Copper Queen Hotel – Julia Lowell Room (7.18.08)

Sitting in the cigar-shaped airplane, our flight chased the setting sun into the western sky. Ultimately we lost the race. The blackness of the night fought its way inside, but ultimately succumbed to the cabin’s lighting. A sense of warmth was created within the confines of the airliner despite being surrounded by cold, lifeless metal. A red light flashed in sequence to my right erasing the black from the random window’s entirety and announced our presence in the skies. I looked out my window to the eerie stillness of the wing and scanned a surface that was fortunately empty. Thoughts of John Lithgow in the Twilight Zone quickly vacated my conscience. A conscience now buoyed by a momentary confidence air safety. Tucson was my destination. Joe was already there and I would be joining him a few hours. We would stage for two nights at Joe’s parents home to prepare before embarking on three consecutive nights of paranormal investigations. (This preparation included taking a "haunted" (children’s) train ride thru a Wild West ghost town. After the ride, Joe and I decided to put our ghost hunting skills to work and venture out on foot down the railway through the ghost town. Once there, we explored the surprisingly deserted pseudo-mining town, posing for pictures along the way. I can safely say we passed our own self-imposed training program by discovering all of the staged ghosts, skeletons, and even aliens.) From Tucson, we would head south into copper country. Joining us for this investigation would be Joe’s father, DA (There’s a Mr. Tango reference somewhere here, but I just can’t find it.) The Julia Lowell Room at the Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee, Arizona was our first destination.

Heading south and east, we passed through the towns of Benson, St. David, Tombstone and ultimately Douglas whose not so sublime differences were highlighted by DA . (We stopped in Tombstone, but that is another story.) The mining town of Bisbee was this drive’s destination. Bisbee was founded in 1880 as a copper, gold, and silver mining town and named after a judge who was one of the financial backers of the Copper Queen Mine. The city sits nestled in a valley between two mountain ridges, and since the city was designed before the automobile, its windy streets produce a European feel. 

By 1910, the population of Bisbee had grown to over 25,000 making it the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco. However by the 1950’s, the boom was over and a third of the population had moved on. Still Bisbee managed to survive. The sudden flood of cheap housing, desirable climate, and picturesque scenery enabled Bisbee to be reborn as an artist’s colony. Retirees, hippies, investors, and visitors flocked and restored the businesses and hotels. In the 90’s, retiring baby boomers were attracted to the cultural scene and provided a new energy to the town. (Bisbee’s proximity to the Mexican border also helps fuel that spirit and energy.) Antique shops and art studios cover the hilly streets and draw tourists in droves. In spirit and look, Bisbee resembles a near vegetation-less San Francisco. Anchoring the town’s center is the Copper Queen Hotel which is a treasured gem to the southwest. Built in 1902 to meet the needs of mining company executives, politicians, and various dignitaries, the four-story Victorian/Italian Villa-style hotel has been in continuous operation since its opening and is the longest running hotel in the state. In fact, the original three-color Victorian paint scheme remains the same. Two awning-covered patio verandas frame the area that house the Old West Saloon and Winchester Restaurant which buttress the hotel’s entrance. Antiques compliment the hotel’s turn of the century architecture especially in its two lobbies. High ceilings make the hallways distinctive and a traditional balcony on the third floor only adds to the already heightened ambiance. The third floor of the hotel was known for prostitution, a practice that was allowed under Arizona law until the early parts of 20th century. Of the prostitutes who occupied the third floor, the most famous was Miss Julia Lowell. 
In an all too common tale, Julia, described as an attractive, longhaired, big-breasted, 30 year-old woman, fell in love with a married gentleman who she had hoped could end her servitude and elevate her social class. However, the man in question did not return her feelings and Julia committed suicide. It is believed that Julia haunts Room #315 (the Julia Lowell Room) as well as the west side of the hotel. Legend has it that she prefers married males and will frequently appear to them. Often she will whisper in man’s ear. Other documented reports maintain that Julia will lift the bed covers and then tickle the feet of a male guest (as documented by the Ghost Hunters investigation of the hotel and Julia’s room.) Some have even reported that she will dance seductively at the end of the bed and disappear smiling. Some sightings have her passing right through door and climbing the narrow stairs just outside her room then ultimately disappearing on the fourth floor. 

Sometimes she appears as white smoke while others describe her adorned in a black dress. Some have even gone as far to describe her as scantily clad. There are varied versions of her reactions to female guests to her room. Some statements made by hotel guests claim that Julia tends to be more aggressive with female guests, while others maintain that she will not appear if there is another female in the room. Room #315 and Julia Lowell were going to be the focus of our investigation. However, there are other reported spirits whom are believed to reside in the hotel. Another famous occupant is a young boy by the name of Billy. It seems that while Billy’s mother worked in the hotel dining room, her son would play on the third floor. One however, there are other reported spirits whom are believed to reside in the hotel. Another famous occupant is a young boy by the name of Billy. It seems that while Billy’s mother worked in the hotel dining room, her son would play on the third floor. One day Billy drowned in a nearby pond or the San Pedro River; the exact location is not known. But it seems his spirit has returned to the hotel. Reports indicate that Billy spends his time on the third floor and in the dining room where he likes to play pranks on guests. For example, Billy likes to hide items that belong to guests or hide under tables in the dining room where it has been reported the visiting children can see him. Often he will appear with a towel around him or will cry when a bathtub is filled. Besides Billy and Julia, three male and two female spirits have been documented in the hotel as well.

