The announcement of the series hints that our nation’s schools have displayed some level of interest in participating.

The premise of the hour-long weekly series is simple: Staff, students and parents will recount their tales of paranormal activity. The involvement of Seth Jarrett (Celebrity Ghost Stories) hints that those familiar re-enactments will supplement first-hand accounts of ghostly encounters. Mark Burnett, of Survivor and The Apprentice fame, will join Jarrett as executive producer. .

A debut date was not announced for this series

The teens stated that they read a ghost story related to the private family cemetery on the Internet, which involved a ghost called the “Pitty Pat Booger”. The teacher, Stacy Swallows, 45, who lives nearby, blocked the teens from exiting the cemetery with his car. He then held the group with an assault rifle until police arrived.

The incident sparked outrage among residents, dividing an entire community. Some residents were enraged over the actions of the teacher. Some residents said that Swallows did nothing wrong, and that the teens should be charged with trespassing. Cemetery owner, Bobby Cassidy, sided with Swallows. Cassidy said that Swallows was fully supported and “he had all the rights in the world to go down there.”

Swallows faces 19 counts of aggravated assault and false imprisonment.

General Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon said at Swallows’ arraignment on November 17th, that both Swallows and the teens made errors in judgment. He added that the case “should have been settled here instead of drug on in the courts for years as it certainly will be.”

As far as the teens are concerned, Judge moon determined that the teens were not guilty of trespassing.

“The proof conclusively shows that none of these young people got out of their vehicles, did not step foot on the cemetery property, had no weapons, guns nor contraband and committed no criminal offenses. As a result, under Tennessee law, Mr. Swallows had no legal authority to make an arrest for an offense that was never committed in his presence or anywhere else. These young people had an absolute right to be on the public road where they were illegally stopped…The Tennessee General Assembly has substantially changed the old common rules of a citizen’s arrest. A citizen can only make an arrest for an offense committed in the citizen’s presence or when a citizen has a reasonable belief that a felony has or or is about to be committed – neither of which occurred in this case.”

Directing his comments to both parties involved, he added, “Nothing good happens in a cemetery after dark.”

According to court records online, Swallows’ next court date is scheduled for January 25, 2011.

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Read more of Cherlyn’s posts at her website.

The structure, now known as the Pioneer Office Building, was formerly known worldwide as the Pioneer International Hotel. The building stands at 100 North Stone Avenue, and was the location of a terrible tragedy forty years ago. The lives of 29 people were lost due to a tragic fire. The building survived, but the once vibrant life of downtown Tucson did not.

The downtown area still largely lies in a state of listlessness. Attempts to “revitalize” downtown Tucson have so far failed. The Rio Nuevo downtown revitalization project, started in 1999, hasn’t made much progress for more than decade. It remains to be seen if recent changes to the project will pump any life back into downtown Tucson.

Reposting the story of the Pioneer is necessary for all of us to pause and reflect about what happened that night. Perhaps to even contemplate about how we can move forward.  The Pioneer tragedy was not the sole factor that forced downtown into its current state, but it was a major one.

The story of the Pioneer is not a short one. I have added some additional information to this already long tale, involving the man convicted of starting the fire. After serving decades in prison, and maintaining his innocence, another appeal is forthcoming.

Four decades have passed since the tragedy in Tucson. To realize what the Pioneer meant to Tucson, we have to start from the beginning. The story begins about eight decades ago.

THE HEART OF TUCSON

Before it was an office building, the Pioneer was a world renowned hotel. Albert Steinfeld constructed the building on the corner of North Stone Avenue and Pennington Street in 1929. When built, it boasted the largest ballroom in the country.

The structure stands at 11 stories high. The east wing is 6 stories. The north and south wings of the building, two stories high.

Back in the day, the Cleveland Indians baseball team called the Pioneer “home” during annual Spring trainings. Tourists, dignitaries and celebrities stayed at the hotel since it first opened in 1929. The Pioneer was the heart of downtown Tucson for 41. It was the place to go for luncheons, to conduct business, to attend conventions, banquets and parties.

