service elevators not requiring an operator. The hospital served many, however, a good number of people died there including at least one supposed murder victim and their spirits remain to this day.

Jerome, Arizona as it appeared in 1927.  The United Verde Hospital on Cleopatra Hill can be seen in the upper left.

During the early days of the hospital, Claude Harvey, known to the locals in town as "Scotty", worked as a maintenance man at the United Verde Hospital.  Tragically, in 1935, his body was found at the bottom of the hospital elevator shaft.  His death was ruled accidental, however many believe that he was murdered and his body hidden there.

Miners of the United Verde Copper Company

After the copper mines depleted, and United Verde Copper Company closed down.  When the residents of Jerome left town for employment elsewhere, the hospital closed it's doors in 1950.  However, it was maintained for twenty-one years in the event that it needed to be used in emergency circumstances.  During this time maintenance workers reported hearing strange noises through out the building as if there were still patients there. The could hear coughing and wheezing sounds of the phantom residents.  Also, the ghost of "Scotty" had been seen standing near the old Otis elevator from time to time, in the basement, and on the stairways.  The elevator itself, would mysteriously operate on it's own as if some unseen entity were inside moving from floor to floor.

In 1971, the doors of the Untied Verde Hospital where closed for good and the building sat vacant, inhabited only by the souls that had died there.  In 1994, the owner of the building, Phelps Dodge Mining Corporation, sold the building.  In 1997 after extensive renovations, the buildings doors opened once again only this time as the Jerome Grand Hotel.

Jerome Grand Hotel in Jerome, Arizona as it appears today.  Formerly the United Verde Hospital.

Encounters with the building's former etheral residents continued.  With some new ones surfacing as well.  A woman dressed in white, believed to be a former nurse was seen roaming the upper floors and balconys.  A young boy which many believe is a six year old who died in the hospital has been seen on the third floor at various times. A bearded man thought to be a miner who died in the hospital has been seen in various places throughout the hotel.  Mostly in the hallways. It is rumored that he likes to turn the lights as he glides down the hallways.  Another formal spectral patient has been seen in the lobby area sitting around in a wheel chair. It is believed that this ghost is the spirit of a man who accidentally went over a balcony and fell to his death below.

Artist interpretation of the lady in white, one of the resident ghosts of the Jerome Grand Hotel in Arizona

The Jerome Grand Hotel is still in operation today.  The original Otis elevator is still in working order and may be the only original one in working condition in the United States.  The former phantom residents are still there.  So if you happen to stop by Jerome, Arizona and stay at the Jeromy Grand, you just may catch a glipse of one of them.

Jerome Grand Hotel in Jerome, Arizona

The Ghost of George Dawes - Tombstone, Arizona

GGeorge Dawes was a resident of Tombstone Arizona back in the late 1800's. He fell in love with a young woman named Patra.  Believing she would never have him as a husband because he was poor, he went to work in the silver mines and spent 9 months saving enough money so that he could marry his love.

When George returned from the mines, he went out on the town with Patra and another couple they knew.  When the evening came to an end and it was time for the group to part ways, Patra left with the other man.  This was the ultimate form of rejection back in those days.  The next day, George was so distraught that he took a revolver and as he saw Patra pass by he shot her, then took his own life.  However, Patra recovered from her wounds and George did not.

What is now The Buford House