- [Ryan] So this is Vulture Mine. - [Shane] Yeah. - [Ryan] The shafts don't exist anymore because they're either
collapsed or condemned. You want a rock to fall on your head, but as you can see, the bones of the ghost town
that surrounded the mine and were funded by it still remain. - [Shane] You've really, you've really outdone
yourself this season. - [Ryan] Yeah, I just
kinda looked into places that would make me want to die, and I think this checks that box. - [Shane] Yeah, it's pretty imposing. I think you nailed it. - [Ryan] It's gross. - [Shane] Come on. - [Ryan] Okay. Come on. (Shane laughs) This week on BuzzFeed Unsolved, we investigate Vulture Mine
and its surrounding ghost town in Wickenburg, Arizona as part
of our ongoing investigation into the question, are ghosts real? Shane, you've always told
that in a fantasy world, where ghosts exist, your words not mine. - Fantasy, yes. - That the only place that
would be haunted is a mine. - Yeah, seems like a lot of
misery, a lot of suffering, and people get trapped in them, so if ghosts were real, I
would put my money on mines. - Okay, well, maybe tonight
you'll get lucky then. Season premiere, we're
gonna look around this. - Jesus.
- Disgusting. Did I just blind you? Good, good, good, it'll
give you the vision. We have a car back there,
we got some bushes. I can't think of a better way
to kick off the season, right? - Great. Just don't shine your light in my face. - What was that? - Stop it. - Let's get into it. In 1863, a prospector
named Henry Wickenburg found a quartz deposit with gold in Arizona's desolate Sonoran Desert and founded Vulture Mine. The mine quickly became Arizona's
most successful gold mine. Imagine, if you will, a mine so rich that between 1863 and 1942,
it produced over 340,000 ounces of gold and
260,000 ounces of silver. To put that into
perspective, the gold alone would be valued today at a
shade over 430 million dollars. - [Shane] Woo, you could
do a lot with that, right? - [Ryan] Yeah, that's, that's safe to say. - [Shane] I guess I didn't
realize that places were actually flush with gold.
- Yeah. - [Shane] I thought one
person would show up, find a pound of gold, and then
500 other people would come and be sad. - [Ryan] No, these hills
were literally leaking gold, and it was just there for the taking. - [Shane] That's the only
reason I would have wanted to be alive back then, just so I could plunder metals. - [Ryan] The mine was so lucrative that an accompanying mining
settlement called Vulture City was built in 1866 to meet the
needs of the many new miners with a population of as
many as 5,000 residents. That's a lot for back then. I know that seems like a small number. - Here it is, yeah. - But for here, that's, that's overflowing.
- It's a boom town. Can you imagine just being in a town full of people who just do what you do? - That just love gold? They're there for greed essentially. This was a town running.
- What are you here for? I love gold. I love gold too. I love gold as well. That's everyone.
- That's everyone in the town. By the 1890s, there was a serious downturn in the mine's productivity. However, it wasn't until
the outbreak of World War II that mines non-essential to the war effort were shut down, ultimately
forcing Vulture Mine to close. This once booming city of gold now sits vacant as a ghost town, collecting only cobwebs and dust. Eerily, skeletons of
the town still remain. Dilapidated buildings and
leftover landmarks of tragedy are said to be haunted
by those who never left. So, this is the old ghost town. - Looks ghostful.
- Part of Vulture City. Here's the assay building. - [Shane] What's up here? - [Ryan] That's the Bordello. That's the hanging tree right there. The area in general has
reports of disembodied voices, cold spots, spirit orbs, and apparitions. That being said. - Take a drink, there it is. - Whoever's playing the
Unsolved drinking game, that being said. - That being said. - I'm gonna get you all
tanked this episode. That being said, let's go over
the highly active locations of this abandoned city. The first place we'll visit
is the old generator room, a dingy warehouse that once powered the entire mining operation. It is here that the
current owner of the mine claims a worker met an unfortunate fate. You don't feel even a little creeped out? - [Shane] No. - Of course. According to the current
owner of this mine, somebody got pulled into
this machine and grinded up. I don't really know
what this machine does. - [Shane] It's a people grinder. - It's not a people grinder. - It's a people grinder. - I'm sure it was used to
grind, to conduct energy, not to make people into
little beef patties. - Talk to us if you're
the guy whose guts got all spun around up into the rafters. Anything from you?
