Haunted Hotel Monte Vista

There are many rumors about this old hotel located in downtown Flagstaff, Arizona. The Monte Vista has more than one ghost.

I heard many stories about this hotel during my four-year undergraduate work at NAU in the mid-1970s.

The Monte Vista became well known for its paranormal activity, especially after it was highlighted on one episode of Unsolved Mysteries.

This show talked about the hotel’s most haunted room--#305.

Rocking chair in Room 305.

There are numerous witness accounts of seeing a woman sitting in a rocking chair near the window. Many others have seen this chair rocking all by itself.

Some witnesses have reported hearing unexplained knocking sounds inside this room’s closet.

It is known that an elderly lady was once a long-term renter—who would sit by the window for hours in this room. But why she did this is lost to history.

Another active haunting is connected to the hotel’s cocktail lounge. In the 1970s, three men robbed a nearby bank. A bank guard shot one of the three during the robbery.

After their escape, making a bad choice, the three men decided to stop in the Monte Vista lounge for a cold one. The wounded robber bled to death in this bar.

The activity in this room began after this. Patrons and employees are often greeted by an enthusiastic, “Good Morning.” Also, barstools and filled glasses are seen moving about without assistance.

In this same lounge, a couple dressed in formal attire is seen dancing, laughing, and smiling. They never seem to stop. There is another unusual item about them—they are transparent.

Years ago, Flagstaff’s red light district was located a couple of blocks from the Monte Vista. Two prostitutes entered the hotel in the early 1940s with their Johns.

Soon after, they were killed, and their bodies were thrown out of Room 306s 3rd-floor window.

Guests that stay in this room report they were woken up in the middle of the night abruptly. They all state they felt an eerie feeling--as if they were being watched.

The men that stay in this room report feeling hands being placed over their mouths or throats. All state this restricted their ability to breathe.

John Wayne, while staying at the Monte Vista, in Room 210, saw one of the hotels more active ghosts. He encountered this entity more than once. 

The spirit he saw is known as the “Phantom Bellboy.”

This bellboy knocks on the door and softly announces, “room service.” Wayne and other guests that have seen this young man describe him as wearing an old-fashioned red jacket with brass buttons.

Wayne returned later to stay in this same room. He told the staff this ghost appeared to be friendly, and he did not feel threatened.

More creepy ghosts are connected to the hotel’s basement.

Laundry and maintenance workers report a baby crying in distress, endlessly. This sound is so disturbing they often leave the basement, stating they couldn’t take it anymore.

An even more frightening presence in this basement is a six-foot dark shadow figure that has scared staff and deliverymen. He is seen lurking behind people.

These witnesses often leave the basement immediately, stating that this figure exudes a strong sense of menace.

A young ghost—a boy, is seen in the hallways. He appears to be looking up and talking to someone much taller than him. Some speculate this must be his mother—although she is never seen.

Guests have reported this boy touched their hand. Children tend to see this ghost more often.

Monte Vista’s old elevator is self-serve, but more than one guest has reported being greeted as they entered this elevator. A polite attendant asked them, “Which floor?”

Guests also report seeing a phantom hand close the elevator gate.

In Room 220, there is a ghost dubbed the “meat man.” This ghost is believed to be another former long-term resident at the hotel. He had an odd habit of hanging raw meat from the room’s chandelier.

In the 1980s, this man was found, three days after his death, in this room.

Shortly afterward, a maintenance man doing repairs in the room turned off the lights and locked up. He returned to the room shortly afterward to look for something he lost.

To his amazement, the lights were on, and the television audio was on full blast. The linens on the bed had been ripped and scattered across the floor.

Since this initial incident, many guests that have stayed in this room report the television seems to have a mind of its own, and more alarming, large, cold hands touched them as they slept.

I write about a haunting and my personal encounter in one of NAU’s dorms in another post here.

Oregon’s Spooky McMenamins Edgefield

McMenamins Edgefield

Located in Troutdale, Oregon is an impressive hotel named McMenamins Edgefield.

This large hotel has a brewery/winery, and offers fine dining, concerts, a movie theater, gardens, a spa, and a golf course.

