Overview
Originally a hospital for the copper mining town of Jerome, this hotel is home to many ghosts and manifestations dating back to 1927. Sitting at 5000 feet in elevation, this National Historic Landmark offers ghost hunting packages which includes a good old fashioned ghost hunt. Maybe you will meet the ghost of Claude M. Harvey, the hospital’s fireman engineer who is said to have been crushed to death by the elevator. He is known to appear in the basement and sometimes has some fun with the elevator. Going down?
A Spectral Sport – Ghost Hunting
Guests of the Jerome Grand Hotel, are offered one of the most unique experiences of any haunted attraction: The chance to go on an actual ghost hunt, complete with digital camera, EMF meter, and IR thermometer to aid in their search.
The hotel is five stories high, with guestrooms that are all notoriously haunted. One couple chose to mount a digital camera near the ceiling of their hotel room during their stay. A ghostly orb appears to float across the room and into the back of the woman’s head while she slept. The same white orb was again captured seeming to dance back and forth across the balcony of the couple’s suite. Numerous other encounters with the orb have been well documented by various hotel guests and a quick search online yields proof of the ethereal sightings.
History of a Ghost Town
Jerome Grand Hotel, which was once a state-of-the-art hospital, is believed to be one of the most haunted attractions in the United States. Situated in the town of Jerome Arizona, the hotel is among several haunted dwellings in what is now considered a ghost town. In the 1950’s, with its mines rich in copper, silver, and gold, Jerome was home to over 15,000 miners and their families. During World War II, the town continued to thrive, but two massive fires destroyed much of Jerome in the late 1890’s. In 1953, the mine closed and by 1955 the population of Jerome dwindled to fewer than 100 people.
The hospital, which was owned by the Phelps Dodge Mining Company, was closed in 1950 and the building remained unoccupied for the next 44 years.
In the 1970’s, Jerome began to breathe new life. A subculture of artists, curators, restaurateurs, and other creatives settled into the hillside and the community began to flourish once again. While this community has continued to thrive due to increasing tourism, Jerome is currently home to fewer than 500 residents.
The old hospital was purchased by the Altherr family in 1994, and opened as Jerome Grand Hotel in 1996. The building was so well preserved that to this day, it has retained 95% of its historical attributes.
Jerome Arizona is also known as “The World’s Most Vertical City” due to its intense steepness. It is located atop Cleopatra Hill and rises to a staggering 5,200 feet in altitude. The 30-degree incline has not been kind to many of the buildings that once dotted its slopes. While many of the original buildings were damaged or destroyed in the fires, others have succumbed to gravity, crumbling into heaps at Cleopatra’s feet. Of the buildings that have remained standing, many have been restored and transformed into restaurants, wineries, and gift shops.
Ghosts of the Jerome Grand Hotel
In the 1930’s, the body of the Verde Hospital’s maintenance man Claude Harvey was found at the bottom of a service elevator shaft. The elevator was found to be in working order and the death was investigated as a homicide. Several guests of the hotel, while acting as Paranormal Investigators, have reported a ghostly figure of Claude Harvey in the basement, staring vacantly at the closed elevator doors. Others have reported hearing a distant whistling; presumably the sounds of a man dutifully performing his maintenance routine, even from beyond the grave…
Considering the hotel served as a hospital in its previous incarnation, it is no surprise that guests often report the haunting wails and cries of its former inhabitants. Sounds of labored breathing, coughing, and screaming have oft been reported within the common areas, halls, and stairwells of the Jerome Grand Hotel. One such inhabitant is known as “the bearded man” and appears to “visit” numerous rooms on various floors of the hotel.
One of the most common sounds heard in any busy hospital is the first cry of a newborn babe. Guests of the hotel frequently report the sound of an infant crying. Callers have reported the sound to hotel staff, claiming to hear it coming from a neighboring room, only to learn that the room had not been occupied.
The hotel is even home to the ghostly form of a feline; numerous guests have reported feeling a ghost cat brushing up against their leg, leaving an imprint on the bed linens from its cat nap, and one guest even captured the phantom feline in a photograph. The picture was framed and still sits upon the front desk of the hotel.
Haunted Room 32
The most popular of all the rooms available for guests to retire after an evening of ghost hunting, is room 32. The room is well-known as the most haunted room in the hotel after having been the location of not one, but two grisly suicides…
One man leapt from the balcony to his death, while another turned his gun on himself. Guests who dare attempt sleep in this room are awoken by the sounds of doors opening by themselves, and of water streaming from faucets that apparently turned themselves on full blast.
Your Stay
If hunting for ghosts at a historic hotel, decked out with high-tech paranormal detection equipment appeals to you, then Jerome Grand Hotel is where you should book your stay. The ghost hunt costs $30 per adult, $20 per child and is offered on select weeknights. And as an added bonus for you ghost hunters, you’ll receive a 10% discount on your stay, for as many nights as you dare.
