In 1927, the United Verde Hospital was opened by the Phelps Dodge Mining Corporation in Jerome, Arizona. The 30,000-square-foot Mission-style building, made of poured concrete thick enough to withstand mining blasts felt 20 miles away, is located atop mile-high Cleopatra Hill.
By 1930, the hospital was considered to be the most state-of-the-art in Arizona. But times change. Mining dwindled and the hospital closed in 1950, though it was kept ready for use, stocked with beds, equipments, and linens. The 1926 self-service Otis Elevator Arizona was parked at the top of the fifth level, and for 44 years, everything remained as it was, ravaged only by time.
The building had been considered haunted even when it was a hospital, and during the years of desolation, the reputation grew—no surprise, as people frequently heard the groan of the elevator going up and down by itself, though it never actually moved.
In 1994, the Altherr family bought the building and began a loving, precise restoration. Today, the Jerome Grand Hotel crowns the little town, dominating it with grandeur and ghosts. This is no small feat, because the entire town of Jerome is infested with ghosts.
Standing on the third-floor balcony and gazing at the red rock peaks of Sedona 40 miles north, it’s difficult to believe this building contains so many secrets, so many deaths. It doesn’t seem like you’re leaning against the same wrought iron railing where at least one victim met a violent death. When you ride the original elevator, it’s an adventure in time, but by day, you don’t think about its haunt, the ghost of Claude Harvey, a handyman murdered in 1935. His head was positioned beneath the elevator to simulate a suicide, and most believe he hangs around to clear his name. Mr. Harvey is an active ghost, sometimes bedevilling the lobby staff with all manner of noisy phenomena and poltergeist activity.
There are many other ghosts within the Jerome Grand. Over the years, screams of the injured from hospital days, whispers, and squeaking gurney wheels have been heard. Apparitions have been noted in many places, particularly on the third and fourth levels. The most-seen phantom is thought to be a nurse. One room on an upper floor contains the spirit of a suicide who hanged himself from a heating pipe near the ceiling.
The Jerome Grand is a lovely, peaceful place by day, but once you’re in bed, you may find yourself thinking about using a nightlight. My own experiences include multiple minor cold spots and insistent phantom footsteps moving up and down the empty corridor outside my room. I have yet to experience major phenomena, but one night a guest down the hall awoke when he heard a voice loudly whispering his name in his ear. He sat up and turned on the light—and it happened again. He spent the rest of the night on the sofa in the lobby. If only I’d known, I would have offered to trade!
Written by — Tamara Thorne – Author, Paranormal Investigator
THE JEROME GRAND HOTEL
200 HILL STREET
JEROME, ARIZONA 86331
TEL: 1 (928) 634-8200
WEBSITE: www.jeromegrandhotel.net
Taken from the: Encyclopedia of Haunted Places -Ghostly Locales from around the World – Compiled & Edited by Jeff Belanger – Copyright 2005 by Jeff Belanger