Oliver House: Bisbee's Haunted B&B

Bisbee

I posted this in 2008 on our TAGO blog and decided to repost it to go along with the pictures I took while recently visiting Bisbee. I am hoping that the next time I do a post on the Oliver House it will be my personal experience while staying there.

In the quaint little town of Bisbee, Arizona, many of the residence that live there are not just of the living or breathing kind, but paranormal kind as well. The interesting history and haunts of the Copper Queen Hotel makes it a popular place for tourist to want to spend a night or two. But remember, Bisbee can boast other haunted establishments too such as the Oliver House. Bisbee’s haunted bed and breakfast might be another place that you may want to stay if you don’t mind a ghostly visitor or two.

The Oliver House was built in 1909 by Edith Ann Oliver, the wife of Henry Oliver, a mining tycoon. It was originally used as mine offices and later became a boarding house for miners. The story was told that in the late 1800’s the wife of a local policeman was having an affair with Nathan Anderson, a mining employee. Her husband found out about it, went to the house and killed the both of them. Nat was shot at the top of the staircase to the second floor while entering room 13. He was shot in the head, between the eyes, and in the back. After killing the two of them, the husband headed downstairs and killed everyone in the parlor. He then drove to the edge of town and committed suicide. A total of 27 people died in the house, including those from the mass murder.

With all that violence that happened in the house, you can bet there are some unhappy spirits still hanging around. Some of the guest who has stayed there has reported hearing footsteps in the hallways at night. Some have said that they could hear running water in pipes that don’t exist. Most of the activity is around room 13 where Nat was murdered.

Each of the Oliver House’s rooms has their own bit of spooky activity. In the Plum Room strange cold spots and the feeling like you are being watched have been reported by eyewitnesses. The Purple Sage Room had reports of doors and shutters that open and shut by them. The Grandma Room is said to be haunted by an older woman who died there of natural causes. Some reports in this room are that the rocking chair moves on its own and seeing the older woman watching over them at nighttime. In the Captain’s Room some have felt the presence of a hostile spirit and heard a voice saying “Get Out”!!!

Next time you want a “haunted” place to stay, keep the Oliver House in Bisbee, Arizona in mind. You can be sure that when you stay there, you won’t be alone.

~Julie~

view from the porch

Bisbee Part Four: Bedtime

Bisbee

The bar at the Copper Queen Hotel had that old western feel to it. We were entertained by a couple, singing and playing a keyboard and guitar. Mike was the only one who didn’t drink so he decided to walk around the hotel on his own. He stopped off at the front desk to read what other guests had written in a book about their experiences. The books sat on the front desk and had some interesting stuff about our rooms (401 & 404). After that he walked around each floor. When he got to the fourth floor near our room, which is also near the area where Albert’s ghost usually hangs around, he saw something. The story is told that if Albert is trying to manifest, you will see a dark shadow and smell cigar smoke. Sure enough, Mike saw a dark shadow dart across the hallway in that area and smelt cigar smoke afterwards. He came back to the bar and told us of his experience. I was very intrigued and went with him back up to the fourth floor. We walked around the area a couple of times and took pictures. I never saw anything or smelt cigar smoke. After we finished walking around all the floors, we went back to the bar.

It was time to walk around Bisbee a night time. Some areas were pitch black with stairs leading up to who knows where. The ground was wet and the air was crispy and cold. We must have walked around for about an hour before heading back to the hotel. I took many pictures, especially around the area where my son got the weird ghost photo. I tried moving my thumb back and forth to see if I could get the same effect, but it looked more like a thumb and not a ghost. I still have more experiments to try.

It was almost midnight when we all decided to head back to our rooms to try and get some sleep. After everything that happened in the room earlier, that wasn’t going to be easy. Mike and I shared the bed closest to the door. He decided to just sleep on the top of the covers with a blanket, while I tucked myself under the sheets. Tricia was across from Mike on the other bed and Kelly was next to the wall. Not one of us could get a solid hour of sleep. We tossed and turned, except for Tricia who couldn’t sleep at all. Sometime in the middle of the night, Mike sudden sat up and then Tricia followed. He said that someone pulled his foot real hard and almost took his sock off. Right after that, Tricia had her foot pulled rather forcefully. When I sat up and saw her, she had a terrified look on her face. I heard Kelly asking what happen because she felt someone touch her face. Later that night Kelly felt someone touch her back. As for me, I felt my back and leg touched and kept hearing whispering just like I did the last time I stayed in that room.