In 1970, Tucson’s population consisted of approximately 263,000 residents. The social center for that population was still the Pioneer International Hotel. Albert Steinfeld’s son, Harold, and his wife Margaret (aka Peggy) resided in the 11th floor penthouse at that time, though the Steinfelds had sold the hotel back in 1963. The Pioneer stood kitty corner from Steinfeld’s department store.

The building was the life of downtown Tucson.

Hughes Aircraft Company (now called Raytheon), scheduled their Christmas party on December 19, 1970 at the Pioneer. There were clear skies on evening of the 19th, with a temperature of 43 degrees Fahrenheit. The ballroom was comfortably warm, while it bustled with the activity of 350 guests. Approximately 300 additional guests enjoyed holiday celebrations in smaller meeting rooms on that night. None of these guests were aware that the festivities would turn into an international tragedy over the course of a few hours.

FIRE REPORTED AT THE PIONEER

After midnight, on December 20, 1970, a nearby parking garage attendant reported a suspected car fire near the Pioneer. The cashier stated that he did not have a good view of the area and could not leave his station unattended to give dispatchers more details. Minutes later, a caller from the Tucson Federal Building, half a block south of the hotel, called to report a fire on the hotel’s 7th floor. Another call was reported to emergency dispatchers by Pioneer hotel staff, stating that there was a fire on the 3rd floor. An additional caller phoned in from the Tucson Federal Building to report the fire.

The hotel had been touted as fireproof, but reports kept coming in about a fire.

1st ALARM

Fire Engines 1, 2 and 3; Ladders 1 and 3; Rescue 1 were dispatched.

On and off-duty firemen came to the aid of hotel guests, some of which were hanging out of windows or standing on ledges and balconies when rescue crews arrived.

Engine 1 and Engine 2 were the first rescue vehicles on the scene. Engine 2 fought the fire from the south side of the hotel. Ladder 1 arrived and quickly extended the ladder from the northwest side of the building. As the ladder was extended, one woman couldn’t wait any longer, and she jumped to her death from the 7th floor. Ladder 1 continued to rescue anyone visible from outside that portion of the building. Ladder 3 conducted rescue operations from the south end of the building. Engine 3 took on the east side of the building. Rescue 1 provided resuscitators and first aid equipment. This response was not enough.

2nd ALARM

Fire Engines 5 and 7; Ladder 2; Rescue 2 dispatched.

A second alarm was dispatched and brought reinforcements. Engine 5 took on the smoke tower at the east of the building. Engine 7 used extension and roof ladders to reach windows on the northeast side of the building.

It was there that firefighters made a horrific discovery. The body of a small boy was found on the lower east wing roof. He had either jumped, or was pushed, out of a window.

Ladder 2 firefighters attempted rescue of trapped people in the hotel, but the ladder retracted, seriously injuring three firefighters.

On and off duty Tucson Police Department, Border Patrol, Highway Patrol and Sheriff Department personnel were summoned to assist with rescue and crowd control efforts.

Local hospitals went into disaster mode to receive casualties.

The third and fourth alarms were dispatched. They consisted of Engines 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11;Rescue 3, 4 and 5; and Ladder 4. None of the ladders on hand were tall enough to reach the top floors.

Of the firefighters alone, 34 out of more than 200 fire personnel were treated for smoke inhalation and overexertion.

THE VICTIMS

So far all of this is only what happened on the outside of the building. One can only imagine the panic and horror that the trapped hotel guests experienced inside the walls of the hotel on that night.

A visiting doctor from New York, Dr. Lewis Beck, said that he was forced onto a ledge by the smoke that permeated his room. He stated that jumping looked like his only option. Just before making the leap, Beck spotted another doctor, William Ford, sliding down a drain pipe. Beck followed Ford down the drain pipe to safety.

