Cursory investigation of the Mile High Inn located at 309 Main Street in Jerome, Arizona by Buck Bannister and Michael Koch the night of March 23, 2008.We arrived at approximately 5pm to check into our room. At check in we met one of the owners of the Inn and Grill, Liz. We had reserved the Lariat and Lace room located on the second floor (all rooms are on the second story). Reports of events at the Inn included the spirit of a cat that often would sit on the beds, strange sounds, mists, and the doors on an old
armoire in the Lariat and Lace room that would detach from the cabinet and fall to the floor.
Upon arriving at our room we noted a great deal of vibration coming from the motor of the grill fan below in the restaurant. This vibration was very pronounced and could easily be the cause of reports of doors opening. However, the vibrations ceased around 9:30pm when the grill closed.
After storing our luggage we decided to check out some of the other sites in Jerome before eating dinner at the Grill.
After dinner we returned to our room where we set up a mini-
DV camera to photograph the
armoire and I went into the hall to shoot pictures with the digital camera. Photographs revealed nothing out of the ordinary. We were prepared to try to capture
EVP, however it became apparent that we could hear other guests in rooms nearby as well as people walking up and down a stairway/walkway about 40 yards from our room window. Therefore, because of the probability of contamination we decided to forgo
EVP work.
Michael walked out on the back deck and I joined him. At one point I returned to the room to find the window vibrating and the latch on the window open. I closed it and stopped the vibration and noise and asked Michael if he had loosened the latch or noticed that it was open when he looked at the window on arrival. He indicated that he did not notice the lock position but the window was definitely not rattling. Unfortunately, the vibrations from the restaurant could account for the latch opening and the window vibrating in its tracks.
The mini-
DV showed nothing out of the ordinary and the only other anomaly we noticed was a glow or aura effect that appeared around the edges of the cabinet. It was not distinct and we could not capture it with the camera. The most probable explanation is that it simply was a reflection of soft light from the single lamp against the light wall.
The night passed peacefully with no phenomena present. The only area of the Inn that had any "feeling" was the front staircase which I mentioned to Michael upon arrival. There was a feeling of something standing near the top of the stairs. However, it was not definite and certainly not malevolent in any way.
The next morning we breakfasted at the Grill and had an opportunity to interview some of the staff about activity in the Inn and also around town. One of the staff members mentioned that a recent guest reported that her door opened and closed during the night. The staff member thought it might have been another member of her group playing a joke but the guest insisted her deadbolt was locked when it happened.
This same employee also mentioned a recent guest who insisted that an old door knob which is frozen in place was spinning on its own. This occurred near the top of the stairs at the door leading into the main hallway.
Another story involved an employee who stepped into the adjacent alleyway to smoke a cigarette. She said she felt as though someone was standing right next to her but no one was present. She said that just after that a shadow passed very near her face and scared her greatly. We checked out the alleyway and noticed there were air-conditioning units and electrical boxes present. We did not have an EMF meter to check for possible spikes that might have caused her feeling of being watched and the shadow effect. We should also note that the person reporting this has long curly hair which she wears down and near her eyes. Although she insisted it was not simply catching her own hair out of the corner of her eye, it could be an explanation.
We did check the museum and Historical Society displays while in town and noticed that there was a fatal shooting in front of what is now the Inn. According to the display a man was trying to purchase firearms in the Hardware store (now the Grill). Upon leaving with the weapons the Sheriff stopped him and he opened fire. The Sheriff returned fire and killed the man in the street in front of the store.
Certainly we caught nothing and had no experiences to indicate the Mile High Inn and Grill is haunted. However, the frequency and number of reports of events would indicate further study and investigation would be in order.
Data:
Room Temperature: 72 degrees F
Moon Phase: Waning Full
Geomagnetic Field: Normal
Photographs (click to enlarge):
The Mile High Inn and Grill in Jerome, AZ
The "haunted"
armoire. This is a closeup showing the hinges which were securely fastened with screws and metal hinges at all corners.
A full view of the
Armoire.
The Hallway looking from the center to the front of the building.
The Hallway from the center of the building toward the back door.
The entrance stairs from the landing looking down to the front door.
More Photos...
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