Don’t like clowns? Afraid of ghosts? Scared of cemeteries or nuclear meltdowns? Then you’re probably going to want to avoid Tonopah, Nevada’s famous Clown Motel.
This one-of-a-kind establishment proudly declares that it is known as “America’s Scariest Motel” on its website, and it is not particularly hard to see why. The entirety of the motel is completely stuffed with clown paintings, figurines, statues, and all manner of assorted clown memorabilia.
If that wasn’t more than enough to keep the fright-prone away, the motel is also rumored to be haunted, and visitors frequently report hearing footsteps, seeing flickering lights, and experiencing other disturbances. Plus, the motel is located right next to a cemetery, and all of this is not too far from a nuclear bomb testing range.
The roots of America’s scariest motel
Tonopah, Nevada became a bustling mining community in the early 1900s, and it seemingly has rarely been free from tragedy since. 1905 saw a plague sweep the town that, according to legend, only affected grown men. Then, in 1911, a deadly fire broke out in the Belmont Mine, killing 17 miners. Numerous fires occurred in the area in the following decades.
In 1942, yet another fire claimed the life of a man named Clarence David, who happened to own a clown collection. His children, Leona and Leroy, honored their father by opening the Clown Motel right next to the cemetery where Clarence was buried.
The motel welcomed its first guests in 1985. Bob and Deborah Perchetti bought the hotel in 1995, and for decades, it remained relatively obscure. It is also one of the few lodging spots along a long stretch of desert road between Reno and Las Vegas, and it’s hard not to wonder what weary, unassuming travelers must have thought over the years as they stumbled through its doors.
Ghost activity
In 2015, the hotel began attracting a new kind of attention when an episode of the show Ghost Adventures was filmed there. The crew documented mysterious shadows, disembodied voices, and—most terrifyingly—a clown statue seemingly moving on its own. Ever since, many visitors have come specifically to experience ghostly activity.
According to legend, at night the clowns become possessed by the ghosts of long-dead miners from the nearby cemetery. In particular, room 108 is said to be haunted by a spirit known as “The Trickster,” who is said to have been spotted walking in from the cemetery and taking the form of a clown. One visitor even claimed to have awoken to see a seven-foot tall clown hovering over their bed.
“Hundreds and hundreds of eyes follow you,” musician and paranormal investigator Brocarde said of her stay at the Clown Motel. “There is an intense feeling of being watched and a strange heaviness in the museum… There was a dark energy in some rooms. Throughout filming, I felt something trying to pull me to the floor, and something grabbed my arm [while] I was putting lipstick on. I ended up with [it] all over my face. I felt attacked [by] a malevolent poltergeist who was mocking me. But I loved the experience—not in a hurry to go back [though], and I definitely wouldn’t stay the night ever again.”
In 2019, the hotel was purchased by Vijay Mehar, and its collection of clown memorabilia was expanded from 600 statues to over 4,000 clown-themed items. Mehar has leaned into the haunted theme, creating themed rooms based on horror films such as It, Halloween, and The Exorcist and renting ghost-hunting equipment. He hopes to eventually open a haunted house and a museum, so it looks like the Clown Motel is very much in it for the long haul.
More Tonopah attractions
If you do find yourself stranded in Tonopah as the sun sets and aren't enthusiastic about sleeping among clowns, you have some other options. The town is also home to the Mizpah Hotel, which was recognized as the number one haunted hotel in America in a 2018 USA Today survey. It is said to be haunted by a woman who was strangled and stabbed to death on the hotel’s fifth floor, as well as numerous other spirits. Ghost tours are available for anyone curious about the spirits that could be lurking there. As of yet, though, there have been no reports of clown sightings at the Mizpah, so pick your battles.
It seems that spirits may stalk much of Tonopah. “I don’t think there is one building on Main Street that is not haunted,” said Bethany Thompson, director of food and beverages at the Mizpah Hotel. “Most people in town have [ghost] stories of their own.”
The town also boasts a mining park and the Central Nevada Museum for daytime fun. You could also pay a visit to the nearby Tonopah Test Range, a sprawling ballistics research site used for nuclear weapon stockpile reliability testing that is colloquially referred to as Area 52. Of course, we can’t guarantee that you won’t be turned away at the gates there, so it might be a better idea to just focus on spending quality time with the clowns.