#ThisIsTucson adventures: We went ghost hunting with Tucson Ghost Company & Society 😱

For Tucson residents looking for an unusual way to experience local history, the Arizona History Museum took on a different atmosphere Saturday evening. The exhibits were dark, Halloween decorations filled the galleries, and visitors moved through the building with flashlights, electromagnetic field readers and other equipment during a one hour ghost hunt hosted by Tucson Ghost Company and Society. Analeise and Isa joined the Oct. 17 event, known as “Night at the Museum,” to explore the museum after hours and see whether they could make contact with spirits said to linger among its exhibits.

The event offered more than a conventional museum visit. Upstairs, guests moved through recreated bedrooms and other historical displays, then spread out to test tools placed around the building. The equipment included EMF readers, twist flashlights and light up cat toys that activate when touched. Visitors were encouraged to ask questions and watch for responses, although the experience left room for uncertainty about what caused each device to react.

During one smaller investigation, Analeise and Isa settled at a table with a light up cat toy and a flashlight. As they asked questions, the flashlight flickered on and off, changing in brightness. Later, the group gathered in a circle in the dark, placing an EMF reader and cat toy in the middle while participants took turns speaking to any spirits that might be present. The EMF device flashed once or twice, but the alleged spirits appeared less responsive with the full group watching.

The second half of the investigation moved downstairs to the museum’s recreated mine shaft, one of the most visually dramatic areas of the evening. Spiders hung from the ceiling, skeletons appeared around corners and a lone light provided limited visibility. Becky McKiddy-Gydesen, owner of Tucson Ghost Company and Society, said her team regularly notices activity in the mine, including shadows and footsteps. During the group session there, she invited spirits to make sounds or interact with the equipment and lights. A strobe light came on unexpectedly while questions were being asked, though the rest of the session was quiet.

For the visitors, the setting itself was a major part of the appeal. Walking through historic displays after dark, with artifacts visible only in fragments and Halloween decorations adding to the mood, created an eerie experience even without a definitive paranormal encounter. The museum’s familiar exhibits became less recognizable in the shadows, making the simple act of exploring the building feel like an adventure. The evening demonstrated why ghost hunts can attract people who are interested in both Tucson’s history and the possibility of something beyond it.

McKiddy-Gydesen has run Tucson Ghost Company and Society since 2013. She said her interest in the paranormal began early, after growing up in a haunted house and later living in a haunted apartment. She did not initially expect that interest to become a career. Discovering the television series “Ghost Hunters” helped her realize that other people openly shared her fascination, and a ghost hunt in Bisbee deepened her interest. She eventually purchased the rights to Tucson Ghost Company from the same owner connected to the Bisbee tour.

After people learned that McKiddy-Gydesen was local, she said they began sharing their own stories with her. Those accounts became part of her Haunted History Tour, a roughly 90 minute walking experience through downtown Tucson’s reportedly haunted locations and Old West history. The tour begins near the Presidio at JoJo’s and visits about six or seven sites. McKiddy-Gydesen said the route had to be shortened because downtown has so many places associated with hauntings. The tour costs $20 per person and is offered almost nightly.

She also hosts “Monday Boos” once or twice a month at JoJo’s, located at 76 W. Washington St. During those investigations, participants are locked inside and outside the building after the lights are turned off. Paranormal equipment is set up as guests try to communicate with spirits reportedly connected to the property. McKiddy-Gydesen has described reports of cigar smells, shadowy figures and sensations of being touched, along with stories involving two ghostly cowboys. She says one is a prankster who pinches women, while the other is protective.

Another frequently reported presence is a little girl whom McKiddy-Gydesen says she has encountered many times. She has said the girl appeared to play with her daughters, including during games of ring around the rosie when objects moved. On one occasion, McKiddy-Gydesen said she saw what she believed was the child and initially thought her own daughter was trying to frighten her, only to learn that her daughter was elsewhere. Tucson Ghost Company and Society’s museum investigation generally takes place once a year around Halloween, while information about its other tours and McKiddy-Gydesen’s new book, “I’m Paranormal,” is available through the company’s website.