Oliver House: Adultery and Murder

Footbridge that
leads to the entrance
of B&B.

Today the Oliver House is a bed and breakfast. It sits on a secluded hill in the old mining town of Bisbee, Arizona. It was initially built as offices and a boarding house for the employees of the Calumet and Arizona Mining Company.

The old house has a bloody history. Despite written records being lost to neglect and fires, it is believed 26 deaths occurred in the Oliver—most murders.

Several of these murders were a direct result of unfaithful spouses.

One story told by the locals involves a man by the name of Nathaniel Anderson. Nate was a miner who stayed in Room 13 at the Oliver House. He was stepping out with a married lady, a Mrs. Elizabeth King, whose husband he owed money.

Oliver House before renovations.

The two had carried on an illicit affair for some time when early one morning in February of 1920, he was shot twice, in the forehead and in the back. His body was discovered at the top of the stairs near Room 13.

A man was seen leaving the house but was never positively identified. So the case remains officially unsolved. It is believed Nate Anderson has haunted Room 13 since.

His ghost is also seen on the stairs and in the area around his old room.

In recent years a local DJ was bet a $100 to stay in this room overnight. He stated that all the ghost stories told about the Oliver House were just nonsense. He took the bet feeling it would be an easy way to make a hundred bucks.

Once checked in, with great fanfare, this DJ proceeded to Room 13. But as he unlocked the door and opened it, he saw Nate’s ghost standing in the middle of the room. He quickly returned the key and left the hotel.

He later returned the $100 and admitted he now believed in ghosts.

In 1932, another betrayed husband entered the Oliver House. This angry husband, a police officer, went to the Blue Room and shot and killed his wife and her lover. He then proceeded to kill anyone else who got in his way.

All told, he killed 12 people that day. He then turned the gun on himself.

Modern-day visitors that stay in the Blue Room report hearing phantom footsteps and they return to find the furniture mysteriously moved in this room.

What B&B looks like today.

The second floor at the Oliver is always active. Several paranormal groups have investigated this building. Typical reports include doors opening and shutting, footsteps in the hallways, and the sounds of water running.

Guests report feelings of creepiness overwhelming them on this floor. They often state they felt something unseen was watching them.

One couple reported hearing the sounds of an entire “party” going on when they were the only ones on this floor. Others report hearing the sounds of pipes being worked on in places they no longer exist.

Read my post about other haunted places in Bisbee, Arizona, here.