The Gruesome History Surrounding the Clown Motel

When you think of Nevada's Clown Motel, you think of it as one of the few surviving examples of American tourist kitsch. Or you may know its reputation for being haunted. How could you think otherwise, when you are surrounded by clowns? There are 2,000 of them in the lobby alone! But if you are staying overnight in the town of Tonopah, you won't have anything else to do but learn some of its history, and that can be rather frightening.
Tonopah was a silver mining boom town that sprung up out of nothing around 1900, with about 3,000 people. But in 1905, the miners began dying quickly and horrifically from a malady that made their necks swell up and their bodies turn black. This "Death Harvest" killed so many men that quite a few other miners fled the town. Then in 1911, a fire in the mine killed another 17 workers. One of them was Clarence David, who collected clowns. His children grew up and opened the Clown Motel in 1985. Tonopah's cemetery is right next to the Clown Motel, and holds around 300 graves dated between 1901 and 1911. Those buried there include victims of the Death Harvest, the mine fire, childhood disease, and murder. Read about the gruesome history of Tonopah and the Clown Hotel at New Lines Magazine. You can also listen to the article. -via Strange Company
PS: Chloe Moriondo's music video mentioned in the article is not out yet, but it will appear at her YouTube channel when it's available.