What an eventful evening for all of us at the Copper Queen Hotel. I can’t wait to return to see what other spooky adventure waits us. There is never a dull moment in Bisbee and the Copper Queen Hotel.

Don’t forget to check out:
Part One: Arrival and walk Around Town
Part Two: Evergreen Cemetery
Part Three: In the Darkness

Bisbee Part Three: In the Darkness

Bisbee

After returning from the Evergreen Cemetery, the plan was to hit the bar, then walk around Bisbee, and then sit in the rooms, in the dark, to see if we can get any noise from the spirits. We went up to the rooms to see if anything else was disturbed. Because we had strange occurrences happen earlier in the rooms, everyone wanted to sit in both rooms in total darkness first.

We started out in room 404, Billy and Marsi’s room. Mike and I sat on the floor near the bathroom door, the other ladies sat on the bed and Billy sat in the corner by the “closet”. This room was small with a queen bed, night stand, dresser, and a corner closet, which was basically a bar with hangers. The bathroom had a claw foot tub and was also small in size. The room was just fine for the couple. Billy put a quarter on the dresser and Mike turned the water on in the bathroom sink. The little boy ghost, Billy, is known to make his appearance in the bathroom especially if the water is running. Mike started asking questions and wanted Billy’s ghost to shut the water off. He asked this over and over. There was one point where the water sounded as if someone ran their fingers under it. While asking questions, Mike started to feel dizzy and a heavy feeling come over him. At the same time, we all heard some banging in the bathroom and the water sounded like it shut off and then quickly back on. Mike felt someone touch his hair, so he jumped up and shut the bathroom door. While Mike was asking for the boy’s spirit to shut off the water, Billy felt like a small child was sitting in his lap. He also kept hearing “I can’t” over and over in his head. We turned on the light because Kelly, Marsi, and Mike wanted to sit in the bathroom. The quarter that was on the dresser was now on the floor. No one heard it fall or was near the dresser when the lights were out. While they sat in the bathroom, I put the quarter back on the dresser and shut the lights off. Right away they opened the bathroom door complaining of a heaviness they felt in that room. Not long after that Mike called us in because his disposable camera was slowly spinning on the sink. The moment I walked in the bathroom, I felt the heaviness too. We sat there a short while, and then the heavy feeling went away. Nothing more happened so we decided it was time to sit in room 401.

In 401, we opened the bathroom door just slightly and got in our positions. Mike sat on the floor by the bathroom, and I sat on the bed by the door, the 3 ladies laid down on the other bed, while Billy sat on the chair in the corner. After turning the lights out, we noticed a large gap under the door letting the hallway’s lights in. Billy put his coat on the floor under the door to cover the light. Now things get interesting. The very first thing we all heard was a loud moan which sounded like it came from inside the room. Mike caught the moan on his recorder. He started asking questions and then taunting the spirits as “Dr. Phil”. I have to admit that it was a pretty good imitation and almost had me peeing my pants from laughing so hard. It must have worked because he saw a shadow moving in the bathroom and then a shadow hand reach around the bathroom door. As he moved rather quickly between the beds, we noticed that the bathroom door was opened more than it was originally. As we looked at the bathroom door, it appeared to be opening more. This door was a sliding door and not one that swings. At this point, we were all officially getting spooked. Not only did the bathroom door appear to be slowly opening, but we heard the room’s doorknob jiggle a couple of times. It also sounded like it was jiggling from inside the room.

