Going Behind Paranormal TV: The Red Garter in Williams, AZ

I do not watch the plethora of paranormal television shows  too often; I probably have seen “Ghost Adventures” more than any of the other shows simply because it was one of the first of that genre. That said, and without any malice or disparagement towards anyone, I thought that it would be a challenge to go behind these shows to the very same places that they investigated and hopefully find evidence that they could not. So on my trip out to the Southwest, I came upon the Red Garter in Williams, Arizona–where I was told that the former bordello/saloon was featured on paranormal TV (Ghost Adventures? Anyone seen this episode?). So I spoke with Anna, the manager of the Canyon Cafe, which occupies the former saloon part of the establishment, who kindly gave me permission to photograph the downstairs area of the building, completed in 1897 as a part of Williams’ infamous “Saloon Row”. The dual function of the Red Garter was to satisfy the carnal needs of the loggers, the cowboys, and the men that worked on the railroad that connected Williams to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon: Whiskey and women. In an effort to remind patrons of the Red Garter’s former role to its clientele, a mannequin hangs out from a second story window dressed like an early twentieth century “working girl” trying to allure customers to her “crib”. Today, in lieu of a bordello, the upstairs of this building functions as a bed and breakfast, and the saloon/pool hall downstairs has been replaced by a modern cafe. However, the cafe prominently displays a reminder of what life was like in the same space in the early twentieth century: A rather large photo is framed and hanging prominently in the cafe. Taken circa 1934, the photograph shows the owner, Longino Mora, and some of his family standing next to a pool table, with a bar to the left. A most intriguing feature of this look into the building’s past is what’s leaning against the bar to the far left: A Hispanic woman wearing a black top and a smile that belies her secret–she wasn’t really present for the picture–according to those present–she was not standing there! They believe that she was a former prostitute by the name of “Eve”, and why she felt compelled to appear in the photo no one knows. Oddly enough, the mirror straight back from the former working girl holds no reflection of her presence–how does light show up in a photo and not reflect in a mirror? Are ghosts able to change the properties of light or the laws of physics?

I stopped into the Canyon Cafe in early afternoon for a late lunch of fish and chips, and after getting permission from Anna I began to take a few photos of the inside of the cafe. I captured the blurred image of a phantom standing right next to our table, and then after hearing the story of the ghost working girl hanging across the room from our seats, I had to photograph the cafe’s photo-bombing phantom.

Here is the blurred image of a ghost right next to my table at the Canyon Cafe–in the early afternoon (Look to the far left).

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I discovered two things from this fading photograph: When I zoomed in on the photo I quickly realized that “Eve” was not the only phantom present. Right at her shoulder is a more intimidating presence, and it is not smiling. To the left of the second phantom is another, making me wonder what role these wraiths played in relation to both this building and to Eve. I discovered that one of the “johns” was stabbed in the back on the stairway to carnal heaven by a working girl, and he fell down the stairs and out the front door, dying on the sidewalk in front of the Red Garter. Could that be the angry, murdered cowboy at the shoulder of the smiling Eve?

Here is the photo of the owner and part of his family circa 1934 in the Red Garter Saloon, with the ghost of a former prostitute believed to have been “Eve” to the far left.

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I discovered another phantom at the shoulder of “Eve”; notice that although Eve is smiling, this ghost has a rather intimidating look to it.

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Just a few feet away another paranormal presence can be seen in this almost century old photo:

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I came back later that evening to resume my photo-op of the former bordello, and I captured some compelling faces in the windows, including the face of a female phantom. Take a look at the face that I captured in the window and compare it to the face of Eve from the old photograph–the same girl or different?

Compare the photo of Eve circa 1934 to the photo of another female phantom that I recently captured; is it the same woman?

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The second thing that I discovered has to do with the colorful, intriguing former owner of the saloon, which you can read about in part II of this blog. Stay tuned for that, as well as my second release on the ghosts of the world’s largest living museum, Williamsburg, which I affectionately renamed the world’s largest active ghost museum. The book will be released in August (2018), with the title Breakthrough Ghost Photography of Haunted Historic Colonial Williamsburg Virginia, Part 2. There are some intriguing surprises in this book, including perhaps the largest group of ghosts ever captured on camera!

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After 2 years of research, a lot of experimentation, and over 10,000 photographs, check out the world’s first groundbreaking photographic study of ghosts: Haunted, Historic Colonial Williamsburg Virginia with Breakthrough Ghost Photography available at both Schiffer Publishing and at Amazon:

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Schiffer: http://www.schifferbooks.com/haunted-historic-colonial-williamsburg-virginia-with-breakthrough-ghost-photography-6030.html

Amazon: http://amzn.com/0764350609

Tim Scullion is a published author, photographer, and musician. He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary, with both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree Cum Laude. In addition to the book mentioned above, Tim has written a novel, a series of instruction books on the guitar, a children’s book (all available on Amazon) and has a photo-essay published by the University of Virginia in the book Troubled Times Companion, Vol. III.

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