I’m not really a believer in the supernatural. No ghosts, ghoulies, or slendermen bother me. So, when we pulled up to the Mizpah, the downy snow falling softly on our swishing wiper blades, I was more concerned about not falling on my butt while navigating the icy parking lot and mud, than ghostly visitors from beyond the grave. My wife, Amber, our two daughters and son, along with my wife’s trusty service dog, Merlin, are desert folk from Las Vegas, and all this snow is new to us. Luckily, the good people of the Mizpah had their parking lot salted and we were able to get our company and luggage inside.
The regal Mizpah is a historic hotel in Tonopah, Nevada. The Mizpah first opened in 1907 following the silver boom. The hotel fell into disrepair after years of disuse after the silver boom busted. The Hotel eventually closed its doors in 1999 or 2000 (sources vary). If you are so inclined, you can watch an episode of Ghost Adventures that aired in 2011 featuring the Mizpah before it was renovated. It was cool to see the derelict structure before the renovation. Later in 2011 the doors re-opened.
And here we found ourselves, explorers in the year 2023, embarking on our own paranormal adventure.
The Atmosphere
With that history lesson out of the way, let’s talk about the look. The Hotel itself is a 5 story brick structure attached to a three story annex building. The words “Mizpah Hotel” hover above the hotel, red letters held up by a metal framework. You can see the sign before the Hotel proper, hanging high above the other buildings as you drive into town.
Man, this place has atmosphere. Not a foreboding or menacing atmosphere a la Stephen King that you might expect of a haunted hotel. Instead, you get a classy, dimly lit lounge and bar area. The chandeliers overhead dripped in crystals shed just the right amount of light. Just the place for clandestine meetings. The piano that greets you as you enter the front doors practically begs to be played. Staff have told us that anyone who actually knows how to play is more than welcome to. However, no pecking “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”. The lobby area has groups of button-backed couches and chairs. Traveling up the stairs to the second floor, you are greeted by swinging wood doors with wire-hatched windows, reminiscent of its banking past, as a chorus of squeaky steps announce your arrival. Each floor has a seating area with a couch and a chair (or rocking chair). This miniature lobby with a coffee table is a perfect for opening a bottle of wine, resting awhile and maybe have a drink or two before retiring to your room. The Mizpah may boast being one of the most haunted places in the USA (according to the staff’s shirts), but with the antique furnishings and friendly staff, all I felt was comfortable.
Our room was a double queen bedroom. Tucked in the corner sits a bar with ample counterspace and a sink. The bar is stocked with a Keurig, some K-cups, bottled water to fill it up, and the standard coffee accoutrement. This is strictly BYOB, although they do offer a bar downstairs. A flat screen TV hangs on the wall near the window. Between the two queen beds is a table with a phone, a valet stands near the head of the bed and the window, and a nice button-back single chair near the television. The beds were stacked high up, but comfortable. The pillows are super soft. The bathroom sports a claw-foot tub and regal patterned red wallpaper. The sink had knobs are Rolex brand. I didn’t know they made sinks. All in all, the look of the place is great.
The Investigations
I love to explore hidden places, get into the nooks and crannies, and see things others may overlook. It’s like finding wandering the wilds of the Kanto Region, finding all the hidden Poké Balls. Each of the 5 floors of the Hotel and the Annex offer a lot of things to uncover. From old furnishings with a tempting number of drawers to open, to a plethora of spooky, old-timey photographs. Each floor has books on shelves and a place to read. While the elevator groans like a pitiful wraith, it doesn’t take long enough to get through more than a page or two. The wife and kids are the true believers, while I am the cameraman and sometimes host.
While I didn’t witness any paranormal activity in the room, lobby, or roaming the halls, my daughters described hearing whispers at night. They also said their bed lifted up. That’s some weird and spooky stuff. However, I didn’t hear or see anything, despite a restless night’s sleep. Many instances of hearing strange noises can rightly be assigned to the building settling, guests roaming the halls, the elevator opening, or the wind.
However, while my youngest daughter and I were exploring the upper floors, my wife, Amber, and my eldest daughter heard a knock on the door. When Amber answered it, no one was there. Cliché, yes. Classic, most definitely. I can come up with theories, such as the knock coming from the room across the hall, or naughty children ding-dong ditching. What I can’t account for, however, is why there were no creaking or thuds from the floorboards? Is it proof of life after death? I don’t think so, but it is certainly unexplained.
