Tombstone's wild past makes it an attractive subject for metaphysical speculation, with a history of violence and a strong mythos to this day.

Buildings like Tombstone's Bird Cage Theatre, a rowdy saloon that The New York Times once described as the "wildest, wickedest night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast," is at the heart of the purported spiritual inhabitants that haunt the city. With a history of murders and prostitution, the Bird Cage now operates as a museum that hosts ghost tours.

The Bird Cage Theatre was featured in a 2006 episode of "Ghost Hunters."
"It's been known for 100 years that the Bird Cage Theatre is a haunted building," said Nova Fleury, a tour guide at the Bird Cage who works on the paranormal tours. "Tombstone has been haunted forever. The town has a very violent past and many deaths [have] occurred here."

The existence of ghosts, however, has never been substantiated by any scientific method or professional.

"I don't consider Tombstone to be haunted," said Trisha Rawson, a Tombstone local who has given spirit tours every night since 2002. She accepts a $15 donation with proceeds benefiting her non-profit venture to buy headstones for deceased children.

"However, Tombstone is extremely [paranormally] active," she said. "It is not a negative portal. X amount of people lived here, and X amount of people want to stay here [after they die]. I have seen maybe five ghosts in my 10 years of living here."

Rawson notes that ghosts and spirits are two different beings.

"Spirits are anyone who has crossed before God," said Rawson. "They are warm, loving people just doing their thing. Ghosts, on the other hand, are someone who cannot cross over. They are stuck between the plateaus because they were a total a-hole in a past life. The way I see it, you can choose to work with God or you can choose to work with Lucifer. If you choose to work with Lucifer that's your choice. My greatest example of a ghost would be Hitler. Anyone can commit a fatal sin, but they can always choose to make it right."

Other common misconceptions people hold about ghosts and spirits include thinking of them as scary and negative entities. But this is not necessarily the case.

"When you encounter a ghost, everything in your body/core is telling you to run," said Rawson. "And you should. Just run. Something is wrong. When fear rips you, get away from that situation as fast as you can."

Fleury said that ghosts often times get a bad rap.

"People get the idea that ghosts are scary because this is what society and horror movies have told us to believe. Also, we don't really know that much about ghosts. It's really been in the past 15 years that there's been more scientific research being done."

Long time paranormal researcher Mark Boccuzzi, has been involved with haunting phenomena's since 1999 and is currently a research specialist in the psychology department at the University of Arizona.

"Spirits, whether they be human spirits or animal spirits, have been around forever. People have always been curious about what happens to you after you die."