If you are afraid of clowns, this is definitely not the hotel for you.
A YouTube video offers a glimpse of staying at the Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada, which prides itself on being “America’s Spookiest Motel.”
Content creator Josh brought his father to the hotel for the night and explained to viewers that the moment you step inside there is an unsettling atmosphere as more than 3,000 clowns of all shapes and sizes are on display.
To make matters worse, the motel overlooks a cemetery where 300 people are buried under crooked crosses and tin signs. Several of those interned there died of a mysterious plague in 1902, and 14 of them were miners who died in a fire in 1911.
A YouTube video offers a glimpse of staying at the Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada, which prides itself on being “America’s Spookiest Motel.”
Content creator Josh brought his father to the hotel for the night and explained to viewers that the moment you step inside there is an unsettling atmosphere as more than 3,000 clowns of all shapes and sizes are on display
Josh and his father, who live in California, were greeted at the front desk by the motel owner, who explained that people send him clowns from all over the world to display
To make matters worse, the motel overlooks a cemetery where 300 people are buried under crooked crosses and tin signs
Josh and his father, who live in California, were greeted at the front desk by the motel owner, who explained that people send him clowns from all over the world to display.
As he strolls through the wood paneled lobby, Josh’s dad exclaims in amazement, “I’ve never seen so much clown stuff in one place.”
After examining the crazy collection, the two checked into their room #210. This suite — priced at $130 — is based on the 1978 horror film Halloween and features a mural of serial killer Michael Myers on the wall.
Other themed rooms at the motel include The It, The Exorcist and Friday the 13th.
Looking around his room, Josh said, “My first impression was that this was going to be a very strange place to stay.”
Alongside the artwork by Michael Myers, his room featured a striking painting of two clowns hanging above the twin beds, complete with demonic-looking eyes and razor-sharp teeth.
Other things he points out in the YouTube video include graffiti stains scrawled on the wall by past guests, “some stains on the floor,” and a non-scary rose-patterned shower curtain.
He sums up the room “as it’s not the scariest motel in the United States,” saying, “I’d say it’s a no-frills motel, maybe like a slightly updated Motel 6.”
Josh’s suite – priced at $130 – is based on the 1978 horror film Halloween and has a mural of serial killer Michael Myers on the wall
In addition to the artwork by Michael Myers, a painting of two clowns with demonic-looking eyes and razor-sharp teeth hung above the single beds in his room
As he strolls through the wood paneled lobby, Josh’s dad exclaims in amazement, “I’ve never seen so much clown stuff in one place.”
If you stay at the Clown Motel, Josh says you can rent an EMF ghost detection device for $35 a day, but he’s opted to buy it from Amazon for $19.99 instead
The YouTuber sums up the room “as it’s the spookiest motel in the United States,” saying, “I’d say this is a no-frills motel, maybe like a slightly updated Motel 6.”
Despite the eerie surroundings, the two encounter no ghosts and their EMF device is confused by a telephone pole
Although it markets itself as being spooky, the father-son duo didn’t end up finding the motel particularly intimidating
If you stay at the Clown Motel, Josh says you can rent an EMF ghost detection device for $35 a day, but he’s opted to buy it from Amazon for $19.99 instead.
As darkness fell, he set off with his father to explore the adjacent cemetery and look for paranormal activity.
Despite the eerie setting, the duo encountered no ghosts and their EMF device was confused by a telephone pole.
Before bed, Josh set up a camera in his room to capture a time-lapse in case anything sinister happened, but again, the night was uneventful.
The next day, Josh and his father left the hotel with “I survived the Clown Motel” stickers as souvenirs.
Although it markets itself as being spooky, the father-son duo didn’t end up finding the motel particularly intimidating.
They summarized it as “a fun place” worth visiting [for].’
To date, Josh’s video has been viewed more than 25,000 times, and many viewers have thanked the filmmaker for sharing his motel experience.
One viewer wrote, “This is a great video.” As a kid, nothing scared me more than clowns. And I still feel the same way.’
Another commented, “This looks like great fun and all but I definitely couldn’t stay there as I definitely believe in ghosts!”
The Story of the Clown Motel
The Clown Motel was built around 1985 by siblings Leona and LeRoy David.
LeRoy David already owned the L and L Motel in town but wanted to build another next to the cemetery where his father was buried.
The two thought it was the perfect place to house their small clown collection.
Bob Perchetti bought the motel from the David siblings in 1995.
The motel got a big boost in 2015 when it was featured in an episode of the TV show Ghost Adventures.
Viewers saw blurry footage of a life-size clown mannequin sitting at the reception. The mannequin’s hand moved by itself.
“After that, we started seeing a lot more activity,” Perchetti said. “A lot more people stop.”
Donations were received and clown figures from Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand supplemented the already extensive collection.
The motel gets its employees – about seven permanent part-timers – from Tonopah. Some are locals, others are outsiders who came to town with no shelter.
Perchetti put the motel up for sale in 2017 for $900,000 and two years later it was bought by Hame Anand and his brother Vijay Mehar.
Their additions included two 19-foot-tall “funny clowns” in each apartment block and a series of themed rooms.
They also increased the previous owner’s clown collection from 600 to over 3,000.