While all the chaos was going on, Billy was sitting quietly in the corner. He told us that he again felt a child near him and a child’s voice saying, “he is mean”. We weren’t sure if he meant the ghost of Albert or Mike because of the taunting. Billy tells us that while we were checking out the bathroom door, he was watching his coat move up and down by the door. Sure enough you can see the light coming through the side of the door and the coat was moving up and then down. It wasn’t the entire coat, just the top half. This was his heavy winter coat and wouldn’t move easily. It was almost like someone was pulling it up and then letting it go. Billy went over to the door to see if there was any sort of breeze that could be moving the coat, but felt nothing. Kelly went by the door with the recorder but couldn’t see what would cause this to happen. This went on for a few minutes and then just stopped.

After all we experienced in both rooms, it was time to hit the bar and have a stiff one or two. It appeared that both Mike and Billy had attracted the spirits, because most of the experiences happened to them. I’m just sorry that it didn’t occur to me to grab my video camera to capture the coat moving up and down. I was excited about what was happening and it totally didn’t cross my mind. Next time, video camera in hand, and bring scotch tape and a ruler. If the bathroom’s door moves or any other objects in the room, we will be prepared to prove it.

This isn’t the end, part four is next…

Bisbee Part Two: Evergreen Cemetery

Bisbee

In 1912 the old cemetery, located in Brewery Gulch in Old Bisbee, was closed and replaced by Evergreen Cemetery. By 1914, the bones of the residents buried there were all removed and relocated. Because some of the records were unfinished and many of the tombstones have rotted away, many feel that there are still buried souls are under City Park’s grounds where the old cemetery used to be.

Buried in the Evergreen Cemetery are many of Bisbee’s most prominent residents from its colorful past. Many played important roles in the history of Bisbee and are part of Bisbee’s ghost stories. Perhaps the Copper Queen Hotel’s most famous ghost like Julia Lowell, the prostitute that killed herself after her lover rejected her, can be found there. Maybe little Billy and Albert, the fourth floor's most active spirits, are buried there too.

After having dinner, we decided to go to Evergreen Cemetery. Autumnforest (Sharon) had told me of her experiences there and said it was a must for us to see while in Bisbee. We found a map showing us the location of the cemetery, and piled in one car to find it. The sun was going down by the time we got there. The gate said that they lock up after sunset so we decided to find another way in. We ended up parking near an abandoned building. While Kelly and Marsi tried to get inside the building, Mike stood outside and kept watch. They couldn’t bust down the door (crazy girls), so they just gave up. We found an old gate at the back of the building to gain entrance to the cemetery. The cemetery was much bigger than I expected it to be. As you look out upon the cemetery, there are many headstones that seem to go on forever. The graves that we first came upon were more recent and had 2009 dates on their headstones. We didn’t see any with 2010 burial dates on the any of the headstones we walked by. As we walked on, the dates were getting older and older. Some dated as far back as 1800’s. As the sun went down and the cemetery got dark, we started to get an eerie feeling all around us. At one point, Mike started to feel dizzy and ill while standing by a group of graves. As he moved out of that particular area, he felt better. I thought I was hearing whispering all around me, which gave me chills. Even though we never saw a ghost, we felt the many spirits that were buried there. We definitely want to go there again and do more exploring in the dark. We also want to find Julia, Billy and Albert’s graves.

Next is part three, our experiences while sitting in both rooms in the darkness…

Bisbee: Part One - Arrival and Walk Around Town

Bisbee

I decided to break the trip up into four different parts. There were several things that happened, which would make for one very long post.

There were six of us that went to Bisbee on this trip. Along with myself, there was Mike, his sister Kelly, his other sister Tricia, and a married couple, Marsi and Billy. We started out having breakfast in Phoenix and left for Bisbee around 11:00 am. The road trip down there was scary because of the pouring rain. Every time the truckers went by our car, we were covered with water making it hard for Kelly to see. Things changed when we got near Bisbee, Mother Nature decided to excite us with snow. We were not sure at first that it was snow coming down; after all we are from Phoenix or southern California. Once we did, it was like giddy little children were in the car.