- Sure, what he said. - [Shane] I didn't like it. It wasn't fun. - Yeah, what do you expect? What insight are you
trying to gather from here? Alright, if there's anybody
in here right now with us that wants to say anything, make a noise. What is that? Who's walking around? Should we go see what it is? - [Shane] Yeah, maybe it's a little snake. - [Ryan] A snake with footsteps? - [Shane] Can you imagine a little snake wrapped around like a little pickax, short little hat on? - You heard those, right? That wasn't me just being crazy. - I think I heard metal
move, I don't know. I'm not trying to do that
whole dismissive thing, but I'm dismissing it. - [Ryan] One last time, we're
about to head out of here. - [Shane] Alright, alright, man. - [Ryan] I gotta chill. - You just gotta chill.
- I'm a chillin'. Vulture Mine is also where
the notorious Jacob Waltz, or as he's come to be
known, The Lost Dutchman. - [Shane] (laughs) He
sure does sound lost. - [Ryan] (laughs) - [Shane] Go on. - [Ryan] The Lost Dutchman
likely worked as a foreman for several years. Allegedly, Waltz was
one of the worst thieves the mine ever saw. Waltz also claimed to have a secret mine in the Superstition Mountains, where he would return with
enormous quantities of gold. To this day, nobody has found
the location of Waltz's mine, now referred to as The
Dutchman's Lost Mine, though some believe the
lost mine doesn't exist and that the gold Waltz
claimed to find there was merely gold that
he stole from Vulture. - Yeah, it was 100%. He's just showing up
with pockets full of gold and people are all like, uh. - Where'd you get that, Jacob? - I found it out in the hills. - It's from my secret mine. Only I know where it is. Don't check my what. - It only appears to me at midnight. - [Ryan] Unfortunately,
due to deterioration, the actual mining tunnels
are no longer safe for entry, but there is one place open for visitors that serves as a massive tombstone to former webs of mining tunnels. This spiritually active area
is unfortunately referred to as The Glory Hole. - [Shane] I thought
glory hole used to mean something very innocuous though. - [Ryan] It was innocuous back then, but this is, nah I was about to say, it got that name because penises (laughs). - [Shane] It's where the
men fucked the Earth, hoping to impregnate it with gold. - [Ryan] The Glory Hole is a
reported site of great tragedy. (Ryan and Shane laugh) - [Shane] Tell me, tell me
all about the tragedy, Ryan. - [Ryan] In 1923, this cavern collapsed after one of the stone support pillars was overmined for the
valuable ores inside of it. - (laughs) They were
mining the support beams? - Yeah. (Ryan and Shane laugh) - Carl, I don't think you should do that. That's a sup--. Nah, there's gold in here, I know it. - Mind your own business. I'm gonna strike it bare. The collapse killed seven
miners and 12 burros, leaving their bodies trapped
and undiscovered in the rubble. Former caretaker Marty Hagan believes the collapse occurred because
the seven ill-fated miners were stealing, thus chipping
away extra without regulation. He believes part of the
reason their bodies remain is due to the fact that they were thieves, and a proper burial wasn't high priority. Just imagine all that we're standing in was just miles of elaborate,
complex, intertwining tunnels. - [Shane] 13 miles? - 13 miles. And now just all, in
one fatal swoop, gone, burying people down below. That's crazy. That being said, a bug flew up my nose. - [Shane] Yeah, I think
I've swallowed about six tablespoons of bugs at this point. - [Ryan] If there's anybody who wants to let their presence be
known, say something, move something, maybe
even throw something. - [Shane] A rock slide
would be very efficient. - [Ryan] God, I feel like I can't believe I'm provoking these people. It's so silent. - [Shane] Aside from the
bugs in my ears, yes. - [Ryan] Is it true that you stole gold and you were down here when
you weren't supposed to be? You took a little bit
more than you should have and that's why you got crushed to death? Ooh, geez, that was.
