Tombstone Bordello Bed and Breakfast

Posted: 10.18.2024 | Updated: 10.18.2024

Many flock to the town of Tombstone to experience the aura of the Old West. Dusty streets, wooden sidewalks, and old clapboard buildings harken back to simpler days. Yet this town retains a vicious past if one ventures to look.

The Tombstone Bordello Bed and Breakfast is just one of Tombstone's many haunted locations. This should come as no shock to those familiar with this once-salacious city. As a silver mining boomtown, Tombstone enticed many a hustler, gambler, and gunfighter in its heyday. Times were harsh and, for women, even more harrowing. Those widowed by the town’s violence were left with few opportunities other than prostitution. 

Their lives were often short, with many eventually committing suicide. The women of the Tombstone Bordello seemingly led better lives than many in their occupation, thanks to the brothel’s madam. Perhaps this is why so many choose to dwell here in the afterlife — perchance, just as they did in life, these working girls have nowhere else to go. 

Who haunts the Tombstone Bordello Bed & Breakfast?

The shorter question might be, who doesn't haunt the Tombstone Bordello Bed and Breakfast? Although its appearance is quaint and cozy today, this late-Victorian-era establishment has been privy to many events over the years and once sheltered a range of disreputable folk when it operated as a brothel. Cowboys, miners, and the hazy apparitions of the women who once proffered their services here still linger in this previously tawdry location. 

Why do the former occupants still roam these rooms, and what tricks do they play on unsuspecting visitors? Read on to unveil the secrets held within these once-sordid walls. Are you interested in visiting some of Tombstone’s torrid sites in the flesh? Book a ghost tour with Tombstone Terrors.

Relocation Doesn’t Fool Ghosts

The Bordello Bed and Breakfast has a history spanning nearly 150 years. Much mayhem transpired in Tombstone during this time, including the infamous O.K. Corral Gunfight. Times were tough; with the boom of the silver mining trade came an onslaught of violence. Gunslingers, gamblers, lonely miners, and desperate widows made for a powder keg of vile behavior. Still, for many, the Tombstone Bordello was a refuge from the woes of daily existence. 

It all began in a white clapboard establishment in Tombstone’s red light district. The brothel sat on the other side of town during the pinnacle of the silver mining boom. The building was hoisted up and moved in 1923 to where it currently stands on the corner of West Allen and Haskell Street. Its owner, Big Nose Kate, allegedly had the structure built from scratch. 

Now residing on the West side of town, the building has transferred ownership multiple times over the years. The property was purchased by a tombstone judge and his wife in the 1970s, who generously installed electricity and plumbing. It wouldn’t be long before the property changed hands again, and another couple took over, updating the property more extensively. Rooms were added, and a hot tub and pool were installed — yet the beguiling soul of this structure was still preserved as if its torrid past could ever be painted over.

The repositioned building has sat on this land for over a hundred years, but its ghostly residents still don’t seem entirely settled in. Those who organized the relocation likely never anticipated that the bordello’s ghostly inhabitants would tag along. 

A Den of Lawlessness and Iniquity

The ghosts of the Bordello Bed and Breakfast are indeed a rowdy bunch. Many guestrooms at this establishment come equipped with a guestbook for recording visitors’ otherworldly experiences. Tales of late-night disturbances line many of the pages. Some guests report being touched on the arm or leg while in bed. One unlucky woman attested that someone — or something — even got into bed with her.

The activity some guests encounter has been even more uncomfortable. One such visitor experienced the feeling of hands tightening about her neck. The sensation lasted many minutes — about as long as it might take to strangle someone, perhaps? A few theorize this experience is linked to the spirit of a woman rumored to be strangled by a displeased customer.

More spectral observations within the bordello’s walls abound. Misty figures in period-era dressing gowns meander from room to room, tracing the hallways with their spectral presence. The ghostly echoes of a miner, shot in an argument over girls or gambling, resounds from outside somewhere behind the bed and breakfast. 

Even a phantom cowboy has been sighted, clamoring through a window only to vanish into a door shortly after. A few more fortunate guests have described a protective or comforting energy. Could this be one of the brothel madams, still looking out for her girls? 

Dutch Annie was a renowned Tombstone madam, not unlike the owner of the Tombstone bordello, earning the moniker “Queen of the Red Light District.” Although she lived a life of vice, she also seemingly contained a charitable side. When disease befell their camp, Dutch Annie cared for the miners. Upon her death, both those of prominent social standing and ladies of the red light district came to mourn her death, attending her funeral in Boothill Cemetery, where she still lies today.

Big Nose Kate: An Educated Madam with a Penchant for Vice

Big Nose Kate may be most famed as the girlfriend of gunslinger Doc Holliday, yet this woman had a colorful life long before her tryst with Doc began. This owner of the Tombstone Bordello went by many names including Kate Fisher, Nosey Kate, and Kate Elder. Originally born Mary Katharine Haroney in Hungary, Kate’s life would be no stranger to turmoil and excitement.

Kate’s beginnings were far from sordid. Born to a wealthy physician in 1850, Kate received an excellent education, speaking several languages including English, French, Spanish, and Hungarian. After relocating to America, both her father and mother died in Iowa, and the 14-year-old ended up in a foster home. 

Kate absconded at 17, stowing away on a steamboat to St. Louis, Missouri. The captain detected the stowaway and took pity on her, giving her his name. Kate entered a convent school under the name of Kate Fisher, graduating in 1869. By 1874, Kate had relocated to Dodge City, Kansas, and taken up occupation as a prostitute in a brothel run by one of the Earp brother’s wives, Nellie Bessie Earp. 

Kate fell into prostitution out of necessity, but that doesn't mean she wasn’t ambitious. She advanced to being a madam, eventually running several bordellos in Tombstone in addition to her saloon. 

Kate’s bordello presented superior amenities and a convivial atmosphere where male patrons could get some privacy with a lady of the night. Her establishment provided private rooms, a parlor, and a venue to gamble the night away. She ensured her patrons had all they needed but also held a soft spot for those who worked for her. Each working girl possessed her own room — a place to call her own and “offer her services.” No wonder they’ve felt inclined to stay.

Haunted Tombstone

Susan Sinsley now owns the Tombstone Bordello Bed and Breakfast today — she does not deny the existence of its ghosts. Sinsley maintains the historic appeal of the structure, furnishing the rooms to sustain the tenor of the Old West. Each of its nine rooms recognizes the women who once worked at the brothel. You can stay in the Shady Lady, Calico Queen, or the Soiled Dove for a spine-tingling visit. Perhaps you’ll entertain a ghostly visitor at night, as well. 

Check out our blog and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to be regaled with more tales of spooky offerings and ghastly locations. To see some of Tombstone’s haunted sites in person, book a ghost tour with Tombstone Terrors. 

Sources:

https://www.arizonahighways.com/business/tombstone-bordello