Entry

The three of us arrived in Bisbee just after the noon hour and searched for a place to park the car. Given the age of the city and hotel, there was no parking lot for guests. Rather we parked up the hill in a public lot just outside the YWCA. We wove back down the hill to the hotel’s entrance with bags in tow and climbed the stairs into the lobby. 

Dark wood and furniture accompanied by brown leather chairs drained any stray sunlight that had found its way inside the lobby. An ornate Tiffany lamp sat between two chairs and cast a pleasant emerald light for a short distance. I approached the desk and upon request offered my last name to verify our reservation. I was unceremoniously handed two room keys and told something about the restaurant’s policies and breakfast schedule. There was no talk of ghosts or Julia, just business as usual. However, a few ghost journals were conspicuously placed to the left of the lobby desk and I couldn’t help wonder if we would have something to add to them.

The Julia Lowell Room

After completing the check-in process, DA left to his room and Joe and I followed shortly there after deciding to investigate the hotel bar first. As we approached the room, we readied our digital voice recorders and EMF detectors. It has been our experience that EVP’s are as prevalent during the daytime hours as the night and we needed to be ready to go as soon as the key hit the door. It was reasoned that Julia might have gotten comfortable in her room prior to our check-in. If nothing else, we knew that we wouldn’t get a second chance to make a first impression with Julia. After the climbing the stairs, we followed the hall to its end on the hotel’s north side. Julia’s name met us at the door. I turned the key and we entered the room. We immediately introduced ourselves to Julia as we quickly surveyed the room. The overall aesthetic to the room struck us as we entered. The room was definitely feminine. 

Everything was burgundy. The carpet, bedding, couch, and lamp were all nearly the same shade. To the back of the room, in the alcove past the desk and adjacent to the bathroom, was a love seat. Above it and dominating the rear area of the room was a framed picture of an attractive Victorian-era woman. (We later learned from the hotel staff that the owner had purchased the painting in an antique store because it matched the physical description of Julia Lowell. This picture would later become the focal point of our investigation.) 

All and all the room large room was quite nice and quite comfortable. Joe and I explored the room as if we were kids on an Easter egg hunt. We opened desk drawers and closet drawers. The bed was soft and very comfortable. An air conditioner shot a cold stream of air at the foot of the bed. (The placement we recognized as slightly problematic given its proximity to the reported sightings at the foot of the bed. Either we would have no AC in mid-July or it would be like finding a cold spot in a Fargo meat freezer in January.) The couch, isolated in the room’s rear, had a certain voyeuristic feel with its remote, but clear view of the prostitute’s bed.

 A palm ceiling fan spun around and around above the bed. To the left was an ornate wall lamp that consisted of a series of small lights connected by network of twisted metal. It was either the nicest or worst lamp I have ever seen. 
 To the right was a dark closet that had no doors to seal it from the room. Facing the bed was a white armoire and it housed a TV, DVD player, and some spare blankets. 

Also on the shelf next to the DVD player was copy of Ghost Hunters’ investigation of the Copper Queen Hotel (and Tombstone.) Despite having seen it many times, I announced its presence to Joe and suggested watching it. Moments after that suggestion a female voice appears on my digital recorder and commands "Do it." That EVP was captured within the first two minutes of us entering the room at 2:50pm – the middle of the afternoon. We couldn’t be anymore satisfied having achieved a quality, female EVP with in the first couple of minutes of the investigation. Also making it a solid piece of evidence is the response is contextual to the actual conversation. I can’t help but think that many would have missed the chance to gather this evidence. Another EVP appeared around the eight-minute mark of that first initial session. As Joe and I unpacked our equipment bags, we compared video recorders and discussed when and where to use them. Joe mentioned that he "has to get this monster a charge." I replied, "mine is charged. I suppose we should bust that out and take a look." A female voice is heard possibly saying, "Maybe don’t." While quite clear and uncluttered, the breathy words are spoken quickly and softly. The response is almost definitely female and three syllables in length. Further, it certainly could be reasonably concluded that this was the same female entity that spoke earlier. If these assumptions are correct, then again this spirit is showing intelligence by providing another contextual response. (At the time of this writing, I am awaiting further analysis.) Initial EMF sweeps were varied and were often difficult to attach to anything electrical. This occurrence has been noted before in rooms with reported paranormal activity. Readings of the mid-3’s Gauss were found in the middle of the bed. 

Interestingly, there was a reading of 4.0 Gauss at the foot of the bed, the location of so much of the reported activity. Readings from .3 Gauss to the high 2’s Gauss were found throughout the room. Anything beyond that could be attributed to an electrical source. While there was not a particularly "heavy" or "Dark" feeling to the room, Joe and I did experience a level of "heaviness" near the rear of the room near the bathroom. We have both felt stronger sensations elsewhere, but something was discernable here. (It was in the back of the room that two strong paranormal events occurred later. While it may be a coincidence, it merits noting for the record.) While we unpacked and prepared our equipment, Joe and I periodically asked questions to any spirit that might be present in the room. We even tried to get Julia to incriminate Grant of the Ghost Hunters by asking a series of overly personal questions, but Julia, a consummate professional, refused to reveal any trade secrets. Prior to leaving, belongings were strategically placed on the desk and a photo was taken to mark their location. 

Before we left, Julia was invited to move the items on the desk. We also knew of Billy and hoped that he might be interested in some of our offerings as well. While we unpacked and prepared our equipment, Joe and I periodically asked questions to any spirit that might be present in the room. We even tried to get Julia to incriminate Grant of the Ghost Hunters by asking a series of overly personal questions, but Julia, a consummate professional, refused to reveal any trade secrets. Prior to leaving, belongings were strategically placed on the desk and a photo was taken to mark their location. Before we left, Julia was invited to move the items on the desk. We also knew of Billy and hoped that he might be interested in some of our offerings as well. DA joined us in the room and we left for a late lunch.

