Latest / Mystery Archives Episodes / The Untold Story Of The Most Wicked Town In The West - Jerome, AZ

Transcript

The Untold Story Of The Most Wicked Town In The West - Jerome, AZ · Mystery Archives Episodes

• 0:00
  What once seemed like a miraculous place to its early
• 0:03
  settlers slowly collapsed under the weight of its own debauchery
• 0:09
  and greed. The land itself is believed to
• 0:12
  be cursed, and perhaps those who once inhabited the town never
• 0:17
  truly left. For decades, visitors and locals
• 0:21
  alike have reported terrifying paranormal experiences there.
• 0:26
  This is the untold story of Jerome, AZ, or as some have
• 0:31
  called it in the past, the most wicked town in the West.
• 0:39
  To tell this story properly, let us first start at the beginning.
• 0:43
  Long before Jerome existed, the land around Cleopatra Hill was
• 0:47
  inhabited by the Yavapai people. The region's harsh terrain and
• 0:52
  mineral rich mountains were already known to native
• 0:54
  populations century before European settlers arrived.
• 0:59
  Spanish explorers reportedly passed through parts of the
• 1:01
  region during the 16th and 17th centuries, though large scale
• 1:06
  settlement didn't occur till much later.
• 1:09
  The modern history of Jerome truly began in the 1870s, when
• 1:13
  enormous copper deposits were discovered within the mountains.
• 1:17
  At first, the area was little more than scattered mining
• 1:21
  claims and rough camps carved into dangerous terrain.
• 1:25
  But as copper demand exploded during America's industrial
• 1:28
  expansion, Jerome rapidly grew into one of the most important
• 1:32
  mining towns in the Southwest. In 1883, industrialist William A
• 1:37
  Clark acquired mining operations in Jerome and eventually
• 1:41
  established the United Verde Copper Company.
• 1:45
  The mine became enormously profitable.
• 1:48
  Copper from Jerome helped electrify cities across America
• 1:51
  during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
• 1:55
  Telegraph systems. Electrical Grids, railroads, and
• 2:00
  industrial infrastructure all depended heavily on copper mined
• 2:03
  beneath Cleopatra Hill. As wealth poured into the town,
• 2:07
  Jerome exploded in population. By the early 1900s, thousands of
• 2:12
  miners from around the world flooded into the community
• 2:15
  seeking work. Italians, Irish immigrants,
• 2:19
  Mexicans, Chinese laborers and Eastern Europeans and countless
• 2:23
  others arrived to labor beneath the mountain in dangerous
• 2:26
  conditions. At its peak, Jerome reportedly
• 2:29
  housed around 15,000 residents. However, it also began to
• 2:34
  quickly develop a national reputation for violence, and
• 2:38
  vice newspapers across America began to refer to it as the
• 2:42
  wickedest town in the West. Besides mining, it was becoming
• 2:46
  known for gambling dens, prostitution, opium use,
• 2:50
  shootings, violent drunkenness, murder, corruption and
• 2:55
  exploitative mining practices. The steep terrain caused
• 2:58
  buildings to stack almost vertically along the
• 3:01
  mountainside and salons lined the streets.
• 3:04
  Brothels there operated openly and there gunfights were common.
• 3:09
  The constant flow of miners created an atmosphere where
• 3:12
  death became routine. Mining accidents occurred
• 3:15
  constantly. Men were crushed by cave
• 3:18
  insurance and others suffocated from toxic gases.
• 3:22
  Explosions underground killed entire crews, and some bodies
• 3:26
  were never recovered from the deeper tunnels.
• 3:29
  The danger became so severe that many miners believed the
• 3:33
  mountain itself was cursed. Jerome suffered repeated
• 3:37
  disasters throughout its history.
• 3:39
  Massive fires devastated portions of the town multiple
• 3:42
  times during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
• 3:47
  Because many early buildings were wooden structures packed
• 3:50
  tightly together on steep terrain, flames spread rapidly.
• 3:54
  Entire blocks burned away in single nights, and consumed by
• 3:59
  those flames were many residents who were trapped inside boarding
• 4:03
  houses, salons, and brothels. Due to mining hollowing out
• 4:08
  enormous sections beneath Jerome, it began to slowly
• 4:11
  destabilize the mountain itself. Over time, buildings literally
• 4:15
  began sliding downhill. One of the most famous examples
• 4:19
  is the old sliding jail, and it shifted more than 200 feet
• 4:23
  downhill during a landslide in the 1930s, all while remaining
• 4:27
  mostly intact. By the mid 20th century, the
• 4:32
  copper industry had collapsed. The mines eventually shut down
• 4:37
  and jobs disappeared. Thus residents fled the town.