- A bat flew right behind you just now. - Are you serious?
- Yeah. That bat was straight
up going for your ass. It was an ass bat. - [Ryan] Alright, well, I
think we're gonna leave. Maybe I'll hear you later
when I analyze this audio, or according to Shane, it
will just be rocks rustling or a rubber shoe pivoting,
something stupid like that. - [Shane] You honestly think we'll get audio of rocks rustling around here? (Ryan laughs) - [Ryan] Another paranormal hotspot is the two-story assay building, once used to produce bars of
semi-pure gold and silver. Back in the day, this
building contained a vault, where these bars and precious
metals were kept safe. It said that the whole
city in general was lawless and ran rampant with crime. - [Shane] I love it,
especially crime's even better when it just involves bars of gold. - [Ryan] So, also one
interesting fact about the city that I haven't included is, it was ran mostly by vigilante justice. So, there was just,
people were running amok, stabbing people in the neck. - [Shane] This is great. I'm a big fan of the West, you know? - [Ryan] Yeah, yeah. - [Shane] Cowboys, Westerns,
I like Deadwood on HBO. - [Ryan] It was a lot going, it was action, dancing, gold, smooching. - [Shane] Dancing? - [Ryan] Dancing, gold, smooching, action, that's all they did back in the day. - [Shane] Lordy. - [Ryan] Yeah, that sounds
like your kinda town, except for the action part. - Yeah, I'm more of a rocking guy. - You're more of a dancing
and smooching kind of guy. - Bring me some gold. Bring me some smooches. - And then, running away from the action. - No action? - [Ryan] Even so, the assay building, due to the valuables
that it was protecting, was reportedly under constant attack by avaricious bandits hoping
to procure the gold inside. While we have no documentation
confirming these attacks, one could assume that such a violent area may have resulted in some deaths, perhaps explaining the negative
field reported by visitors to the assay building. People have reported rocks being thrown and dust falling from the
ceiling as if someone is above. One investigator captured an EVP of someone saying, "Get out." Oh, there is a rat. There's a big ass rat. - [Shane] Where'd he go? - [Ryan] He's behind the tarp. - [Shane] Ain't that just like a rat? - [Ryan] This is pretty intense. This looks like some kind
of kiln of some sort, I'm not sure but. - [Shane] A furnace maybe? - [Ryan] At this moment,
our audio recorder picks up what sounds like a loud whisper. - [Shane] Now, what do you think that is? - [Ryan] Well, I think it's a whisper, but that's also because, if you notice, it's going over my voice. - [Shane] It sure is. - [Ryan] I think it's fair to say it's not either of our voices. - [Shane] Here's the thing,
there's so many different noises going on at once here. And then, what? There's a ghost whisper
somewhere in this little moment? And what does it say? It just goes (coughs). - (laughs) I think.
