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If you look carefully, you can see
the seven arches that were part of the Grand Hotel
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Many years ago in the late 1800's,
Big Nose Kates Saloon was once the Grand Hotel. This great hotel hosted
such infamous personalities as Wyatt and Virgil Earp, Doc Holliday,
as well as the Clantons, and McLaurys.
And as legend and folk lore have it... in
this hotel was a janitor and odd job man, known simply as "The
Swamper". He was a trusted and honest helper who was given
his accommodations as part of his hard earned pay.
"The Swamper" had his own special
bedroom which was located in the dark basement of the Grand Hotel.
This was his own special and private place where he could enjoy
peace and solitude away from the hustle and bustle of the hotel's
many guests. Within his private domain where no guests were invited,
he also kept secret his passion for silver.
The basement was deep enough below the surface
of the ground to afford entrance into one of the catacombing mine
shafts which ran underground beneath the hotel as well as most of
Tombstone.
"The Swamper" spent many painstaking
hours over a period of years tunneling an entrance into the shaft.
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When the digging was completed, he could gain access
to a thick vein of silver where he extracted ounce by ounce of the glorious
silver nuggets. This mine entrance is still a prominent feature of the bar's
basement. Today the shaft that the Swamper dug into the mine is covered
with boards and protected by an iron bar gate.
The Grand Hotel (right)
in the late 1800's.
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It is still unknown if "The Swamper"
spent his silver or if he hoarded it in an unknown niche somewhere
on the premises of the Grand Hotel. However, several workers of
the now "Big Nose Kates saloon" will swear that they have
seen a ghost wandering the halls and stairs. It has been reasoned
that the ghost is indeed "The Swamper" and that his afterlife
is being spent protecting the silver that may still perhaps be buried
somewhere in this legendary building.
The seven arches on the outside are all that
remain of the Grand Hotel above ground. The floor joists of the
building are original having survived the fire. When the building
was being renovated, digging had to be done in the basement area
to make room for a spiral staircase to allow access for the customers.
Artifacts, mostly old bottles and tin, were discovered as the excavation
occurred.
According to local legend, the charred remains
of the Grand Hotel collapsed into its basement, leaving only a small
section of it accessible. If people died in the fire, their remains
may still be hidden
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in the unexcavated section of the saloon's basement.
Originally, the bar area was down stairs in the
basement, while the upper levels were strictly the hotel. One of the many
Tombstone mining shafts still leads into the basement bar area, that has
just been opened back up to customers after 100 years! This really made
it easy for the thirsty miners in the 1880's. They would simply come up
through the shaft into the basement bar area, have a drink, then head
on back to their jobs as hard rock miners.
From the Tombstone Epitaph, ( September 9,
1880)
THE GRAND HOTEL
Through the courtesy of Mr. H.V. Sturm an Epitaph
reporter yesterday paid a visit to and made a brief inspection of the
new hotel christened the grand which will be formally open for dinner
this evening at five o'clock. The general size and character of the structure
have been mentioned so often during the course of construction that further
mention would be superfluous and we will confine ourselves to a description
of the interior appointments of it. Passing into the building by the front
entrance the first thing that strikes the eye is a wide and handsome staircase
covered by an elegant carpet and supporting a heavy black walnut banister.
Thence upstairs to the main hall, and turning to the right we are ushered
into a perfect little bijou of costly furniture and elegant carpeting
known as the bridal chamber. This room occupies half of the main front
and is connected with the parlor by folding doors through which the reporter
passed, and entering the parlor was more than astonished by the luxurious
appointments. A heavy brussels carpet of the most elegant style and finish
graces the floor, the walls are adorned with rare and costly oil paintings;
the furniture is of walnut cushioned with the most expensive silk and
rep, and nothing lacks, save the piano which will be placed in the position
shortly. On down through the main corridor peeping now and then into the
bedrooms, sixteen in number, each of them fitted with walnut furniture
and carpeted to match: spring mattresses that would tempt even a sybarite,
toilet stands and fixtures of the most approved pattern, the walls papered,
and to crown all, each room having windows. All are outside rooms thus
obviating the many comforts in close and ill-ventilated apartments. Returning
we pass down the broad staircase and turning to the left are in the office
and reading room. Here we met Mr. R.J. Pryke, the polite and affable clerk,
so well known to Yosemite tourists in California. The office fixtures
are as is common in first class hotels and fully in keeping with the general
character of the house. The dining room adjoining next invites inspection.
Here we find the same evidence of good taste in selection and arrangement
that is so marked a feature of the whole interior. Three elegant chandeliers
are pendant from the handsome centerpieces, walnut tables, extension and
plain, covered with cut glass, china, silver castors and the latest style
of cutlery are among the many attractions of this branch of the cuisine.