Afternoon

After lunch DA returned to his room and Joe and I took a brief walk around Bisbee. The streets contained mostly art studios and antique stores with an odd coffee shop or real estate office along the way. We climbed the hill that led out of the city’s center toward a residential area and began to hear a female screaming. At first Joe and I gathered there was a domestic (dispute) in progress. Our approached continued and we learned that rather than being mad at her "old man", the woman in question was mad at her mobile phone provider. Appearing slightly unnerved by the woman screaming from the deck of a motel, we were told by a passing stranger not to worry because, "She is always high." Not in the mood for antiquing or listening to crazy females, Joe and I returned to the room. Not ready to begin the evenings’ investigation, Joe and I relaxed around the room. We watched the Ghost Hunters’ DVD provided by the hotel and prepped equipment. I sat on the bed and tried to get a feel for the room. However, given its softness and the white noise of the air conditioning unit, a nap overtook me. While lying there, I heard a woman’s voice come from the vicinity of the floor between the bed’s corner and the wall. Despite looking for every possible reason to dispute my initial reaction, I could not. I suspect that the voice was paranormal; perhaps belonging to Julia. To me, the sound emanated from the room rather than from the second floor or outside. Further, there was nothing of interest that would draw people to that area outside of the hotel. The old construction and high ceilings would inhibit sound traveling up from the second floor. Also causing me to believe that what I heard was possibly paranormal was that the phenomena did repeat itself later.

Sunset

As the sun set, Joe and I planned to explore the halls and head to the Old West Saloon to investigate a couple of cold PBR’s (which were pleasantly priced at $1.50.) From there we would meet Joe’s father. Joe left the room prior to myself, as I was slow in my departure. A minute or so had passed since Joe had left. As I sat in the back of the room, I began to hear a woman’s voice talking near the door. The view to the door was blocked so I could not see. Listening carefully, I stood straight and I pondered my play. In my mind, I was certain that Julia was there, fully manifested at the foot door. I couldn’t believe this was happening. This place was as good as advertised. After a deep breath, I dove around the corner; eyes wide open, prepared for the paranormal holy grail to be staring at me straight in the face. But as I turned the corner in a flash, I saw Joe talking with a young couple that had stopped by to see the famous Julia Lowell Room. I slammed on the brakes and immediately broke into laughter; amused by my mistake. I think Joe and the couple knew immediately what had just happened. If not, I told them having no shame and we shared a lighter moment. They were from Sierra Vista and in town for a Ghost Hunting tour that was passing through Bisbee with their next stop in Tombstone. (I couldn’t help but laugh that there was a ghost hunting tour of Bisbee coincidentally the day of our stay. Our room reservations were made seven months prior. There were some fears that ghost tourists would be passing by our room all night, but those fears never materialized fortunately).

On our way down to the lobby, Joe and I decided to do an EMF sweep of the hall and head to the fourth floor where a male ghost is said to reside by the elevator. In the narrow stairway that led from Julia’s room to the fourth floor, we discovered an apparently anomalous EMF field of 7.5 Gauss midway up the stairs. Interestingly, the field appeared to be moving back and forth on the stairs as we were able to track it back and forth. It seemed to remain on the stairs for sometime and did not dissipate in the minutes we spent there. No other related events occurred during this EMF surge. However, two pictures of a bright white orb outside the door of the Julia Lowell room were captured before disappearing.

9:30pm

The second investigative session began at 9:30pm roughly. DA, Joe, and myself were in the room, which was lit only by the odd wall lamp. Our questions focused on Julia and Billy, the Copper Queen’s most two famous ghosts. Almost immediately DA, who was seated on the couch to the rear of the room, heard a high-pitched woman’s voice. In a communal living setting, it hard to attach too much significance to a seemingly isolated occurrence. But I did experience something similar in the other side of the room earlier in the afternoon. Unfortunately, nothing similar happened again during the investigation. During the session, we focused on a K2 meter that was positioned on the bed and the room at large. The three of us listened and watched the dimly lit room from completely different vantage points. This period of the investigation would prove to be the least active of the evening. Nothing seemed to be happening and no one sensed anything to build upon. Considering Julia’s former occupation, we worried that three men in her room could prove to intimidating or threatening to her. Another cause of the slow activity we reasoned could have been the fact that the wall light was left on for the investigation. This would be the last time that wall lamp would be lit during our stay. Whatever it was, nothing was happening, a fact that was made ever more evident after the review of our recordings. However, during this session, DA did notice that the K2 meter positioned at the end of the bed spiked to yellow, but was no where near the maximum reading. Despite having a consistent reading on the meter to this point, I dismissed given its brevity and general lack of signal strength. Further, no one seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary at the time. Interestingly during the evening, the K2 meter twice displayed a similar reading during periods of heightened activity. Given the activity that followed, I could offer a theory that we were visited or watched during this time. On a personal note, it was my first prolonged investigation utilizing a K2 meter. While our attempts to use it as a communication device were ineffective, I did enjoy using it statically to monitor the EMF readings at a reported hotspot; in this case the foot of Julia’s bed.

