Modern-day Tombstone was the farthest thing from a ghost town. Tourists crowded the boardwalks, and gunslingers stood at every intersection. Stagecoaches, packed with tourists, rumbled down the unpaved roads, kicking up dust. A gunslinger on a hoverboard glided down a side street. Saddled horses were tethered in front of lively saloons. And barkers dressed as Old West cowboys or madames called out constantly.
“Comedy gun fight at the Oriental!”
“Come see the show in ten minutes! Best show in town!”
Tombstone wasn’t a ghost town, but it was weird, and it was haunted.
Looming blizzards ruined a planned vacation to the north, so my wife and I detoured south to warmer climate. We decided on Tucson since neither of us had visited that part of the state. I wanted to see the town of Tombstone since it was a short drive away. Tombstone (1993) reignited my passion for westerns, so it was thrilling to get to see the town where the legendary gunfight occurred. My wife, bless her, agreed to take me there. It was my 52nd birthday.
A Super Short History of Tombstone
The town of Tombstone began as a boomtown, thanks to the discovery of silver by its founder, Ed Schieffelin. He was an Army scout and had a gut feeling that a mother lode was out there in the Sonoran Desert. He frequently ventured into the wild alone only to return to camp empty-handed, so his comrades jokingly said the only thing he’d find out there in the barren landscape was his own tombstone. They were wrong. And thus, the town’s name was born.
Bird Cage Theatre
To start our visit, we bought tickets to the OK Corral Gunfight Show. (More on that, later.) Since we had time to spare until our timeslot, we clomped along the boardwalks on Allen Street to see what the town offered. Tourists thronged the storefronts and saloon entrances, barkers constantly announced ticket sales, and lively music poured from the saloon doors.
When we got to the historic Bird Cage Theatre, a young lady on the corner dressed in (ahem) period costume, invited us in to hear some history.
While we browsed the front gift shop, she offered anecdotes of the bullet holes along the imported bar and the large painting of a belly dancer (“She doesn’t have two bellybuttons, folks. The second is a bullet hole!”). There are 140 bullet holes in the Bird Cage, remnants of its wilder days that boasted the deaths of twenty-six people. Because it was the only original historic building in town, we decided to bite the bullet and see what it had to offer.
Bird Cage Theatre was established in 1881 and was originally intended for more wholesome purposes, such as family friendly shows and Ladies Night for respectable women. But to appeal to the rootin’ tootin’ Tombstone mining crowd, the owners were forced to book better money-making forms of entertainment—circuslike performers, comedy, musicians, and stage magic—as well as liquor and gambling.
Fun fact: The Bird Cage is home to the world’s longest-running poker game, a marathon, running from 1881 to 1889 – a mere eight years, five months, and three days, with a buy-in of $1,000 bucks. Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Bat Masterson were among the most notable players who took a turn.
Tickets for the self-guided tour were expensive ($14 per person), but the relics beyond the velvet ropes of the entry were plentiful. I took photos of typo-riddled factoids and Old West relics—rifles, gambling tables, historic photos, a safe used by President McKinley, and the original Grand Piano that was shipped from South America (“…BUILT OUT OF SOLID ROSE WOOD AND IS HAND CRAVED.”). They even claim to have some of Doc Holliday’s paraphernalia, such as a tooth extractor, a stirrup from his saddle, and the original Faro table “WERE DOC HOLLIDAY PLAYED AND DEALT FARO.”
It might not look like much from the outside, but the Theatre has a main floor, a raised stage, a basement bordello/casino/bar, and the balcony. The name “Bird Cage” comes from the balcony boxes or cribs overlooking the stage. In the film Tombstone, we see Wyatt and Doc enjoying one of the boxes for the show. In reality, $25 bucks got you a bottle of whisky and a “painted lady” for the evening.
One of my favorite relics in the museum was the original Boothill Hearse. “The Black Moriah” was a horse-drawn burial coach with curved glass windows and trimmed with sterling silver and “24 CARROT” gold leaf. It was available to those who couldn’t afford a casket. After the funeral services, the body was dumped into a plain pine box for burial.
Beside the hearse stood a black coffin used in the film Tombstone as well as a marvelous advertisement that read:
WHY WALK AROUND HALF DEAD
WHEN WE CAN BURY YOU
FOR ONLY $22.00
TOMBSTONE UNDERTAKERS
(We also specialize in fine cabinet work)
The most active spirit in the Bird Cage is Josh, the ghost of a young boy who frequents the backstage area, particularly around the hearse and the mortician’s table. People even leave candy out for him.
The basement bordello is an exhibit on its own, with letters, a notice from Virgil Earp to the "Shady Ladies," photos/factoids of people like Dutch Anne, the Queen of the Red Light District, who was so beloved the whole town turned out for her funeral. Or Minnie Bignon, a co-owner in the 1880s, who was “billed at 230 lbs. of loveliness in pink tights” and often acted as bouncer.
The Ghosts
Over the years, staff and guests have reported many apparitions in the Theatre. Floorboards creak from invisible footsteps. Shadows flit in the bird cages. The ghosts of painted ladies, stagehands, a mysterious lady in white, and cowboys appear and vanish. Spectral sounds echo through the theatre—piano music, a singing woman, clinking glasses, laughter, voices, and lively gambling—along with the smells of perfume, whisky, and cigar smoke. People have claimed to be touched or pushed by phantom hands. A valuable antique poker chip disappeared when antiquarians came to authenticate it, only to reappear in a locked drawer after they left.
Wyatt Earp
One of the most interesting ghost stories involves Wyatt Earp. When a mannequin of Wyatt was placed in one of the bird cages, staff would arrive to find his hat on the floor or find him turned away from the stage. Supposedly, back in the day, the crib had been reserved by the Clantons. When the mannequin was moved to another box, one preferred by Wyatt, the poltergeist shenanigans stopped.
Russian Bill
For two years, one box was owned by “Russian Bill,” who was secretly a Russian nobleman. To fit in with the outlaw crowd, and to appear tougher than he was, he stole a horse. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't very good at it. He was caught and hanged, and his ghost is said to haunt the place.
Margarita
The grisliest murder in town was that of Margarita, the tall, willowy Belle of the Bird Cage, a painted lady who took a liking to a small-time gambler named Billy Milgreen. The problem was that Billy was a valued customer and live-in lover of Little Gertie the Gold Dollar, a petite, blonde dancer at the Crystal Palace. One night, when Little Gertie stormed into the Bird Cage Theatre and caught Margarita sitting on Billy’s lap, she drew a stiletto from her garter strap and chiseled out Margarita’s heart. Little Gertie and Billy fled town, while Margarita’s ghost still haunts the place. The stiletto is on display.
Tombstone wasn't a ghost town, but it had its share of ghosts. More to come in the next post.
Thanks for reading.
