The Wild West town of Tombstone, Arizona first came onto my radar through watching paranormal shows as a kid, with the renowned Bird Cage Theatre being close to the top of my paranormal bucket list. Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in the Tombstone movie was also enough to inspire a trip to Tombstone, and I got that opportunity this past June when I traveled to Phoenix for work and added on some extra days for exploration. Tombstone lies close to the Mexico border about a 3-hour drive to the southeast of Phoenix, a drive that I broke up by staying a day and a half in Tucson along the way.
The city of Tombstone remains small, which gives it a very authentic middle-of-nowhere ghost town feel. The city’s population sits at about 1,300 as of 2024. The city is only a few blocks wide, so there’s not a lot of ground to cover and you can easily get a good feel for it with a 1-1.5 day stay. I stayed one night with one full day of being a tourist, and while there was certainly more I could have done there, one day was good enough for me. The time of year I went was great too – their peak tourist season typically runs through Memorial Day since the summers get extremely hot there, so with me visiting after Memorial Day, it wasn’t nearly as crowded as I thought it might get.
Stay – if you dare!
When I originally was booking the Tombstone leg of my trip, I thought it would be cool to stay in a haunted hotel, but ultimately decided on the Tombstone San Jose House over the haunted locations I had been considering, due to location, rates, and appearance. I knew that it was still a historic property although I didn’t see anything about it being haunted when I booked it. The building was one of the earliest boarding houses in Tombstone and the room I stayed in was “The Doc Holliday Room,” believed to have been frequented by Doc Holliday himself along with his companion Big Nose Kate.
It’s a four-room guest suite property tucked away on a quiet side street a block off of Allen Street, the main tourist strip, with the owner/manager living onsite. Contactless check-in is available since the rooms are all equipped with door codes, but when I arrived I was having trouble getting into my room. The manager came and determined that it needed new batteries and replaced them. I finally got in and settled, although I felt a little off in the room.
Later that night after a day of wandering, when I tried to get into the room, the keypad was again not opening the door for me. It took quite a few tries and me debating calling the manager again before the door finally swung open. I got comfy in the bedroom, which was separate from a living area and kitchenette. It was so dark and quiet. Until it wasn’t. Out of nowhere, I started hearing all kinds of scratching noises. Thinking there had to be a critter in the room with me, I flung on all the lights and searched the whole room with no results. As I was looking around, it was like the room came alive with noises of scratching and shuffling, noises not coming from outside. It was completely unnerving. It went on for a few minutes before easing up and I got back into bed and lay there for a bit with the lights on trying to settle myself down, and eventually started googling the hotel along with “haunted.” And found a Youtube vlog from someone who had stayed in the exact room as me and had woken to shuffling sounds and seen a full-body apparition walk through the bedroom. I squeezed my eyes shut tight but didn’t get much actual sleep that night. I know I usually seek out paranormal experiences, but it’s so much different when you are alone in a small room and least expecting them – I don’t think I’ve ever been more afraid in a haunted place!
See and Do
My first stop on the way into town was the Boothill Graveyard, the one and only cemetery for the residents of Tombstone and therefore the final resting place for many who met violent deaths – they don’t call it the “Wild West” for nothing. Here you’ll find the graves of the three outlaws killed in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, as well as Lester Moore, killed by “four slugs from a 44, no les, no more.”
I next paid a visit to the Tombstone Courthouse, a Victorian courthouse that has been converted to a museum on the history of Tombstone, including exhibits on the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Tombstone’s mining industry, ranching, and a reproduction of the gallows where seven convicted murderers were executed.
My next stop was the O.K. Corral historic site and theater. At select times throughout the day, you can catch a re-enactment of the historic gunfight, and it was pretty great! It’s part drama re-enactment, part comedy and the actors do a great job. Afterwards, you can check out some exhibits on the gunfight.
On Fifth Street a block from my hotel, I checked out The Tombstone Epitaph. This museum has free admission and covers the history of Arizona’s oldest continually published newspaper. With a ticket purchase over at the O.K. Corral, you get a voucher for a souvenir reprint of the 1881 newspaper covering the gunfight from the Epitaph museum.
Last but certainly not least, I made my way to the Bird Cage Theatre, early Tombstone’s entertainment hotspot. The theatre hosted stage performances, while it’s balcony boxes, known as bird cages, were worked by prostitutes. The basement houses the poker table where the longest game of poker in history was played. Still visible in the building are bullet holes from the town’s violent history. I did a daytime self-guided tour to take in the history and artifacts, and then bought a ticket for an evening after-hours tour / ghost hunt. It was definitely spooky in there with the lights out, but the only real activity we experienced was a flashlight turning on and off inexplicably.
Eat and Drink
In between my sightseeing, I stopped for lunch the O.K. Cafe the next corner down from the O.K. Corral, which had a great little neighborhood diner feel to it. I ordered The Ike, their Wyoming buffalo burger topped with blue cheese and bacon. Yum!
Even with as jam-packed as my day was with museums and history, there was still time to stop into Tombstone Brewing Company for a flight! I could tell that this place was a hotspot for locals and enjoyed having some brews on the outdoor patio.
That evening before my ghost tour at the Bird Cage, I stopped into Big Nose Kate’s Saloon, another notoriously haunted spot in Tombstone, although you might not experience anything with the live music and energy of the place. It was a great spot to sit at the bar and have a beer and a brisket sandwich for dinner.
The next morning after surviving my spooky stay at the San Jose House, I went for a quiet morning walk and then stopped into Undertaker’s Espresso Bar to caffeine up for the 3 hour drive back to Phoenix. This is such a cute little coffee shop and I probably spent a good 20-30 minutes chatting with the friendly barista about what it was like living in Tombstone. She said it was such a small town where everyone knows everyone, but she loved it because everyone looks out for each other and she felt like she had a new adopted family there. Seems like a great place to be!
Tombstone has a very touristy feel, but at the same time it was a super fun stay for me. Being from the east coast, I was thrilled to get that taste of the “Wild West.” I would go back again, if nothing else to try and experience more of Tombstone’s spooky side! And maybe I would even stay in that hotel room again…
C to Shining C 