Did you know that lurking underneath Main Street in Mesa are tunnels? Apparently they were used originally as a primitive form of air conditioning. They would place ice in the tunnels and that would cool the building above.
Then, during Prohibition people would evacuate a location quickly with their alcohol in tow through the use of these tunnels. This was just one of the interesting bits of information I found out during the annual Mesa Ghost Tour & Historical Walk.
The walk began inside the Arizona Museum of Natural History with a tour of the jail cell that resides there – along with the resident ghost. Then we continued down to Main Street, stopping in various shops along the way to hear tales of more eerie happenings to the proprietors. One of my favorite stories happened at Evermore Nevermore, this funky clothing and collectibles store.
One day the shopkeeper was waiting on someone at the register when she noticed a man in a long gray coat walk in and head to the back of the store. When she had a moment, she walked to the back where her daughter was working and asked her if she had helped the gentleman. Her daughter replied “What guy in a coat – no one came back here!” – and she never saw him leave either! There have been many such sightings of this gentleman in a duster (maybe a carry over spirit from the Old West?).
It seems as if the south side of the street has more of these kinds of “episodes” – lots of unexplained noises and things being knocked off shelves. Everyone was in unison with one thing – they never feel as if any of these spirits are evil, maybe mischievous, but never out to do anyone any harm.
Some of the other stories we heard reinforced the “playful” side of ghosts. Mystic Paper had someone drop a nickel down a vent to the basement and when they went down to retrieve it, there was a marble next to the nickel. The gals at Sugar Buzz Cakes often bake late into the night and they have pans being dropped and someone likes to play with the ice dispenser on the soda machine, so they have come to call the unseen force “friend” and make sure that they bid it goodnight when they leave.
This was a very entertaining, and educational tour, about downtown Mesa. I look forward to participating in this tour again next year, evidently they add new stops each year. They also have paranormal investigators on hand checking out places with their equipment and answering questions. Just remember, there is nothing to be scared of – these are all friendly ghosts.
