Oddities from Around the World Presents: “Room for One More?”: Nevada’s Infamous Clown Motel and the Graveyard Next Door

Photo credit: Cam (Adobe Stock)

Article by: Nico Schepis

A Message from the Wandering Oddball

I decided to start a new blog series called Oddities from Around the world where stories are shared of the weirdest places. These are places I hope to or not hope to go to someplace. That way the you can read stories while I work on stories from my odd adventures. Today Loco Coco's boyfriend would like to share a tale he found odd. Take it away Nico!

“If the clowns don’t get you, the spirits will.”— Written on a motel room wall in Tonopah, Nevada

Welcome to the middle of nowhere. Where the desert stretches forever, the wind whispers like it knows something, and neon signs flicker like they’re trying to warn you away. Welcome to Tonopah — and more specifically, the one place in America you’d have to be truly brave (or deranged) to sleep: The Clown Motel.

Yes, that’s its actual name. And yes, it’s filled — floor to ceiling — with thousands of clowns. Some smiling, some grinning, some so old they’ve started to decay. But the real horror? It isn’t just the painted faces. It’s what’s right next door.

The Motel Built Beside the Dead

Let’s get this out of the way: The Clown Motel sits directly beside Tonopah’s old miners’ cemetery — a sprawling field of crooked headstones and forgotten graves dating back to the early 1900s. Over 300 souls are buried there, most of them victims of a horrific mine fire in 1911 and a deadly plague outbreak that followed just two years later.

Some say the motel was built to appease the spirits. Others say it was a dare that went too far. But whatever the reason, one thing is certain — the dead don’t rest quietly in Tonopah.

Guests report shadow figures peeking in their windows, whispers through the walls, and the sound of boots pacing just outside their doors… only to look out and see no one there.

Why Clowns? Why This?

In the 1980s, Leona and Leroy David opened the motel as a tribute to their father, a clown enthusiast who had amassed a disturbing collection over the years. That collection grew, and grew, and grew — until it became a circus of the damned.

There are now over 2,000 clown figures, paintings, dolls, and life-size mannequins scattered across the lobby, rooms, and even staring out from second-floor windows. One hallway is lined entirely with clown portraits — many of them donated by guests who… for whatever reason… didn’t want to take them home again.

Can you blame them?

Room 108: The Heart of the Darkness

Every haunted hotel has that one room. For The Clown Motel, it’s Room 108.

Former employees say guests frequently check into Room 108 and leave within hours. One man allegedly burst out of the room barefoot at 2 a.m., screaming about “a woman in white” who kept touching his face. Another claimed he saw a child crouched in the corner — but when he turned on the light, the child was gone… and the walls were covered in tiny handprints.

One popular theory? The room sits closest to the cemetery fence — a literal line between the living and the dead.

Voices from the Graveyard

As if the clown motel weren’t disturbing enough, the adjacent Tonopah Cemetery adds a second layer of horror. Paranormal investigators describe the energy as chaotic — more like a war zone than a peaceful resting ground.

EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) sessions have captured strange, guttural voices saying things like “Get out,” “No peace,” and “Clown.” Multiple psychics have claimed that the spirits are agitated, restless, and drawn to the energy created by the motel itself — a kind of unintentional lightning rod for the paranormal.

One investigator swore he saw a black figure crawl over the fence and disappear through the motel wall.

Cursed Objects and Possessions

Guests and staff alike have reported bizarre behavior around some of the older clown dolls, particularly one in the lobby named “Charlie.” Charlie’s eyes are said to follow people. And more than once, guests have returned to find him sitting in a different position than where he was earlier that day.

A former employee claims Charlie once went missing entirely — only to be found three days later sitting inside Room 214… a room that was locked and unoccupied at the time.

Locals believe Charlie is attached to something darker — a spirit, maybe, or worse, a demon wearing a grin.

A Night You’ll Never Forget — If You Survive It

Despite the legends (or maybe because of them), The Clown Motel has become a destination for thrill-seekers, paranormal investigators, and TikTokers looking for their next big scare.

The owners lean in to the terror, offering ghost tours, themed rooms, and late-night graveyard walks. But don’t let the marketing fool you — some guests never make it through the night.

Many leave their rooms half-packed. Some leave without checking out. A few have left with scratches they can’t explain.

And everyone — everyone — leaves with a story.

Travel Tips (If You Dare)

• 📍Location: 521 N Main St, Tonopah, NV 89049

• ☠️ Don’t wander the cemetery after dark. (You’ll feel it watching.)

• 🎈 Room 108 books fast — reserve in advance if you’re brave enough

• 🤡 Avoid eye contact with the lobby clowns. Just… trust me.

Final Thought

You don’t end up in Tonopah by accident. And you don’t stay at The Clown Motel unless you’re looking for something. Maybe a thrill. Maybe a ghost. Or maybe… you’ve always known this was where you’d end up.

Either way, you’ll never sleep the same again.