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.

Haunted Nebraska State Capitol

Several legends surround this building. The following two stories have taken on folklore (or ghostlore) status.

The one shared the most involves Christmas lights that used to be placed on the Capitol dome.

Nebraska State Capitol

Finding workers to do this job was difficult. The state had to find people brave enough to risk a 17-story drop to string these lights.

Because of this state prisoners were offered this job, enticed by shorter paroles and jail sentences.

One prisoner who volunteered for the job, in 1968, had a heart attack at the top. He fell to his death.

Witnesses state his screams and sobs were heard for years after his death.

Spiral staircase in
capitol.

Another legend involves a 50-year-old man who fell down the spiral staircase in the building. He became dizzy while looking down the stairs and fell 12 flights. His ghost is also said to haunt the capitol.

Some have debunked these two legends, but others point to a real haunting that occurs in the capitol’s law library.

A female ghost interacts with male visitors in this room.

Witnesses have reported when they couldn’t find the light switch while entering this room, this ghost has grabbed their hand. She then guides their fingers to the light switch.

Many others report seeing books lying strewn across the libraries' floor, after the doors were closed for the day.

Law library at the capitol.

An elevator at the capitol building.

Late one night, a female worker, had a strange encounter involving the elevator on the 3^rd floor. After pressing the button, she waited, only to see the elevator zip passed her floor, and go up to the 12^th floor.

She then answered her phone call, where a mysterious voice told her to wait, “They were coming back down.” When the elevator doors opened on her floor, no one was there.

Spooky Point Sur Lighthouse

This lighthouse, first built in 1889, was fully automated by the Coast Guard in 1972.

Point Sur Lighthouse

It sits high atop a large volcanic rock on a remote location, just north of Big Sur, California.

Today, this lighthouse is a California State Park and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Despite its strong intense beam many ships wrecked, as they tried to navigate along this rugged section of the California coastline.

But this is not the reason midnight haunted tours are offered in October at the lighthouse.

Instead, it is the spirits of family members of the lightkeepers who linger on this beautiful spot.

Many believe these spirits stay because the keeper’s house affords spectacular views of the wild coastline and the Pacific Ocean on three sides.

This house has ocean-view windows in every room, including even the closets and bathrooms.

Several volunteers who help out at the fully restored lighthouse have encountered these ghosts.

Julie Nunes, states the lighthouse has a peaceful, “Shangri-La” feel. She states the ghosts she has encountered are not malevolent in nature.

Kitchen a Point Sur.

Before entering the light keeper's house Nunes, always knocks and greets one ghost, named Ruth, that resides in the house.

Ruth was one light keeper’s wife. She likes to hang out in the house’s kitchen. Smells of cooking are reported, and it seems Ruth likes her privacy for she often swings the kitchen door shut.

Nunes has recorded another female spirit’s voice stating-- “Now she wants you to go home.” And “Pokey, go to bed.”

It is believed this is the voice of Catherine Ingersoll, a Danish immigrant who married one of the lightkeepers.

She is telling her daughter, Pokey, to go to bed. On this recording, the listener can hear the faint sound of the little girl’s voice responding.

Another volunteer, Sheila Fraser was alone in the keeper’s house cleaning. As she put a vacuum away, she heard something downstairs.

Stair landing where
Fraser saw the ghost.

She looked down from the stair landing and saw a woman who looked real.

“She wore her hair up, her sleeves were puffy, and she wore a long skirt. As Fraser watched, she just disappeared.

Fraser has also seen a male ghost watching her from the keeper house's living room window.

In the following video, Nune places an Ovilus down on the kitchen table next to a pair of skeleton arms. She asks, “Pokey, are you here?”

Watch closely, for the skeleton hand on the left—near the coffee mug—moves. I didn’t see it the first time I watched—but it makes a slight movement.

Besides the October tours, year-round tours are offered at Point Sur Lighthouse.

Haunted Kennebunk Inn

Tavern in 1885.

This inn nestled between the Kennebunk and Mousam Rivers, in the town of Kennebunk, Maine, was built as a private home in 1799.

In 1928, this residence was converted to a tavern. During this time a man by the name of Silas Perkins was hired to be the night watchman and auditor.

The son of a sea captain, Silas was also a published poet.

Silas died, of a heart attack, in the 1940s, at the inn. He was eighty years old. Since his death, many believe that his ghost lingers.

Light mist photographed at the inn.
Click to enlarge.

In more recent years, this old tavern was converted into an inn.

Former owners of this inn, the LeBlanc’s encountered Silas’ ghost on more than one occasion.

This ghost likes to play pranks on the inn’s employees—especially on those he does not like.

At first, Angela LeBlanc was skeptical the inn was haunted. She quickly changed her mind.

Inn's bar.

One afternoon as she sat the inn’s bar, several mugs levitated off a shelf, where the bartender, named Dudley stood. These mugs hit him in the back of the head.

On other occasions wine glasses fell or flew across the bar.

Room 17 at the inn is very active. As well as the hallway outside this room.

Recently, a housekeeper was cleaning this room when she unplugged the television, to clean behind it. To her horror, this TV moments later turned on by itself.

Even though Silas is mischievous, most of the owners of the inn agree that his spirit overall is a protective presence.

He takes his role as night watchman seriously—guest often state, that he watches over them as they sleep. I am not sure if I would find this comforting or not. 

One line from a poem he wrote, entitled The Common Man, sums up his role as protector.

“I want to laugh with the common man.

Whenever he chance to be,

I want to aid him when I can

Whenever there’s need of me.”