The Old Tonopah Cemetery in Nevada has a dark history, made even creepier by the fact that it is currently located next to a clown-themed motel. This century-old cemetery was established in 1901 during Tonopah's earliest days as a mining town with roughly 300 permanent residents.
As reported in Atlas Obscura, fourteen miners are buried at the cemetery who lost their lives in the Tonopah-Belmont Mine Fire of 1911. The cemetery also holds victims of the mysterious "Tonopah Plague" of 1902, whose cause remains unknown to this day.The cemetery reached capacity by April 1911, forcing the growing town to establish a new burial ground.
Today, Tonopah has a population of about 1,200. "The cemetery is haunted," says Atlas Obscura, adding that "interested parties should inquire with the owner of the Clown Motel which is next door". If I lived in this town, a regular Saturday activity would likely be a trip to the clown motel and then a brisk walk through the cemetery.
