The Haunted Hamburger-Jerome, Arizona

Photo from The Haunted Hamburger website

Happy National Cheeseburger Day!  After I saw mention of this holiday pop up in my Facebook newsfeed a couple of times, I decided I needed a cute little graphic of a ghost eating a hamburger or some nonsense for my page.  Well, you can't find EVERYTHING you want on the interwebs...but sometimes you find something even better!

The Haunted Hamburger is a restaurant in the small town of Jerome, Arizona.  At the turn of the last century, it was a boarding house for members of the United Verde Mining Company.  Private apartments, owned by a lawyer from Prescott, could be found on the 4th floor under the name of Wykoff Apartments.  By the 1940s, the building was a private residence, and in the 70s, it became a restaurant known as the Jerome Palace.

While its still known to many as the Jerome Palace, The Haunted Hamburger name comes from owners Michelle and Eric Jurisin.  When they purchased the building around 1994 and began renovations, they learned rather quickly that they were not alone.  Like we see in many hauntings, the renovations tended to stir things up, and the resident ghost or ghosts had a passion for stealing tools---namely, hammers--from the work site.  No less than three hammers mysteriously disappeared, only to be returned in strange spots after a former owner asked the Jurisin's if they had met their hammer-stealing ghost yet.

But hammer stealing, even in the afterlife, gets old fast, and the resident specters like to make themselves known in other ways as well.  Eric had a door slam shut in his face, a chef was pushed into a shelf, cans fly off of shelves, and the hot water turns on by itself.  Some guests have seen a little girl wearing a dress.  Other guests have taken photographs that show an anomaly much like the form of an adult female.  Dubbed Claire, this ghost is said to prefer the upstairs dining area.

In 2007, The Arizona Paranormal Society looked into the claims of this haunting.  They got some pictures they believe may be paranormal, but unfortunately didn't get any audio evidence.  You can find out more about their investigation at the link provided below.  Anyway, this sounds like a really unique place to enjoy a meal!  Obviously, they specialize in hamburgers, with the Haunted Burger, the Double-Haunted Burger, and the Ghostly Burger being favorites...but if you're not a meat-eater, there's a selection of no-meat options as well.

Sources:

The Haunted Hamburger Homepage

The Arizona Paranormal Society Investigation Page

Fodor's Travel Review