Hotel Monte Vista

Flagstaff, Arizona

Located just off Route 66 in the historic district of downtown Flagstaff lies the Hotel Monte Vista. A place where guests have a tendency to check in but never check out.

Built in 1927 this three-floor, seventy-three-room hotel has played host to some of the world’s most famous people. John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, and Anthony Hopkins, to name a few. And even became something of a movie star itself as it provided the backdrop for the movie Casablanca. However, as accomplished as it is for its role in accommodating film royalty, the Hotel Monte Vista is actually more famous for its list of clientele that hasn’t spent time in front of the camera.

The Meat Man

Back in the 1980s, a long-time boarder earned quite a reputation with his neighbors who dubbed him, “The Meat Man”, as he had a peculiar obsession with hanging raw meat from his chandelier.

It’s been almost 40 years since The Meat Man’s body was discovered in room 220, but that hasn’t stopped him from entertaining the strange habits he had in his worldly life. Not long after his death, a maintenance worker claimed to have entered the room to make repairs, and upon realizing that he had forgotten a necessary tool, left the room for only a short period of time. Upon returning he discovered the television had been turned on with the volume at an ear-piercing level, as well as scraps of bed linens strung through the room having seemingly been torn to shreds in some type of violent outburst. Until its replacement, guests complained of the television turning on by itself and an occasional icy grasp of an invisible hand akin to raw meat.

The Woman in the Rocking Chair

In room 305 lives another unique apparition, that of an elderly woman who sits by the window in a rocking chair, staring out at the world appearing almost transfixed on something. Possibly awaiting someone’s return. Cleaning staff who have attempted to move the empty chair to another part of the room return only to find it moved back to the same spot next to the window. Several guests have reported being awoken by the sound of the chair rocking against the nearby closet door.

The Bandit

Sometime in the 1970s, three men carried out a daring robbery at a nearby bank. Though the heist ended in a shootout with one of the men grazed by a bullet, all three eventually made it to the Hotel Monte Vista’s cocktail lounge where they began to celebrate their newly acquired fortune. While enjoying the after-party one of the men suddenly slumped over falling to the ground dead. It was only then the men realized how severe their accomplice’s wound really was. On several occasions since the bandits passing, staff opening the lounge have been greeted by a disembodied voice saying “Hello” or “Good Morning!”, and barstools and glasses seem to move about on their own.

Women of the Night

In the 1940s, two female sex workers were approached by another guest seeking company for the night. The two women followed the man back to room 306 where at some point during the night the man brutally murdered both, discarding their bodies out of his third-story window. In the times since male guests have reported waking to the feeling of a female hand being placed over their noses or throats.

The Couple

From time to time the ghostly image of two apparitions appears to dance through the lounge. Their eyes locked in an eternal stare, their love for each other as strong now as it was when they were alive.

The Others

From poltergeist activity and disembodied voices to its more notable long-term guests who still occupy their favorite rooms, there appears to be no shortage of mysterious goings-on at the Hotel Monte Vista, which gives the impression that the hotel’s long-term inhabitants haven’t made plans to check out anytime soon.