Haunted Historians is a tour agency made up of three paranormal researchers that combine their interests in history with paranormal investigating and research. John Albrecht Jr., Scott Stanneart and Vince Amico have a combined 40 years of experience researching and investigating the paranormal. Their main mission is to provide historic locations with additional funding to help in the preservation and restoration of these historic buildings. This group has researched the Globe Jail and Acadia Ranch Museum in Oracle.
Along the Copper Corridor there are a few tales of ghosts and hauntings that have appeared in books and on the internet. A few of these stories follow:
Rattlesnake Canyon – Dudleyville
There is a story on the internet that talks about this canyon near Dudleyville where it is alleged that a man named “Lepsy” would hire immigrant Chinese workers to work on his ranch. Instead of paying them, he murdered them and burnt their bodies. He would then hire new workers and do the same to them. It was also said that lawmen that went in the canyon looking for Lepsy also met the same fate as the Chinese. Hikers in the area today are reported to have smelled charred flesh, become ill and heard the sounds of screaming.
Another version of the story says the area was near the reservation by Dudleyville and Lepsy hired Chinese and other minority workers. When you hike through the canyon, you will see charred rock walls, smell a sickening aroma, feel horrible frightening energies and hear screaming. The murders took place in the late 1800s.
Aravaipa Area – The Haunted Corral
The above story that allegedly took place in Rattlesnake Canyon was probably taken from the story of the Haunted Corral located in the Aravaipa area between Mammoth and Dudleyville. The story involves a man named George Apsey and has some basis in fact. Apsey was a former sailor who built the corral and began ranching in the Aravaipa area. In 1890, a detachment of Indian scouts from San Carlos, led by Lieutenant Watson, were looking for renegade Apaches in the Ash Creek area near Aravaipa, when they came upon Apsey burning a body on the ranch. Apsey tried to tell them that he was burning a hog. Rowdy, a well-known Apache scout said “Coche (Spanish for pig/hog) no wear boots, him man”. Apsey was arrested and escorted to San Carlos. He was then turned over to Pinal County authorities in Florence.
Apsey was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in the Arizona Territorial prison in Yuma. Following his imprisonment, a rancher found more human remains on or near the Apsey ranch in 1891. It was shortly after this that the corral at the Apsey ranch began being called the Haunted Corral.
In 1937, a rancher named Henry Towner was murdered at the corral by a cowboy working at another ranch. Between 1890 and 1937, it was reported that the remains of at least twelve bodies were found in the Haunted Corral area. Apsey was known to hire only cowboys who drifted from ranch to ranch and were known as “saddle tramps”. When they disappeared, no one would miss them. Apsey was pardoned in 1897 and moved to California. Some newspapers and some of the public were outraged by the pardon as they felt Apsey should have been hanged for murder.
Hayden-Winkelman
From the Hayden-Winkelman School District come two stories involving students. There are claims of a ghost that can be seen on the Hayden High School football field. It seems that a football player was running with the football when he was tackled viciously. He ended up breaking his neck and later died. On some nights the football player has been seen running down the field. He falls and then disappears.
The other story involves a high school cheerleader who after graduating had a promising future as a cheerleader and possibly a model. The incident took place in 1988 or 1989. One version says she was offered a job as cheerleader for the Arizona Cardinals. Another version has her being offered a college scholarship for cheerleading. One night she was arrested for possession of marijuana. During the arrest she was allowed to go back to her car where she retrieved a gun from the glove compartment and being despondent over being arrested which she felt ended her cheerleading dreams, shot herself.
Stories say that late at night, someone can be heard on the gym floor doing cheerleading routines. One story about a sighting in 1998 says that Hayden High School hosted a softball tournament. One of the teams spent the night in the gym. Around midnight they saw a young lady in a cheerleading outfit at the other end of the gym doing a cheerleading routine. As soon as the routine was finished, she disappeared into thin air.
San Manuel
There are two ghost stories involving the town of San Manuel circulating on the internet. One is the story of a young boy that has been reportedly seen at First Avenue Elementary School. The boy is seen holding his head and says “Teacher! Teacher! I fell off the merry-go-round.” He then disappears. The story alleges that in 1989 a young kid got stuck between the ground and the bottom of the merry-go-round crushing him. Supposedly as he was being carried away by ambulance, he whispered “Teacher! Teacher! I fell off the merry-go-round,” before dying.
The second story involves the spirit of a young girl seen wandering the halls by the lockers of San Manuel High School. She was a student at San Manuel and had been shot and killed at the school. I had heard this story back in the late 1960s from students at San Manuel. There is some basis to this story as in 1956, a female student was sitting on the steps of the school with other students and some teachers in the area near the present-day cafeteria, when she was shot and killed. Apparently, some boys were playing with a .22 rifle in the parking lot when the gun went off and the bullet struck the girl.
Another place which is reportedly haunted or has experienced paranormal phenomenon is the Sun Life Clinic. Then there is the story of “White Boots” who haunted the Magma Mine.
The Acadia Ranch Museum
The Acadia Ranch building was built in 1882 and now houses a museum operated by the Oracle Historical Society. It was once a working sheep ranch and then became a sanatorium for patients suffering from tuberculosis (TB) as well as a health resort. It has been a hotel and a residence. The fresh air and climate of Oracle was considered to be healthy. It is believed that a number of TB patients may have died in the building. There is a story of a nurse that is said to have contracted TB while working at the Acadia. She died there and her spirit supposedly walks the building tending to patients.
A ghost given the name of George haunts the area that was once a temporary morgue. People who lived in the Acadia reported unexplained footsteps late at night, someone turning on the furnace in the room (the hosts said it was not them) and a knocking on the knocking on the door, when the door was opened, no one was there and the lady felt something invisible brush past her.
It is also known that a young boy accidentally killed himself with his father’s hand gun at the Acadia in 1936. The kid’s name was Robert E. Lee Van Horn. He was seven years old and is buried in the Oracle Cemetery.
Unexplained sounds, ghostly footsteps and other unexplained phenomenon have been reported. Five paranormal research teams have visited the Acadia. One reported that they believe that there are at least two spirits in the building and possibly three. Another group has recorded voices and a door opening on its own with no one there, was captured on video.
Other places in Oracle that have reported paranormal phenomenon are the Mountain View Hotel (now the Oracle Baptist Church), Triangle L Ranch, Stewart House, El Rancho Robles, Don Juan’s Tavern (now the Ore House) and the American Flag Ranch building.