Jerome, Arizona: Community Center

Locals call their community center “Spook Hall,” because of the phantom of a prostitute seen there. The ghost from the front of the building to a few feet from the Little Daisy Hotel, where she disappears. The area used to be the site of the “cribs,” small shacks used by prostitutes to entertain their clients. One of the women, who was accidentally stabbed during an argument between two miners, stills walks the street. Jerome was established in 1876, and a billion dollars worth of gold, silver, and copper were mined from the area in 77 years. There are so many ghosts here that a monthly newspaper called the “Jerome Ghost Post” was published for a time. But the town still offers such interesting diversions as the “Spirit Room Bar” and the “Haunted Hamburger” restaurant. (Jerome is on Hwy 89A, on the side of Mingus Mountain overlooking Verde Valley, at an elevation of 5,000 feet. Follow Hwy 89A from either Prescott or Sedona for about 25 miles to the town.)