The Historic Hotel Monte Vista- Flagstaff, Arizona

SEPTEMBER 17 2018- The Meat Man, murdered prostitutes, a dead bank robber, and a haunted rocking chair cover only a few of the strange paranormal encounters reported at the Historic Hotel Monte Vista. 

The hotel opened on New Year's Day in 1927 after the citizens of Flagstaff agreed that a recent rise in tourism demanded a first-class hotel. A young contest winner chose the name "Monte Vista" for the new establishment, which means "mountain view", and thus a long and fascinating history began. Famous guests at the hotel include Bob Hope, Zane Grey, Bing Crosby, Michael J. Fox, Debbie Reynolds, John Wayne, Freddy Mercury, Clark Gable, and many more. The Hotel Monte Vista ran a successful cocktail lounge and speakeasy during Humphrey Bogart's stay, sits atop a network of underground tunnels used by Chinese immigrants to avoid harassment in the early 1900s, and used its iconic sign to alert locals in the 1930s of important town events and disasters. 

Numerous videos on YouTube document the overnight investigations of ghost hunters and those curious about the paranormal and some footage definitely requires a rewind. Strange noises, doors moving on their own, and curious shadows put this location above the Lizzie Borden House which produces almost no evidence, but definitely below other locations. 

The hotel staff and guests tell many different stories about paranormal experiences at Monte Vista, and a few figures and strange occurrences tend to stand out: 

The Meat Man- The hotel housed a long-term guest who frequently hung raw meat from the chandelier in his room. Staff discovered him dead in the early 1980s and many say his spirit never left room 220. A maintenance worker at the hotel reported that he left the room for five minutes and when he returned, he found the television at full volume and sheets ripped to pieces on the bed. People who stay in the room commonly refer to the TV having a mind of its own and feeling cold hands touching them in their sleep. 

Murdered Prostitutes- One of the most famous stories told by the hotel staff took place in the early 1940s. The Flagstaff Red Light District stood only a few blocks away from the hotel, and one night, two prostitutes were murdered in room 306 and thrown from the third-floor window. Guests report feeling watched as they try to fall asleep and staff list the room as one of the most haunted in the hotel. Male guests even describe waking up to the sensation of someone's hands on their neck and feeling short of breath. 

A Dead Bank Robber- In a 1970 Flagstaff bank robbery, a shot one of the thieves who then decided to get a drink in the lounge of the Hotel Monte Vista. The bank robber ended up bleeding to death on the bar stool. Both visitors and staff report objects in the bar moving on their own and hearing a voice that occasionally greets with, "Good morning!"

A quick search of the Hotel Monte Vista on Google brings up many more stories of haunted rooms and strange poltergeist activity.