Haunted hotel guide · Tombstone, Arizona
The Haunted Tombstone Motel (Now Inn History Tombstone): An 1870s Adobe on Fremont Street
Older than the gunfight that made Tombstone famous, this adobe on Fremont Street has been a livery stable, a store, a lumber yard and, since the 1940s, a motel with a reputation.
For decades it was simply The Tombstone Motel, a budget stay two minutes’ walk from Allen Street. The motel at 502 East Fremont Street now trades as Inn History Tombstone, an Old West themed motel whose rooms are decorated with photographs and objects from the town’s past. The building underneath is the real thing: an adobe from the 1870s, already standing when the Earps and the Clantons met on Fremont Street in October 1881.
Under its old name the motel was one of the few in town that told guests outright it was haunted, warning that people had called the front desk in the middle of the night asking to switch rooms. It sits among the best-known haunted hotels in Tombstone, and guest stories about its rooms still turn up online years after the rebrand.
Inn History Tombstone at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 502 E Fremont St (Highway 80), Tombstone, AZ 85638
- Built 1870s adobe; a motel since the 1940s; renamed Inn History Tombstone
- Most haunted spots The original adobe rooms, especially Rooms 110, 115 and 119
- Best-known ghosts Unseen hands, shaking beds and a presence that answers questions with a flashlight
- Booking the haunted room Rooms are sold by type. Call the motel on (520) 457-3478 and ask which rooms are in the original adobe.
- Good to know An affordable base for exploring Tombstone on foot. The new owners theme the rooms on local history rather than ghosts.
The ghosts of Inn History Tombstone (formerly The Tombstone Motel)
Room 110
Front desk staff have described Room 110 to guests as the most haunted room in the motel. One guest wrote that during a flashlight session there, the light switched on and off in answer to yes or no questions, and that the presence claimed to be a little girl who wanted them to leave. The same guest described her bed shaking and the feeling of fingers walking up her leg.
As with all the stories here, these are guest reports posted online, not anything the motel or local records confirm.
Room 115 and the lights
Lights that come back on are the most common report. A guest in Room 115 said the light switched itself back on after being turned off, and another described lights flickering through the night.
One couple wrote that they came back from dinner to find their beds disturbed and their luggage on the floor, though nobody had been into the room.
Room 119
Room 119 is linked in ghost listings to a man who is said to have taken his own life there. No date or name is attached to the story, and we could not confirm it, so treat it as a rumor rather than history.
Guests have also mentioned Rooms 105, 111 and 121 when describing being touched, doors opening by themselves and belongings being moved.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- Room 110: Named by former front desk staff as the most haunted room. Ask for it by number.
- Room 115: Linked to lights that turn themselves back on.
- Room 119: The room tied to the motel’s darkest rumor.
- The cabins: Inn History Tombstone also offers cabins if you would rather stay out of the old adobe.
History of Inn History Tombstone (formerly The Tombstone Motel)
Tombstone was founded in 1879 after Ed Schieffelin found silver nearby, and this adobe was among the first buildings in town. According to the motel’s former owners, it began as a livery stable, then became a general merchandise store, a lumber yard and living quarters before it was turned into a motel in the 1940s.
Its street has its own claim to fame. The gunfight of October 26, 1881, usually called the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, actually took place in an empty lot on Fremont Street a few blocks west of here. The town’s silver boom ended in the 1880s when the mines flooded, but Tombstone survived as the Cochise County seat until 1929 and earned its motto, The Town Too Tough to Die.
For decades The Tombstone Motel was one of the simple, affordable places tourists stayed when they came to see the O.K. Corral, the Bird Cage Theatre and Boothill. It made its ghosts part of its pitch, with a website that warned guests the place was haunted.
Today the motel is run as Inn History Tombstone. The current owners describe it as a self-guided tour of local history, with rooms decorated with photographs and items from the silver mining days, and they do not advertise the ghosts. The Tombstone Historic District, which includes Fremont Street, has been a National Historic Landmark since 1961.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Book under the current name, Inn History Tombstone; the old Tombstone Motel name may not show up on booking sites.
- Ask the front desk which rooms are in the original adobe, and whether Room 110 is free.
- Walk west along Fremont Street to the site of the 1881 gunfight, then turn onto Allen Street for the saloons.
- Take one of Tombstone’s evening ghost tours before you turn in.
- For a second haunted night, book the Tombstone Bordello, a former Haunted Rooms venue on Allen Street.
More haunted hotels nearby
- Tombstone Bordello Bed and Breakfast: an 1880s brothel and former Haunted Rooms venue
- Larian Motel, Tombstone: a 1950s motel just along Fremont Street
- Copper Queen Hotel, Bisbee: Julia Lowell’s Room 315, about 25 miles south
- Haunted hotels in Arizona
- Haunted hotels in Tombstone
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 the Tombstone Motel haunted?
Guests have reported lights switching on, beds shaking, being touched and luggage moved, and under its old name the motel itself warned guests it was haunted.
What is the Tombstone Motel called now?
It trades as Inn History Tombstone, at the same address, 502 East Fremont Street.
What is the most haunted room at the Tombstone Motel?
Room 110 is the one former front desk staff named. Rooms 115 and 119 also come up often in guest stories.
How old is the Tombstone Motel building?
The adobe dates to the 1870s, before the 1881 gunfight. It became a motel in the 1940s.
How far is the Tombstone Motel from Allen Street?
About a two-minute walk.
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.
- Inn History Tombstone (official site)
- Lodging in Tombstone (Discover Tombstone)
- Tombstone Motel (HauntedPlaces.org)
- Tombstone, Arizona (Wikipedia)
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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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