Horrific Hauntings : The Mizpah Hotel

 Situated in Tonopah, Nevada, the Mizpah Hotel is one of the historic hotels in the U.S. The Mizpah and the close by Belvada building shared the record of the tallest construction in Nevada till 1927. The resort became named after the Mizpah mine. The Hotel became a hotspot of celebrities and rich investors for the duration of the silver boom in Tonopah and it turned into one of the first luxury hotels in the state. This hotel now stands as a haunting blend of the new and old.

History

Whilst the inn is one of the locality’s oldest construction, it became predated by the Mizpah saloon which was started in 1907. George Wingfield, Cal Brougher, George Nixon, and Bob Govan, some of Nevada’s most well-known financiers, financed the hotel George Holesworth was its designer. The hotel's financiers also owned other Tonopah firms.

The resort's facade was made of stone and the neighbouring Brougher-Govan block acted as the first Mizpah hotel. These buildings were joined with a wooden stairway and they remain connected even now. It should also be noted that the hotel was the first one to have an elevator in Tonopah.

The hotel was bought and sold quite a few times in the course of the years till Frank Scott of Las Vegas bought it in 1979. He renovated the structure and encompass modern luxuries in it without disturbing its original antiquity. The renovation was valued at $4 million and took almost 3 years to complete.

The hotel was closed in 1999 and it remained shuttered until it got purchased by its new owner. In early 2011, Fred and Nancy Cline bought the hotel and renovated and reopened the construction in August 2011.

Since then, the hotel hosts guests from all over Nevada visiting the region, ghost hunters trying to feel the eeriness of the Clown Motel, Tonopah Cemetery and the Mizpah hotel itself.

Paranormal Occurrences

 One of the well-known and dark memories to pop out of the Mizpah Hotel is that of a theft that went wrong. In line with the tale, two miners utilized the underground network of old mining shafts under the hotel to dig through its floor and empty its vault. Later, the bodies of the miners were observed inside the tunnel beneath the resort, however, the cash they robbed was gone. It seemed they were double-crossed by an unknown assailant, who murdered them and took the loot. Some claim the miners remain inside the basement underneath the resort.

 Visitors have claimed to experience paranormal events all through the construction. This includes rooms, hallways and even the elevator. They have claimed to sight apparitions, hear voices and even sight objects shifting on their very own.

 It is stated that a couple of children haunt the third floor. This playful duo can frequently be heard playing and laughing inside the hallway. An unknown soldier lingers on the fourth floor and it is said that he died within the hotel and lamentably, no one knew his identity.

 Perhaps the most known phantom that the hotel hosts, stays on the 5th floor, more mainly within room 504 which is claimed to be the most haunted room of the hotel. A former prostitute who once lived in the hotel, she is referred to as the Red Lady. Unfortunately, she got killed outside room 504 in a brutal way, being strangled and stabbed several times by a jealous ex-lover. Many who've stayed in this room during the night have sighted the woman in her spirit form, heard her voice, smelt her perfume, witnessed objects shift on their own and some have even woken up in the morning to discover pearls left by her on the mattress.

 Unlike other hauntings, the Mizpah hotel shares its spotlight with the Tonopah cemetery and Clown Motel. There is also an apparent curse that sits over Tonopah. It started out with the Tonopah-Belmont mine fire in which 17 miners were burned to death and their bodies were buried in the Tonopah cemetery. Visitors of the cemetery report sighting abnormal orbs and disembodied voices but, the nearby motel overshadows the cemetery in terms of paranormal activity.

 Named ‘America's Scariest Motel’, the clown motel has a lot of glassy-eyed circus clowns and its owners swear that it is a safe location to spend the night, however, its visitors swear that it’s haunted. In line with local legend, the clown statues act as containers for the miner’s ghosts who, possess the dolls and make them come to life. Silhouettes have been seen walking from the cemetery to the motel and disembodied voices had been heard announcing ‘we mined’ and ‘we died that day.’

 In records, the pueblo natives used to get dressed in clown-like dresses while welcoming possessions of spirits. Possibly these clowns, with their identities ever-converting, are portals into the spirit realm. Even the resort’s proprietor says that he hears footsteps and knocking from vacant rooms of the motel. Apparitions of a person were stated leaving the cemetery and strolling across the belongings even during the day. It is said that one of the preceding owners vanished when he tried to interact with the spirit. What's even more frightening is that clowns have been seen leaving the cemetery at night and moving into the motel.

Current State

 The hotel stays open for public visits and offers overnight stays which can be booked from the hotel’s website itself. I would surely recommend visiting the hotel once, not just for its haunted status but also for its haunted locality which is supposedly cursed.