Thence into the kitchen where we find the same
evidence before mentioned; an elegant Montagin range 12 feet in length,
with patent heater, hot and cold faucets, in fact all the appliances necessary
to feed five hundred persons at a few hours notice are present. The bar
occupies the east half of the main front and is in keeping with the general
furnishings. Want of space prevents more than this cursory glance at the
Grand and its appliances for the comfort and convenience of guests. A
Grand (no pun intended) invitation ball will take place this evening.
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Several workers of
the Saloon will swear that they have seen a ghost wandering the halls
and stairs.
Photographers have caught the ghostly image
of an unknown being on a photo as well as on the postcard of the
saloon's interior. One of the most famous was taken by James Kidd
(top left photo) who was a local photographer in Tombstone.
Other photographs taken of the same section of the saloon's bar
contain unusual images as well (below left). Sometimes, pictures
taken of the section do not even turn out or the camera malfunctions.
It has been reasoned that the ghost is indeed
"The Swamper" and that his afterlife is being spent protecting
the silver that may still perhaps be buried somewhere in this legendary
building.
The ghosts of cowboys have been seen standing
in doorways, seated at the bar and knocking over cases of beer in
the basement. Other occurrences are that things fall from the ceiling
and roll across the floor. Doors will open and close by themselves,
lights will turn on and off and silverware will fly off the table
as customers are sitting down to a meal.
One of the more unusual occurrences happened
to the owner of the building and several of his employees one evening.
It was "off-season" and business was slow so they all
decided to open the entrance to the mine shaft and explore it. While
they did discover that the "Swampers" shaft did indeed
connect into the Toughnut Mine, the ghost apparently did not like
them entering his tunnel. As they were coming out of the shaft,
a loud screaming moaning sound came thundering down the back staircase
accompanied by the sound of heavy footsteps moving down the stairs
towards them.
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Quickly, one of the employees scattered out of
the mine shaft and moved towards the stairs, thinking that someone had
managed to get inside the building. However, the owner had locked the
door before the excursion began and when the employee reached the stairs
he discovered that no one was there. A quick check of the doors confirmed
that they were still locked.
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The back staircase
leading into the basement
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The back staircase leading to the basement
has been the scene of other unusual events. Whenever female employees
walked down these stairs alone, something very frightening would
happen. As they stepped onto the second to the last step, an unseen
force would violently push them off the stairs. This phenomena would
only occur to women and oddly enough, it has not occurred since
the steps were replaced many years ago.
Another active area of the basement is the
end opposite of the back stairs. This was the original location
of the staircase that descended into the basement from the lobby
of the Grand Hotel. Today a storage area conceals this area.
A former manager was sitting in this area
with a group of friends when they decided to turn out the lights
to see if the ghost would show up. As they all sat there in the
dark, she felt an uneasy presence that seemed to approach the group
from the mine shaft. Then she felt what she described as "cold,
clammy hands", clamped around her throat, as if the presence
was trying to strangle her.
Fortunately, one of her friends decided to
turn on a flashlight and saw her choking. The group quickly turned
on the light and the presence went away.
On the ground floor of the saloon, the mannequins
in the false balcony have been seen to move and on several occasions,
they have been tossed down from their location.
Footsteps of an unknown origin are also commonly
heard on the ground floor after closing, when all is quiet. The
phenomena is often noticed near the rear of the bar.
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We arrived on location at midnight, just after
the saloon closed for the evening. The teams searched the ground floor
of the saloon while Cody, Bob and Dave were accompanied to the basement
by the owner. The Team on the ground floor conducted interviews while
the Team in the basement talked with the owner about the reported sightings,
events and the building's history.
After the interviews were completed, both groups
searched the location for unusual electromagnetic fields. The most interesting
field that was found was in the basement, near the Swampers lair. Fluctuations
of up to 7 nt were recorded on the Trifield meter whenever Bob mentioned
anything about "stealing" the Swamper's silver. During this
time, Cody moved up the back staircase and took EVP samples.
The Teams met back up on the ground floor and discussed
their findings. A more in depth look at the saloon could be quite beneficial.
Electronic Voice Phenomena
(EVP)
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Question
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Answer
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Frequency
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Listen
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| Where did you hide your silver
so we can get it back to you? |
Sounds like "anonymous
graveyard"
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206.13 HZ
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| Why are you here? |
Sounds like "Greed,
it devours"
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213.06 HZ
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Photographic Analysis
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There is one interesting photograph that
was taken at the saloon during our visit. The photographs has an
unusual anomaly in it near Bob's head. It has a "ecto"
like structure to it, but it is not like a mist or cloud-ish structure
that is normally associated with that type of phenomena.
It more closely resembles a chemical spot
that was splashed on the negative during the developing process.
The problem is that this is a digital image, thus no negative. Another
interesting fact is that the photographs taken before and after
this image are completely normal. No smoke or dust particles are
present in them and nothing resembling this "ecto's" shape
can be found in the preceding photos.
The "orb" near Dave's elbow is
more than likely a dust particle because diffraction rings can be
seen in its structure.
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