10:55pm

Joe and I began the next session at 10:55pm and this time went lights out. And it was dark. The dark interior drained what little light entered through the two shaded windows. What once was distinct and clear was now shaded and dark. We spent the first few minutes trying to orient ourselves to what was now a creepy room. A little more than six minutes into the session, what we initially thought was a humorous EVP was captured. During this EVP session, we were ironically trying to calm any fears the spirits might have had. I promised that if a spirit "came out and said, "Hi", nothing would happen." Woven into that statement is a male voice saying, "No." Played back through the digital recorder, it sounded legit and actually quite humorous. Joe and I poked fun at this whiny ghost for days. However, after downloading the audio in my computer, I was able to detect that the whiny voice that we made fun of for days was actually my own. At least I think so. Apparently during the question, I tripped over my tongue and stuttered a bit. Having listened to my voices for hours upon hours, I am usually quite adept in detecting my voice, but this one was tricky. Oddly the recording didn’t sound anything like me except for the smallest fluctuation of tone toward the end of the stutter. Because of that, I have to disregard this evidence. Part of me is always reluctant to embrace a one-syllable EVP. This is especially true when the word is either "Yes" or No" because those two responses take the least annunciation of anything spoken in the English language. Further, at this point in the evidence review, no male voices had been captured. On some level it seemed somewhat odd that there would be a male spirit in Julia’s room. 

A somewhat unusual example of what we believe was paranormal activity began three minutes after the last "EVP" was captured. I noticed that between the door and the doorframe that led to the hallway, a green light had appeared. The room was so dark, that I wasn’t sure that it wasn’t a product of my imagination or poor vision. Then just moments later, Joe saw what he described as a green light on the door as well. Both times, while acknowledging the event, we attempted to dismiss the sightings as an optical illusion and didn’t attach much significance to them at the time. By the end of the session, these lights began to appear on top of and underneath the queen size bed. Of interest was that Joe, in mid-conversation, stopped to note a cold chill on the side of his face. Less than 30 seconds later, I spotted another green light moving behind Joe. A few seconds later, the green anomalous light appeared behind Joe again. We no longer dismissed what we were seeing and began to attempt to describe the size and the color of these lights. The best description became a "firefly-like light, but only third or fourth of the size." The anomalous lights even "flew" similar to a firefly; bug-like, yet intelligent and very slow – often stationary. There was no deliberate movement, but it was not random. The lights would stop and disappear for moments at a time only to disappear then reappear again. This continued until just before dawn.

Besides asking probing questions of Julia and the intricacies of her profession during Bisbee’s mining hey day, we took digital pictures in the room. During this process, Joe captured what we thought initially could be an anomalous light source on the wall in the back of the room near the couch. Joe shifted positions, took another picture, and achieved similar results. We were encouraged until Joe noticed the mirror perched over the desk on the opposite wall of the photographed light source. Now the oval shaped light source made a lot of sense.

12:15am

Another investigative session began at a quarter past midnight with DA joining Joe and myself. (I have to admit that I had foolishly placed my voice recorder too close to the air conditioner. The recording sounds as if I was investigating inside a running dishwasher.) Before DA entered, we had told him about the green lights that we had been seeing and asked him to watch for them. We began investigating with DA on the love seat in the rear of the room, myself on the bed, and Joe on a chair against the wall in the middle of the room. Moments into the session, I noticed another green light moving near my foot and acknowledged it to the Joe and DA Part of me was still reluctant to believe that the lights weren’t anything more than a product of lowlight and possibly poor night vision. Another reason for my disbelief was that the light appeared relatively close to the K2 meter that was deployed near the end of the bed and no reaction occurred to the meter. Only twice during the evening did the K2 meter elevate from a base green to the mid-orange level and that was only briefly, a mere flash. However as the session progressed, any doubts pertaining to the existence of the tiny green lights was erased. DA quickly witnessed the anomalous green light thus helping to confirm what we already believed. 

For the remainder of this session, the green lights were quite active around the room. While I was sitting on the bed, DA spotted one resting on my shoulder. Trying to stay cool, I slowly looked down and saw the tiny light resting on me. Frankly, it was amazing. I didn’t know what to think. What had started so routinely had become something extraordinary. I jest, but part of me felt like that Elliot kid touching ET’s finger. To me, I felt that whatever that light was, knew I was there. Further for what it is worth, I didn’t sense anything negative, dark, or frightening. Besides, they were practically everywhere. We would see no more than two at any one time and got the impression that they numbered less than ten despite the frequency in which we saw them. At the peak of the light’s prolonged activity, they were nearly constant. While seated upright on the bed, I noticed that the flat surface of the headboard to my left seemed to be a common place to find one. One second there would be a tiny green light. It would stay for twenty-thirty seconds or so, then disappear. They would stay static, then move slowly…purposely, appearing to relate to physical space and mass, and stall again only then to disappear right before your eyes. 

Later in the evening, the tiny green lights would add another dimension to their activity. Jack Bauer would appreciate the irony of the investigation getting quite exciting at the 24-minute mark. Personal experiences had been decent to this point. The green lights were interesting (and about to get more interesting.)  All of us had heard some phantom sounds and possibly even some shadows move about the room. The room was pretty creepy in almost total darkness and I think we had a sense that this investigation would not be dull which kept us alert and motivated. Still, we were collectively hungry for more. Provoking Julia had been discussed, but there was a reluctance to do so. Our overall strategy was to be sympathetic and understanding; a poor man’s Dr. Phil if you will. We generally stuck to the game plan. However, there were times we grew impatient with Julia and her lack of effort toward our investigation. One of those times was at 12:45am. Having become slightly annoyed, I said, "Come on Julia. We know that you are around. Please don’t take my tone as impatient. But let’s do this." Moments after that, a loud sound occurred toward the back of the room in the vicinity of the love seat where DA was seated. 

