As the BOO BOYS began preparing for their first major investigation in Juneau, Alaska, there was an additional case approaching on the horizon, as well. One of the boys (yours truly =3 ) was preparing to visit family residing in the scalding hot desert that is formally known as Arizona. As luck would have it, the stars seemed to align in such a way that the perfect opportunity was being handed over on a silver platter. Said family that needed visiting just so happened to be residing in Tombstone, AZ, which also just so happened to be a major landmark in the history of the Wild West -becoming the center-point in western films and media due to its rich and bloody history.
The Rise of Tombstone
The story of this legendary town begins in the year 1877, when prospector Ed Schieffelin founded the town after discovering massive amounts of silver ore in the surrounding area, and the population boomed from 100 to somewhere near 10,000 by the year 1881. During it's prime, the town attracted many folks from all walks of life, from cowboys and gunmen to prospectors and homesteaders, and had over one hundred saloons, a sizable red-light district, schools, churches, banks, brothels, and even a bowling alley. Despite the growth and wealth of the town, it was not without its flaws and there were many instances of violence and tragedy. In this blog, the BOO BOYS will explore some of the most haunted areas of this staple in the history of the frontier, and give brief histories of each location, as well as provide witness testimonies to paranormal occurrences and our own findings. I sincerely hope you enjoy this read! (Sorry it took so long!!!)
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We begin this journey with two flights totaling approximately six hours and 20 hours worth of layovers. Maybe not convenient, but certainly cheap, so for the lack of a better word - ideal. After being picked up from the airport by my awesome parents (love you guys!), my wife and I were taken to our hotel to rest up for the coming days of excitement, exploration, and most importantly - investigating. On that first night, I could hardly rest at all. My mind was buzzing with all of the potential scenarios of possibly capturing evidence of the paranormal. This was going to be my first time to return in nearly seven years in search of the supernatural, and this time I would have the tools for the job!
A Day in the Town
The first day, we woke up bright and early at 11 am (don't judge me) and hit up the town to get a taste of the Wild West.
The town was bustling with tourists. Tombstone had all sorts of attractions and stores for visitors to enjoy, from gun stores to smoke shops and of course, many businesses selling western attire for those really looking to embrace the spirit of the Wild West. From horse-drawn coaches to trolleys to even live reenactments of gunfights, it's a fantastic experience for all ages and I highly recommend for anyone to take a trip to the town too tough to die at least once, and rest-assured - you will find no shortage of saloons serving great food, and many delicious cocktails. One notable place for visitors to wet their whistles, is Big Nose Kate's Saloon - a place that is well-known not only for their drinks and spirits, but also for one spirit in particular to is said to haunt the saloon.
BIG NOSE KATE'S SALOON
Once the site of the Tombstone Grand Hotel, Big Nose Kate's Saloon is what is left of a fire that occurred in the original hotel that left but few of the original structures, mainly the saloon, in tact. Some claim to have witnessed poltergeist activity, such as silverware being thrown from tables by an invisible force, and inexplicable flickering lights. It is believed that this could be caused by the spirit of "the Swamper," who once served as a maintenance man for the Grand Hotel. He lived in the basement of the saloon, and was said to have even had a hidden cache of treasure, which might explain why he is causing such a ruckus to scare people away from the location. We were unfortunately unable to perform an investigation of the saloon, but we still dropped in for a bite to eat, and some tasty beverages.
After getting our fill and letting our food settle, we thought it might be a good idea to catch a reenactment of one of Tombstone's most famous events that inspired several films, one starring Val Kilmer and Kurt Russel as Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp, respectively - the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
THE O.K. CORRAL
The O.K. Corral is famous for being the location of the legendary 30 second gunfight that saw 30 shots exchanged between two opposing parties. In this fight, town marshals Morgan and Virgil Earp, former police officer Wyatt Earp, and their friend Doc Holliday engaged in a shootout with a gang of murdering cowboys, including Ike and Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury, and Billy Claiborne. The fight resulted in the deaths of Billy Clanton and both of the the McLaury brothers, as well as several injuries on each side. We would later investigate the site of the showdown, but for now, we were in for corny acting and great effects.
