Tales from the Haunted Humidor

Cigar World's Tales from the Haunted Humidor

October marks the start of Spooky Season, and whether you are a believer in the paranormal or not, this is a great time to enjoy the beloved tradition of telling ghost stories. We could have just put up a story about popular cigars for Halloween or the best Halloween cigars, but instead, we wanted to put a Cigar World spin on this for you. Instead of Tales from the Crypt, we are going to give you our Tales from the Haunted Humidor. While these are not ghost stories per se, we are going to highlight some known cigar-smoking spirits that are haunting the halls while indulging in their favorite stogie.

The Hotel Colorado

The Hotel Colorado has good reason for its haunted reputation, as rumors state the hotel was built on land that the Ute Indians cursed after being displaced in 1880. The basement of the hotel was also used as a morgue when the hotel was operating as a naval hospital during World War 2. 

Walter is our ghost of interest at the Hotel Colorado, and many think he is the ghost of Walter Devereaux, the hotel founder. Others believe that Walter is actually E.E. Lucas, who started at the hotel in 1893 as the controller but moved into the general manager role in 1905. Lucas purchased the hotel in 1916 and kept it until 1927 when he passed away, and his wife took over. Either way, Walter is known for the smell of cigar smoke that follows him around the hotel. Cigar smoking hasn’t been allowed in the hotel for years, but Walter doesn’t think the rules apply to him!

The Cooper Queen Hotel

The Cooper Queen Hotel has been in existence since 1898 (opened in 1902) in Bisbee, Arizona, and is still open today. Celebrities and true crime/paranormal fans have been known to visit the hotel specifically for an encounter with one of the many spirits of the hotel. The hotel even keeps a guest book for the visitors to report on the paranormal activities they experienced while staying on the premises. 

Originally founded by Phelps Dodge Mining Company, it was built to provide lodging for their potential investors with 73 rooms and one bathroom per floor! They remodeled it to include a bathroom in every suite, so this lowered the number of rooms to 48, but who wants to share a bathroom with an entire floor of tourists? The Cooper Queen boasts 3 known ghosts, but there could be up to 16+ based on reported instances from guests. We are going to focus on just one. The ghost is unnamed, bearded, and seen in a cape and top hat.

He usually appears on the 4th floor but seems to mean to harm his onlookers. He does tend to appear in the shadows and quickly out of nowhere, sometimes even in the guests’ rooms, so while he may mean no harm, he typically frightens the guests.  He is always seen smoking a cigar, and guests claim that his presence is accompanied by the smell of cigar smoke.

Deadwoods Bullock Hotel

If you have ever watched HBO’s Deadwood series, you know who Seth Bullock is, but for those of you who haven’t, Seth Bullock is best known as a Rough Rider under Teddy Roosevelt, a U.S. Marshall, a state senator, the first sheriff of Deadwood and the part owner of the Bullock Hotel in Deadwood SD. The Bullock Hotel opened in 1895 with 63 sleeping rooms and was known for its luxurious accommodation for the time, and this hotel still stands today with a haunting reputation. If you stay at the Bullock Hotel in room 211, this used to be Seth Bullock’s room, and visitors say that you cannot miss the smell of cigar smoke from Bullock himself. You can apparently run into Seth in different areas of the hotel like the bar and restaurant. With his signature steel gray eyes and large mustache, you can’t miss this spirit.

The Queen Mary

For our last cigar-smoking spirit, we hop aboard a ship, The Queen Mary. This 1930 ocean liner is now permanently docked and acts as a hotel and attraction in Long Beach, CA. Long before Queen Mary was a tourist attraction, in 1936, this ocean liner set records for being the fastest ocean liner to cross the North Pacific. Queen Mary was a luxurious ship for royals and celebrities but was stripped down and camouflaged to transport soldiers during WWII.

The Queen Mary was then known as the Grey Ghost and was known to have transported over 800K troops during wartime. Post war, the ship was restored and continued to operate until the 1960’s. We all know that one of our favorite cigar sizes, the Churchill, is named after Winston Churchill, and his ghost has been known to be aboard the Queen Mary. Churchill regularly traveled on the Queen Mary during WWII and afterward, so there is a room on the Queen Mary now in his honor, The Churchill Suite.  Guests have reported the smell of cigar smoke in the Churchill Suite even though you cannot smoke in the hotel any longer. A hotel employee even witnessed a “portly man” smoking a cigar in that room, and when she asked him to put it out, he walked into a painting of Churchill that hangs on the wall and vanished.

So, while you find yourself smoking a cigar while sitting by a fire or handing out candy on all Hallow’s Eve, you can share some of these tales from the haunted humidor with your pals. Even in the afterlife, these cigar enthusiasts are still enjoying their favorite cigars. Let us know if you know any other tales from the haunted humidor and what cigars you will be smoking this Halloween.