Discover the most haunted hotels in Oatman with real ghost stories and paranormal activity

181 Main St, Oatman, AZ 86433, United States
The Oatman Hotel is the paranormal epicenter of a town steeped in a history of gold fever, sudden abandonment, and legendary tales. The building, originally the Durlin Hotel, survived a devastating town fire in 1921 and was rebuilt, continuing to serve miners and travelers. When the mines closed and Route 66 was bypassed, the town dwindled, but the stories within the hotel's adobe walls only grew, cementing its status as one of Arizona's most haunted locations. The hotel's most glamorous spectral residents are Hollywood legends Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. According to a widely promoted, albeit disputed, local legend, the couple spent their honeymoon at the hotel in 1939 after marrying in nearby Kingman. Following Lombard's tragic death in a 1942 plane crash, it is believed their joyful spirits chose to remain in the place where they shared happy memories. Staff and visitors frequently report hearing the faint sounds of whispering and laughter emanating from their empty second-floor suite. In stark contrast to the Hollywood glamour is the melancholic tale of an Irish miner affectionately nicknamed "Oatie". His story represents the hardship of the mining era; distraught after his family perished on their journey to America, he drank himself to death behind the hotel.[9] His restless spirit, sometimes identified as William Ray Flour, is now one of the hotel's most active, said to haunt his former room where visitors report hearing mournful, disembodied bagpipes and finding the bedsheets pulled off the display beds. The hotel is also home to other enigmatic spirits. On the second floor, the ghostly figure of a former chambermaid makes her presence known by leaving distinct outlines of a sleeping body in the undisturbed dust on the beds, leading to speculation that she was murdered in the hotel.[9, 8] Downstairs in the saloon, unseen forces are known to engage in whimsical activity, with bartenders and guests reporting dollar bills levitating off the bar and glasses lifting into the air on their own.