Of more than 60 persons trapped, more than half made their escape from the hotel windows, most of those rescued by firefighters.

However, 28 people weren’t so fortunate. These 28 fatalities occurred from people trapped on the 6th through the 11th floors. Of the 28 victims, carbon monoxide poisoning took 16 lives, burns claimed 7, and smoke inhalation was responsible for 1 death. “Fall” was the cause of death of 4 victims.

Of the 28 dead, 13 were Mexican citizens who hailed from prominent families. Mexico mourned with the rest of the world at the loss of the wife and five children of Francisco Luken, Sonora Police Chief; the deaths of two grandchildren of former Sonora governor Ignacio Soto; the death of leading cardiologist Dr. Jose Jesus Antillon.

Harold and Margaret (Peggy) Steinfeld, in the 11th floor penthouse, were reportedly reassured by the hotel desk staff that they would come get them, if needed. The Steinfelds, in turn, reassured a family member over the phone that everything would be okay, and that the fire would be put out. They died in their bed from carbon monoxide poisoning, in the hotel that Harold’s father built.

AFTER THE FIRE

Fifty Red Cross workers were on hand immediately. Some staffed the morgue while others tended to the relocated victims at nearby hospitals and hotels. Despite smoke and heat damage from the 4th through the 11th floors, the Pioneer had no structural damage. The building survived intact.

Though the hotel was touted as fireproof, several factors contributed to this fire: open stairways, synthetic carpeting, vinyl wall covering, painted doors and frames. The hotel also had no sprinklers or smoke detectors.

“Fire investigators found that the fire was ignited around midnight by an arsonist in at least two separate locations on the fourth floor. The fire went unnoticed for several minutes. Then, with devastating speed, the fire spread and turned into a holocaust never before experienced by the City of Tucson.” – Tucson Fire Department: Fire Report – Pioneer International Hotel

A Board of Inquiry was formed to prevent any occurrence of a similar tragedy. As a direct result of this tragedy in Tucson, uniform fire codes were established nationally.

THE CONVICTION

After the fire, police arrested Louis Cuen Taylor, a 16-year-old with a history of juvenile offenses. People who knew Taylor described him as a fire bug. The young Taylor insisted that he was only at the hotel for the free food and drinks that he could steal from the Hughes Aircraft Christmas party.

Several witnesses attested to the fact that they saw Taylor help several people escape the hotel. Despite this, and based on what evidence that investigators had, the boy was charged with arson and murder. Convicted in 1972, Taylor was sentenced to life in prison. Taylor still maintains his innocence, aged now in his 50s, from his jail cell in Buckeye, AZ.

Taylor stated that he has been advised over the years, including by his former trial judge, to seek a reduced sentence by admitting guilt and showing remorse. “I told them I’d rather die in prison,” Taylor said.

Taylor’s convictions were overturned in 1982, but reinstated in 1983. Several members of the media have brought attention to his imprisonment, including news correspondent Steve Kroft. Kroft’s investigation raised doubts about Taylor’s conviction, aired in a 2002 60 Minutes segment. An associated article is posted on the CBS website.

Marshall Smyth, one of two experts involved in the original fire investigation said, in an Arizona Daily Star interview in 2006: “I came to this opinion some time ago that neither one of us had any business identifying that fire as arson.”  Without that testimony, he said, “this fellow wouldn’t have been convicted.”

“I’m very sure that neither Cy Holmes nor I should have or could have said that it was arson at the time that we did”, he added.

The Arizona Justice Project (AJP) took on Taylor’s case four years ago, in 2006.

“Since 1998, The Justice Project has been helping to overturn — and prevent — wrongful convictions in the State of Arizona. The Justice Project examines claims of innocence and manifest injustice, and provides legal representation for inmates believed to have been failed by the criminal justice system.”

The Arizona Justice Project still represents Taylor on an upcoming appeal.