After a bit more walking about, we thought it might be a good idea to take a walk over to the Bird Cage Theatre, where we would schedule our 8 pm lights-out investigation. I had been to the theatre during my prior investigation to the town, but I was hoping that with the tools now in my possession that perhaps I might be able to investigate more thoroughly than I had in the past.
THE BIRDCAGE THEATRE
The Birdcage Theatre once served as a brothel, saloon, theater, and gambling parlor, and it is believed that 26 people drew their last breaths in this building, including a gruesome instance in which a woman's heart was allegedly chiseled from her chest with the use of a stiletto. Today, there are signs of this location's dark past that have been left behind in the form of the many bullet holes that can be found in the walls. The theater now mostly serves as a museum, as well as a haunted attraction due to the many reports of strange and supernatural occurrences. Museum pieces have been said to disappear and reappear without explanation, and many have claimed to have been touched or pushed by an unseen force. Some have even claimed to have seen full-bodied apparitions, such as the "Lady in White". With the wheels in motion, we decided to head back to the hotel for a good night's sleep in preparation for what was to come.
THE INVESTIGATIONS
ACT I: The O.K. Corral
Together, my wife and I returned after dark to the site of the O.K. Corral gunfight. We were going to see if perhaps the spirits of the cowboys who were killed during the dispute might have some unfinished business keeping them tied down to this site.
Once onsite, we began by calling out to the spirits of Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers. With our K2 and Engindot EMF meters equipped, and our camera and audio recorders rolling, we asked the spirits a variety of questions imploring them to speak into our audio recorder in an attempt to capture EVPs. We kept our audio recorder and camera running for the entire length of time that we were onsite. During this time we unfortunately did not capture any EVPs and after some time, we switched to the use of our SB7 Spirit Box to see if we might be able to receive some intelligent responses through the white noise of the frequency sweeps. The following is a transcript of the Spirit Box session:
Q: Billy are you still here?
A: ....
Q: Is there anyone here who wants to communicate?
A: I am here
Q: Frank, are you here?
A: Augh! *inaudible* (Maybe my ugly mug scared 'em)
Q: Do you feel that it was unfair what happened to you?
A: ....
Q: Do you think you're alive?
A: I don't
Q: Were you murdered at the shootout?
A: ....
Q: How old were you when you died?
A: Four
Q: Four? You're a pretty masculine four year old. Who are you?
A: Mark
Q: Can you say my name? My name is Ron
A: No
Q: Can you say Adela?
A: "Inaudible"
Q: It would really be the icing on the cake if you lit up my EMF meter. Can you do that?
A: ....
Q: Can you please touch this green light (the EMF meter)
A: ....
Q: Hello?
A: Hello!
Q: What's your name?
A: Billy
Q: How old are you?
A: Ten!
Well at least the dead have a sense of humor.
Upon later review of the footage, we were unable to find anything that stood out as unusual or unexplained. Despite this, we did have something interesting happen with one of our EMF meters. I had laid the meter down at the gate of the gunfight site, hoping that maybe the closer proximity to the area might increase the likelihood of receiving a reading. Though it was silent and read zero milligauss for the duration of our testing, there was one point just as we were saying goodbye, in which the meter did experience a slight spike in its readings.
Perhaps this was an old, undead cowboy's way of saying goodbye, but I suppose we'll never know for sure. Either way, we were content with what we got here and were excited for the next location.
ACT II: The Birdcage Theatre
Our visit to the theatre began with a tour of the building, led by a very friendly and knowledgeable guide who had been working at the theatre for some years. She told us many interesting things about the history of the Birdcage, much of which I actually was not able to find online during my initial research of the site. During its prime, there were many shows held that would have been entertaining even today. From women with magnets in their boots walking around on the ceiling to magic acts of trying to catch bullets with teeth, it had a bit of everything for everyone! Today, the building has undergone very few changes at all, except for the rearranging of furniture and museum pieces. The floorboards are all still the very same that countless cowboys and ladies of the night would walk on back in the old West, and the ceilings, walls, and supporting structures are all the same, as well - complete with bullet holes and scuffs from rowdy patrons. It truly was a step back into the past.