My immediate reaction was that something scraped loudly across the deeply textured back wall. The three of us collectively asked, "What was that?" and "Did you hear that?" Heart beats rose and adrenaline flowed. Joe’s father thought initially that Joe or myself had played a trick on him by throwing something at him in the dark. There was no rookie hazing and that wasn’t the case Joe and I assured. In my heart of hearts, after hearing that no one was responsible for the loud noise, I knew what it was. But I think we all felt the event needed to be examined from every possible angle to best understand what had just happened. We turned the lights on and found nothing askew. This is not indicative of the hotel, but I thought that maybe a rat was coming through a vent against the wall. I announced my rat in the wall theory thinking that a rat was crawling through a wall vent. DA immediately explained the sound came from above and behind him and appeared to move from his left to right across the rear wall. Still we pulled the small couch away from the wall and found no vent (probably because to the hotel was too old and has not been retrofitted with air ducts.) I wondered if it was a sound from an adjacent room, but DA emphatically rejected that notion having been on the proverbial frontline and within a foot or so of the sound’s origin. 

He was also able to rule out the idea that the ice filling the bathroom sink had shifted. Given the height and depth of the love seat, there was no way for anyone to accidentally bump into the framed picture hung above on the wall. It was hypothesized that the picture of "Julia" could have been moved but did not seem displaced. We took a few minutes to talk the event over and try to figure out what just happened. It’s not everyday that a spirit physically manipulates an object in your presence. To the best our knowledge, something moved abruptly and somewhat violently along the back wall above DA who was seated below at the time. Making this event even more astounding and ultimately credible was that a series of EVP’s were captured immediately following (as well as preceding) the event. 

The "sound" on the wall occurred at just over the 24-minute mark of the session. Less than a half a minute after that, a female voice is captured appearing briefly and then reappearing mere seconds later saying, "I blank blank." Three syllables are spoken Thirty seconds after that, what appears to be the same voice again appears on the recording saying a two-syllable phrase that ends with, "You." More EVP’s were captured following the event. Interestingly they fit the previous pattern in that they are spaced 30 seconds apart like the previous two. A female voice is heard repeating the word "corner’ overheard from our conversation. A still startled DA is joking about his experience in the corner where the "sound" took place. The word "corner" is clearly heard woven into his recollections. While many of the previous EVP’s were clearly female, this one was more ambiguous. Again while DA is talking, another EVP is captured within the conversation. Seemingly the word "Justice" is spoken. 

This EVP is somewhat intriguing, as it is not like the majority that tends to be so breathy and forced. Two more EVP’s were discovered. Almost seven minutes later, talking can be heard in the background. And at the 41-minute mark of the session, a female can be heard talking in the background. Having already mentioned that I was disappointed that I had left the digital recorder too close to the air conditioning unit, I am somewhat disappointed in the quality of some off the EVP’s. Given the near constant rumble in the background, most of the recordings are rendered virtually unintelligible. Fortunately, foreign voices were surprisingly quite noticeable. However, I can only imagine what I may have lost. On the other hand, from the glass is half full perspective; perhaps the additional white noise generated by the AC unit enabled the plethora of recordings. All in all, it may have been the most productive session of ghost hunting that we have ever had.

1:34am

We definitely weren’t bored. Now things were getting serious and the tone of our session reflected that. Before beginning, it was decided that we definitely weren’t bored. Now things were getting serious and the tone of our session reflected that. Before beginning, it was decided that DA, having the most years of marriage under his belt would occupy the investigative position on the bed. Further the fact that the crash-like noise happened a foot away from where he was sitting on the love seat had demonstrated that Julia was interested and maybe even already had taken a liking to him. (On some odd level, I have hurt feelings and feel rejected by her.) It was hoped that Julia would stay true to form by taking a liking to a married man (in this case DA) and appear near the bed as has been reported. So DA went right into her comfort zone by laying flat on her bed. From there, he would also take the lead in the EVP session and question Julia largely on his own. 

After considering what had already happened, DA would later describe himself as a "target." Continuing on the theme of sympathetic understanding, DA sought to establish a rapport with Julia by expressing some experiences that she could relate to on a personal level. In a softened tone with gentle words, DA tried to relax Julia and persuade her to make an appearance. Compliments were paid to the attractive green lights that had already appeared as we hoped for more. Laughter and crude jokes disappeared as the mood became sincere and the room became even quieter. Just over ten minutes into the session, I found myself sitting on the couch. 

I will admit that I was slightly unnerved about what had just taken place there and caught myself looking over my shoulder quite a bit. Nothing seemed to happen behind me. But in front of me, I thought I saw was a shadow moving along the wall near the bed.  To be honest, I am always somewhat skeptical of my ability to see shadows, especially in a dark room. Besides my lack of quality night vision, picking up something black against a black surface in a black room is not easy. So with color, size, and shape removed, all that can draw the human eye is motion. Unfortunately, that alone does not tend to create an empirical certainty of an experience. All that is left is a slight possibility that something was seen moving with stealth in the shadows. Sometimes I hate to admit that I thought I saw something; too afraid to become the investigator that is making up my own paranormal experiences. Perhaps this time, I was. But maybe just once in awhile, I could be right and that faint, brief shadow was actually something paranormal.

Seconds after I announced that a shadow might have moved along the wall, Seconds after I announced that a shadow might have moved along the wall, DA let out with string of expletives and a declaration that something had just "bitten" his leg. Clearly startled and calling for the lights, we stopped abruptly to examine what had just happened. Collecting himself, DA clarified his experience by saying something went right up his shin and that, "it was like having a bug in your pants." Apparently it felt as if something was moving through hairs of his leg. Instantly I could relate because something similar had happened to me on a previous investigation. From what DA had described, it was nearly an identical situation. (Coincidentally a prostitute as well, but she had favored ears to Julia’s foot fetish.) Joe immediately recognized this event as within the parameters of Julia’s reported behavior and reminded us that it was likely her. 

