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Was It the Ghost of a Miner?

 

At the end of this past March, my sister, her boyfriend, my husband and I took a trip to Bisbee, Arizona for a weekend of camping. Bisbee was known as a mining town throughout the Southwest in the late 1800s. The Copper Queen mine opened up in the 1880s and the town became populated almost overnight with miners, saloon owners, and ladies of the evening. A lot of the original miner's cabins are still standing and there are quite a few stone foundations left from the ones that have crumbled. These foundations dot the hillside like a rugged constellation.

In 1975 this mine closed for good ending an era that more often than not, contained three or more generations of people that had worked there. When the miners moved out, the artists and hippies moved in creating a laid-back, fun and historical place to visit and shop.

After an afternoon of sightseeing, the four of us returned to our campsite that was stationed directly to the left of the Copper Queen Mine. There are tours that still take place in this now defunct mine and to give you an idea of how close we were to the mine, we had to cut through the mine's parking lot to get to our campsite. After enjoying s'mores and some music, we decided to all turn in for the night. My sister and her boyfriend slept in a tent, and my husband and I turned in to our camper. I had left the door unlocked just incase my sister and her boyfriend might need anything during the night. I often read before going to bed and did so this night before I started to get tired and decided to turn off the lights.

While waiting for sleep to come, I heard the camper door open and someone come in. I didn't open my eyes assuming it was my sister's boyfriend that had forgotten something inside. I heard the footsteps walk to the end of the camper, back again, and then the door opened and closed. It sounded like a man wearing heavy boots. I fell asleep and didn't think much more about it.

In the morning I asked both my sister and her boyfriend what they had forgotten in the camper the night before. They both looked at me blankly and said that they both had gone right to sleep after turning in. I asked them if they were sure and they both said yes, they were sure. My husband is also the type that will fall asleep within 10 seconds of closing his eyes so he didn't hear it either. So if everyone was asleep than who or what had walked through the camper? Could it have been the ghost of a miner that was checking us out? I have no idea. I do know that I was completely awake and I had not been drinking.

Ghost of a Miner

Thoughts? Another thing was that this 'person' did not turn on any lights. It was pitch black in there. They also walked in and walked out. I was expecting to hear a bag unzip but it was only the footsteps.

I've attached a picture of Bisbee. The town is literally carved into the hillside. If you look across to the mountain, there is a cave in the wall. Although you can't really see it, the campground and Queen Mine entrance is located to the lower left of that mountain.

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The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, Jennifer40, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

neeties (1 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-11-29)
It really might be a ghost. I grew up in Bisbee and almost everyone that lives there has there own ghost stories to tell. Most of the town, is suppose to be haunted. I had a few friends that claimed that they had a ghost in their home. So what you experienced probably was some spirit.
But, then again it couldve been a real person. We do have a lot of crazies in Bisbee. 😆
ChrisB (6 stories) (1515 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-06-11)
Hi jeniffer. What an amazing story. I always like to read them. I do agree with you that a miner came in. I bet he thought it was his home or something. I realy liked this story. I hope to hear from you soon and take care
Twilightkiss (guest)
 
16 years ago (2008-05-24)
I personely think that mines are very huanted places considering the fact that such things as cave ins are common.
That sounds like an interesting experience.
Hopefully nothing else creepy will happen to you.

Sincerest wishes & God bless
-Twilightkiss ❤
Tonith (1136 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-05-21)
Use to camp in a campground and even though there were some ark lights by the bathrooms the rest of the place was very dark. If you were going to those bathrooms you had to have a flashlight to get there for saftey reasons. Guess it's possible where your camper was could have been a miner's shed of some kind or maybe even an out house. I think you had a true encounter. Even a drunk being in the wrong place would have tripped or banged into something not knowing where he was in pitch darkness. Even with the break on our camper when walking through it vibrated being it's still a vehicle and has suspension springs. You should have felt the camper shifting with the weight of the person and you didn't mention this so I think you can rule out a human being.
Jennifer40 (20 stories) (202 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-05-21)
Hi Kim,
Maybe. My sister's tent was right outside the door of the camper so I don't think someone would have thought it was vacant. Although it would not have suprised me if a local drunk wandered in, realized this wasn't his camper, and then left. 😉 I will probably never know.

Jennifer ❤
KimSouthO (27 stories) (1960 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-05-21)
Just a thought, isn't it possible that it was a fellow camper or maybe and individual that had not so good intentions that came in because they though the camper me be vacant?

God Bless!
rhodes68 (14 stories) (1596 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-05-21)
Thanks Jennifer for your wishes. I would also like to wish you all the best there is in life for your birthday too.

It would have been very interesting to talk to the locals about the history of the area and the mine. Who knows what kind of things went on up there...
Jennifer40 (20 stories) (202 posts)
+1
16 years ago (2008-05-20)
Hi Tammy,
I hope you had a very happy birthday a few weeks ago!

I often feel a heavy energy when I'm in Bisbee. That town has definitely seen it's share of hard times.

On a lighter note, I just read a book about how during a heavy rainstorm, a miner who lived on the mountain had his house collapse while taking a bath. He road in his bath tub naked into the town below and became somewhat of a local legend. 😁
rhodes68 (14 stories) (1596 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-05-20)
Hello Jennifer. It's so nice to have you back.

I believe that mines are very haunted locations due to the almost cruel conditions that labor workers had to tolerate. Many lives were lost very often in the darkness that surrounds them. I have visited several of them in my home country and abroad and I must admit that I could almost hear the echoes of their suffering.

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