- That's the message from the great beyond? God said, "Go back to Earth. "You're not done yet. "I want you to tell them something." "Oh, what do you want me
to tell them?" (coughs) (Ryan laughs) - [Ryan] Is there anybody
in here with us right now? - [Shane] Other than the rat. - [Ryan] Other than the rat. So, this is the storage room. This is where they actually
kept all the bars of gold. There's a vault in here somewhere. And I imagine this is the room that was under constant attack by bandits. - [Shane] Maybe there's some leftovers. - [Ryan] I doubt it. Holy moly. - [Shane] How are you feeling, Ryan? Does this spook you? - [Ryan] Yeah, I don't like that room. - [Shane] What don't you
like about this room? - [Ryan] Oh God, oh God. Is there anybody in here with us? I feel like there is. - [Shane] You feel someone in here? Oh, there's another rat. - [Ryan] Where? - [Shane] On the ground. - [Ryan] Dead? - [Shane] No, he's moving around. He's under the wood. Just a heads up. - Right now, we are in the living quarters of the assay office. We have a motion light right there. We're gonna ask something
to walk near that table. There's a tripod right there. There's a tripod right there. There's our GoPro, and
obviously, Shane has a camera. We are the only ones in this building. - [Shane] Nobody else in the room. - [Ryan] This is gonna be insane. If this turns on, I'm gonna lose my mind. If you're here, once again,
please step near that table. There's a light box on top of it. Just step near it. This table. This is making me so sad. - [Shane] I'm not gonna gloat here 'cause at this certain
point, I feel bad for you. What happened to the thing
where you talk to them like, like you're one of their pals in the era? - Like a cowboy accent like this? - [Shane] Howdy, I'm just
here to steal your gold. - You'll be doing my favor. Take that gold right there on the table. - [Shane] Didn't take you for a coward. - I guess that's all you are. - I stole your gold and your wife. - [Ryan] Another troublesome
landmark in Vulture Mine is the hanging tree that
still stands on the property. - [Shane] I just like that
they found one good tree and they were like, "That's the one." - [Ryan] "This one's sturdy." - [Shane] "We're gonna
use that over and over." - [Ryan] It's not doing anything
else besides casting shade. Not throwing shade, but casting shade. - [Shane] Do you think people felt bad catching shade from that
tree on a sunny day? - [Ryan] I can't imagine they picnicked under the hanging tree,
especially 'cause a lot of times they just left the body hanging there. - [Shane] What? - [Ryan] Anyways, moving on. In fact, some believe
that Henry Wickenburg, who, at the end of his life, declined in both health and wealth, committed suicide by
gunshot near this tree. Either way, the remains of
Wickenburg's personal cabin still sit by this tree. But as the name would suggest, this tree held a much
more ominous purpose. According to legend, as many as 18 miners were hung from this very tree between the 1860s to about 1900, the crime being stealing. It's said that hangings at this time were particularly brutal, due to the fact that the condemned
person was set on a rock which was then kicked out from under him. Using this method, the
amount of time it would take to die slash suffocate could
take between two minutes and two hours. - [Shane] Oh, no neck-snapping, huh? - [Ryan] No, they would just
sit there on their tippy-toes, and eventually they would get tired. - [Shane] (sighs) That's rude. - [Ryan] And they would slowly suffocate. - [Shane] You just wanna,
just be a gentleman. If you're gonna hang someone,
be a gentleman about it. - [Ryan] Well, also don't steal. You wanna dance with the devil, you gotta live with it
when he sets you on fire. - [Shane] Okay, you gonna embroider that on a pillow or something? (laughs) - [Ryan] No. - [Shane] That's a very,
it's like a old maxim. - [Ryan] I don't think that's actually, I just made that up. - Oh, very good. - Okay. (laughs) - Very good.
- Great. Even more horrifying, they apparently wouldn't bury
the bodies in a cemetery, but instead on site. Some believe there are bodies
littered around the area. - [Shane] I mean, this
is a hell of a tree. - [Ryan] I mean, it
definitely has character. It looks like a Tim Burton tree. - [Shane] It seems like one
of those Wizard of Oz trees that comes to life and fucks you up. - [Ryan] By the way, this
foundation (screams). Was that a bat or was that a bird? - [Shane] We're in bat country, buddy. - [Ryan] Fucking, I don't want them flying towards my face
all the time, Jesus. This is Wickenburg's house right here, the man himself, the guy who pretty much died in the streets. Why don't we just reach out right here, in between the hanging tree and Wickenburg's house?
- Perfect. - [Ryan] Kill two birds with one stone. - [Shane] I do like that his
home was right by the tree. He was like, we'll hang these men right outside my bedroom window. - (laughs) He probably likes sipping on a little cup of tea, watching them kick to their death. And that's what you get,
stealing from my mines. - [Shane] Jesus. Maybe the guy did deserve
to die in the streets. - [Ryan] Alright, if there's
anybody here right now, whether it be Henry or
any of the 18 anonymous who hanged from this tree. I got a sudden hint of bravery right now. - [Shane] Use it. Please take advantage of this moment. - [Ryan] Yeah, I'm
feeling brave right now. - [Shane] Put him in his place. - Yeah, show yourself. If there was actually 18 people who met their death at
this spot, show yourself. Oh, that's just the camera
hitting the branches. I immediately lost all the courage I had as soon as I heard a noise. - He thinks you're cowards. - I don't. Okay, I retract that. I was.
