Brunckow’s Cabin

Posted: 05.07.2025 | Updated: 05.07.2025

In the Wild West, Tombstone, Arizona, was a particularly dangerous place to be. If you were passing through town, you could find yourself in the middle of a shootout for everything from being accused of cheating at cards to someone wanting your horse. 

Yet, amidst all this violence, one place was dubbed the “bloodiest cabin in Arizona” due to its unusually gruesome history. This place was Brunckow’s Cabin, where at least 21 people were killed over 30 years, and the ghosts of the murdered never fully left.

Tombstone is full of horror stories, haunted buildings, and otherworldly phenomena. To see the most haunted sites for yourself, book a ghost tour with Tombstone Terrors. 

Is Brunckow’s Cabin haunted?

Many believe that some of the spirits of those murdered at the Brunckow Cabin still reside there to this day. Reports of seeing phantoms at the site go back to the late 1800s, when reporters witnessed a spirit they said was Brunckow himself. 

Who Was Brunckow?

Brunckow’s Cabin is named after Frederick Brunckow, an engineer who came to Arizona to strike it rich in mining. Brunckow lucked out, discovering a profitable silver mine in 1858 about eight miles southwest of where Tombstone would be established in a decade. 

To act as his office and residence, Brunckow constructed an adobe cabin with a tin roof. The cabin sat on a hill so he could oversee his workforce, which consisted of four Anglo men — a chemist, a cook, and two mining engineers — and 10 to 12 Mexican laborers (who many believe were exploited).  

Just two years after opening the mine, tragedy struck. 

The Attack on Brunckow’s Cabin

On July 23, 1860, William Williams left the mine to get supplies from a fort about 35 miles away. When he returned three days later, Williams found absolute devastation. 

An attack had taken place. Williams found his cousin, James, dead among the provisions that had been thrown out of the supply shack. The chemist was found outside the cabin, his body already half-eaten by coyotes. 

Brunckow’s death was particularly heinous, as the killer(s) used a mining drill to inflict maximum pain. Many people think this indicates that the killing was personal, as opposed to just a robbery. Brunckow’s lifeless body was then thrown down the very mining shaft he had pined over for so long. 

The only other Anglo man, the cook, and all the Mexican workers were nowhere to be found. 

A few days later, the cook walked into another mining camp. He claimed that the Mexican workers had staged an uprising, taking him hostage as they killed the other white men and stole $2000 worth of supplies and horses. He said that they decided to let him go at the border because he was a “good Catholic.”

Brunckow’s body was retrieved from the mine, and he and his workers were buried just outside his cabin. 

The Sheriff’s Murder 

Fourteen years after the mass murder at Brunckow’s Cabin, the next killing occurred at the cabin. This time, the victim was a former officer of the law. 

Milton Duffield was the first U.S. Marshal appointed to the up-and-coming Arizona territory. Duffield had a reputation for being a mean man who didn’t like to take no for an answer and carried multiple guns with him at all times. 

After leaving the law enforcement life behind, Duffield decided to buy the old Brunckow mine to see if he could get some money out of it. However, another local man thought he had a claim to the mine, so he sent his hired gun, James Holmes, to go defend his claim. 

Holmes apparently got there long before Duffield and moved into the cabin for a short time as he awaited Duffield. As you can imagine, Duffield was none too happy that Holmes was trying to take his new investment. So when he showed up at the cabin, he was throwing his arms up and shouting expletives. 

Knowing Duffield’s reputation for having multiple weapons, Holmes didn’t give Duffield a chance to one-up him. Holmes stepped outside the cabin and shot Duffield twice with his shotgun. Only then did he discover that Duffield was unarmed. 

While Holmes was charged with Duffield’s murder, he escaped 17 days into his sentence and was never seen again.

Ed Schieffelin’s Turn at the Cabin

Three years after Duffield’s gruesome end, a new starry-eyed miner moved into the cabin: Ed Schieffelin. It’s said that Schieffelin added the fireplace in the cabin to survey rocks he found to see if he came across any silver. 

One day, Schieffelin was telling a passing soldier about his new venture in the notoriously dangerous area, which was often targeted by Apache raids. The soldier told Schieffelin that the only rock he’ll likely collect there is his own tombstone. 

Schieffelin got a kick out of the comment, and when he did find a silver ore, he filed his claim under the name “Tombstone.” The name apparently caught on so much that the nearby settlement changed its name to match, and the town of Tombstone was born. 

The Death Toll at Brunckow’s Cabin

In total, at least 21 men are believed to have been killed within or around Brunckow’s Cabin between 1860 and 1890. This included a group of five men who were found dead in the cabin, surrounded by gold. 

The group was believed to be thieves who stole from a Wells Fargo bullion wagon and then got into a deadly argument about who should get what share of the goods. The gold was returned to Wells Fargo, and little was done regarding the bodies or discovering their identities.

 In fact, the 1897 article in The Tombstone Prospector that detailed the incident said, “One man was supposed to have been shot and thrown into a well, but as there were abundant men in those days, an investigation seemed needless.” 

This mentality is perhaps why we don’t have a more exact record of the identities of the men who died at the cabin over the years. 

Who Haunts Brunckow’s Cabin?

The first reports of a ghost at the cabin go back to 1897, when an article in The Tombstone Epitaph claimed that a ghost could be seen wandering around the now-dilapidated shack at night. If someone attempted to get close to the spirit, it would disappear. 

Today, all that remains of the cabin are a few disintegrating walls. However, spectral-interested folks still flock to the site to see if they can catch a glimpse of one of the old west settlers who lost their life here. 

Haunted Tombstone

Because of its violent and gory past, Tombstone is a hot spot for spirit activity. Ghosts from shootouts continue to linger around the main square, unable or unwilling to move on. This includes Orante, the notorious outlaw who is forever trapped in the place where he was finally shot down. 

To explore all that Tombstone offers after dark, book a ghost tour with Tombstone Terrors tonight. While you learn about the ghost stories of Big Nose Kate’s Saloon and walk past the town’s original undertaker, you might be surprised by what you spot through a dark window. 

Want to learn about other haunted tales around the United States? Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to continue discovering hidden spooky gems. For more Wild West stories, be sure to check out our blog. 

Sources:

• https://trendmag2.trendoffset.com/publication/?i=569376&article_id=3312426&view=articleBrowser
• https://tombstoneterrors.com/
• https://www.myheraldreview.com/news/the-ghosts-of-brunckow-s-cabin/article_91ae3c2e-3811-11ec-ba4a-5bcb076058e5.html
• https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2P5CC_brunckow-cabin-where-tombstone-began