The Clown Motel & The Mizpah Hotel
521 North Main Street, Tonopah, NV.
From years of watching Ghost Adventures, I’ve always been fascinated with ghost towns and mining towns of the desert southwest. This whole geographical area seems like a piece of Americana that has largely been forgotten due to the slow pace of life, lack of stable businesses (as compared to more metropolitan areas) and low population. Often times, I’m reminded of large sections of Stephen King’s opus, The Dark Tower/Gunslinger series as the southwest can seem at times as a world that has, “moved on.”
But with that, there is a large degree of dry and dusty romanticism helped in large part by Eastwood’s earlier westerns. It’s a landscape littered with broken dreams, quiet vengeance and heartbreak. Out of all this detritus, rise stories of hero’s, revenge and ghosts. How is that NOT romantic? A rhetorical question to be sure, but one that invites exploration and adventure. And this is why I was so drawn to Tonopah, Nevada.
The country was fresh out of lockdown from Covid. I was initially hoping to take a trip to explore the breweries, some paranormal locations and state highpoints of New England. I was just laid off (again, due to Covid), and thought this would make for a great trip. But alas, after some phone calls, I found out many of the paces I wanted to explore were still closed or locked down. Plus the White Mountains were still holding a lot of snow making hiking in Maine and New Hampshire almost impossible.
Then the idea of exploring Nevada hit me as I was watching an old episode of GA as they were investigating the Goldfield Hotel in Goldfield, Nevada. Even if some places were still closed, the area would be hot enough that I could still hike. Turns out, the two places I wanted to stay overnight and investigate were open! With permission from Regina, I packed the car and headed west to the mining town of Tonopah, Nevada where the Clown Motel and the Hotel Mizpah awaited.
Opened in 1985, the Clown Motel initially served as a showcase for the more than 150 clown figurines, statues, dolls and pictures that were collected by Clarence David. His sons, David & Lenroy eventually used the motel as a kind of homage to their late father, keeping the clown motif going and expanding the collection further. They kept the hotel for ten years when they sold it to Bob Perchetti. Of course, the clowns grew in number during this decade and the motel’s reputation as a kitschy roadside attraction became more famous.
In 2017, Bob sold the property to Vijay Mehar for about $900,000. Running with the clown theme, he exploded the collection to over 2,800 pieces while renovating the 31 rooms with help from a family friend and art director, Hame. Some of the rooms have themes ranging from: The Exorcist, IT, Friday the 13th and Halloween. The motel underwent a major facelift and improved Wifi.
The motel is themed as the “Scariest Motel in America” and is widely regarded as a remaining piece of Americana (even though the era doesn’t fit). The motel has had professional paranormal teams and amateurs alike investigate and film here.
In terms of the things going on with this place, guests have reported footsteps and whispering in some of the rooms (rooms #108, #110, #210 #215) and the feeling of being watched has also been reported. When Ghost Adventures were there, they caught the large clown in the lobby moving its hand. Considering the motel itself is rather benign, any activity is thought to come from the neighboring cemetery. And there is of course, the fear that many people bring with them to the motel, the fear of clowns (coulrophobia). So, it’s probable that people are already keyed up when they check in.
My stay at the Clown Motel started off great but sadly, ended on the bad (and painful) side. As I walked into the lobby, the sheer number of clowns was overwhelming. If the other creepy miscellaneous items (items like what you’d find at a Spirit of Halloween store) weren’t enough to either get you a little wigged out, the clowns would. My eyes were instantly drawn to the large, human-sized clown sitting in the chair. It’s hard to miss. My overall feeling of the place was something in between that of a circus funhouse, a bric-a-brac exhibit that had seen better days and a museum collection that had run amok; it was…odd.
I checked into the front desk which also served as a retail counter. I grabbed my key and headed to my room. The room was nice, fresh and of no particular theme. In fact, it felt more 1950’s Americana than 1970’s Haddonfield. Shortly after I unpacked a few things and lay down to close my eyes for a bit, I started to develop a headache. I took a couple Tylenol and shut my eyes for about 15 minutes before getting back up. I didn’t want a headache to ruin my experience of this place!
