Jerome, Arizona: Ghost Tour of a Ghost Town

Lisa Fritscher August 19, 2011 No Comments

Jerome, Arizona is a largely preserved historic mining town turned hippie enclave. In the heart of the Verde Valley, an easy drive from both Prescott and Sedona, Jerome is particularly notable for its location on the side of a mountain. The 30 degree incline has earned Jerome the moniker “America’s Most Vertical City.”

With a 1920s population of roughly 15,000 and a current population around 450, Jerome is a ghost town in more ways than one. At the height of the copper boom, Jerome was known as the “wickedest town in the west.” It is only natural that a place with so much rough and rugged history should have an excellent ghost tour.

Our Experience

On the advice of locals from nearby Cottonwood, where we were staying, we arrived early to get dinner at Grapes. Owned by a local family that also owns Jerome’s famous Haunted Hamburger and two restaurants in Cottonwood, Grapes is an excellent Mediterranean restaurant with an extensive wine list. It is also across the street from the Jerome Post Office, where the Jerome Haunted Tour begins.

Getting to Jerome is quite an experience, especially for flatlanders like us! The drive from Cottonwood is just nine miles…but the last five miles or so are straight up the mountain, through a series of tight switchbacks on a relatively narrow road. We also made the drive to and from Prescott later in our trip, and that road is even more exciting! It was a lot of fun, but definitely allow more time than you think you’ll need. Even if you are used to mountains, the odds are pretty good that you will get stuck behind lowlanders like us.

We were immediately struck by the professionalism and concern that Jerome Haunted Tour has for its guests. Though the tour is generally given on foot, a van is available. Our guide, Shotgun Sadie, noticed Dad’s cane and immediately asked if he wanted to go by van. When he declined, Sadie and her supervisor decided to park the van along the route, in an easily accessed spot. That way if Dad or anyone else needed a break, or if the threatening storm actually broke, we could retreat to the van.

The weather was perfect for a ghost tour, windy and slightly threatening, but thankfully the rain held off. Shotgun Sadie was a wonderful guide, drawing us completely into her tales with a slightly spooky tone, and often ending a story with a maniacal laugh. Yet she was a consummate professional, keeping a close eye on everyone, pointing out possible obstacles in the path and assisting us with some of the more physical parts of the walk. Sadie distributed flashlights and EMF meters at the beginning of the tour, and gave each person a brief lesson in using the meters.

Jerome Haunted Tour has a wonderful relationship with the other businesses in town. On most ghost tours, the group simply stands on the sidewalk across the street to stare at a possibly-haunted building. So imagine our surprise when Shotgun Sadie picked up a set of keys and led us inside the Connor Hotel to explore its haunted passageways and even a guest room where paranormal activity is frequently recorded.

This was only the second ghost tour we have ever taken that required us to sign a waiver, and we soon learned why. Although we started off on a relatively level and flat street, the terrain soon changed. We strolled down a steep, unlit gravel road to see the Cribs, where Jerome’s prostitutes once lived and worked. We clambered over rocks to see the entrance to a now-abandoned underground tunnel, part of an elaborate system used by early Chinese immigrants to avoid racial violence. But the denouement would come a bit later. First was a stop at the Sliding Jail, sensibly located downtown until the 1930s, when dynamite blasts in the nearby mines sent numerous buildings sliding down the mountain side. The jail now sits at a nearly impossible angle below the main town.

As we moved deeper into Jerome’s sordid history, we found ourselves at the base of a fire escape. Sadie explained that the building was once a women’s jail. A particularly nasty cage contained some of the worst offenders. In part of the property that is now rented out to a small business, the cage is visible to the public only from the fire escape, and only by contorting in a specific way. So Sadie led two members of the group up to the appropriate spot and showed them how to shine their flashlights to see the cage. Those two showed the next pair what to do, and then followed Sadie to the top of the fire escape. Our group made its way up the fire escape in this fashion, each pair assisting the pair behind, until we all emerged inside a darkened museum.

The museum building is noted for its paranormal activity, so we were given a few minutes to split up and explore by flashlight, EMF meters going off every few moments. Then we joined Sadie in a small seating area. Jerome Haunted Tour has acquired a special EMF meter that allegedly serves as a conduit between this world and the next. Supposedly the meter is able to transmit spirit energy, allowing the group to ask the spirit simple yes or no questions.

That part was a bit too much like a Ouija board for my taste, so I stayed back and let others participate. Whether it worked or not is really not for me to say, but the group got a kick out of the experience. The tour ended after the demonstration, though Sadie was happy to stay until everyone was finished at the museum.

Tips for Parents

Jerome sits at roughly 5,000 feet elevation and is built on the side of a mountain. Therefore, the relatively short walk is more strenuous than it would be on flatter terrain at a lower elevation. The van is readily available at both the start and the halfway point of the tour, so if you or the kids get tired, it is easy to switch over. Sadie also went out of her way to make sure we stopped frequently near benches or raised curbs, allowing everyone to sit down and catch our breath.

Set age-appropriate ground rules before the tour. Insist that kids use their flashlights and use handrails where available. Keep a close eye on them, and do not let them run ahead or lag behind. Sadie did a great job of looking out for everyone, but there are inherent hazards involved in walking steep, uneven pathways in the dark.

This was honestly one of the best ghost tours we have ever taken. Sadie’s blend of excellent storytelling and unwavering professionalism drew everyone in and kept our attention throughout the roughly two-hour tour. If your kids enjoy spooky stories or Wild West history, they are sure to be fascinated by the tales. Prostitution and violence were a fact of life in Jerome’s wilder days, and form the framework for the tour. But the subjects are handled sensitively and the guides adjust their tours to the ages of the participants.

About the Author: Lisa is a full-time travel writer. She lives in an RV with her disabled father and writes about their experiences. Although she has no children of her own, Lisa loves being an Aunt to her own relatives and the children of all her friends. You can follow her adventures on her blog, Travel Confessions.

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