Gardens and vineyard at Edgefield

It is also, without doubt, one of the most haunted hotels in the U.S.

The reason for this is how the site was used, for the seven decades before it became a hotel.

In 1911, the Multnomah County Poor Farm opened where the Sandy and Columbus Rivers come together.

Multnomah Poor Farm

This 345-acre farm was a progressive new idea, to help families, the disabled, and the mentally ill to become self-sufficient.

Even with overcrowding during the Great Depression, the Multnomah was still thriving. Residents in Portland would often visit the farm to buy handicrafts made by the residents.

After WWll, with Roosevelt’s New Deal, most of the residents were able to move on—leaving only the more disabled and sick residents on the farm.

A county jail was established on one section of the land in 1954. The inmates refused to work the farm, so it fell into disrepair. The decision was made to sell the livestock and lease the farmland.

The main building was used for the Edgefield Nursing Home starting in 1964.

When the nursing home closed, the property was abandoned for over 20 years, it was extensively vandalized. It was about to be torn down when the Troutdale Historical Society stepped in and saved it.

Spa with soaking pool.

Winery tasting room.

Then with financial support, the McMenamins brothers were able to renovate it.

After the hotel opened, it became apparent to both staff and guests that the grounds and buildings are haunted. A nurse wearing white, a former janitor, and a ghost dog have all been observed by many.

The phantom dog, besides being seen, wakes guests up late at night, by sticking its’ wet nose into people’s faces. Others state they heard the unmistakable clicking of a dog’s nails as this canine moved through their rooms.

One guest hearing this sound, spoke to the dog, telling it, “You are good fella,” at which point it jumped on her. She never saw it.

A phantom janitor, wearing a uniform of a different era, is seen, smiles, and even talks to guests. He is spotted in the same spot each time.

One time he gave a guest the direction to the ladies room as she left the ballroom, but it was where a restroom used to be. He often just disappears after people spot him.

Tasting Room

Allison Berliner, a wine server, has seen the ghostly nurse. She saw this entity walking with keys in her hands in the winery, at 11:00 in the morning. This ghost stopped as if to unlock a door and then just vanished. (The winery was previously the poorhouse infirmary.)

Mural near where entity walked
through Berliner.

One night, as she walked between the second and third floor, she felt an energy go right through her chest. It took her breath away, and she hyperventilated.

At one point Berliner was transferred to work at the hotel’s Black Rabbit Bar. She encountered a shadowy figure that had “very dark energy,” so, to her relief, she was transferred back to the winery.

Maids at the hotel report a variety of experiences. One housekeeper as she stood at the foot of a bed had her ankle grabbed firmly. This unseen hand wouldn’t let go until she jumped away. (Several guests have had this same experience.)

Another maid had just cleaned a room when she returned to retrieve an item that she had forgotten—she entered the room to find everything in disarray.

The night before this happened, a guest staying in this room told the front desk that she awoke to find a dark figure standing over her bed.

Several rooms on the second floor are very active. Guests report awaking to someone tapping on their chest or being poked in the side, or their feet being grabbed while they are in bed.

One guest had her backside grabbed by an unseen hand as she showered. She screamed and retrieved a towel, as she watched one of her shirts in the next room, lift up and fly across the room.

Another guest, who has visited the hotel several times, tells the story of kissing her boyfriend in one elevator when her hair was yanked violently. No one else was in the elevator with them, and her friend’s hands were both on her waist.

Haunted room.

One guest awoke to find an old man standing over her—he had his hand extended as if he wanted her to shake it. He only disappeared after she obliged him.

Guests often take pictures, knowing the hotel’s reputation. Many have captured mists outside. One guest who snapped many photos during his visit found that all the ones he had taken inside had just disappeared. This had never happened with his camera.

A female guest lost her brush. She poured her purse out on the bed in an attempt to find it—only to see it lying on top of the contents she had spilled out, moments before.

Haunted room.

A couple that stayed in a corner room on the third floor—another room with a lot of activity—had a disturbing night. The wife was shoved off the bed, only to see her husband was asleep and turned away from her.

