What the hell is The Clown Motel you’re asking? Oh, it’s just a motel filled with painted nightmares located next to an abandoned cemetery. The hotel has added to its title of “World Famous” to “America’s Scariest.”
Think of Stephen King’s IT and Pet Semetery combined into one real-life horror story. Let me tell you something, and take heed if you have a crippling fear of clowns- If you’re driving through Nevada late at night, and you come across this hotel, sleep in the damn car. You will have nightmares for the rest of your life. The Clown Motel sits in the middle of the Nevada desert between Las Vegas and Reno in the small town of Tonopah.
From the moment you step into the office, you are greeted by a life-size clown sitting in a chair; along with dozens of other little devils with makeup on their faces. The entire office is covered in them. , Furthermore, if that isn’t enough to scare you away, the rooms are all clown-themed as well. Dawning vertical striped walls and portraits of famous clowns such as Bozo and Pagliacci; Because everyone wants that staring at them when they go to sleep.
But if that isn’t enough to creep you out, literally just feet away from the daunting brightly lit clown sign is an abandoned cemetery right in the backyard, full of aged tombstones and broken wood.
Nice view from your window. The graveyard was shut down in 1911. The cemetery is full of early-century gold miners who died from the plague. It has been reported on Yelp by a few reviewers that they have come across the occasional pick ax while exploring around.
The Clown Motel is so famous that an independent film was inspired by its lore and even filmed on location there in 2019.
Furthermore, there are eyewitness paranormal stories that surround some of the rooms at the Motel, so be sure to book wisely.
Are you foolish enough to stay a night here? If you dare, make sure to call in advance and make a reservation because they are apparently usually booked up. The rooms are priced from $85 to $150. If you do manage to stumble across this gem of a place in the middle of nowhere and decide to stay, here’s a little video from the motel’s owner Bob Pancetti talking about his nightmare factory …. Sweet Dreams you brave soul.
[This article has been updated and edited; August 29, 2023]