JEROME, Ariz. — Dominating the views of central Arizona’s rolling hills is a mission-style building draped in shades of beige and red that's rich with history... not all of it good.
A steel gate greets guests as they make their way up the nearly 100-year-old elevator and towards their rooms. On the third floor, just a few steps through the antique yet regal hallway is Room 32 of the Jerome Grand Hotel: one of the state’s most haunted places.
From spirits roaming the halls, ghostly wails in the silence, and inanimate objects becoming alive with movement, guests of the Jerome Grand have shared paranormal stories since the hotel opened in 1996.
But why?
Three 12 News digital producers wanted to find the answers for themselves. This is their story:
Some clues about the hotel’s haunted history still remain, like a row of unused industrial lights in the hallway, a clinical layout to each room or strangely wide doors big enough for a gurney.
Before the building’s revival as a hotel, the Jerome Grand was a hospital where many people spent their final hours.
Countless souls have passed through the halls of the Jerome Grand Hotel in its previous life, and some believe a few of those spirits still linger on - perhaps malevolent or maybe just lost.
Accidental deaths, tragic suicides and even rumors of murder are just a few of the stories that have swirled through the hotel for the last century.
The Jerome Grand has garnered a dark reputation for anyone brave enough to wander through.
Three 12 News employees booked Room 32 to find out the truth.
Just moments after checking in, a family asked them if the hotel was truly haunted. A curious couple next door wanted to peer inside Room 32 and see what lurked inside.
The ghost-hunting digital producers gave the spirits every chance they could to make their presence known.
They used an EMF reader designed to detect traces of strange radiation, a special radio that cycled through hundreds of frequencies, an infrared camera to see through the darkness and even an Ouiji board to communicate with whatever may haunt the halls.
Thick binders in the lobby contain reams of testimonials from visitors who swear they came face-to-face with a spirit.
It’s now become part of Jerome’s appeal, and its residents have embraced the town's haunted reputation.
But what is it about ghost stories that captivate the human imagination?
Perhaps learning more about the paranormal gives us more insight into what happens after our own inevitable demise.
However, the reality of what spirits may or may not exist inside Room 32 is something you must experience yourself to believe - if you dare.