THE HAUNTING

The hotel was renovated in 1977 and converted into offices. This is when office employees first began to experience paranormal activity. The sound of running on the upper floors could often be heard. The aroma of smoke was also noted at night. The bar located in the building began to experience unexplained phenomena like lights turning off and on. Employees even started to see apparitions.

Several years ago, a local reporter participated in a ghost investigation of the Pioneer with local paranormal expert, William Everist. At one point in the middle of the night, the sound of running was recorded from the floor directly above the team.

Many Internet sources state that the hotel “burned to the ground” in 1970. This statement is not only false, but it is disrespectful to this structure that has withstood 80 years and a tragedy.

Another piece of misinformation that still circulates is that all of the victims died after being trapped on the top floor. Based on the official fire report, and factual history, the victims weren’t all trapped on the 11th floor.

The Pioneer building downtown withstood that terrible night almost four decades ago. If any location is haunted in Tucson, I would say that the Pioneer would be one location that has the history to go along with those claims. I am not sure if the haunting would be classified as an intelligent haunting, though, where ghosts interact with the living. The experiences in that building have been indicative of a residual haunting. A residual haunting is like a playback of a recording of a past event.

Theories about residual hauntings suggest certain building materials may “record” traumatic events, which are then replayed again and again over time. The structure was the location of a traumatic event. Perhaps the Pioneer building itself is replaying the events from the night of the fire.

AN INTERVIEW WITH A FIREFIGHTER

My personal interest in the Pioneer began 20 years ago. I was intrigued due to my interest in ghosts, as well as my interest in local history. I began collecting Pioneer International Hotel memorabilia. My collection included hotel restaurant menus, matchbooks, postcards, stationery, and many other items.

In 2006, I needed money for a sick pet dog. The only thing I had of any value was my Pioneer collection. I put the collection up for sale on eBay. The winning bidder just happened to live in Tucson. I arranged to meet him at a local Denny’s restaurant to make the exchange of the items for cash. I learned that the winning bidder happened to be a local firefighter who fought the fire at the Pioneer Hotel on December 20, 1970.

I sat with him for a couple of hours at Denny’s and received his firsthand account of what happened that night. He also brought with him the official fire report, which is where these facts about the fire were documented, that I have now shared with you.

The exchange I made that day was more than a fair one. I drove away feeling at peace. I knew that my collection would be in good hands. My collection was safely carried off by a firefighter, like many of the rescued victims at the Pioneer International Hotel, back in December of 1970.

Sometimes, it’s hard to read the reactions to my posts on those pages, which often includes attacks on my credibility, my character, my sanity, and even my writing skills. These attacks come from people who don’t know me, so I have let it go.

I didn’t understand why my posts were shared so often on one particular Facebook ‘skeptical thought’ fan page, until tonight.

I was offered a “press subscription” to Skeptical Inquirer a few weeks ago. The current issue involved an article about “ghost hunting”.  I wholeheartedly agreed with the article and shared my thoughts about it in a blog post. That blog post was shared on the Skeptical Inquirer Facebook fan page today for discussion. The comment section on that page includes terrible comments about me by some people, which doesn’t surprise me.

What does surprise me is the apparent misunderstanding about my blog. So, I’ll take this opportunity to clarify things.

The Tucson Citizen website is a compendium of (unpaid) blogs. It was a newspaper – until May 2009. This fact is stated clearly on the ‘About the Tucson Citizen’ page, as well as on my ‘What is Paranormal Old Pueblo?’ page.

I learned from the comments section on the Facebook page that my ‘articles’ were brought to the attention of Skeptical Inquirer editors, due to “a pro-paranormal slant and lack of skeptical commentary”. They sent me the complimentary issues of the magazine “with the hope that [I] would look at things a bit more skeptically”.

All this effort to ‘educate’ an unpaid paranormal blogger.

To anyone who might to be confused, I assure you, this is just a blog.

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Copyright © 2010 Cherlyn Gardner Strong

Read more of Cherlyn’s posts at her Paranormal Old Pueblo website

Sure, it’s a bit baffling that Bravo and SyFy chose these two shows to merge into a special episode. I didn’t understand why until I saw the preview. You’ll understand once you see it, too.