Joe examined DA's leg for signs of bite or other marks and discovered nothing abnormal. I didn’t think that Joe would find a mark as no one had felt anything negative or threatening during the course of the evening. Quite possibly Julia was just saying hello in her own way. Excited by this recent turn of events, we turned the lights back off and continued the investigation. Within a few moments a few more of the green lights were spotted again. However, the frequency of their appearances had seemed to drop significantly from the previous session. Twenty-five minutes into the session and Excited by this recent turn of events, we turned the lights back off and continued the investigation. Within a few moments a few more of the green lights were spotted again. However, the frequency of their appearances had seemed to drop significantly from the previous session. Twenty-five minutes into the session and DA had not seen any of the green lights from his position on the bed. From time to time, I would call out the position of a green light from my vantage in the back, but it was few a far between. Again I thought I saw a round shadow move near me. However, this one had startled me because it passed just in front of me. Nothing seemed to come of it as before. Interestingly the shadow was sighted just moments after DA made an emphatic demand for Julia to appear. With nothing coming from the shadow, I began to scan for more activity and quickly spotted another green light moving on the ceiling. It would appear and disappear and move slowly around. DA confirmed what I was seeing first, then Joe too. We all watched the ceiling for something to happen.

 Interestingly, another light appeared in the proximity of the previous one. Oddly, the two lights appeared to be cognizant of other. A primitive game of cat and mouse was played out on the dark ceiling. Side by side, we were able to discern some differences between the two. One was smaller and brighter while the other was larger and dimmer. As we watched the steady show, our conversation became focused on the two lights as we called out their positions, appearances, and disappearances as if doing play by play during a sports broadcast. Joe had mentioned just prior to this event that he had witnessed one of the green lights "spread out" and grow dimmer. DA shouted out that he saw another one the size of a human head near the closet and room door. However, this was one "vague" and "dim" according to DA. This seemed to match what Joe had just noticed. 

I later witnessed the same transition myself. To me, it seemed if the light was smeared against the wall. But instead of flat, there was depth to it. Now each of us had described something similar concerning the green lights. That being from time to time for no apparent reason, the tiny green lights would begin to grow and spread out but lose their definition and brightness as they did. The bigger they got, the dimmer the lights became. The largest one that I noticed was about the size of a human head as previously witnessed my DA Then eventually, they would disappear from their "spread out" form. No EVP’s were caught during that session which on some level was kind of surprising. I didn’t think the frequency of their occurrences could continue at that rate of the previous session. If it did, on some level I think we all would be second-guessing the veracity of the evidence. However, I didn’t think we would get shutout especially while all the green light activity was taking place. Things seemed too active not to pick up one voice especially considering the amount already recorded.

No EVP’s were caught during that session which on some level was kind of surprising. I didn’t think the frequency of their occurrences could continue at that rate of the previous session. If it did, on some level I think we all would be second-guessing the veracity of the evidence. However, I didn’t think we would get shutout especially while all the green light activity was taking place. Things seemed too active not to pick up one voice especially considering the amount already recorded. DA would say later that he felt like he was communicating. I wouldn’t disagree. Not then or now. Despite having no recorded evidence to show, things were still happening in the room between the shadows and the now shape-shifting lights. We weren’t alone and things would continue to happen.

2:35am

Both Joe and I looked at our watches and saw what Ryan Buell from the TV show "Paranormal State" calls "dead time" rapidly approaching. We joked about the time and the term, but really we were excited reaching the prime time hour of the paranormal TV schedule as it may be. . DA had never heard the term before and inquired. Neither had Joe or myself before Ryan and his gang of similarly looking paranormal investigators enlightened us to the term. Apparently, "dead time" is a slang term that they use to describe a style of investigative session where all electrical lights, furnace/AC, cell phones, and anything else with power (minus their monitoring equipment and computers apparently) during which time investigators sit quietly in order to slow the material world down and connect to the spirit world. Simple, yet evocative questions are asked in order to prompt a response. 

"Dead time" is only conducted between the hours of 3am to 4am as the hour relates to the opposite time of Christ’s crucifixion and, according to Ryan, is the most active spirit hour. (Don’t even ask about Daylight Savings Time.) Whether or not that assertion is accurate is neither here nor there. (Frankly it is hard to imagine only dedicating one hour of the evening to what really amounts to a classic, run of the mill, routine EVP session.) Whatever there was to "dead time", we were excited to be there. For me, it’s the last pure hour of the evening. Anything after 4am is the morning. "Dead time" is the last chance to make or break the evening’s investigation. It’s the fourth quarter or whatever metaphor you wish to use. Everything seems to shut down after "dead time", especially me. 

Joe was on the bed, I was on a chair with my back to the closet, and DA was back in the love seat just below the dominating "portrait" of Julia Lowell. Immediately DA spotted a "greenie", as he now referred to them. So it seemed that they were still around. Things were quiet and questions were more spread out as we waited for what we hoped would be the main event. As I sat on the chair with my back to the closet without a door, I drew the conclusion that it was a creepy spot to sit. Who wasn’t at least slightly afraid of their closet as kid? To reassure myself, I scanned the interior of the closet but only saw a depthless black hole. While there I felt a tingly feeling on the back of my neck and verbally noted it for the record. We were only four minutes into the session at the time. 

