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Located in Flagstaff, Arizona,
the Museum Club has had many incarnations. It was originally built
in 1931 by Dean Eldridge as a trading post, taxidermist shop and museum.
The collection of animals gave this place the nickname "The Zoo" which
holds to this day! Eldridge died in 1936 and the building was then
purchased by Doc Williams. Williams opened a night club that became an
immediate success, having profited from travelers on the Mother Road and
the end of prohibition. The Museum Club has survived as a nightclub
through the years and its many owners. It deteriorated during the 1950's
before being restored in 1963. It was transformed into a honky-tonk ~ a
country music dance hall ~ as well as a recording studio and roadhouse.
Many aspiring recording stars, making the pilgrimage from Nashville to
Las Vegas, would book at The Museum Club. Some of the booked acts
included names such as Wynn Stewart, Wanda Jackson, Bob Wills' Texas
Playboys, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Some, like Barbara Mandrell,
simply showed up, grabbed a guitar and played impromptu! Nowadays, this
historic building is popular bar popular with locals and tourists alike.
Another interesting fact about the Museum
Club is the building was built around a few ponderosa trees, which then
became part of the building's interior supports. The trunk and branches
are the only remains of these trees and they have been layered with
lacquer over the years, preserving their unique character. The roots
still run deep into the ground under the building.
(928) 526-9434 - 3404 E Route 66,
Flagstaff AZ 86004
Don "Pappy" Scott, a steel-guitarist, bought
the Museum Club in 1963. He and his wife, Thorna, successfully ran the
club and lived in the upstairs apartment until tragedy ended Thorna’s
life in 1973. She fell from the top of the stairs, breaking her neck as
she fell down the steps. She died while in a coma two weeks later. Don
was terribly distraught and shot himself in the head with his rifle,
ending his life in front of the fireplace on the ground floor in 1975.
Signs that Don and Thorna are still occupying
this building often include footsteps and creaks heard coming from the
upstairs apartment where they once lived. Other signs are lights
flickering on and off, chairs rocking back and forth on their own, and
claims that fires are being lit in the hearth when the place is
unoccupied. Thorna has been seen at times on the back stairway and at
the back bar. Patrons sometimes claim they would mistake her for a
bartender. She is known to have sat in her favorite corner booth while
she was alive and she seems to still sit in this booth today.
The staff shared with us another story of a
man that was hanged, shot and burned (possibly while still alive) on one of
the trees that was later incorporated into the building. Sightings of a
man hanging from a noose in the tree have been reported from patrons
while looking in a mirror at the back bar. The tree that corresponds to
the mirror image does have evidence of it having been burned by fire and
shot holes on only one side of it. Some buck shot is still visible but
buried into the tree, which lends credibility to the story that the
tree was still alive at the time the buck shot was fired into it.
Investigations: 30 March 2007- 22 April 2007
Our investigations of the Museum Club yielded
several photographs and audio ITC/EVP recordings. We have shared these
with the current owners of the Museum Club and with the children of Don
& Thorna Scott who regularly visit with their parents in the corner booth.
It was requested by the surviving family members that two particular audio
recordings not be presented ~ the sound of a woman falling down the
stairs in agony (presumably Thorna) and the sound of a what could be a
gun shot (presumably Don's rifle) ~ until they, themselves, have
passed. The rest of the audio ITC/EVP has been permitted for
public presentation.
Our investigators had asked Don to turn a
light on and off as it was reported this is something that would happen
when his spirit was around. Instead he was turning a TV monitor on
and off. When we asked him to turn different monitors off and back on,
he complied with the requests. We took photos, but nothing unexpected
appeared on the camera screen until we had asked for his permission to
take photos of him. It was after seeking his permission we visually
witnessed an orb. We attempted to photograph this orb with only a few
pictures recorded before the orb disappeared. This orb appeared again,
briefly, when we were in front of the fireplace and had asked Don if it
is where he shot himself.
Another orb was recorded on camera but not
seen visually when Thorna was asked to come to the corner booth. Sounds
of faint music (older country style music) could be heard but not located. The building is
drafty and sits along Route 66. Sounds and noise from outside can be
heard inside making finding the source of the music that much more
difficult. We were unable to determine if the music heard was that of a
bygone era or something more present, like a car blasting music a
few lots away.
Doug was trying to instruct a new
investigator during this investigation. Examples of various techniques
were being given while equipment was recording. We didn't expect to hear
responses to our training techniques! It seems the spirits have a sense
of humor. The bar was closed and without staff during our investigation
of the apartment ~ we don't know what the thumping sounds were. Also,
when Doug and Daybreak were pulling themselves into the attic above the
apartment, Doug reached for a stud in the dark. It fell over because it
wasn't attached to anything and Doug started to reach for anything to
hold on to. Upon evidence review, it seems as if we were being observed
by a spirit and she laughed at Doug as the 2X4 board fell towards him.
Investigation Evidence: 22 April 2007
Some sounds are difficult to hear. We recommend using high quality
headphones.
»Doug: "Don't worry, we're
not moving in!" "We're just here for about an hour." EVP: "Move." Doug: "We don't want to stay too long, we just wanna
document your existence."
»Doug: "3, 2, 1..." EVP:Laughter Doug: "It's only supposed to move (not understandable)..."
- Sounds of passing traffic - EVP: "Swing!" - Sound of furnace igniting -
» Doug: "It's very dark up
here." EVP: "Ha Ha" - Sound of a board falling - Doug: "Oh! Hold on! Hold on, hold on!" "You grab a hold of
something, the board fell down!"
»Doug: "...and I thank you very much for allowing us to be
here." Daybreak: "I do not feel right!" Doug: "Oh, yeah. Neither do I." "Is there somebody here
that does not want us to be here?"
- Sound of digital camera - Doug: "Can you give us your name, please?" "Are we
disrupt... Are we disrespecting you?" "We're not..." - Sound of digital camera - Doug: "We come... We come here with no harm or ill intention for
you."
"We come in peace and understanding."
EVP: "Stop! Stay there where you're at." - Sound of digital camera - Doug: "You okay? Want my hand?" Daybreak: "Ah! Here you go.""I got it." Doug: "Okay." "You okay?" Daybreak: "Yeah, I just..." Doug: "I got a weird chill as soon as you said that." Daybreak: "I just, ah... " Doug: "I felt like somebody did not want us to be up
here." Daybreak: "Yeah, um, that's okay if it's his private
space." Doug: "Yeah." Daybreak: "That's fine." Doug: "Is this your bed over here?" - Sound of digital camera - Daybreak: "Do you come up here to get away?"
»Doug: "I just get a weird sense, like, you know, I don't
know, it's like something's hidden."
"Like... Like somebody hid a key or something of value, like...." EVP: "Birth certificates." Doug: "Maybe not money..." Daybreak: "There's all sorts of fine.. things in this
fireplace." Doug: "But, just like... it was somebody's little...
secret stash."
»Doug: "We're going to,
ah, leave now. We don't want to disrespect your place any longer." EVP: "So get out!" Doug: "We're trying to be very careful about what we
can do."
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