- Thieves. - I was in a moment of, I think it's a little hot out here. - Scoundrels.
- I got a little bit of heat stroke. - Scoundrels. - [Ryan] Arguably the most
active area on the property is the old schoolhouse, used to educate the
children of the miners. People have reported seeing a dark figure and hearing children's laughter. In one instance, an investigator
was physically attacked by being pushed. Rumor has it that near the schoolhouse, there is a mass grave of
children who died of the plague, feeding the spiritual
activity within the house. - So, what's the factual
basis behind the plague? What plague? - I don't know. There's no records. - What plague? What, did a teacher just open up her mouth and flies came out? - (laughs) I don't know. It says, rumor has it
there's a mass grave. - A lot of rumors in this one, huh? - They're trying to figure out
why this house is so active, full of schoolchildren, and rumor is there's a mass grave and that's all I could offer. - So, when you read something like that, are you gonna be scared
tonight to go over there? - Yeah, I'm gonna be scared, I'm scared sitting here. I got scared by rain. - Yeah. Yeah, you did. - [Ryan] This is the main room. I'm guessing this is where
the kids were taught. There's a chalkboard. They will come for you. I heart ghost kids. - [Shane] (laughs) I heart ghost kids. - [Ryan] Now, once again,
people hear laughter in here. Some people have even said they think they heard the piano play. God, I hate this whole building. - [Shane] How about this room? - [Ryan] Oh boy. - [Shane] Not bad. - [Ryan] This is a nightmare. - [Shane] Look, it says
"Help" on the wall. - [Ryan] Oh my God. - [Shane] What? - [Ryan] It's a fucking dead bird. - [Shane] What? Oh, that's the omen or something. - [Ryan] Why is there a dead bird in here? - [Shane] There was
probably a live bird in here and then something
happened that made it dead. - [Ryan] Oh, great analysis, Doc. Oh Jesus, it's all
rotted, its eyes are gone. This is horrifying. - [Shane] Well, its eyes
aren't gonna stick around. - [Ryan] I wonder what's in that closet. Nope, don't even check. - [Shane] I'll check. What if I open this and a
thousand rattlesnakes jump up? - [Ryan] Then, I'm gonna run. - [Shane] Alright. Let's boogie, boys. It's a mattress. And dirt. - [Ryan] As Shane looks inside the door, our audio recorder picks
up what sounds like a whisper from a small child. - [Shane] And dirt. Again, I don't find it compelling. I'm not, I don't listen to
these and outright think, "I'm gonna deny all of these "just because I have to prove a point." - Will you at least.
- I just don't find it very compelling. - [Ryan] Will you at least admit that it's more compelling
than the other one? - [Shane] Yeah, it sounds
like something being scraped, sounds like a scrape.
- Are you kidding? This one sounds like a kid. - [Shane] That sounds like a kid? - [Ryan] To me it does,
like an evil little kid. - On the first day of kindergarten, the teacher goes, "And what's your name?" And the kid says, (mumbles). - [Ryan] What's in this one? - [Shane] This is fun 'cause
now you have to open this door 'cause I opened that one. What if you picked the wrong one and there's like a clown with
a decaying face in there? - [Ryan] What if you pick the wrong one and there's a fucking clown
with a decaying face in there? - [Shane] Open the door. Stop joking. - [Ryan] What if, okay, I'm running. Just letting you know. - [Shane] Fuck, a lot of glass in here. (whispering "Just a closet") Don't step on the bird. - [Ryan] Alright, we're
gonna kill our lights. And when we do. - [Shane] Hey, by the way, this is growth. You're killing your light
without even whining about it or being afraid. - [Ryan] I want to find some proof. - [Shane] Okay, cool. Please communicate with us. Here we go. - [Ryan] Oh my God. Okay, if there's anybody here right now, make a noise, move something, I guess touch us if you want. - [Shane] Touch us. - [Ryan] Shut up Shane. I think that door's opening. I didn't want to say anything. - Oh, it is.