The three hour drive took us four hours to get to the Copper Queen Hotel. After parking and heading to the hotel, it continued to snow. Mike wasn’t prepared for that and had his flip-flops on. After getting our rooms, he quickly changed into his sneekers. Mike, Tricia, Kelly and I stayed in room 401 (again) and Marsi and Billy stayed in room 404. Marsi and Billy have never been to Bisbee so we decided to walk around the town first. Before leaving Mike put his recorder in the bathroom and shut the door, while I put mine on the nightstand near some cookies. Mike arranged the cookies side by side to see if they move while we are gone.

The snow had disappeared and turned into rain by the time we got outside the hotel. After walking a short distance, the rain stopped. Since Kelly had been to Bisbee several times, she became our tour guide, pointing out all the history and places known to be haunted. In Bisbee, there are owners whose stores, restaurants and bars have many stories of ghosts haunting their establishments. Many of the homes there are shared by ghosts as well. We made our way to the Oliver House and knocked on the door to see if we could go inside. No one answered so we left. We went back to the Copper Queen Hotel to regroup before having dinner.

When we got back to room 401 it had an unsettling feeling. Mike noticed that the cookies were now on top of each other when he clearly put them side by side. Kelly noticed that one of the small shampoo bottles from the hotel was lying on the floor outside the bathroom door. Everyone swears that they did not put it there or moved the cookies. While we were puzzled and scared about what we saw, Marsi and Billy came in our room and said that a drawer was opened on their nightstand. Billy clearly remembers closing it. Marsi said that the pen on the dresser moved. She put it next to the pad and found it on the pad. Before leaving for dinner, Mike put his recorder in their room (404) on the bed, and put the pen in the center of the pad with the tip pointing towards the top. He said that doing that was a tip he got from Ghost Hunters. In our room we put the cookies back side by side and next to my recorder. We added other items as well.

After dinner, we went to Circle K and then to the Bisbee cemetery. (Our experience at the cemetery will be my next Bisbee post.) When we got back to the room, nothing had been disturbed in room 401. However in room 404, the pen Mike placed on the pad had moved. It was lying sideways and only the tip was still on the pad. They even tried to debunk the movement by slamming the door shut to see if the pen moved, but it didn’t.

We reviewed our recordings left in the rooms. On my recorder, we caught some banging noises and shuffling like something plastic was being moved. Could that have been the cookies moving? We don’t know but the recorder was near them. Mike’s recorder in the bathroom got more action. He caught some strange banging noises and footsteps that sounded like they came from inside the bathroom. These footsteps sounded like they were made by boots. Later in the recording, he caught a kids voice saying, “You wanna play a game?” followed by footsteps. It also sounded like it came from the bathroom. There were no kids staying on the fourth floor according to the hotel employees, so we can’t explain this one. On his recorder in room 404, there was shuffling sounds, weird banging, and some movement. It could have come from the hallway, but we just don’t know. Our adventure continues…..

I just wanted to add, sorry for not commenting much last week. Along with planning for this trip, I helped my daughter out and watched my granddaughter more times than I usually do. This kept me away from my blog reading time. I plan to get caught up this week hoping that nothing else comes along to stop me…..thanks.

~Julie~

The Haunted History of the Copper Queen Hotel

Bisbee

This Saturday, February 20, 2010, Mike and I will be heading back to the Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee, Arizona. We are going with his two sisters and some friends. They have booked two rooms (don’t know which ones yet) and we are spending one night there. Last time we walked around Bisbee twice, once in the day and then after midnight and took many pictures. We spent an hour or two in the one of the rooms in complete darkness conducting an EVP session. We did experience a couple of coins falling off the dresser by some unseen force. We are not experts in ghost hunting, just love doing it. We also try not to disturb any of the other guests staying at the hotel. For the most part, we just have fun and see if we can get any paranormal evidence. I have researched the history and haunts of the Copper Queen Hotel and even added Ghost Hunters experience when they investigated the place.
Brief History:
Built in 1902, the classy hotel was built by a wealthy Copper Queen Mining Company. The hotel was built for the mining executives and played host to traveling men, governors and dignitaries. It is located in the heart of down town Bisbee and is well maintained to this day.