• 4:41
  Jerome nearly became completely abandoned.
• 4:44
  At one point, the population reportedly dropped to fewer than
• 4:48
  100 residents. Many buildings sat empty for
• 4:52
  years, and decayed mine shafts were sealed or abandoned.
• 4:57
  The silence that settled over the town after decades of
• 5:00
  industrial noise deeply affected visitors.
• 5:04
  In later decades, artists, historians and tourism revived
• 5:08
  portions of the town. But Jerome never truly escaped
• 5:12
  its reputation. Instead, it only grew stronger.
• 5:16
  Perhaps those who perished there never truly left.
• 5:20
  Some of its famous haunted locations would be the following
• 5:25
  the Jerome Grand Hotel. This is perhaps one of the most
• 5:28
  infamous haunted sites there in the town.
• 5:31
  Originally built in 1926 as the United Verde Hospital, the
• 5:35
  structure treated countless injured minors, many of which
• 5:40
  died there. Stories surrounding the building
• 5:42
  intensified after it became a hotel decades later.
• 5:46
  Guests and employees there reported phantom screams, moving
• 5:51
  objects, apparitions and hallways, elevator activity with
• 5:57
  no occupants, and sudden cold spots followed by disembodied
• 6:01
  voices and shadow figures. Room 32 is especially notorious
• 6:07
  due to reoccurring reports of unexplained activity.
• 6:12
  The hotel's dark history, combined with its isolated
• 6:15
  hilltop location, contributes heavily to its eerie reputation.
• 6:21
  Another famous location is the Old Sliding Jail.
• 6:25
  This remains one of Jerome's strangest landmarks.
• 6:28
  The building physically slid downhill over time, as I
• 6:31
  mentioned before, and many visitors describe the structure
• 6:35
  as unnerving even during daylight hours.
• 6:38
  Reports associated with the jail include apparitions and windows,
• 6:43
  strange voices nearby. Those who are within its
• 6:47
  vicinity can be overtaken by strange bouts of nausea, and one
• 6:53
  always feels as if they're being watched.
• 6:56
  Some locals believe former prisoners still haunt the side.
• 7:00
  The Connor Hotel is another famous location.
• 7:04
  Built during Jerome's mining boom, the hotel hosted miners,
• 7:08
  travelers, gamblers and prostitutes throughout the
• 7:12
  town's roughest years. One of the most famous stories
• 7:15
  tied to the building involves a woman named Marion Blake, who
• 7:19
  allegedly died there under tragic circumstances after
• 7:23
  waiting endlessly for her fiance to return from the war.
• 7:27
  And perhaps she still waits. Visitors and staff have reported
• 7:32
  a female apparition, perfume smells with no source,
• 7:37
  whispering voices, doors opening on their own, and footsteps and
• 7:42
  empty hallways. The mining tunnels themselves
• 7:46
  beneath Jerome are arguably the most disturbing aspect of the
• 7:49
  town's paranormal reputation. There are miles of underground
• 7:53
  shafts that still exist beneath Cleopatra Hill, and although
• 7:57
  many entrances were sealed, portions remain accessible
• 8:01
  through authorized personnel or explorers.
• 8:04
  For decades, miners and investigators have reported
• 8:08
  strange phenomena underground. They've heard phantom voices
• 8:12
  seeing the apparitions of miners that don't exist.
• 8:16
  They've heard unexplained heavy breathing sounds.
• 8:20
  Some have even been overtaken by intense feelings of panic,
• 8:24
  anxiety, and dread. And if one listens closely, they
• 8:29
  may just hear the echoes of tools striking rock as well as
• 8:33
  many have seen shadow figures deep within the tunnels.
• 8:37
  Some paranormal investigators believe the underground network
• 8:40
  acts almost like a reservoir for traumatic energy due to them and
• 8:45
  suffering and deaths that occurred there.
• 8:48
  Others believe prolonged darkness, toxic gases and
• 8:52
  psychological stress contributed to many experiences historically
• 8:56
  reported by minors. Still, the consistency of
• 9:00
  accounts across generations remains difficult to ignore.
• 9:04
  Another notoriously haunted location is known as the Spirit
• 9:09
  Room is one of Jerome's oldest salons.
