Haunted hotel guide · Grand Canyon, Arizona
The Haunted El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon: Fred Harvey's Ghost and the Caped Figure on the Rim
A log and stone lodge 20 feet from the South Rim, where the man who built the business is said to keep inviting guests to a Christmas party that is not on the calendar.
El Tovar is the grand old hotel of the Grand Canyon. It opened in January 1905 about 20 feet from the edge of the South Rim, a short walk from the Grand Canyon Railway depot, and it is still the most famous place to stay inside the national park. It was designed for the Santa Fe Railway and run by the Fred Harvey Company, and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987.
Its ghost stories are gentle ones, fitting a hotel built for hospitality. The best known is that Fred Harvey himself, who died four years before El Tovar opened, still walks the third floor at the holidays. Add a caped figure seen near a lonely marker in the parking lot, and it earns its place among the haunted hotels in Arizona, even if most people come for the view.
El Tovar at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 1 El Tovar Rd, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023, in Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim
- Opened January 1905, designed by Charles Whittlesey for the Santa Fe Railway
- Most haunted spots The third floor, the front stairs, the kitchen and the path past the Pirl A. Ward marker to Hopi House
- Best-known ghosts Fred Harvey, a figure in a black cape and a woman in 1930s clothes
- Booking the haunted room There is no named haunted room. Ask for a third-floor room, ideally for a December stay.
- Good to know 78 rooms, many of them suites. No elevators, stairs only. Book through Grand Canyon Lodges; the park entrance fee applies.
The ghosts of El Tovar Hotel
Fred Harvey's holiday invitation
Fred Harvey built the famous chain of railway hotels and restaurants that ran El Tovar, but he died in 1901 and never saw it open. That has not stopped guests from meeting him. The story goes that around the holidays a well-dressed man in early 1900s clothes stops guests on the third floor and invites them to the annual Christmas gathering. When they ask at the front desk, there is no party planned.
Some of those guests say the man looked just like the portraits of Harvey. He is also described in a long coat and black hat, standing on the front stairs looking out at the canyon.
The caped figure and the Pirl A. Ward marker
In the middle of the parking lot near the hotel is a small marker reading “Pirl A. Ward: 1879-1934.” A figure in a black cape, sometimes described with a veil, has been seen walking the path from the hotel past it and then vanishing behind Hopi House.
The marker is often called the grave of a Harvey Girl, one of the waitresses who worked in Harvey hotels. It is not. Find a Grave identifies Ward as a man, a construction worker at the hotel who died at 55, and the marker is a memorial with no burial beneath it. Some say the caped figure is a mourner; nobody knows.
Night watchmen and other guests
Other stories include night watchmen who quit after seeing an apparition, a woman who seems to be from the 1930s, unexplained silhouettes seen by staff and guests, and a painting whose eyes are said to follow you.
Guests have also described clothing tugged in the night and the reflection of a bearded old man on a television screen. Legends of America names the third floor and the kitchen as the hotel’s most active areas.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- Third-floor rooms: Fred Harvey’s floor. The best request, especially from Thanksgiving to New Year.
- The front stairs and porch: Where Harvey is seen gazing at the canyon. Come out after dark when the rim is quiet.
- The Pirl A. Ward marker: In the parking lot. Walk from the hotel toward Hopi House at night, the caped figure’s route.
- The suites: El Tovar has 12 named suites, including the Zane Grey Suite. Not all can be booked online, so call to reserve one.
History of El Tovar Hotel
Once the Santa Fe Railway’s branch line reached the South Rim, the company wanted a hotel to match the view. Design work began in 1902 under Charles Whittlesey, the railway’s chief architect, and construction followed. The plan grew from a small hotel to a luxury resort as visitor numbers rose, with a projected cost of $250,000.
El Tovar opened in January 1905 with 103 guest rooms and 21 bathrooms. It was built of local limestone and Oregon pine, with log walls below and framed upper floors, in a style that mixed a Swiss chalet with a Norwegian villa. It is an early example of what became National Park Service rustic architecture. The Harvey Company named it for Pedro de Tovar, a Spanish explorer whose reports of a great river helped inspire the Cardenas expedition, the first Europeans to see the canyon.
The Fred Harvey Company ran it in partnership with the railway, and El Tovar is one of the few former Harvey House hotels still operating. Theodore Roosevelt stayed in 1911 and 1913, and later guests included Albert Einstein and Zane Grey. The hotel even turns up in the 1983 film National Lampoon’s Vacation.
A large renovation in 1983 replaced the original windows, and today there are 78 rooms, all with private baths. El Tovar was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, named a National Historic Landmark in 1987 and joined Historic Hotels of America in 2012. It is run by the park’s lodging concessioner, Grand Canyon Lodges.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Book as early as you can through Grand Canyon Lodges or by phone; El Tovar sells out months ahead, especially for holidays.
- For the Fred Harvey story, ask for a third-floor room in December.
- There are no elevators, so mention it when booking if stairs are a problem.
- Walk the rim trail after dark and take the path past the Ward marker toward Hopi House.
- Make it a road trip: Flagstaff’s Hotel Monte Vista and Weatherford Hotel are about 80 miles south.
More haunted hotels nearby
- Hotel Monte Vista, Flagstaff: the Phantom Bellboy, about 80 miles south
- Weatherford Hotel, Flagstaff: Room 54 and the Zane Grey Ballroom
- Haunted hotels in Jerome: Arizona’s most haunted hillside town
- Hassayampa Inn, Prescott: Faith in Room 426
- Haunted hotels in Arizona
Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.
Frequently asked questions
Is El Tovar Hotel haunted?
Guests and staff tell several ghost stories, most famously that Fred Harvey appears on the third floor at the holidays inviting guests to a party. A caped figure is also reported near the Pirl A. Ward marker.
Does Fred Harvey haunt El Tovar?
That is the hotel’s best-known legend. Harvey died in 1901, four years before El Tovar opened, but guests describe a man who looks like him inviting them to a Christmas gathering that does not exist.
Is there a grave in the El Tovar parking lot?
There is a marker reading “Pirl A. Ward: 1879-1934.” It is often called a Harvey Girl’s grave, but Ward was a construction worker at the hotel, and the marker is a memorial with no burial.
How do you book El Tovar?
Through Grand Canyon Lodges online or by calling central reservations. Some suites can only be booked by phone. Book months ahead.
When was El Tovar built?
Design work began in 1902 and it opened in January 1905.
Does El Tovar have an elevator?
No. Rooms are reached by stairs only, though there are accessible rooms.
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.
- El Tovar Hotel (Grand Canyon Lodges)
- El Tovar Hotel (Wikipedia)
- The ghostly presence at El Tovar Hotel (Moon Mausoleum)
- Sleeping With Ghosts in Arizona (Legends of America)
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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