At the conclusion of the tour, it was finally time for lights-out. Chairs encircled the theater room with various pieces of ghost-hunting equipment spread out across tables, all ready for the big finale. As the hostess prepared to shut off the lights, everyone took their seats and the room fell silent in anticipation. I turned on my digital voice recorder and activated the infrared mode on my camera, ready to hopefully catch a glimpse of something supernatural.
There we all were, in the darkness of the theatre for the next thirty minutes. The hostess began by inviting the spirits to commune with us, assuring them that we meant no harm or disrespect. She then pulled out a squeaky toy and attempted to call the spirit of the resident ghost dog, "Silver" who was allegedly shot dead by a cowboy during a performance in which the dog was pretending to attack an actress on-stage. Though we did not receive a visit from Silver, we did experience some EMF spikes at the poker table near the stage. The hostess thanked ghost for setting off the meter, and continued asking the spirits to make themselves known. Over the next 20 or so minutes, the individuals circling the room continued asking questions, and the meters toward the stage would still spike to about 5 milliguass occasionally without any known explanation. Although I too attempted to ask questions of my own, hoping to capture some disembodied voice on my digital recorder, I unfortunately did not capture any whispers other than those occasionally coming from the other visitors sat beside me. Perhaps one of the most interesting things that occurred, was when a guest claimed that he could have sworn that he saw the table next to him move. There is, however no way to verify this claim as I was out of view of the aforementioned piece of furniture. Upon reviewing the footage, I was unable to find any semblance of shadowy figures moving in the darkness, but I did have a few instances in which I could have captured video footage of a ghostly orb manifesting, then disappearing within frame. See if you can spot it:
Once the thirty minutes of darkness had come to an end, we were all escorted to the exit where we awaited our ride back to the hotel. Sure, we had gathered some decent evidence so far, but there was still one location we were eager to hit up next on the following day...
ACT III: Boothill Graveyard
The final location that we were able to investigate was the
Boothill Graveyard, which is the final resting place of many criminals who met their end between 1878-1884, including the McLaury brothers and Billy Clanton. There are around 250 graves in the cemetery and with its rich history, we thought for sure that we might find some good evidence there. Those who have visited the cemetery have claimed to hear strange disembodied whispers, have captured photos of apparitions, and have even seen strange lights in the area. Unfortunately, the graveyard closes at 6 pm daily, so we began our investigation 45 minutes before it shut its gates.
At the next site, I had the pleasure of investigating with my father - a hardcore skeptic, or as he likes to put it: a realist. We had somewhat of an unintentional "good cop, bad cop" dynamic between us, as he would taunt the spirits and say they weren't real, whereas I would attempt to bribe them with gold and offered them a chance to be heard and understood. A couple of notable and one somewhat funny occurrence took place during our investigation here. The first that happened, was about five minutes in when I was asking if someone could please reach out and touch the hand that I was holding the K2 in. Shortly after making the request, the K2 began spiking like crazy! I told my father that I got a big hit and when he approached, it began to die down. I would still have some occasional small spikes at one or two other moments, but nothing compared to this.
The next thing that happened about twenty minutes in, was that I might have captured another instance of an orb on my camera whilst having infrared mode enabled. Upon further review, I noticed that it moved differently than the one that I had captured at Birdcage. I don't necessarily want to label this as evidence, however due to the fact that it could have very well been nothing more than an insect and I think it's awfully likely that it was. Still, I thought maybe it would be a good idea to make a note of this regardless, since I hadn't noticed any flying around at the time.
The third thing that happened was actually pretty funny. I attempted to use the SB7 once more, and these ghosts seemed to have a bone to pick with my father...
Q: Is anyone there?
A: Carl
Q: My dad? What about him?
A: A**hole
This gave me a good laugh and it was honestly a great wrap-up to our time here at the cemetery. Perhaps this taught me that maybe I should be more friendly and less antagonizing for better results, as the spirits did not seem to want to make themselves known to my father at all. As the gatekeeper beckoned us toward the exit with dusk fast approaching, I made my final rounds, thanked the ghosts for their time, and promised I would FEDEX them some gold for their troubles before hitting the road once more and wrapping up the investigation of the town too tough to die.
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