Joe instinctively felt that Julia had to be in her room at this time of night. Two and half minutes later, I reported again that I felt "all tingly on the back of my neck." The closet was definitely a spooky spot. I called out Julia’s name and told her that I couldn’t believe that it was getting late for her. Joe then followed by saying, "You have to have some energy to open a door or turn the lights on or whisper in someone’s ear." Just then another crashing noise in the back of the room echoed just above DA’s head. Both he and I were startled and immediately began the streaming questions like, "What was that?" and, "Where did that come from?" while Joe sat calmly assessing what had just transpired. From my position, it sounded as if the "portrait" of Julia had moved abruptly and significantly. I was also now convinced that Julia was in love with DA when the lights went on, the picture above the couch was hanging there crooked. 

During the previous break between sessions, I had readjusted the hanged art to make sure that it was hung as strait as possible not wanting to upset Julia. There was no way it could have moved as violently as it did on its own. In fact, during the review of the audio there is a clear recording of myself moving the picture back and forth along the wall. The recording undeniably demonstrates that just shifting the picture back and forth along the wall on its axis cannot even come close to producing the sound that was recorded. Now we began to believe that the other loud noise previously had been a violent shaking of the photo as well. However, DA from his seat in the proverbial front row maintained that the sound came more from the corner rather than center of the wall where the picture. 

With the late hour, DA excused himself from the investigation and went back to his room down the hall. Slightly spooked, DA wondered if he was leaving one hotspot and moving into another…alone. However, Joe had checked the "ghost journals" at the front desk and learned that there were no reports of activity in DA’s room. He felt better. We had all left the room for a break on the nearby fire escape and I left my recorder running in the room. The door to the room and the door to the fire escape were approximately five feet apart and both were closed. On the recording, our muffled conversations can be heard from outside. No one entered or left the room during the ten-minute break. Just moments after our absence, individual breaths can be heard from within the room over the course of three minutes. At least five distinct breaths are audible. Interestingly, in the middle of the sequence of breaths, knocking sounds can be heard seemingly coming from within the room.

Joe and I returned to the room and set up two video recorders: one fixed on the "Julia’s picture" and the other aimed at the food of the bed. We were still excited about what had already transpired and were curious about what would follow. Sitting still and quiet in the room, we waited for something to happen. Nothing did and eventually sleep overtook us. Audio and video recordings yielded nothing from this time. The only thing that I would mention, albeit reluctantly, are two dreams that I had. I certainly do not want to overemphasize the importance of dreams or read too much into their symbolism, but these were unique to any that I have ever had. 

During the course of my sleep, I felt as if someone was pressing my chest down. Both times I awoke fighting whatever was on my chest, holding me down, only to find nothing there and my breath returning to me immediately. I have had a lot of dreams in my life, but I have never had dreams like this before or since for that matter. We left the hotel early and tired. The summer sun was unforgiving to my eyes. The three of us left for Douglas and the Gadsden Hotel to tangle with the ghosts of the hotel and Room #333 in particular. Before check-in, We left the hotel early and tired. The summer sun was unforgiving to my eyes. The three of us left for Douglas and the Gadsden Hotel to tangle with the ghosts of the hotel and Room #333 in particular. Before check-in, DA was actually headed to tangle with a dentist in Mexico first. Ouch.

Given the numerous events and documented evidence, there is no disagreement among us three that there is something paranormal occurring in the Julia Lowell Room at the Copper Queen Hotel. From the moment we entered the room, a female spirit interacted with us and, ultimately, when challenged, would make herself known. The green orbs of light were amazing to witness. None of us has come to fully comprehend what we all experienced and still talk of the events often.

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Synopsis by DA

Report on investigation at the Copper Queen Hotel, Bisbee, Arizona

By DA

Background disclosure:

At age 61, I am considerably older than the other two investigators who witnessed these events and it occurred to me that perhaps my life experience might help in debunking, or proving, whatever seemingly paranormal events we might experience.

I do believe in life after death and that is occasionally possible for spiritual entities to manifest themselves in the physical world. Prior to visiting the Copper Queen, I had experienced four events which might be considered paranormal. On one occasion, I simply had a very extraordinary, creepy, dark feeling come over me while staying in an old dormitory at college. It was 3 a.m. and I phoned a friend and the feeling passed in about an hour. I was later told that there had once been a suspicious death in that same room. On other occasion, I heard a familiar sound in my kitchen. It was the same sound that my cat used to make when she jumped off the window ledge. Out of the corner of my eye, I believe I saw this cat. In fact, that cat had been dead for several years. Since I do not believe that cats have souls that survive after death, I have explained this event to myself as probably a trick my mind played on me. Something made a noise which reminded me of the cat, so the cat came to mind and I only thought I saw her. The problem with this explanation is that when I told my wife that I saw the cat, she stated that she had see the same cat on other occasions since it had died.

A third possibly paranormal event that I experienced happened while I was sitting in an IHOP restaurant in Tucson. I distinctly heard a familiar voice coming from the booth behind me. It was the voice of my close friend, Bill, saying the word, "Goodbye", followed by my name. When I turned to look, nobody was seated behind me. The next day I learned that Bill had died in Minnesota about the time that I heard his voice. On two previous occasions, I was able to sense that somebody had died before being informed of their deaths, but I had never heard a disembodied voice before the event at the Tucson IHOP. Strange coincidence, imagination, or paranormal event…I don’t know…but I clearly heard Bill’s very distinctive voice bid me goodbye. 