As an aside, I used to watch Ghost Hunters semi-regularly. My husband only became interested in the show after Kris Williams joined the team. My husband noticed something that I hadn’t. The lighting and camera work in those earlier episodes made Williams’ attire nearly transparent. Every episode after that included constant queries from my husband: “Where’s Kris?”

So, male viewers were gained. When the gratuitous views ceased, my husband ceased viewing. My semi-regular viewing schedule ceased not long after that.

Funny that the preview of the upcoming episode inspired my husband to want to watch on Wednesday, although he watches neither show. Viewership mission accomplished.

If you are looking for entertainment, chances are high you’ll get what you hope for on Wednesday.  I’ve seen several comments on the web, from fans of Ghost Hunters who are seeking the drama that has been absent from the show since Brian Harnois left. Brian’s antics were part of the reason I watched the show, to be honest. Grant Wilson’s attractiveness was another.

We’ll see if there’s any drama to entertain us next week. I think that the show will bring something else: gratuitous camera shots.

Check out this screen shot from the preview. The camera’s focus on the blond woman as she walks up the stairs…much of the shot does not contain her head.

Watch the video preview here.

Screen shot from Ghost Hunters preview

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Copyright © 2010 Cherlyn Gardner Strong

Read more of Cherlyn’s posts as a contributor for Paranormal Utopia, or at Cherlyn’s Paranormal Old Pueblo website

So, the next most popular question I receive has to do with these ghost hunting methodologies. I happily give my opinion on those, but most people won’t take the advice. They want to do something “different” than other groups do.

The current issue of Skeptical Inquirer contains an article called, “Ghost Hunting Mistakes: Science and Pseudoscience in Ghost Investigations”, by Benjamin Radford. Radford is the managing editor of the publication. There are several things that he mentions that should be done differently. Many of those things aren’t done in the real world, by some investigators. Radford speaks mainly about investigators on television. In the real world, Radford would be pleased to know that some groups adhere to many of his suggestions already, including the avoidance one common “mistake” of “lights out”.

On this subject, I wrote a short article on Paranormal Utopia a couple weeks ago called,”Doing it in the dark: Is lights out really beneficial to ghost hunters?“. The answer to that question, if you don’t click through, is:”No, it’s  not always beneficial”. There are only a couple of instances where I believe that lights out would be beneficial. It’s my personal choice to forgo lights out, and it is also my personal choice to participate with a team that doesn’t go lights out. This is troubling, however, because there shouldn’t be a choice to make. Investigation methodologies should be uniform across the board and should not make their number one rule to “go lights out”.

Most claims of activity are based on experiences that took place for the claimant while the lights were on, even at night. If a claim of activity took place at 2:00 pm, the team should be at the location and observing at 2:00 pm. The same circumstances cannot be re-created at 2:00 am. The way things look in the sunlight versus the moonlight just isn’t the same, no matter what.

A team should also not take a case where all of the activity occurs as the claimant is falling asleep or wakes them up from a sleep. For these types of cases, I would recommend that the claimant undergoes a sleep study.

Most investigations that take place at night are done for a couple of choice reasons. Ghost hunting is usually done free of charge to the client, so team members usually have the responsibility of day jobs to finance their personal time and equipment. Secondly, some investigators prefer the quiet atmosphere that the middle of the night investigations offer. Then, there are the groups who simply enjoy the thrill of the darkness. These are the types of investigations that are seen on TV. They do not re-create the atmosphere in which paranormal activity was experienced. The goal would be to re-create the atmosphere to re-create the witnessed anomaly. If the anomaly is witnessed, the next step would be to attempt to replicate it as many times as possible.

The team that I am affiliated with does not handle investigations “as seen on TV”. Instead, the group adheres to specific methodologies. Others follow the methodologies of Ghost Hunters. Because of this, they think that they are qualified to enter peoples’ homes and deem a location “haunted” or not.  At this point, no one is qualified to draw those conclusions, not even teams like mine.