Haunting:
During the 1920’s – 30’s, when prostitution was tolerated in Arizona, a prostitute named Julia Lowell “serviced” many men in rooms on the third floor. At the age of 30, Julia fell in love with one of her gentleman callers, who happened to be married. He enjoyed her company but didn’t feel the same for her. He also didn’t think she was good enough to marry. Julia was so upset that she killed herself. Hers is the only reported death in the hotel. Julia is known to haunt the third floor, especially room 315, known as Julia’s Room. She’ll only appear to men, sometimes as a bright white smoke. Some of the men have reported hearing a female voice whispering in their ears. Men who have slept in room 315 are awakened in the middle of the night to Julia doing a striptease dance. Afterwards, she’ll just smile and fade away. Other men have reported their sheets and blankets being pulled back, exposing their feet. They report that it feels like someone is rubbing their feet.

An eight or nine year old boy, whose mother worked at the hotel, was wild and loved running up and down the 4th floor hallway. The reports are that his name was Billy. He drowned while swimming in the San Pedro River. The ghost of the boy has been seen on the 4th floor and dining room of the hotel. Guest have reported hearing a child running up and down the 4th floor hallway when no children were staying there at that time. He is known to hide various items belonging to hotel guest, especially those staying on the 4th floor. Some guests have reported hearing a young child crying when they turn on the bath water. They have also reported seeing him wrapped in a bath towel. Some children eating in the dining room have seen him under their tables.

A ghost of an older gentleman, known as Albert, has been seen in the lobby, stairways and rooms located at the southwest corner of the 4th floor. He is described as a tall man, with long hair, beard, nice black suit with a black cape and top hat. Some have caught the scent of cigar smoke after he was seen.

A woman, in a black dress, has been seen walking up and down the grand staircase and also in the dining room. Her name was reported to be Ruth.

Another ghost of a man seems to like the third floor as well. Employees hear their names being called and heavy boot steps walking up and down the hallway floor.

Another employee has seen a ghost of a former employee named Rose sitting in a chair in the lobby. She appears to be watching the main entrance door.

Ghost Hunters Experience and Reveal:
The personal experiences: Jason and Grant with the thermos camera saw a shape in the hallway and a very light figure of a person in “Billy’s room” on the armoire.
*Jason and Grant in “Billy’s room” experience high EMF (electronic magnetic field) readings. Steve and Brian also experienced the same.
*Steve and Brian heard a noise, while in “Billy’s room”. Looking towards the area where the noise was, they noticed that the luggage rack had moved.
*two mini DVD cameras were set up, one in Billy’s room, where Brian slept, and one in Julia’s room, where Grant slept.

The reveal: the figures on the thermos camera were debunked. One ended up being a reflection on the armoire of Grant, and the other, a quick shot of Grant in the hallway.
*nothing showed up on the camera in Billy’s room
*on the mini DVD in Julia’s room, where Grant was sleeping, they caught the blanket being pulled back and off Grant’s foot, exposing his foot. His other foot did not move, but they still couldn't say who or what did that. We all know that it was Julia!

Bisbee Courthouse Haunted?

Bisbee

Haunted Spots Tours: Copper Queen Hotel & Bisbee

Bisbee

Mike and I are adding a new blog called, "Haunted Spots Tours". Every time we take a day trip or spend the night at places that are known to be haunted, we will take a video of it. We will give you a tour of the place and note the hot spots. The icing on the cake will be if we can catch some type of paranormal activity or perhaps an apparition. Hey, one can hope, right? Our first two videos are from our visit to the Copper Queen Hotel and a night walk through Bisbee.

This video was taken at nighttime while some of the group was walking around Bisbee. Towards the end of the video, off to the right, there are stairs shown in a well lit area. The picture below the video was taken in that exact spot. As you can see the photo is dark with a white ghost figure in the center. It looks to me like the figure was moving quickly. None of the other pictures taken in that area had anything unusual in them so we can't explain this one.

This video was taken inside the Copper Queen Hotel by Andy checking out the third and fourth floors. This gives you an idea of what the hotel looks like in the hallways, above and around Julia Lowell's room 315. Right after he gets to the fourth floor, you get a quick glimpse of Albert's corner where I smelt cigar smoke. Our room, 401, was near that corner.