We stayed in room 32 of the Jerome Grand in Sept. of 2017 without knowing about that particular rooms history, much less the hotel’s history and the ghost stuff. I found it out later and after a very uncomfortable start at a night there. We went to bed at around 11 PM. I began feeling stuffy, then cramped, then short of breath, and anxiety. I got up to walk around and shake it off, then to the bathroom, then tried bed again. It got worse. My friend didn’t tell me then, but felt the same way, very bad. I felt irritable like never before. We needed to leave and we packed as fast as we could. We barely made it down the stairway. I wouldn’t take the old elevator for some reason that I can’t explain. When we reached the lobby, the reception desk, the girl there had a look of dread on her face, which I thought strange. I tried to check out but her computer failed. We left anyway, without signing anything. Had to get out fast. It was just after midnight. We both didn’t feel right, in fact we felt terrible, couldn’t breathe right, until about halfway home to Phoenix. We’ll never go back to the hotel for a stay except for maybe the wonderful restaurant next door with fantastic food. Room 32 at the Jerome again? No possible way. I’m a believer now for sure. Something very wrong there. Ted
It was about 6 months ago when I went to visit for a couple of hours. I was only 11 and we went to have the food at the asylum. It was DELICIOUS. when we went to go home we took one last look and saw an orb through one of the windows. Then we saw a flash of a grimaced face for a second and it disappeared. “Next time we go here,” I said to my dad, “We’re gonna be ghost hunter in room 32.”
My three young teenage children and I stayed there one night in 2016. We did the haunt tour. It was a fun and very interesting experience. While walking the hall ways, my son turned around towards me and saw a plastic flower pop out of a vase and hit me on the shoulder… I felt it hit me and saw it own the ground. Also, we noticed on my video three dots in a triangle shape in front of us, like a dog going every where we went, staying in front of us… interesting. It was a good experience,.. interesting experience. John
I had a encounter at the grand hotel restaurant I saw a real live ghost she has a flower in her hair and she was very nice and helpful
Stay out of room 32. The Jerome Grand is haunted! There have been multiple reports of paranormal activity. Folks have reported sightings of human figures-and I heard of a couple who struggled to breathe while staying in the room.
The Grand is amazing and wonderful. My cousin and I stayed in room 32 without knowing anything about it. My cousin heard a tray rolling on a linoleum floor outside our door (of course, the hall is now carpeted, but not when it was a hospital). Then he felt and saw and older man wearing a turn of the century suit float above him, look right at him then float out the door to the balcony. Room 32 is a portal, no doubt about it. Enjoy.
I have stayed at The Grand two times – first time October 2016 and the second time October 2018. In 2018 I stayed in room 32 not knowing its history. I was traveling with friends who stayed in the room next door. In 2016 no out of the ordinary occurrence, however in 2018, i was awoken during the coarse of the night with much noise coming from the hallway. I really thought it was other guest of the hotel who were just being discourteous and loud after a night out on the town returning to the hotel. After being woken up around midnight, I was really tempted to address the other guest but decided just to let it go. The next morning I learned that only me and my friends were the only guests staying on that floor the night before and my friends sleep through the whole night. I travel for business and stay about 80 nights a year in hotels across the USA. What I heard that night in 2018 was vivid. As previously mentioned in other reviews the restaurant associated with the hotel is very good. I recommend a table by the windows for views of the valley
[…] Jerome Grand Hotel […]
My spidey sense was tingling 100% when I got to this hotel. I definitely felt spirits here or something. I loved every minute of it. Spooky, but also a nice hotel and a great town.
My family and I stayed in the former X-ray room for two nights. Let’s just say the stories of the hotel being haunted is definitely not a gimmick. Whoa… where do I begin? I heard scratching sounds several times our first night. I woke up in the middle of the night. Everyone was asleep but me and heard what sounded like someone or something scratching the wooden panels of the Murphy bed. I heard a low whispery moan while I was brushing my teeth (close to my left ear), felt something jump very lightly on the foot of the bed. I even heard outside the hallway what sounded like the squeaky sounds of a gurney. Now, that could have been another hotel guest pushing something across the floor, but I was too much of a chicken to check it out. Indeed I experienced some strange and inexplicable moments, but nothing malevolent.
Just stayed for one night at on the third floor near infamous room 32. Everyone else with me slept fine and didn’t wake up from the strange noises I heard. I specifically will not forget the sound of a man screaming/yelling in pain, like thunder sounded like it came from a floor above. This was definitely not another guest. I had sleep paralysis and strange dreams. Heard door knobs jiggle a couple times too but not sure if it was another person. Very nice hotel and restaurant if you want to get spooked
My husband and I stayed at the Grand and in room 32 a week ago. The whole place is creepy. We had a nice dinner at the Asylum Restaurant and retired for the night. My husband slept well, but I did not. I felt very cramped, the room seemed without much air. Around 3 AM I awoke and just looked around me – it was dark, shades on the windows. I looked to my right as I was in the bed and saw this small ball of light streak across the room right by my head. I lay there frozen in place and a few minutes later I felt something furry settle by my ankles. It wasn’t my husband, his feet were about 2 feet from mine. After a bit that furry “thing” disappeared. The next morning I told the front desk person about it and she was not surprised at all. She said that none of the ghosts are unfriendly including the ghost cat that likes to sit and lay on beds there – especially room 32.