- It's moving. - [Shane] Is that upsetting to you? - [Ryan] I think that door's opening. It may be the wind. I'm gonna say it's the wind. If that is you opening the
door, please swing it open. Oh God. - [Shane] It is certainly opening. - [Ryan] Oh my God, I'm
fucking getting the chills. Oh my God, I'm freaking
out, man, I'm freaking out. - [Shane] Put your hands on my shoulder. I'll keep my back to you. I don't even need to see you. Open that door wider and wider. - [Ryan] Oh my God. - [Shane] Yes. - [Ryan] I'm getting, my goose, all the hair on my body's
standing up right now. - [Shane] Come on, children,
push that door open. - [Ryan] Okay, we're leaving now. I'm gonna turn my light back on. Oh, Jesus Christ. - [Shane] I don't know if
it was actually opening or if it was just.
- Oh, it was opening. - [Shane] Oh, was it? - [Ryan] My heart is beating so fast. I need to get the fuck out of here. To finish this out, let's visit one of the entertainment venues, much like a miner after a long day. One of these venues was a
bordello that still stands today. It is here that the spirit
of a woman named Mexican Rita is said to exist. Alright, this is the Bordello Suite. This is where the fellas went to get their carrot waxed, so to speak. - [Shane] That is not a euphemism. - [Ryan] Oh it is. Their carrot was shiny. - [Shane] Let's play a
game of bury the corn cob. Now you see it, now you don't. - [Ryan] Ooh, I don't like it in here. - [Shane] No? - [Ryan] Jokes aside, I
kinda hate it in here. Ooh, boy. Holy fucking goddamn it, more bats. Jesus Christ with the bats
in this place, fucking. Alright, ready? I'm gonna be silent. At this moment, our audio
recorder picks up a voice, possibly saying, "what." - [Shane] Again, it
doesn't sound like a voice. - [Ryan] That clear--,
okay, what did you think it? - [Shane] It just sounded
like us moving around. - [Ryan] Okay. Listen to it again.
- We were both crouched on the ground, moving around. - Yeah, listen to what word
you think this is saying. I think it's pretty
clear what it's saying. - [Shane] I guess I could hear a "what." - [Ryan] Thank you. Thank you. That clearly sounds like "what" to me. - [Shane] Yeah, but it could
also be 20 other things. - Okay, at least say this. It's more compelling than the other two. - It's the best you've gotten so far. - Ever?
- But it also sounds. Yeah, probably. - It's pretty good, right? - Everything else you have is shit. - Shit. Rita, Rita or maybe one of the gents, Henry if you used to
frequent this bordello, or is anybody in here with us? What's your name? - [Shane] What did you stop in for? - [Ryan] We know what they stopped in for. They came in here.
- Like I want specifics. - You mean, they came in here
to get their pickle polished. It's pretty obvious. - I know. - [Ryan] Oh, the bat's back. Maybe let's move to the other room. Oh, there's two rooms. Oh, this must, okay, so these must be. - [Shane] Oh, there's more bats. - [Ryan] Oh wait, there's two bats. Oh, there's three. Oh my God. There's so many bats. (Ryan screams) - [Shane] There's too many bats. - [Ryan] If I left a Yelp
review of this place, it would say, "Far too many bats." - [Shane] Far too many bats. We get it with the bats. - [Ryan] Yeah, 20 too many. One bat's fine, that's kinda cute. - [Shane] At this point, who
are you trying to impress with all the bats?
- But a band of bats, come on, man. It's a goddamn party city in there. - [Shane] Nobody needs that many bats. - [Ryan] No one can say for certain if the former residents of Vulture Mine haunt this historic site. It was a place of great prosperity but also violence and tragedy, making it reasonable to
expect spiritual artifacts, but whether or not Vulture
Mine is definitively haunted will remain unsolved.
The plague they were referring to is the 1918 Plague, sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Spanish Flu, despite the fact that the plague originated in Kansas