On the topic of “qualifications”, there are teams that have decades of experience in ghost hunting. These teams have established their own methodologies, have selected tools and equipment of choice to work with (or constantly add the newest gadgets to their tool kits), and also have some manner of training that they offer to new members. Methodologies, equipment and training are not uniform, but they should be.

Contrary to popular belief, conclusions of unexplained activity cannot be drawn from one overnight investigation. A good investigation will include returning to the location for several months. There should be effort by the team to find proof to explain the activity as normal, rather than paranormal. Unfortunately, most claimants won’t stand for that and demand immediate answers – specifically the answer they want. Many teams out there want to prove the case as “paranormal”, so the claimant and the investigators are both biased toward the cause of everything being paranormal in nature.

There are a couple things that Radford did not mention in his article. The first has to do with the evaluation of cases prior to accepting an investigation. My team requires mental and physical evaluations of our clients prior to the investigation. This is for obvious reasons.  Despite this, some claimants will still not believe the explanation that the activity they experienced as simply normal. Those claimants always end up disappointed. They will call in teams until they receive the answer they want. This should be a red flag to teams. The screening process should include asking about other teams that have already investigated. There is an exception to this in my mind. I would advocate for more than one group separately investigating the same location in an identical manner. That would be intriguing, as long as the teams are willing to put aside competitiveness, investigate in an identical manner, and compare the resulting information.

One show that I haven’t seen on TV, would involve three different teams investigating the same location, separately, in the exact same manner. Wouldn’t it be great if all three teams experienced the exact same things? We won’t see that show, however, because the viewer would want to move on to something else when the first team finishes their investigation. Viewers have panned some shows for being “too much like Ghost Hunters“. However, I am not talking TV right now, I am talking “reality”.

Another thing that Radford didn’t mention was the use of “blind investigators”. By blind, I mean that a couple of investigators on the team should enter into the investigation blindly and know nothing about the specifics  of the activity. Some people see what they expect to see, or they see what they want to see. This is either by expecting to see what the claimant reported, or letting what they already know about the history of the location badly warp their perspective.

Radford does mention investigators becoming too “wrapped up” in the history and specifics of a location, in a sole quest to”identify” the ghost. Radford says that by focusing on who the ghost is, creates distractions from finding the source of gathered visual and audio evidence. Radford’s observations do ring true. Researching this information is important, but the research should be completed independently from the investigation and should not drive it.

As someone who participates in investigations, I was not offended at all by Radford’s article. I agree with it. I recommend it to all paranormal investigators. Personally, it left me hoping that paranormal investigators might someday unite and operate uniformly: from screening clients and team members, to training and certifying members, to embracing common investigation methodologies.

The technologies, or tools, may or may not prove the existence of ghosts. From Ghost Hunters, I’m sure you’ve heard the team members say: “The presence of ghosts is thought to cause a spike in EMF readings”.  The tools used, at this point, are simply a matter of preference of individual teams.

Radford states: “The problem is that there is no body of research showing that anything these devices measure has anything to do with ghosts. Until someone can reliably demonstrate that ghosts have certain measurable characteristics, devices that measure those characteristics are irrelevant.”

That, to me, is a chicken-egg statement, but I do see what he’s getting at. However, I do also know that scientists go through some level of trial and error. To do this, they sometimes use equipment meant for other uses, until they are able to replicate results enough to “prove” something. They replicate their experiments over and over again, exactly. That’s not happening in most paranormal investigations.

I didn’t cover all of Radford’s article, but paranormal investigators are welcome to chime in to state why they think that the mentioned “mistakes”, aren’t. There is no “right or wrong” answer here, just a few observations that, in my mind, show that there is a need for overhauling some of those popular methodologies.