While exploring with my second eldest daughter, we opened every drawer and every book and found a number of pennies, which we then re-hid. I wasn’t sure of the significance at the time, but as Agents of Chaos we took what coins we found and hid them elsewhere. It was only later when I Googled it, that I discovered the coins may have been placed there to see if housekeeping were cleaning everything. Is there any truth to this? If you know, leave a comment below.
The only negative experience I had at the Mizpah was not due to any phantasms, but that of a faulty banister. On the way up to the fifth floor the banister came free of the dry wall and my daughter and myself nearly took a tumble. It looks like it had come loose before and a guest put it back. We immediately took the elevator down– exchanging nervous glances as the elevator creaked and popped– and we went to the front desk to let them know. The front desk worker was apologetic and assured us it would be fixed. We then took the elevator back up and continued our search. Nothing spooky of note, but the furnishings as mentioned before were very comfortable. The backs of the couches were designed to cradle you from the side as you recline. I found them quite comfortable.
After switching kids, my eldest daughter decided to switch things up and use some spirit dowsing rods. If you are interested, we got ours on Amazon here. When asking questions, the rods cross and open in reply from supposed otherworldly entities. Again, I have my own theories on how and why the rods cross and uncross themselves, but as long as she is respectful and having fun, who am I to rain on her parade? I don’t feel the harm of letting her believe this actually works. Again, I could be wrong, but I am a Doubting Thomas. We started at the top floor and worked our way down the stairs. As we clomped our way down to the lobby, stairs and floorboards creaking in our wake, we saw the maintenance workers repairing the banister. So, they were right on top of it. A comforting thought.
The rest of our stay was peaceful enough, though the wind was howling outside. It sounded like a ghostly vacuum tidying up just outside the window. During the night, Amber said she felt the sensation of a cat jumping on the bed in the dead of night. A spring uncoiling in the mattress, perhaps
Is the Mizpah Haunted? I cannot confirm that, though we did add our tales of terror to the book in the lobby. Some interesting reads in there. Be sure to check it out and add your own experience.
The next day before checkout, Amber, Merlin, and I did a Tik Tok Live and did a brief walk through. No ghosts of specters haunted our footsteps as were explored, just the friendly staff cleaning out the room of guests that had already checked out.
The Food
As a portly gentleman that is more Hobbit than man, I find delight in food. So, the unassuming Pittman Café tucked neatly in the corner of the hotel’s ground floor was a pleasant and delicious surprise. Pittman Café is named after Key Pittman, who was rumored to have died before his election and kept on ice in a tub at the Mizpah to ensure that certain interested parties could choose his successor instead of the election going to his opponent. However, the truth of the matter was that Pittman suffered a heart attack before his election, and the specifics of his condition were kept under wraps as not to sway the election. The election was November 5th and Pittman died November 10th in Reno. Some tales never die. I heard the Pittman ice bathtub tall tale more than once from guests at the Mizpah.
Getting back to the food. It was delicious. As we came down from our room to have dinner, we were greeted and invited into the café. We sat on the wooden chairs at the slightly rickety table of what looked like recovered barn wood. I couldn’t help but feel content. The Pittman served probably one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. The Miner Burger arrived cooked medium, juicy, and served with well-seasoned waffle-cut fries. Simple and tasty. Our server, Juan was also friendly and attentive. I didn’t notice until later that the have a Red Lady Wine, named after the ghost in residence. Next time I plan to do a wine taste and review.
The snow continued to fall during our stay at the Mizpah. I enjoyed waking up to the mild flurry outside. I cozied up in the chair near the window, drinking my Keurig and reading some vintage 2013 newspapers I’d found while searching drawers in the lobby, and watched the feathery flakes fall. While the snow may have blanketed our hopes of heading up north to the ghost town of Belmont, it instilled this desert dude with a sense of wonder. We packed up our luggage, broke down and bundled up my son’s pack-and-play, and made our way down to the lobby. I was sad to leave the Mizpah and I am looking forward to my next visit. Maybe I’ll have a ghostly encounter or two and make a believer out of me. If you’re ever halfway between Reno and Nevada, make your overnight stay at the Mizpah. It was a lovely stay.
Atmosphere 5/5 Merlins. This place looks great. Attention to detail and friendly staff were outstanding.
ADA Accommodation 4.0/5 Merlins. Elevator was a little rattly and popped like popcorn. The clawed tub and beds were a little high. Next time we may inquire about the ADA room available in the hostel. The hotel is dog friendly and as Merlin is a service dog, they did not charge any pet fees.
Food 4.5/5 Merlins. Great price. It was delicious and filling