The one experience which I find impossible to dismiss as simply imagination or "mind tricks" happened to me in 1986 at an ancient castle in Portugal. That particular location has been the reported site of many paranormal and spiritual events, apparitions, and experiences for centuries. While in bed in the manor house of the castle, I observed what appeared to be the upper half of a person, glowing in the dark and green in color. It floated above and in front of my bed for several minutes. Without mentioning what I observed, I informed the maid that I was going to change bedrooms. She then told me that she avoided the room I was in and described exactly what I saw before I had told her or anyone else. A few months later, my wife (not realizing that it was the same room) took a nap there and, after some fitful, disturbing dreams, was awakened by the sense of someone sitting on her chest. She was alone in the room. I am disclosing these events so that the reader might know that I am not a compete skeptic. On the other hand, I have always found it difficult to seriously accept tales of haunted hotels and have generally dismissed such stories as commercial gimmicks marketed to folks with over-active imaginations. In fact, on the same trip that we made to Bisbee, our group also visited the Gadsden Hotel in Douglas. 

I have stayed at the Gadsden Hotel too many times to count and have never experienced anything even remotely paranormal except to see a friend’s camera battery suddenly go from fully charged to empty upon entering what was said to be a haunted room in the basement. While the Gadsden Hotel promotes itself as haunted, I was able, with some simple research to debunk one of the better known Gadsden ghost stories as a fabrication and I have never seen any ghosts, orbs, or unexplained moving objects during my 100 + nights at the hotel. 

On the night we visited the Copper Queen in Bisbee, the town was filled with "ghost hunters" attending a special gathering and I watched a group taking a commercial tour of Bisbee’s "haunted spots". So, I must admit that I entered the Copper Queen with no expectation of seeing anything unusual and with a great deal of skepticism. STRANGE THINGS HAPPEN IN ROOM 315

My companions and I checked into Bisbee’s Cooper Queen Hotel in Bisbee on July 18, 2008. Joe and Tim had booked room 315, which is reported to be haunted by the ghost of Julia Lowell, a lady of the evening who took her own life at the Cooper Queen Hotel. I booked a separate room on the third floor, down the hall and around a corner from "the Julia Lowell Room". Unlike my companions, I did not bring any cameras, recording equipment or EMF meters. There was no apparent paranormal activity in my room and the only "surprise" was that the management had left two delicious, freshly baked, chocolate chip cookies on the bed stand. 

After dark, I went to room 315 to see if Joe and Tim had detected anything. During the few hours that I spent in the Julia Lowell Room, there were four "events" that suggested a ghostly presence. Two of these could have been the result of the power of suggestion and my own imagination, the other two defy explanation. (1) In the area immediately inside the room’s entrance door, there was a strong dark and forbidding feeling that always came over me when I stepped into this area. 

(2) When I decided to lie on the bed for a while, I began to feel something moving very lightly over my right leg. I had heard that male guests in this room have reported having their feet tickled while lying in this bed. I described it as feeling more like a bug or spider crawling on the hair of my leg than what one would expect being "tickled by a ghost" might feel like. I asked Joe to pull up the right leg of my jeans to see if there was some sort of bug, but nothing was there. I will admit that events (1) and (2) could have just been products of my imagination. The other two events, however, were clearly witnessed, either audibly or visually by everyone in the room. 

Events (3) ["firefly orbs"] and (4) [mysterious loud crashing noises] each had totally opposite effects on my psyche. For long periods of time during my visit to Room 315, I could see small green lights glowing and then disappearing in the air. At first they seemed to concentrate in the vicinity of a very ornate wall lamp hanging near the bed and I considered that they might somehow be a reflection of something, although I could not find any light source that might have been producing this effect. After a while, however, some of these lights began to float in the air to other parts of the room. Several gathered around Tim’s shoulder and head as he lay on the bed. Later, these lights, which appeared much light fireflies (but dimmer) began to appear and gather near the ceiling in the central part of the room. I observed two of these light green "orbs" grow in size. 

On both occasions, these particular little lights expanded from being the size of fireflies to becoming about the size of my hand, growing dimmer as they grew, and then fading away entirely. Both times this occurred when the lights appeared in the dark forbidding area near the door (event #1). It is impossible to say exactly how many of the little lights I saw floating about the room, but there were dozens of them. They seemed to be very "inviting" and left me with a desire to see more. What I found most interesting is that my companions could see the lights move to the very same places at the same time. This was proven to me several times when I would watch one of the "orbs" without saying anything, only to have one of the other people in the room state exactly the location where I was seeing the light.. None of us could find anything in the room which might have caused or explained this phenomenon. 

Event #4 actually took place twice. It was the sudden loud sound of something moving in the room. It sounded like a wooden object moving. Both times that this happened, the sound seemed to come from the area near the wall on which a portrait of a woman with a heavy wooden frame was hanging. After the second occurrence, Tim stated that the picture appeared to be hanging at an slight angle and that it had been hanging straight before we heard the sound. I had been sitting on a small couch or loveseat in front and to one side of the picture when we heard the sound and the noise seemed to be coming from the area behind and above me but a bit farther away (toward the exterior wall) than the picture. 

We all agreed that the noise definitely sounded like it originated in the room and was not coming from a neighboring room or from the hallway. I estimated that the sound lasted for 4 to 6 seconds each time. Tim and Joe have recordings that might indicate exactly how long the noise lasted. It seemed that whatever caused this loud sound must have required some significant force. We turned on the lights immediately upon hearing the noise both times. Neither the portrait nor anything else in the room appeared to be moving. I would describe the noise as loud and violent and similar to the sound of some wooden object moving. Unlike the little orbs, this event was not at all inviting. In fact, after it happened a second time, I took it as an invitation to leave and did not return to room 315 for the rest of the night.

In my opinion, there is clearly something "spooky" about the Julia Lowell Room.

- DA