I walked back down to the lobby to have a closer look at some of the numerous clowns. The collection was impressive. Some of the more valuable items were either behind cases or labeled as such. The figurines in particular were nice. I also took a much closer look at the life-sized clown that had moved (on IR) in the Ghost Adventures episode. It was basically just a doll, albeit a large one.
I wandered outside and saw a man sitting at a table with his young son. He asked me what I thought of the collection. I commented that it was impressive & amazing, especially the older pieces. He invited me to sit. Turns out it was Vijay himself, the owner! Somebody (maybe Hame?) was installing brighter lights under the eaves. We talked for a little while about living in Tonopah and the ideas of creating themed rooms. His son was rambunctious and cute. Unfortunately, my headache wasn’t any better. So I thanked him for the insights and took my leave back to the room for a little bit where I took as yet, more Tylenol.
I woke up a couple hours later. I unpacked some of my equipment (K2 meter and recorder) and decided to wander down into the Miners Graveyard adjacent to the motel. This plot of dirt is so close to the motel, you can throw a feather and hit it, but not today. The winds were strong when I arrived in Tonopah. As I was making my way across the vacant parking lot, the winds were downright fierce. I walked down the small embankment and stopped at the entrance of the graveyard, tucking my head down to avoid a face full of dirt. There was absolutely no way I was going to be able to take recordings.
I walked around the graves reading the names and dates. I looked for a couple of the more famous ones, like Tom Logan and Big Bill Murphy who was one of the many killed in the Belmont Fire of 1911 while saving others miners. The graveyard had a desolate feel to it. It looked rundown and forgotten. Many of the crosses had splintered, the ironwork was rusting and some of the flat gravestones were in jeopardy of being swallowed by the sands. It was a sad place for the wrong reasons. I wandered around, took some pictures on my phone and ambled back to my room. My headache had steadily gotten worse since I woke up. It was hard to concentrate and stay excited.
I’m really disappointed in that, not only had the weather not cooperated, but my headache over the next hour had worsened to the point of tears. By the time I went to sleep, around 6:00 pm, it was a full-out migraine. I slept [uncomfortably] until morning, completely being robbed of my opportunity to conduct any sort of investigation.
Upon my initial impression, the Clown Motel was friendly and inviting. Of course, things always change at night and I’m sure any investigation would have been fun and possibly rewarding. This is a place I would like to go back to and have a second chance. At least the room was cheap.
Mitzpah Hotel
Tonopah (Native American word meaning ‘little water, no wood’) was founded in 1900 by Jim Butler who revitalized the encampment with a huge silver strike. Originally known as the Mizpah Saloon in 1901, it was the first permanent building in Tonopah. This watering hole existed for several years until wealthy mine owners erected the current day building in 1905. Locally known as the “Jewel of the Desert,” the Mizpah (Hebrew for ‘Watchtower’) hosted lavish parties for Nevada’s elite and developed a reputation as a place of solace and rest (even for miners who could afford its rooms).
Named after a local mine, the Mizpah Mine, the building was primarily financed with money from Tonopah’s many mining operations. It was once known as the social hub of Tonopah and nearby Goldfield. It went through a few owners over the years until 1999 when it sat vacant for the next decade.
The Cline’s (of Cline Vineyards & Cellars in Sonoma, Ca.) bought the building in 2011 and have since renovated it back to its former glory. The interior is lavishly decorated with carpets, antique furniture and statuary.
In 2018, The USA Today voted the Mizpah as the #1 haunted hotel in America, largely in thanks to the Lady in Red. The hotel currently has 47 rooms, a bar and two restaurants. There is also the Jack Dempsey Room and Wyatt Earp Room which serves as space for larger parties and events. Even though these rooms are named after historical legends, Dempsey claims to have never worked (as a bouncer) for the hotel and Wyatt, though he was in Tonopah, left before the hotel was constructed. There are eventual plans to renovate an attached annex and maybe put in a small casino.
But enough of the history; the real question is why is the Mizpah Hotel largely considered to be one of Nevada’s most haunted buildings? With places like: Elko, Virginia City & Washoe, this is no idle claim.
