The Town Too Tough to Die

The Town Too Tough to Die

Haunted History of Tombstone, Arizona
Brief History:For nine years in the late 1880’s, Tombstone was the mecca of many notorious happenings.
In the summer of 1877 a prospector named Edward Lawrence Schieffelin arrived in the San Pedro Valley of Arizona searching for silver. He had been searching for ten years and he had yet to be successful. Ed worked all day in the area known as the Tombstone Hills in the Mule Mountains. Often asked why he always goes up in those hills, he would say, “to collect rocks”. One soldier told him, “If you keep fooling around amongst the Apaches, the only rock you will find will be your tombstone.” Finally, he saw a wash with scattered pieces of silver in it. As he moved up the hill, he found a large vain of silver. He decided to call his claim “Tombstone”. In early 1879 the City of Tombstone was built. On Allen Street the lots sold for $5 each and the town had 40 cabins and a population of 100. A year later, in 1880, four towns were thriving in the mining district and Tombstone was the largest. The population exploded to 3,000 and in a year later it more than doubled to 7,000. Before the decade was over, the population was over 10,000. Tombstone had more brothels, gambling houses, saloons than any other town in the southwest. With all the gun play, the undertaker had a booming business. With the flooding of the mines and the two fires that almost destroyed all of Tombstone, it soon became a ghost town. But with the popular interest in the history and the ghostly sightings, Tombstone is thriving again. It has earned the name, “The Town too Tough to Die”.

Ghost Sightings and Haunts:The streets of Tombstone are said to have hundreds of sightings of spirits hanging around various places. One of them is said to be Marshal Fred White, who was accidentally shot by Curly Bill Brocius on October 28, 1880. He was hit in the groin trying to disarm the gunman who was joking about shooting up the town. Marshal died two day later. He has been known to haunt the street in front of the Bird Cage Theatre, where the shooting took place.

Another sighting of a man with a long black coat has been seen on many occasions. He has been seen, around the corner from Tuff Nut Street, near the site where Virgil Earp was ambushed by three men and shot in the arm. It was told that he had over 19 buckshot in him and it crippled him for life. The spirit never makes it across the street so many believe it may be the ghost of Virgil Earp, himself.

A mysterious woman in white has been seen walking the streets of Tombstone. There are many stories about the woman and how she died. One story is that she killed herself after her child died from the Yellow Fever. Another story is that she was a brothel madam who was hung at the courthouse. They say she may be on the look out for her executioners.

They also say the because of the fires, smoke and burning materials are often smelt where there is no reason or explanation for it. More than 40 men lost their lives in the fires. They will occasionally make themselves know by appearing complete with their bad burns.

On Stafford Street you will find The Buford Bed & Breakfast, which was built in 1880 by George Buford. People staying there in the upstairs room have noticed a strange light in the room. There are no street lights outside the B&B, so there is no explanation for the light. Another guest has reported arguing with a ghostly woman in a rocking chair over whose room it was. The ghost would tell her “This is my room, GET OUT!” Another ghostly figure of a man has been seen around the B&B also. It is suspected that it could be the ghost of George Dahls. The story goes that George was in love with a 17 year old named Petra Evans. He was 21 and had been in love with her since childhood. He went to work at the mines so he could have enough money to marry Petra. He stayed 9 months in the mines and returned much wealthier. It was too late; Petra had fallen in love with another man. George was so devastated, cried all night and woke up in the morning angry. He got a gun, walked across the street and shot Petra four times, and then shot himself in the head. Petra survived. The owners of the B&B have often seen George, perhaps looking for his long lost love. He would make his presence known by turning on and off the lights and ringing the doorbell at 3:00 in the morning. No one was usually at the door. A lavender smell is often detected. Perhaps Petra is around too.

Another place known for ghostly haunts is the San Jose Boarding House. This place was frequented by Doc Holliday. In the room where Doc stayed, the doors keeping opening and shutting and the toilet keeps flushing. One guest had pictures taken of him and his secretary in that room. In all of the pictures, she had a haze over her face but his face was clear. There is no explanation for it. The owner even had an experience. One night she had trouble breathing, like she was being choked. She said the Fathers name loudly and started to feel better.

