Episode 276: The Clown Motel
A town founded on its underground riches was plagued by bad luck. Mass casualty events filled the place’s only graveyard. One family chose to honor their departed loved one in a unique way – they built a motel adjacent to the cemetery decorated with an onslaught of clowns. Thousands of figurines outfitted in red noses and giant shoes greet visitors to this roadside inn, but the proximity to the burial ground has generated tales of paranormal activity. Is this ghost business merely a circus act meant to attract visitors or does something horrible lurk beneath these curly wigs? This week’s episode is The Clown Motel.
SOURCES:
The Clown Motel's Official Website: https://www.theclownmotelusa.com/
Amid Blinding Snow Immense Procession Follows Victims of the Belmont Mine Horror to Their Last Peaceful Slumber, Tonopah Daily Bonanza (Feb. 27, 1911), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)
As if a Clown Motel wasn't creepy enough, Los Angeles Times (Oct. 30, 2016), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)
Belmont mine blaze burns underground, Nevada State Journal (Nov. 2, 1939), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)
Belmont Mine Fire Probe Concluded, Nevada State Journal (Nov. 11, 1939), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)
Coroner's Jury Now Investigating, Tonopah Daily Bonanza (Feb. 28, 1911), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)
Death Toll is Now 17, Tonopah Daily Bonanza (Feb. 25, 1911), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)
Fierce Fire Sweeps Tonopah, Nevada State Journal (Oct. 24, 1942), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)
14 Bodies are Found On 1100 Level by Rescuers, Tonopah Daily Bonanza (Feb. 24, 1911), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)
I Lived in a Clown Motel: A True Story of the Dumbest Thing I Ever Did by Christopher Sebela: https://www.christophersebela.com/shopsmart/clownmotelzine
Inside Tonopah's Famous Clown Motel, Fox 10 Phoenix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcZNXVA0Ovw
Kickstarter campaign sends comics writer to clown motel, Press of Atlantic City (Nov. 6, 2015), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)
Mining Man Dies at Tonopah, Oakland Tribune (June 8, 1905), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)
Nevada Clown Motel and Possession in the Pub (Season 1, Episode 3), Most Terrifying Places in America - Travel Channel: https://www.travelchannel.com/shows/most-terrifying-places-in-america/episodes/nevada-clown-motel-and-possession-in-the-pub
Plague Town Deserted, The San Francisco Call and Post (Jan. 28, 1913), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)
Revisiting a piece of "evidence" from the Clown Motel episode, r/GhostAdventures: https://www.reddit.com/r/GhostAdventures/comments/9i563c/revisiting_a_piece_of_evidence_from_the_clown/
The Clown Motel (Short Documentary): https://youtu.be/DFUZeLzbJEg
The Clown Motel - Reviews, Trip Advisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g46006-d2253211-Reviews-Clown_Motel-Tonopah_Nevada.html
The Clown Motel and Goldfield High, Ghost Adventures - Travel Channel: https://www.travelchannel.com/shows/ghost-adventures/photos/ghost-adventures-clown-motel-and-goldfield-high-school-pictures
The Ham Story - Archived Comment, Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/2d3ckn/comment/cjlyeqt/
12. Belmont Mine Fire - The Year's Biggest Stories of 1939, Nevada State Journal (Dec. 24, 1939), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)
Three Nights in the Clown Motel by David J. Schmidt: https://www.keplers.com/book/9781976182587
Tonopah Leasers Resume Work in Mines, Reno Gazette-Journal (Nov. 4, 1939), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)
Tonopah Plague is Pneumonia, Los Angeles Herald (Apr. 20, 1905), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)
Want to own a haunted clown motel?, Tampa Bay Times (Aug. 10, 2017), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)
Tonopah Historic Mining Park: https://www.tonopahminingpark.com/history/
Western Mining History: https://westernmininghistory.com/towns/nevada/tonopah/
Old Tonopah Cemetery, Atlas Obscura: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/old-tonopah-cemetery#:~:text=Old%20Tonopah%20Cemetery%20was%20founded,town%20required%20a%20new%20cemetery.
https://www.tonopahnevada.com/old-tonopah-cemetery/
Gases and smoke from Tonopah-Belmont mine fire, Mines Repository: https://repository.mines.edu/handle/11124/6452
The Belmont Mine Fire and Big Bill Murphy, Living Las Vegas: https://living-las-vegas.com/2017/02/belmont-mine-fire-big-bill-murphy/
The Clown Motel, Travel Nevada: https://travelnevada.com/hotels/unique-stays/the-clown-motel/#:~:text=It%20all%20started%20in%201985,in%20memory%20of%20their%20father.
