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Is Old Tucson Haunted? Ghost Hunting with Parazona
I recently had the unique privilege of tagging along on a paranormal investigation of Old Tucson Studios.
Despite my being a native Tucsonan, I had not heard much about paranormal activity at Old Tucson Studios at all. It was not until I conducted some research on the site that I discovered reports of paranormal phenomenon occurring there.
Old Tucson Studios was established in 1939 by Columbia Pictures as a replica of 1860′s Tucson for the movie “Arizona”. Fifty buildings were built in 40 days by local craftsmen with the help of descendants of the Tohono O’odham or Papago nation, as they were formerly known. The construction flourished despite the absence of running water.
During the 1950′s, when the era of “Western” movies was at its apex, many legendary actors worked on site such as John Wayne, Glenn Ford, Kirk Douglas, and Burt Lancaster. Old Tucson is probably best known as the location where the popular TV western “High Chaparral” was filmed.
Primarily, the reports of paranormal activity come from the security staff who regularly patrol the Old Tucson grounds from dusk until dawn. Troy Siddons, a security guard for many years at the location, reported hearing whispered conversations, unexplained loud bangs as if from a heavy door, and the sound of boots and spurs crunching on gravel when no one is in the park.
” After Nightfall (the annual Halloween event), said Siddons, “is when the place becomes really active.” “It’s like the paranormal activity gets stirred up after the event.” he added.
Most of the reported activity seems to occur in the Grand Palace Hotel and Saloon, the schoolhouse, the ruins and the church. The ghost of a little girl is reported to haunt the Grand Palace and the ghost of a young woman is said to haunt Rosa’s Cantina which adjoins the Grand Palace. Park security has reported hearing the sounds of children at the schoolhouse and have witnessed the lights there turning on and off by themselves.
The paranormal activity is not limited to specific buildings. Ghostly activity has also been reported at the antique carousel ride. Oddly, this is the only place in the studio where an actual death is said to have occurred. Years ago, an unlawful and apparently dangerous trespasser was shot by a security guard there. However, I was unable to find any newspaper articles or documentation of this event. Other reports include a ghostly cowboy figure seen and heard walking the streets near the Town Hall building, with the sounds of his boots crunching on the gravel and the jingling of his spurs.
I joined the paranormal investigators called Parazona Investigations on a recent investigation of Old Tucson Studios. Led by David Delgado and Brian Cowley, I was surprised by the large number of people who comprised the Parazona investigation team. Equipped with all the latest ghosthunting tools, it was clear that they have been working together for a few years. The brainchild of Delgado and Cowley, the pair had recruited like-minded individuals while working at Raytheon. On this particular evening, Parazona was joined by two other investigational teams, S.A.G.A.P.S and S.P.I.
I interviewed four of the seven Parazona team members, specifically, Delgado, Cowley, Deb Martinez, and Rebecca Herbig. I asked each what had sparked their interest in the paranormal. Their enthusiastic responses ranged from significant personal experiences to the love of now popular ghosthunting TV shows such as Ghosthunters and Ghost Adventures. Leaders Cowley and Delgado also stated that they retain a healthy amount of skepticism as well as curiosity on the subject of ghosts. They were quick to report that they had captured some compelling evidence at the home of the one of the editors of Paranormal Old Pueblo. This historic home is quite old and is reported to be paranormally active. Parazona successfully captured some very interesting video evidence of a swinging door moving on its own across carpet. Having seen this door myself, I can state unequivocally that this particular door would not have been able to swing on its own. It would have needed to be pushed by someone or something.
On this late summer night, I was briefed along with the rest of Parazona team for this investigation. From the very beginning, I was impressed with Parazona’s professionalism and team work. This operation of timing and cooperation afforded all involved a chance to investigate reported paranormal “hot spots” at Old Tucson. Hourly, team members smoothly rotated to the Grand Palace, the church, the administration building and the McClintock building, the site of the John Wayne film. We pretty much had the run of the entire park and the park security guards were very accommodating, sharing tales of paranormal activity along the way.
On this particular evening, despite the running of the investigation like a well-oiled machine, we failed to capture any significant evidence. Evidence may appear after the analysis of audio and video recordings is concluded, but there was no immediate activity caught. A noisy wedding party being held simultaneously may have contaminated audio recording, but even after the party ended, no audible EVP’s were captured. As most paranormal aficionados know, spirits do not perform on cue. Perhaps there was too much live activity going on at Old Tucson on this night. Nevertheless, Old Tucson does have a creepy vibe when the park is vacant, but it is difficult to determine if the park is indeed haunted.
As far as paranormal investigators go, Parazona is among the top-notch. The team is knowledgeable, respectful and professional. Cowley mentioned that the team enjoys investigating residential paranormal activity in particular because they feel good about helping families understand what may be going on in their homes. Parazona Investigations will avail themselves to businesses seeking their help as well. Investigating alongside the Parazona team was a genuine pleasure.
Is Old Tucson haunted? I’m compelled to ask,” Why would it be?” Upon researching the history of the Old Tucson Studios, I did not encounter any real violent or emotionally charged past historical events that may have caused residual energy to remain. On the other hand, the area is very close to Gate’s Pass.
In 1883, Thomas Gates built a road through the pass between the Tucson valley and the other side of the Tucson Mountains as a shortcut for pioneers and settlers. Renowned as the spot for scenic overlooks and spectacular sunsets, it is possible that the surrounding areas may be home to the spirits of pioneers, settlers, and native Americans. The road itself is also notorious for 58 auto wrecks that occurred between 1996 and 2001 due to a very steep slope that occurs midway through the route.
Parazona is currently in the process of reviewing all the audio and video recordings collected at Old Tucson. I will update their findings (or not) here in a subsequent article.
Read more from Paranormal Old Pueblo on http://www.paranromaloldpueblo.com and at http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/paranormal.
2012-10-04 10:20:57
Source: http://paranormaloldpueblo.com/2012/10/03/is-old-tucson-haunted-ghost-hunting-with-parazona/
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