• 9:12
  Formerly A gambling hall and drinking establishment during
• 9:16
  the mining era, the building has reportedly experienced decades
• 9:20
  of unexplained incidents. Witnesses have described glasses
• 9:24
  moving on their own, apparitions near the bar, music heard late
• 9:30
  at night when there's no one there.
• 9:33
  The saloon's atmosphere and preserved historic interior have
• 9:36
  helped cement its reputation as one of Jerome's paranormal
• 9:40
  hotspots. There does seem to be some
• 9:43
  apparitions that aren't necessarily tethered to specific
• 9:47
  locations. One of these that has become
• 9:50
  famous is known as the Woman in White.
• 9:53
  Several buildings in Jerome are associated with her.
• 9:56
  Sightings and descriptions vary, but witnesses commonly report a
• 10:01
  pale woman near staircases or windows that suddenly
• 10:05
  disappears. Those who have witnessed her are
• 10:09
  suddenly overtaken with intense feelings of sadness or dread.
• 10:14
  And throughout Jerome and its entirety, people have often
• 10:17
  reported distant screams, whispers coming from empty mine
• 10:22
  shafts, and voices that seem to be coming from inside the walls
• 10:26
  of buildings. Seeing various shadow figures or
• 10:30
  apparitions are some of the most commonly reported paranormal
• 10:34
  phenomena in the town. They're described as dark
• 10:37
  humanoid forms. Some are detected as movement in
• 10:40
  one's peripheral vision, Others are figures standing inside
• 10:45
  abandoned buildings or seen as shapes, disappearing instantly
• 10:49
  when eyes are laid upon them or when they're approached.
• 10:53
  Besides tales of the mountain being cursed, items that have
• 10:57
  been taken from the site have also been linked to horrible
• 11:00
  bouts of bad luck. So if one visited, it's best to
• 11:04
  leave things where they are or you may just suffer some
• 11:07
  unforeseen consequences. Today, Jerome remains one of
• 11:12
  America's most famous haunted towns.
• 11:15
  It is simultaneously A historic mining town, a tourist
• 11:19
  destination, an artist community, and of course, a
• 11:23
  paranormal hotspot. Its steep streets, decaying
• 11:27
  architecture, abandoned tunnels, and violent history combined to
• 11:32
  create an atmosphere unlike almost anywhere else in the
• 11:36
  American Southwest. Whether 1 believes in ghosts or
• 11:40
  not, Jerome's history is undeniably soaked in tragedy,
• 11:44
  isolation, and death, and for many visitors, the town still
• 11:49
  feels as though something beneath the mountain never truly
• 11:53
  left. Now, there could be some
• 11:56
  scientific explanation for some of the phenomena.
• 11:59
  Toxic gases can cause hallucinations, as can recorded
• 12:04
  magnetic interference associated with the high mineral deposits
• 12:08
  within the mountain and VA exposure mineral toxicity.
• 12:13
  Could these have played a role in people's outrageous behavior
• 12:17
  while Jerome was inhabited? On the spiritual side, was a
• 12:21
  curse placed upon the land by the native peoples to either
• 12:25
  protect their dead or the mountain itself?
• 12:29
  Or did the hauntings occur because of the sheer amount of
• 12:32
  terrible situations, violence and death over the years?
• 12:37
  Questions we perhaps may never have the answers to As for now.
• 12:42
  Maybe it's just the power of suggestion.
• 12:45
  Maybe it's the isolation of the desert mountain, or maybe places
• 12:50
  that experience this much suffering never truly let go of
• 12:53
  the past. Whether you believe in the
• 12:56
  paranormal or not, Jerome will forever remain haunted by its
• 13:01
  notorious reputation and title of the wickedest town in the
• 13:06
  West. Thank you guys so much for
• 13:09
  watching this latest episode. It had been a while since I'd
• 13:12
  covered A Haunted place and I just so happened to come across
• 13:15
  this one and it piqued my interest, so I hope it piqued
• 13:19
  yours as well. Please like the video if you
• 13:21
  liked it, subscribe if you haven't already, and leave me a
• 13:24
  comment below of your thoughts or if you've had any personal
• 13:27
  experiences there. If you visited, please also
• 13:31
  check out Free Cash and help support the channel by earning
• 13:34
  some extra cash today. You'll get a $10 bonus using my
• 13:37
  links after completing the first offer.
• 13:40
  Aside from that, guys, I really appreciate you taking the time
• 13:43
  to watch this or any of my episodes.
• 13:46
  It's an honor to entertain you. Until next time, this has been
• 13:49
  Cody here at Mystery Archives. Remember to stay safe out there
• 13:54
  and take care.