The Hauntings of the Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee, Arizona

Bisbee, Arizona, is a town with a deep history and many paranormal stories. These stories are heard throughout the town, from the mineshafts, to the stairways, to the Copper Queen Hotel. The Copper Queen Hotel was built in 1898 with the intention of providing a luxurious experience for its guests. Over the next century, this hotel would gain a reputation it never foresaw, with stories, whispers, and memories clinging to its walls. Today, the Copper Queen Hotel is known as one of the most haunted hotels in Arizona, and here's why.

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The Lady in Red

Julia Lowell, also referred to as the Lady in Red, is the Copper Queen's most famous ghost. According to legend, Julia had a rather unsavory job and brought her clients to the Copper Queen Hotel. One day, she confessed her love to one of them, and he rejected her. This led her to take her own life in the room she had been staying in.

Guests and staff who spend any time near that room report many unusual things. Some report seeing a woman dancing on the stairs, just for her to disappear moments later. Others report feeling cold spots on the second and third floors. There are also many reports of an unusually potent perfume smell that seems to travel around the hotel. Some people even report hearing a woman whisper in their ear, with no one nearby.

Julia's story became so famous that the room she once took her clients to was named "The Julia Lowell Room."

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Billy

Julia is far from the only ghost who haunts the hotel's hallways. Another spirit supposedly inhabiting the hotel is named Billy. Billy was a child whose parents worked in the hotel. Tragically, at the age of eight, he drowned in the San Pedro River while attempted to swim. Despite not passing away at the hotel, many people believe his spirit still lives there.

There have been numerous reports of children claiming to see a boy playing in the lobby when nearby adults see nothing. There are also many accounts of guests of the Copper Queen Hotel hearing a child laughing and running through the halls at night, when everyone's asleep. Some people also say that they hear a kid crying nearby running water.

Billy is also considered a prankster. Many visitors of the Copper Queen report items going missing without explanation, and furniture moving around the room while they sleep. Whether or not these strange experiences are truly paranormal is up for interpretation.

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The Bearded Man

Lots of workers and guests who visit the Copper Queen hotel tell tales of a potent smell of cigar smoke floating around the corridors of the fourth floor. It is believed that this smell is the spirit of a man who passed in the hotel and is still holding onto his cigar to this day.

This spirit is considered to be completely harmless, and he is known as "The Bearded Gentlemen." Many guests report seeing a shadowy figure on the fourth floor. This figure is also said to be wearing a top hat and a black cape, with a neatly trimmed beard, and a cigar in hand. It is widely theorized this man was a mining investor who came to Bisbee to promote the copper mines there. Who exactly this man was is up for debate, but the numerous stories of his presence cause many to wonder if his ghost still haunts the halls of the Copper Queen.

Whether or not you believe in ghosts and think the stories are true, or you're a fan of local history, the Copper Queen Hotel is a great place to stop and learn about what life was like a hundred plus years ago. Every unexplained creek in the floorboards, every flickering light, and every unexplained smell and whisper tie back to a century's worth of history. No matter your stance on the paranormal, the Copper Queen offers you a stay you will never forget, even after you've checked out.

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