In this same room, another couple both awoke to the sound of something substantial, hitting a hardwood floor. They turned on the lights and discovered the floor was carpeted, and nothing was on the floor.

A third couple heard creepy footsteps circling the bed. The husband saw what appeared to be a grandmother sitting in the corner, watching them.

These couples state they can hardly wait to revisit the hotel. Others say they are too scared to return.

Other activity includes: Cold breezes inside where they shouldn’t be, the feeling that something is watching, a child’s loud cries in what was the infirmary and lamps turn on by themselves.

Concert on the lawn at Edgefield.

The hotel doesn’t deny these hauntings. In fact, they have had the structures cleansed in the past.

Edgefield's' wines and beers.

But they also do not publicize them. The owners don’t have to. The McMenamins Edgefield is a popular destination for a myriad of reasons. Hot mineral springs—anyone?

The Hanging of Rose Butler

The land where Washington Square Park is located in New York’s Greenwich Village was used for over a hundred years as a burial site.

It was initially used as an Indian burial ground.

Then after the Revolutionary War it was a potter’s field for criminals that were hanged in New York in the 1700s.

A Vault full of bones found
beneath the park.

There are an additional 20,000 souls buried in a mass grave, lost to a yellow fever epidemic that lasted from 1791 to 1821.

As New York’s wealthier citizens moved into the area, this extensive graveyard was covered over for a military parade ground.

It was at this point that the shallow graves of the potter’s field began to surface. As a result, several bones of the deceased poor were crushed underfoot.

The military parade ground at what was to become the park.

This stark history, plus the disturbance of these graves—point to this ground being haunted. After this location became a park in 1828, people began to note unexplained activity.

Today, the buildings that surround Washington Square, house the various NYU departments. The young people that flock to this park often do not know, about the morbid history of their favorite hangout.

Many bodies lie beneath the famous fountain and arch at this park.

Hangman's Elm

Most of NYUs students have never heard of Rose Butler, even though some have encountered her ghost. On windy nights, she is seen swinging from a large tree in the park’s northwest corner known as the “Hangman’s Elm.”

She is described as a shadow dangling in the tree that appears to disappear when witnesses move closer, to get a better view. Others have noticed this dangling figure from the various windows that overlook the park.

Some have seen her apparition walking through the park. Cold spots accompany her, even on hot summer days. Most disturbing is the witnesses who claim they felt her walk right through them.

Rose Butler was a house slave owned by the Morris family. At age sixteen, the family accused her of stealing. Previous owners had also caught her stealing.

Rose resentful, was also angered at the fact many blacks that were “free” lived near the Morris household.*

She hatched a plan to kill the family. She tried to burn down their house. She set it ablaze and tied their only exit shut.

But she only managed to burn part of the staircase, the family escaped unharmed.

Rose was arrested and tried for arson.

Arson was a heinous crime at the time—for there were not firefighters, and many perished in house fires.

Butler was condemned to death by hanging. This was a harsh penalty—for a woman. The case went all the way to the New York Supreme Court, but they upheld the ruling.

Some state this was because New York was in transition at the time. Slavery was on the decline, and there was a lot of tension between slaveholders and non-slaveholders.

At the age of nineteen, in 1799, Rose Butler was the last criminal hanged in what would become Washington Square Park. She was buried in the nearby potter’s field.

Some feel her grave was one of the many desecrated—hence the haunting.

*   She should have been free, slavery was an abomination, but some because of this sentiment, claim she was innocent--the fire was just an accident. But my research reflected otherwise.

But another question remains--

Since Rose didn't succeed, should she have been hanged? 

Portland’s Haunted Old Town Pizza

For well over a century Portland, Oregon’s Old North End had a shady reputation at best.

Since the 1970s a restaurant, Old Town Pizza has been located in once was, the lobby of the Merchant Hotel. This popular restaurant inherited the hotel’s resident ghost.

The Merchant Hotel

The Merchant was built in 1880 by two successful lumber barons. It was built atop part of Portland’s infamous Shanghai Tunnels.

