Hotel La More at the Bisbee Inn

Posted: 04.07.2025 | Updated: 04.07.2025

There is a golden rule in Bisbee, Arizona, that when you find an alleyway or flight of stairs, ascend without hesitation. However, there is one place in this quaint western town that has many thinking twice before doing so. It’s a hotel that stands perched at the top of Chihuahua Hill at 45 OK Street in the historic district of Bisbee: the Hotel La More at the Bisbee Inn. 

It’s one of Bisbee’s oldest hotels, dating back to its early days when it was a booming mining town. Soot and dirt-covered miners filled its halls as they sought respite from grueling working conditions. There are those today who would say some of them never left. This is why the Hotel La More is not only known as one of many locational gems in Brisbee, but also one of the most haunted hotels.

There’s a different world within the small town of Bisbee. Where the dead roam the night, calling out to the living. Feeling brave enough to explore it? Check out our website today and explore the town of Brisbee on an up-close-and-personal ghost tour with Tombstone Terrors! Don’t forget to also check our blog for more spine-tingling tales from America’s most haunted spots. 

Is the Hotel La More at the Bisbee Inn Haunted?

The Hotel La More is renowned as one of the most historic hotels in Bisbee, dating back to its early days. It’s also known as one of the most haunted places to stay with some of its former clientele still lingering around.

History of the Hotel La More at the Bisbee Inn

Bisbee, Arizona, sits right at the base of the Mule Mountains. It was founded in 1877 when a reconnaissance detail of army men and cavalry scouts were sent to search the area for renegade Apaches. Instead, what they found was an area rich in lead, copper, and silver. 

Prospectors, speculators, and anyone else with ambitions of wealth flocked to the area, soon to be dubbed “Queen of the Copper Camps.”  A man by the name of J.P Hill saw an opportunity to accommodate the influx of miners. He purchased land in the city where he built two wooden buildings to serve as furnished lodgings for them. 

However, trouble came to Hill when a fire destroyed the buildings in 1915. He then sold the land to Mrs. S.P. Bedford, who constructed and furnished the hotel. She leased it to Kate LaMore a year later who turned it into the “most modern lodging in Bisbee.” Bedford took ownership again once it expired, keeping the name LaMore until 1925. 

The hotel continued to change in a number of ways in the coming decades: ownership, name, and purpose, along with several refurbishments. A new theme came to Bisbee in 1975 when its ore reserves had been depleted, and mining operations had ceased.  Retirees, hippies, and others saw potential in this quaint town and contributed to its restoration. 

Today, the Hotel La More at the Bisbee Inn reflects the newly-renowned reputation of its town: an artist’s community, popular for tourism and anyone seeking the essence of small-town living. Its decor, heavily influenced by Chinese culture, offers an inviting ambiance where, as its motto goes, you won’t be treated like royalty, but as an invited guest. The same could be said for its ghostly specters.

Hotel Hauntings

The Hotel La More is still believed to be home to the spirits of some of its earliest clientele: miners. One of them resides in room 11 and likes to rummage through the toiletries, tossing them wherever even opening toothpaste tubes. 

A similar unseen spirit has been experienced in room 15. However, it gives off the impression, literally and figuratively, that it just wants some decent rest. Visitors have felt it climb into bed with them, incidentally waking them up. They don’t see anything upon jumping out of bed except for a body indentation in the mattress where it was lying. 

There is also a male specter known to hang around the second-floor steps in the alley behind the Hotel La More. He’s been described as a handsome fellow with long hair, wearing a vest and jeans, which are tucked into his boots. 

The Lady In White

At the top of the same staircase, you will find yourself at a fork; one set of stairs goes to the right, and the other goes to the left, exiting into an alley behind the hotel. It’s here where witnesses have seen the lady in white; a woman described as having white hair, a flowing white gown, and smells like lilacs. She also has a protective side to her. 

Three boys were heading home from the theater one night when they ended up in the back alleyway behind the hotel. The lady in white stepped through the back door, outstretched her arm, and put her hand out as if telling them to stop. 

The boys were so frightened, they turned around and ran back down the steps. It was at that very moment a rockslide came tumbling down from the hill above. Repairs were made to the wall after the rockslide, which can still be seen today. 

A Feline Specter

It’s not often that there’s a background story behind a location’s ghost. This is why it’s so unique that Hotel La More’s most famous ghost not only has a history with the hotel but also echoes a ghostly purr.

The story goes that the owners of the then-Bisbee-Inn also owned the property next door, which was formerly a saloon. A stray calico cat in the area used to try to sneak into the hotel during the dead of winter. The owner would catch the cat and shoo it outside. However, he was rather nonchalant about letting the cat hang around the saloon. 

It unknowingly met its end one night, when it managed to find its way into the locked storage closet. Devoid of food or water, the animal passed away from starvation. It wasn’t long after when patrons started reporting the presence of a ghostly feline who would climb and curl up at the foot of the bed, sometimes purring contentedly. 

Others have heard the cat’s light pattering, or scratching from the window as though it were trying to come in. The ghostly animal has interestingly enough been pretty elusive to anyone staying in room 23, except for children. 

Haunted Tombstone 

There’s a whole lot more than just gold and silver buried in the wild, wild west. Tombstone, home to the bloody gunfight at the O.K. Corral and the scene of two major fires, is steeped in enough violence and tragedy that make it a boom town for ghosts of all sorts. Tombstone ain’t the only place steeped in spiritual activity, however. 

Tragic endings have a funny way of traveling in these parts, forever repeating like a tumbleweed rolling down the open desert road. The town of Bisbee stands 24 minutes away; once home to miners from across the country who felt they were one pickaxe swing away from wealth beyond measure. Today, it’s a mine of a different sort, where spirits can be found on every corner, and visitors from across the country come to see and believe.

Saddle up and get ready for an adventure out west where the living and the dead walk amongst the tombstones! Visit our website today and join Tombstone Terrors for a ghost tour of some of the most haunted locations of the Wild West.  Don’t forget to also read our blog for more chilling stories surrounding this historic town, and stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Sources:

• https://www.thebisbeeinn.com/
• https://www.bisbeeaz.gov/2174/Bisbee-History
• https://4girlsandaghost.wordpress.com/2011/01/15/haunted-lodgings-bisbee-innhotel-lamore/
• https://www.thebisbeeinn.com/haunted