The sine qua non for the primary haunting at the Mizpah is due to the murder of the Lady in Red. As the story goes, a prostitute (her call name being ‘Rose’ perhaps?) who lived year-round in a fifth floor boudoir was stabbed and strangled in the small hallway just outside room #502. It’s not really known who exactly murdered her, but it’s assumed that a jealous client/lover caught her with another man. Room #502 has since then been split into three separate rooms (rooms #502, #503 and #504). Room #504 is the officially themed “Lady in Red” room even though more activity has been reported in #502.
Reports vary about the ‘Lady in Red.’ Everything from people seeing the apparition, to floral odors and whispers in the room to objects being moved to the occasional report of a single pearl being left on the bed. However, in pretty much all the reports across the years, nothing involving the Lady in Red has ever been malicious or evil.
It’s interesting to note, that in Tonopah’s two red light districts, prostitutes and madams weren’t allowed to visit bars or work outside their businesses. So if ‘Rose’ was a lady of the night, she was of the elite few that had authority & permission to do business where she did; drawing what I would assume, was a better than normal income. So it stands that she could have been murdered in a jealous rage by a client who probably paid more for her ‘services’ than others in the districts. And if this is the case, I find it odd that a woman could conduct her ‘business’ alongside families staying in adjacent rooms. Then there’s the idea that the ‘jealous lover’ could have been her husband who found her with another man. But if this is the case, then what happened to her body and why did he let the trespassing man go?
The Mizpah Hotel circa 1908
Portrait rendition of The Lady in Red
Hotel Lobby
Hotel Lobby
Room #502- Part of the Lady in Red Suite
Often times, a Lady in Red (sometimes white) is usually attributed to a female spirit who has run afoul of someone else for whatever reason (usually love based). These stories find themselves frequenting the mining days of yore since morals were loose at best. The female victim is almost always killed as a result of objectification. Once the murder has been committed, the stories that follow afterwards usually depict the young woman as a benign but friendly spirit.
The fact that almost none of the stories surrounding ‘Rose’ can be 100% substantiated or proven, leads me to wonder if her sad story is just that, a story. Whatever the truth may be, there is no denying that there is definitely something happening in this room and adjacent hallway (based on multiple reports). And MY experience with this room only confirms that there is something there.
Other reports of activity include: the sounds of kids running around the third floor laughing and the spirits of two men (presumably miners or old hotel staff) wandering around the basement that were killed during a cave in. This one is prevalent enough that current hotel staff doesn’t like heading to the basement alone.
I spent a day camping at the state line with California. After hiking Nevada’s highpoint, Boundary Peak, I drove back to Tonopah to start my night’s stay at the Mizpah. After doing some more reading on this hotel and its history the prior day, my excitement only increased as I was staying in room #502.
Sometimes the things that happen aren’t necessarily all that grand in and of themselves. In fact, this is the norm. Seeing an apparition, an orb, something move on its own accord are exceptions. While I was staying at the Mizpah, the two things that happened to me were small. But it was the situation that made them special.
When I checked into the hotel, there was no one in the lobby. In fact, out on Main Street, it was equally quiet. The woman, who checked me in at the Front Desk, informed me that I was only one of four people staying in the whole building. In fact, she was the Events Manager. They hadn’t hired anyone yet for the front desk. We talked for a good long while about the Ghost Adventures guys (they also investigated the building), the basement, her experiences, the town of Goldfield and a little about the Stanley Hotel since she was curious. I grabbed my key and went upstairs to my room.
Room #502 was nice. It was clean and spacious. I unpacked my belongings and said a few things out loud (presumably to Rose) and swallowed some more Tylenol. My headache from the prior day had come back. It wasn’t bad yet, but that would change.
I left the hotel and walked the downtown area. It was still exceptionally windy. Most of the buildings were still closed up and a few others looked like they had been closed for quite some time. I walked to a BBQ restaurant & brewery and had lunch, hoping the food would ameliorate my head (it did temporarily).