These tunnels were used to imprison unsuspecting men, from the 1870s until well into the 1900s. These men were either drunk or drugged and then forced to work on ships without pay.

I share the history and hauntings of these tunnels in my post entitled Portland’s Shanghai Tunnels.

Shanghai Tunnel under Old Town Pizza

Despite this nefarious beginning, the Merchant Hotel had a good reputation. But this hotel was also known to provide its elite clientele with “ladies of the night.”

One young lady, Nina (pronounced “Nigh-na”) was sold into prostitution by Portland’s thriving white slavery trade. She became a “working woman” at the Merchant.

Missionaries convinced Nina to share or “rat out” several of Portland’s powerful crime bosses in an attempt to clean up the neighborhood.

Nina agrees to give this information, in exchange for a chance to escape a life she had not chosen. But soon after she cooperated, she was found dead in the hotel.

She had been pushed down an elevator shaft to her death. Since her ghost has not left what was once the hotel.

One room in Old Town Pizza

Guests at Old Town Pizza report feeling someone is watching them, others mention smelling a floral scent without source, they are told, “Oh, that is just Nina.”

One secluded booth at the back of the restaurant sits next to a brick wall that once was the elevator shaft. Nina’s name often appears mysteriously, written on this wall.

Secluded booth at Old Town Pizza

She has been seen for over one hundred and fifty years at this location.

She is described as tall, wearing a long black dress, with a lovely smile. She is often seen walking down the stairs. She is also seen standing in the restaurant overlooking the diners as they eat.

Her apparition is sometimes spotted beneath this restaurant, in the basement, where one of the many Shanghai Tunnels is still located.

The following is a short video about this haunting. It includes a personal experience one Old Town Pizza employee had with Nina.

The Pink Palace’s Helpful Ghost

Pink Palace, Louisville, Kentucky

Located at the end of St. James Court in Louisville, Kentucky is a magnificent Victorian mansion. The Pink Palace was built in 1891.

Pink Palace's Turret

This three-story mansion displays a French Chateau inspired turret and a grand staircase. It has been lovingly maintained for over a century.

It was initially used as a classy Gentleman’s Club where its members came to unwind and enjoy cigars, brandy, cards, and the women upstairs.

The mansion was then used as a private family home until 1910.

An organization that influenced Prohibition, The Women’s Christian Temperance Union bought the mansion next.

Appalled and embarrassed to find the home was once used as a brothel they had its red brick walls painted “pink” to wipe this history clean.

Since the mansion has been referred to as the Pink Palace.

By the 1970s and ‘80s, the home was being used as apartments. These residents and past owners all have mentioned the mansion is haunted.

Elegant Rooms, click to enlarge.

One specific entity is seen—Avery is believed to have been a butler in the home before he died.

He is an older, southern gentleman who wears a crisp dark suit with a string tie. He is tall—six feet in height, and he is a friendly ghost.

View from the front.

When Avery appears it is to warn the living something dangerous is about to happen.

One female resident describes the time Avery stood in front of her at the top of the stairs. He would not let her pass.

She looked down and realized there was a rolled edge on the upper carpet that she had not seen. She would have tripped down the stairs if Avery had not stopped her.

Years later, another female who lived in the basement apartment encountered Avery in an embarrassing moment. She was taking a bath when Avery appeared.

One bathroom.

Startled, she jumped out of the tub—just in time to avoid a huge cement block that came hurling through the window. If she had not moved, this block would have hit her head.

Two burglars had thrown it in an attempt to break-in. This female was able to alert the other occupants, and they called the police.

Several residents have claimed Avery has saved them.

He appeared several times to warn residents that a fire was about to break out in their kitchens. They then were able to unplug appliances or turn off stoves just in time.

This spirit is obsessed with sharp objects--they are dangerous. Residents would find their scissors, pins, pocket knives, etc., lined up on one table in the entry hall, regardless of where they were kept in the home.

Two of the kitchens.

Avery has been seen for over a century at the Pink Palace.

The mansion in recent years has been for sale. It has beautiful grounds, a large swimming pool, and a two and a half car garage in the back—and one very helpful ghost.