Goldfield Ghost Town celebrates scary before October and throughout the fall – and in that spirit, Fear Frontier, Goldfield’s tour provider, has unveiled this year’s spooktacular ghost tours in Apache Junction. New this year are private visits; groups of five or more can now have their own excursion with Goldfield’s Ghost experts.
Fear Frontier has been dishing on the terrifying legends of the gold mining ghost town from the 1890s for five years. Founder Matt Mason grew up a big fan of the darker shades of entertainment and history. He would watch vintage horror films, every Universal Monster movie, and even silent horror films like Nosferatu, Haxan, and The Phantom Carriage.
His love of the spooky and macabre led him to seek out places and things with dark histories, morbid backstories, mysterious tales, and old legends, such as The Blair Witch and Bloody Mary.
“I noticed as I began to physically go to more places, strange and almost ghostly things would happen. Hard things to explain would happen around me, like the kind of things that people would say were hauntings or paranormal activity,” Mason said. “I have been told by many that the paranormal seems to choose to be active around me.”
Mason said this is where the “hunting” part comes into play. Reaching into the dark and seeing if something reaches back has become fascinating and fun for him.
“I am more interested in the stories that this dark and its past might have to tell,” Mason said. “So my interests are somewhere between studying history and having a spooky fun time, all wrapped in the love of monster movies and ghost stories I have admired since childhood.”
Mason has visited various places where paranormal activity has occurred – mostly in Arizona – and said that Goldfield is where he’s seen more evidence of paranormal than anywhere else.
“After I became a guide at Goldfield Ghost Town, I learned a lot of history, had a lot of paranormal experiences – as did many other employees of the town,” Mason said. “This is also where I met Micheal Neveu, who helped get Fear Frontier started and is still a part of it today.”
In 2020, during the pandemic, a unique opportunity presented itself to Mason: a mostly outdoor attraction that people could attend. He pitched the idea to Goldfield owner Bob Schoose and said he was a bit hesitant.
“Bob has a history of seeing the town at night and the neighboring Superstition Mountain and has a history of prospecting, which always comes with a plentiful amount of superstition,” Mason said. “I believe the idea made him nervous, but he gave me the okay to try and see what comes of it. It’s been a success from day one.”
During the tours and private experiences, Mason guides guests by lantern light, sharing spooky tales around – and under – the town. Private tours will also include additional stops and extended sections of ghost hunting.
Tours on Monday through Wednesday require a minimum of 10 guests, Thursday and Friday evenings require 15 guests, and peak nights of Saturday and Sunday require 20 guests. Tours are priced at $40 a person and start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for public tours are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors, and $15 for kids. Public tours can have a maximum of 30 guests.
“People should experience our tour for a memorable night of spooky fun and humor in a safe environment,” Mason said. “Fear Frontier provides a more unique, up close, and personal experience than other ghost tours provide, with guides that truly care about your time with us.” For more, visit fearfrontier.net.
