An iconic Tucson landmark found itself on national television this week.
The historic Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., was featured on the popular ghost-hunting show “Ghost Adventures” on Wednesday, June 5. Viewers can stream the 42-minute episode on Max.
The four-person ghost-hunting crew spent two days in Tucson investigating the spooky hotel.
“It is known as one of the most haunted hotels in the entire country,” lead investigator Zak Bagans said in the episode, adding: “I’ve been trying to investigate here for years.”
Before heading into the hotel for their preliminary investigation and interviews, the crew greeted guests at Cup Cafe, the hotel's onsite restaurant, and snapped photos with local fans.
After making their way into the hotel, the crew touched on the vibrant history of the hotel including the infamous John Dillinger stay in the 1930s, fires and numerous tragedies.
Following the history montage, the crew met with the hotel’s assistant bar manager Patrick Cardenas, who tells them a story about one of the hotel’s most haunted rooms: Room 219.
“A good example is I had a couple that were from Sonora, Arizona, that didn’t really speak much English, (and) the wife comes to the front desk and was like ‘Something’s off with my husband,’” Cardenas told the crew. “And I asked her, you know, ‘What’s ... What’s wrong?’ And she said, ‘He’s speaking in a woman’s voice, but he’s speaking in English. And he doesn’t speak a word of English.’”
Believing something serious was going on with the man, Cardenas called 911. Once the police arrived and assessed the situation, even they were freaked out, according to Cardenas.
“This hotel is known for having a lot of spirits in a lot of different areas,” he said.
The crew also caught up with David Slutes, the now former entertainment director of the hotel, who said that Room 242 was undoubtedly the most haunted at Hotel Congress.
The lore behind Room 242 is that a woman took her own life in the room and her spirit has remained there since, according to Hotel Congress.
In the show, while interviewing two women about their experiences in Room 242, a light in the area unexpectedly turns off and Bagans begins to feel “weird,” he said. At the same time, crew member Jay Wasley snaps a photo of Bagans and a black orb is seen hovering over him.
These occurrences were just the beginning of a series of unexplainable (or coincidental, depending on your point of view) events.
The upstairs hallway where guest rooms are located inside Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St. in Tucson, Ariz. on August 13, 2021. The historic hotel was built in 1919 and has 39 rooms with no television to keep with the period.
As the crew investigated Room 242 on the first day of their investigation, they said they were pushed and heard what they described as two people whispering to each other — despite no one talking. With a thermal camera, they also captured a cold spot vaguely shaped like a human sitting on the edge of the bed.
On the second and final day of their investigation, they turned their attention to rooms 214 and 219, along with the connecting hallway and the hotel’s basement.
Throughout the investigation, the crew experienced rattling doors, sounds similar to someone walking down a hallway, numerous voices on their recorders and a roll of candy falling from a dresser.
We won’t give away all the spoilers for the show, but it could be a fun watch for those interested in seeing a part of Tucson’s history on television.
While we cannot confirm just how real the "Ghost Adventures" crew’s experience was, there’s no denying that Hotel Congress definitely has some spooky vibes.
In honor of the episode’s premiere, Hotel Congress hosted a watch party at Tiger’s Tap Room on June 5.
“We wrap up our investigation of Hotel Congress with intriguing evidence that we cannot explain. And that further validates beyond a reasonable doubt that there are still intelligent spirits residing here amongst the living,” Bagans said at the end of the episode.