Tombstone was a male driven town. Most of the women were whores and worked in brothels and saloons. One of the places where that were most apparent was the Aztec House. This was an upscale, high class boarding house for people with money. Mostly men stayed there and would entertain whores there. Woman staying there get very uncomfortable to the point that they feel like they need to get out! One woman was watching the house for the owner and had her dog with her. She heard lots of noises and there was lots of movement with no wind to make the movements. She saw shadows, doors opening into the kitchen and nobody was there. Her and her dog did not stay the night. She also owns a house in Tombstone, which she rents out. Children have told stories of seeing and talking to a male ghost there.

The Birdcage Theatre:Opened on Christmas 1881 and was not only a theatre, but also served as a saloon, gambling hall and brothel. The New York Times called it, “The wildest, roughest, wickedest honky tonk between Bash Street and the Barbary Coast”. It had all the best beer and champagne. A miner could spend a months pay there. It was opened 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, even on holidays. There were 26 deaths during the 80 years of business and has over 100 bullet holes in the walls and ceiling.

Some of the ghostly events that have been reported are crowd noises, music, card shuffling and cigar smoke.
A stage manager was said to be killed there when a sandbag dropped on him. His ghost can be seen walking across the stage.
A gift store owner saw the spirits of three cowboys in the gift store.
In the poker room in the basement, a lady in a white dress has been seen in the security cameras when no one was in that room at that time.
Another employee was helping an older gentleman find his wife only to have him disappear on her.
A tourist found a rare gold coin ($25 birdcage chip with only 3 in existence) on the table in the poker room. No one can explain where it came from.
In some pictures, a ghostly figure of a cowboy can be seen in the stagecoach.
During a séance, an owner was choked by a spirit.
The smell of cheap lilac perfume can be smelt.

Perhaps one of the most notorious prostitutes at the Bird Cage was named “Gold Dollar” for her long gold hair. It was said that a woman named Margarita came to town and took a shine to Gold Dollar’s boyfriend Billy. She loved sitting on his lap. One time Gold Dollar got wind of Margarita sitting on Billy’s lap and she headed to the Bird Cage Theatre. She threatened Margarita and told her that she was going to cut out her heart. They got into a brawl and Gold Dollar stabbed Margarita in the chest, cutting her heart out. The angry ghost of Margarita has been seen walking around the Bird Cage Theatre.

Ghost Hunters Experience and Reveal at the Bird Cage Theatre:The personal experiences: cards shuffling, smelling smoke, shadows walking across the window, shadow walking across the stage (perhaps the stage manager), a ball dropping and rolling, cowboy boots walking; Jay and Grant saw a woman about 5’ tall, in a white dress, wearing a bonnet, going downstairs in the poker room. They could not find anyone down there. (Perhaps the same woman caught on the security camera). They also smelt a lilac smell (perhaps the presence of Margarita). Steve and Brian heard a loud noise and found their heavy electrical cord unwrapped and lying on the ground. They could not figure out how that happened.
Audio: heard piano (music) playing
Video: saw the cord lift up and unwrap itself and no one was there (spooky)

O.K. Corral:After being threatened to be killed if they didn’t leave town, the Earps and Doc Holliday said that they would never run. So on October 26, 1881, Virgil received word that the Cowboys were at the O.K. Corral, and they were armed, which was against city law. The five killers waited for them to show up. After 30 seconds, three men were dead and three were wounded. Wyatt was the only one untouched. His brothers and Doc were wounded. Today, the O.K. Corral is allegedly haunted by the ghosts of the Billy Clanton and/or the McLaury brothers. Some have seen a faded cowboy apparition walking through the corral or cowboys appearing to have their guns drawn. There have been numerous cold spots felt in the corral in various areas.

Boot Hill:With more than 250 graves of Tombstone’s most notorious buried there, several ghost sightings have been seen there. Many noises can be heard there with shadow figures and apparitions showing up in people’s photos. Ghostly figures have been seen walking around the graves.

I will be throwing in articles between Mike's story. Tombstone is a fascinating place to visit with many ghosts walking it's streets and living in the buildings.