Jerome Grand Hotel
Once a hospital, the Jerome Grand Hotel is said to be rife with spirits from its healthcare history
Ghost Stories of
The Jerome Grand Hotel
- The spirit of Claude Harvey is seen around the boiler and inside the elevator
- Sounds of squeaking gurneys have been reported in upper floor hallways
- A phantom cat is said to scratch at doors and meow at visitors
- Objects in the gift shop are reportedly moved and thrown by unseen forces
- Front desk workers occasionally get calls from vacant rooms, and hear strange voices through the phone
- Apparitions are seen throughout the hotel
- Children can be heard playing, laughing, and crying in certain hallways
Jerome Grand Hotel’s Hospitable History
The Jerome Grand Hotel looms over the town of Jerome, Arizona, from high up on a cliff side. A scenic position with expansive, panoramic views of the desert countryside, the Jerome Grand is a hotel with prime real estate for the purpose. But this attractive building with its wide, inviting windows and long balconies, was only recently converted into a hotel. First, the building was the United Verde Hospital, caring for Jerome’s sick and dying for decades.
Although there aren’t many obvious signs of the hotel’s healthcare past, some people say you can still hear the squeaking of gurneys, the howls of sick patients, and the bustle of nurses humming through the hotel’s halls. Could it be that specters of the old hospital still linger in Jerome’s finest inn?
Timeline of Jerome Grand Hotel's History
Swipe or use timeline points to see Jerome Grand Hotel through the years
1926
United Verde Hospital was the fourth hospital built in Jerome. It was built in 1926 after a nearby copper mine blast caused a fault shift that destroyed part of the last hospital. After that incident, locals sought a sturdy placement on a cliffside to avoid another fault. At over 30,000 square feet, the new hospital was much larger than the building it replaced and included modern amenities such as call bells, labs, X-rays, and a then state-of-the-art Otis elevator. In 1930, United Verde was called the most modern hospital in Arizona.
1930
United Verde Hospital was built with an expanding mine industry in mind. But, the 1930s brought the Great Depression through town, leading to cratering copper prices and the closure of two of the three biggest mines in Jerome. This, coupled with land subsidence causing buildings in town to cave in, sent residents fleeing. By 1950, the need for the large United Verde Hospital was dwindling. In 1953, the last major mine in Jerome closed, and the hospital did the same shortly after.
1953
Over its 27 functional years, it is said that 9,000 people died at United Verde. Considering the population of Jerome and the hospital’s lifespan, that number is unlikely. Regardless, the hospital likely saw countless deaths from mining accidents, and saw at least one hospital staff death when a maintenance man was crushed by the elevator in 1935. By the mid-1950s, both the hospital and Jerome were empty husks of their former selves. Jerome had a population of less than 100 and was quickly hurdling towards ghost town status.
1966
Luckily, Jerome experienced a resurgence in the late 1960s when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and townspeople began hosting festivals and concerts to attract visitors to the desolate town. While this worked wonders for Jerome, it did little to help the empty hospital building, which had remained untouched since its closure. In total, the United Verde Hospital remained abandoned for over 40 years before any interested investor paid attention to it.
1994
In 1994, an investor bought the old hospital hoping to convert it into a hotel. The building was heavily refurbished before opening as the Jerome Grand Hotel in 1996. While most parts of the hospital were removed, the original 1926 elevator remains, as does the central boiler. As the old hilltop building found new success, some visitors claimed to have strange experiences at the Jerome Grand. Now, the odd happenings in the hotel have some people saying spirits from the old hospital still wander the halls of the Jerome Grand Hotel.
Jerome Grand Hotel & The Haunting of Mr. Harvey
One well-known spirit said to lurk around the hotel is the ghost of Claude Harvey. Claude Harvey was the maintenance man at the hospital who was crushed under the elevator in 1935. While his death was ruled accidental, there has been doubt about that determination ever since, and some say that uncertainty feeds Claude Harvey’s spiritual activity and energy.
Ever since his grisly doom, Claude Harvey’s apparition has been spotted around the building, mostly in the boiler room. Some visitors have also claimed to have seen him riding on the same elevator that killed him.
Invasive Apparitions at the Jerome Grand Hotel
Along with the stories involving Claude Harvey, plenty of other paranormal reports come out of the Jerome Grand Hotel. Other apparitions have been seen throughout the building, like shadow figures of men and women sauntering halls and entering guests’ rooms without warning.
Jerome Grand Hotel’s Ghost Children…And Cats
On the higher floors, spirits of children can be heard running and playing in the hallways, and sometimes, the disembodied sounds of children crying emanate down the corridors.
These children are sometimes accompanied by a ghostly cat. The cat ghost is notorious for scratching and meowing at guest room doors throughout the night.
Also on higher floors, guests have reported the sounds of squeaky gurney wheels running up and down the halls at night, only for them to investigate and find no such gurney anywhere.
Jerome Grand Hotel’s Gift Shop Ghosts
On the ground floor, workers in the gift shop (which was once the hospital ER) have reported things mysteriously falling off of shelves and being tossed off of wall hooks without explanation.
Nearby, at the front desk, workers have reported calls coming in from vacant rooms. These calls, when answered, are said to include distant, low disembodied voices on the other end. But each time, the rooms are investigated and found to be completely empty.
Jerome Grand Hotel: Haunted by its History
It’s been many years since the Jerome Grand Hotel last provided care to any sick or ailing patients, but that history seems impossible to escape. Luckily, the hauntings that are said to stem from this medical past don’t seem to bother anyone. On the contrary, the ghost stories only seem to entice more people to pay a visit to Jerome and its hilltop hotel
While management is often too busy running the hotel to offer formal ghost tours or paranormal investigations, the haunted claims remain popular thanks to both a heap of local lore and the hotel’s numerous features in paranormal media, including an appearance on Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures.
So while the United Verde Hospital has been shuttered for decades, it seems some patients were never discharged and choose to stick around. Perhaps, to the spirits, hotel hospitality is just that much better than a hospital.