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Copyright © 2010 Cherlyn Gardner Strong

Read more of Cherlyn’s posts as a contributor for Paranormal Utopia, or at Cherlyn’s Paranormal Old Pueblo website

Each story is backed by evidence captured by the eyewitness (video, film, photographs, EVPs, etc.). Some may share additional evidence of their claims, usually in the form of historical facts about the reportedly haunted location. The episodes feature re-enactments and eyewitness interviews. The show does not attempt to prove or debunk the cases.

Although some of these cases may have involved paranormal investigations, this show does not feature paranormal teams. The evidence featured on a show may have teen captured by a team, but the producers of the show keep the focus on the persons who directly experienced and lived with the activity. Paranormal teams can recommend to their clients that their story should be featured on the show.

The show airs on Saturday nights, which first captured my attention while channel surfing, and I do watch it regularly. It would be great to see an episode focused on one or more of the many experiences of Arizona residents.

To submit your evidence to the show, visit the program’s submission website. To watch the show, tune in on Saturday nights at 10/9 C.

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Copyright © 2010 Cherlyn Gardner Strong

Read more of Cherlyn’s posts as a contributor for Paranormal Utopia, or at Cherlyn’s Paranormal Old Pueblo website



This is great news for fans unable to watch on Sunday nights. It is no secret that this is my favorite paranormal show on television.

If you’ve never seen The Haunted, the premise of the show is quite simple. Each episode of The Haunted presents a claim of paranormal activity to viewers through the re-creation of events, which is interlaced with testimonies of the people involved. The involvement of local paranormal investigators is also highlighted in each featured case.

As the pets involved cannot speak for themselves, the people, the investigators, and the filming crew behind the show give them a voice. This is a show that does not try to prove anything. It is up to the viewers to weigh the testimony given in each episode and form their own conclusions. The weekly series is produced for Animal Planet by Picture Shack Entertainment.

Check The Haunted’s website under “TV Schedules” for show descriptions. As always, check local listings for the starting time of the show in your area with your cable or satellite television provider.

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Copyright © 2010 Cherlyn Gardner Strong

Read more of Cherlyn’s posts as a contributor for Paranormal Utopia, or at Cherlyn’s Paranormal Old Pueblo website

The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado wants you to have “A Ghost Adventure”, and they are willing to throw a couple freebies into the deal.

If you book a room on the haunted 4th floor, in one of their Historic or Classic rooms, you will also receive a KII EMF meter upon check-in, which will be yours to keep. You’ll also receive a $15.00 food credit to use at The Steamers Café.

The deal applies to all Standard one to ten night stays on the 4th floor of the hotel. To take advantage of the offer, book your ‘Ghost Adventure’ with the Stanley Hotel.

Of course, you will also want to book your Stanley Hotel Historic Ghost Tour, at least a week or two before you plan to arrive. The tour is highly popular, and you will see many things, including the underground tunnel, as well as the room that Stephen King stayed in that inspired him to write The Shining.

If you aren’t interested in the Ghost Adventure package, the hotel offers many different specials on their website.

As Halloween quickly approaches, many folks are finding themselves in the mood for some ghost stories. Tucson has many haunted locations, particularly in the downtown area, like my favorite Pioneer Hotel. Ironically, I wrote that Pioneer piece exactly one year ago today.

The University of Arizona campus, where many buildings are reportedly haunted, runs a close second on my list of favorites.

A friend of mine forwarded a website to me. The site contains a treasure trove of tales related to the University of Arizona, some I was familiar with and some that I was not. Some of the stories are ghostly tales, some are not. Some are related to the unexplained mysteries associated with the campus.

When I worked and went to school there, my colleagues regularly disclosed paranormal activity in particular buildings.  The website is worth bookmarking, as it states that it is continually updated. Perhaps I’ll even contribute a tale or two about  buildings that I didn’t see included on the website.

The website includes stories related to Bear Down Gym, The Maricopa Residence Hall, Old Main, Centennial Hall and others.

Visit the U of A Mystery website…

and

Go Wildcats!