Supernatural or not, Lee Hotel at least spooky enough for cable

The Lee Hotel has accommodated countless people in its rooms in nearly a century of business, and if local legends are believed, many of those guests were of the ghostly kind.

Indeed, the downtown Yuma hotel has been an attraction for people making reservations for the purpose of trying to catch glimpses of ghostly manifestations, according to Debe Branning, author of the the book "Sleeping with Ghosts! A Ghost Hunter's Guide to Arizona's Haunted Hotels and Inns."

And now the "haunted" hotel at 390 S. Main St. has captured the attention of the Travel Channel, which, according to Lee Hotel owner Bill Sullivan, plans to feature it in an upcoming segment of its "Most Haunted" series.

For purposes of filming, a network crew was scheduled to visit the hotel Friday and spend the night in Room 12, Sullivan said, although Travel Channel spokesman James Ashurst could provide no details about the filming or the segment.

Room 12 is one of the more famous rooms. It is said to be inhabited by a female ghost, Branning writes in "Sleeping with Ghosts."

The ghost is unnamed in the book. But Sullivan said he was told by the previous Lee Hotel owner her name is "Sara" and that various guests have seen her sitting on a couch in the room.

"I haven't seen her or felt her presence, but our guests who stay in that room swear she is in there," said Sullivan.

Sullivan bought the property last September and has since been bombarded by stories of specters in the building, he said.

"People say, 'She was just there, sitting on the couch with a smile on her face,'" Sullivan said. He said that Sara doesn't like drunks, but is otherwise friendly to visitors, especially males. Sullivan said that she has been known to pull the sheets of sleeping men, or shake the bed in efforts to rouse them.

"She must be friendly because men who sleep in that room always exit in the morning with a smile on their face," Sullivan said. That friendly gesture is only extended to men however, as Sara has been known to push female guests around, he said.

"There are scratches that just appeared on the inside of the door to her room about 20 years ago," Sullivan said. "Nobody was in the room when it happened but we've chosen to leave them there because we don't want her to do them again."

Where the Lee now sits was once the location of an adobe home that was destroyed in the 1917 flood. The owner of the home, Virginia Zabala, was so distraught over losing her home and all her material possessions that she dreamed about it every night until her death, her grandson told Branning for "Sleeping with Ghosts!"

"Her heart was broken because she never could afford to rebuild," Sullivan said. Because of this, he said, some speculate that she is almost certainly one of the spirits frequenting the hotel, which opened in 1917.

Sullivan said in one room of the hotel, Room 27, occupants have stated they were greeted by a male voice saying "Hello" from an empty room. "Some say we have ghosts that play the piano at 3 a.m."

And sometimes, for no apparent reason, the lobby clock has been known to stop, although a ticking sound could still be heard, he said.

Adding to the eerie energy that some say is pervasive in the hotel is the legend surrounding Mary Darcy, who bought the hotel in 1922. A stern and strong-willed woman who ruled her hotel with an iron grip, the real-life figure killed two people in the hotel, one of whom was her husband and the other an unsuspecting bill collector who made the mistake of entering the hotel unannounced.

But local lore claims Darcy also had a mysterious side. On Friday evenings, she and eight of Yuma's other early eccentrics held a seance in the back room of the hotel. It is said that the group practiced black magic and would cast evil spells on those they felt were against them.

Other rooms are said to be haunted. Room 30 is reported to have a sweet-smelling perfume emitted from its air-conditioning ducts.

"Marilyn Monroe stayed in that room a couple times before she got to Hollywood," Sullivan said.

Room 40 has electric energy that drains cell phones, batteries and cameras, Sullivan said. And Room 43 is said to be inhabited by a male ghost whose loud snores have awakened sleeping guests.

Despite all these spooky stories, the hotel still has plenty of occupants staying in it and has a family atmosphere, Sullivan said. With help from his son, Pat, the hotel manager, Sullivan has plans to open a restaurant in the hotel, add a back patio and restore the hotel to its original glory.

"This is a prime location and could be a real great spot downtown. Heck, I already think it is," Sullivan said.


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Stefani Guerrero Soucy can be reached at
ssoucy@yumasun.com or 539-6857.