Back at the hotel, I grabbed some unemployment paperwork from my room and headed downstairs into the lobby. I found myself a corner with a wide table and sofa and proceeded to call into the Colorado State unemployment line to file. I was just laid off the prior week from my job in Telluride (Covid). This is when the first thing happened.
To detail what the lobby looked like, the room was large with columns. There was a long bar against the wall near where I was sitting. There was an old slot machine and a statue against two of the columns and the carpet looked new. Against the front wall, which was mostly windows, the front door had a foyer. Next to that, was a 10’ fake palm tree and a 1950’s era numbers wheel. The front desk was beyond this, down three steps and tucked away out of sight.
I was pacing back and forth in between the table and the front doors. I had my eyes closed, holding my phone to my ear listening to the unemployment prompts and semi-cradling my head. My headache had come roaring back. It wasn’t as bad as the previous day, but it was bad enough that the light from outside hurt my eyes. As I was pacing back towards the low table, my back to the front door and gambling wheel, I heard a very loud SWAT behind me. I quickly turned around to see what it was.
I scrutinized the front of the lobby, completely forgetting about my headache. Fact, I hung the phone up. I was the only one in the lobby and from where I was I couldn’t see the front desk, only the hallway leading to it. Nothing looked amiss except for one thing, the top 3’ of the palm tree was swaying wildly! I stared at it with a WTF expression wondering why only the top was moving but the rest of the ‘plant’ was still. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. Like I said, considering I was probably the only one in the entire downstairs area, the woman from the front desk more than likely in the back at her computer (I’m assuming), and I wasn’t talking or running around, for this to happen was very strange indeed. Was this paranormal? I honestly can’t say. But considering the location and environment, I would put it in line.
That night, I investigated the 5th floor hallway, the elevator and the 4th floor hallway for a couple hours. I wasn’t really getting anything nor was I feeling anything. It was of course quiet. One room on the 5th floor other than mine was occupied. So I took some last pictures before retiring to my room.
Back in my room, I conducted many EVP sessions, used the wands and had a couple K2 meters out. I did register some hits on the K2 meters but nothing that I would go out of way in saying were paranormal. Upon immediate listening to the burst sessions I conducted on the recorders, again, nothing really came through. In fact, the air conditioning would pop on/off all night. When it was on, the recordings were all but useless. In general, the feel of the room for most of the night was calm and benign. I didn’t really feel anything. Being that my head still wasn’t feeling good, I wrapped things up around 1:00 am and went to sleep.
The morning dawned bright and early. The sunshine streamed in through the windows waking me up before 7:00 am. Just outside in the hallway, there was a coffee cart I was keen on utilizing. I dressed, grabbed some papers I was writing and headed out into the hallway and sat down at the small table. I left the room door cracked about three feet as the sunlight was nice to have streaming out into the alcove. I find it easier to read or write in the early mornings as my mind isn’t yet cluttered up with obligations or itineraries for the day. It’s a good, slow way to wake up.
As I was sitting there enjoying my coffee, I looked up and vacantly stared across the hallway at the door to my room trying to think of the right word I wanted to use in what I was writing. It was then, that I saw a very dark shadow move from left to right through the gap at the bottom of the door. It was as if someone was walking thus, blocking out the sunlight as they took a few steps. I immediately stood up, my eyes wide and I slowly & quietly walked over to the door of #502. I was not expecting something like this, not at 7:00 am in the morning. I hadn’t even finished my cup of coffee yet! I slowly pushed the door open and looked behind it…nothing. I walked into the room, walked into the bathroom…nothing. I have to admit, standing there in the brilliant sunshine, I got a little creeped out. The shadow that moved under the door was absolutely a person. I grabbed a recorder and started a burst EVP session but got nothing. I packed the rest of my things up and decided to check out. I had a full day of driving ahead of me and I still wanted to go explore the town of Goldfield.
While I didn’t have any direct evidence happen, the two personal experiences were enough to convince me that something was there. And again, depending on the severity and sensationalist nature of whatever may happen, everything must be taken into account to form a coherent conclusion. Oh, by the way, if you haven’t already figured it out, room #502 is on the 5th floor.