Country Road Entertainment Originals

Haunted Country Roads: Hotel Monte Vista

A personal account of a night in Flagstaff, Arizona, that began with a warning from local bartenders and ended with an experience I have never forgotten.

By Edward S. Smith II | Country Road Entertainment

A Historic Hotel Along Route 66

In the heart of downtown Flagstaff, Arizona, stands one of the city's most recognizable historic landmarks: the Hotel Monte Vista. Located at the corner of San Francisco and Aspen Streets, just off historic Route 66, the hotel has welcomed generations of travelers, entertainers, and curious visitors since opening on January 1, 1927.

The hotel was born from a community effort to provide Flagstaff with more modern accommodations as tourism expanded across Northern Arizona. Local citizens helped finance its construction, and novelist Zane Grey was among those who contributed to the project.

Originally known as the Community Hotel, the building eventually became the Hotel Monte Vista, a name selected through a local naming contest. Over the decades, the property welcomed notable Hollywood personalities, including John Wayne, Bing Crosby, Jane Russell, and Gary Cooper.

Yet its famous guests and connection to the American West are only part of its reputation.

For decades, the Monte Vista has also been associated with stories of unusual activity, mysterious sounds, unexplained disturbances, and encounters that some guests and employees have attributed to spirits.

The Hotel's Ghost Stories

Among the hotel's best-known legends is the so-called Phantom Bellboy. According to accounts shared by the property, guests have reported hearing knocks and a voice announcing room service, only to open their doors and find nobody waiting outside.

Room 305 has its own reputation. Reports describe a rocking chair that appears to move without anyone touching it, along with unexplained knocking sounds.

Then there is Room 220, associated with an eccentric former resident whose death became part of the hotel's paranormal folklore. Stories connected to the room include televisions switching on unexpectedly and bedding being disturbed.

The hotel's basement has also inspired unsettling accounts. Employees have reported hearing what sounds like a crying infant, although the cause of those sounds has not been established.

These are legends and reported experiences, not scientifically verified evidence of hauntings. Nevertheless, they have become an enduring part of the Hotel Monte Vista's identity.

What makes my own story especially interesting is that I knew very little about the hotel's reputation when I arrived.

A Trip Back to Flagstaff, Around 2001 or 2002

I was approximately 21 or 22 years old when my first wife, Audrae, and I traveled to Flagstaff for what was supposed to be a fun getaway.

We were meeting someone I had not seen since childhood. It had been years since we had spent time together, and I was looking forward to reconnecting.

We had a wonderful day exploring the area, including trails near the volcanic lava fields outside Flagstaff. Northern Arizona has always been one of those places where a short drive can take you from mountain forests to landscapes shaped by ancient volcanic activity.

After spending time outdoors, we went to dinner and eventually started exploring some of the bars in downtown Flagstaff.

At one establishment, which I believe was an Irish pub, conversations with employees turned toward local ghost stories.

They described strange experiences associated with basements and older buildings downtown. Naturally, the conversation eventually turned to where we were staying.

When we mentioned the Hotel Monte Vista, the employees had stories about that place, too.

But one warning in particular stuck with me.

It was the sort of story you hear while bar hopping in an old Western town. Interesting, a little spooky, but not something I was particularly concerned about.

At least, not until we returned to our room.

The Warning Comes True

Later that night, we made our way back to the Monte Vista.

When we returned to our room, the lights were not working as expected.

Remembering what the employees had told us, we checked the light bulbs.

Sure enough, they had been loosened.

It was exactly the situation we had been warned about earlier that evening.

At the time, I did not make a tremendous fuss about it. There could have been an ordinary explanation. Maybe somebody had been playing a joke. Maybe the bulbs had simply worked loose.

Whatever the reason, I was not about to let a couple of light bulbs ruin an otherwise enjoyable trip.

Eventually, we settled in for the night.

That was when things became considerably more disturbing.

The Feeling of Being Watched

Something about the room did not feel right.

I remember lying in bed, unable to fall asleep. I had an overwhelming sensation that something or someone was watching us.

It was not a fleeting thought that disappeared after a few seconds. I remained alert, unable to fully relax.

Audrae did not seem to be experiencing anything unusual, thankfully. But I could not shake the feeling that we were not alone.

As the night went on, I eventually began to grow more comfortable.

And that was when I felt it.

I froze.

I did not know what to think or what to do. I was absolutely terrified.

I could feel the movement and the change in the mattress beneath me, but I had no explanation for what was causing it.

All I wanted was for it to stop.

I closed my eyes, hoping that whatever was happening would simply go away. Part of me hoped I would open them again and realize I had been dreaming.

But the experience was not over.

The Pressure on My Chest

Later that night, I experienced something even more frightening.

I felt an intense pressure on my chest, almost as though something was sitting directly on top of me.

I could not breathe properly.

I was terrified and felt helpless, uncertain what was happening or how to make it stop.

Then, as suddenly as the sensation had begun, it ended.

The pressure disappeared.

I was left lying there, shaken by what had just happened.

There are possible medical and sleep-related explanations for sensations of pressure, immobility, and a perceived presence, including sleep paralysis. I cannot say with certainty what caused my experience that night.

What I can say is that the sensations felt frighteningly real to me, and they have remained vivid in my memory for more than two decades.

The Rest of the Night

I never went back to sleep.

I remember lying in that bed, staring at the ceiling and refusing to move any more than necessary.

Every so often, I would look over to check on Audrae.

We were both young, and I was deeply frightened by what I had experienced. I wanted to make sure she was okay.

Thankfully, she did not experience anything unusual that night, at least nothing that she ever described to me.

I believe I told her what happened, but after nearly a quarter-century, I cannot honestly reconstruct that conversation or every detail of the following morning.

What I remember most clearly is the fear, the strange physical sensations, and the relief that she seemed unaffected.

A Strange Connection to the Hotel's Legends

Years later, researching the Monte Vista's reputation has brought an interesting detail to my attention.

Flagstaff's official tourism organization has documented local stories about lights being unscrewed or removed in the hotel's hallways. The same tourism and hotel histories describe guests experiencing unexplained disturbances, along with reports of feeling watched and having difficulty breathing during the night.

Those descriptions bear some similarities to what I remember experiencing.

That does not mean the accounts share a supernatural cause. I do not know what room we occupied during that visit, and I would not claim that my experience was connected to any particular legend or alleged spirit.

But learning that other accounts describe similar sensations has made the memory no less intriguing.

A Night That Stayed With Me

It has been roughly 24 or 25 years since that trip to Flagstaff.

Much has changed in my life since then. Some details of that visit have understandably faded with time.

But I can still remember the mattress moving beneath my feet.

I can remember the pressure on my chest, the fear of being unable to breathe, and the long hours spent awake afterward.

And I can remember looking over at my young wife, making sure she was all right.

Was it a haunting? A sleep-related event? An unusual coincidence combined with an already unsettling evening?

I cannot give you a definitive answer.

What I know is that a trip meant to reconnect with someone from my childhood left me with another memory entirely.

Sometimes the stories we remember most vividly are not the ones we intended to bring home.

And all these years later, I still remember the feeling of someone sitting on the edge of that bed.