The Ghost of Doc Holliday

I've spent the last few weeks researching the more notable figures from the town of Tombstone, Arizona for my latest book, True Tales of Ghostly Experiences: Spirits of the Old West. My book includes a story for each person that is featured along with the history behind their lives and reports of possible ghost connections. As I was putting the final touches on the book, I have realized that Doc Holliday has become my most favorite historical figure from the old west. The man was truly fascinating to say the least. He was born John Henry Holliday and he was always incredibly bright, even as a child. As he grew he found a love of science and mathematics and he even learned to speak several languages. His mother was very influential in his academic achievements as she pushed him toward excellence. Every day after school she would conduct additional lessons with him at home. This added attention to education paid off well for Doc, as he made his way through dental school and earned a doctorate of dental surgery at a fairly young age. He started practicing dental surgery but unfortunately he started to get sick. After seeing several physicians, he soon accepted the truth, he had tuberculosis. The illness was untreatable and would eventually take his life. What is worse is that the disease would ruin his dental career. Patients were very much aware the Doc was sick and they were fearful of contracting it themselves, especially if Doc were to cough while they were under his care. Eventually Doc gave up dentistry in favor of becoming a gambler. His superior intelligence made him an excellent card player but it was a dangerous profession as men were regularly killed due to squabbles over card games. Doc knew this and so he practiced shooting and drawing his weapon until he was quite proficient at both. Over time Doc developed a serious drinking problem and his rapidly deteriorating health coupled with a lot of liquor, left Doc drunk and belligerent most days. He also developed a fearless attitude toward dying in a brawl. He figured that taking a bullet was a more preferable death to the long suffering and inevitable end that his sickness promised. This fearless mind set coupled with Doc's drinking problem and his generally bad attitude made him quick to fight and quick to kill. Over time he left a string of bodies in his wake and he became a wanted man across several states. He most likely would have hanged for murder if it wasn't for an unlikely friendship that he formed with Wyatt Earp, a famous lawman from the time. At one time Doc saved Wyatt's life and then the Earp brothers tended to look past Doc Holliday's criminal activities and he was exempt from his crimes in the areas that the Earp's controlled. This didn't stop Doc from killing or otherwise maiming several more men whenever he saw fit. On one occasion, Doc Holliday nearly decapitated a man with a knife. The other man survived but he sported a long scar along his neck and several more on his face, all a result from Doc's blade. Another time, Doc disemboweled a man right at a card table and left him to bleed out with his entrails dangling on the floor. Considering these actions, it is no wonder why Doc Holliday became known as the "deadliest dentist in the west." Doc's own death was particularly interesting. He did die from tuberculosis as the disease took him into a state of utter delirium coupled with high fevers and blood traced coughing fits. On the day he died though, he was unusually coherent. He asked for a glass of whiskey and looked down at his bare feet and mused aloud that he always figured that he would die with his boots on, probably in a gunfight or some other brawl. After this comment, he smiled and sipped his whiskey only to fall dead a few seconds later.
As interesting as Doc's life and death were, his afterlife also proves to be fascinating. As part of my research I have interviewed people who have seen what they believe is the ghost of Doc Holliday. I have also read countless reports to this effect. The thing is that these reports span over three states. Doc's body is rumored to have been moved from his original burial site to a grave near his family. Both grave sites contain a marker with his name and his ghost has been reported in both locations. There have also been tons of reports of Doc Holliday's spirit haunting Tombstone, Arizona and including The Bird Cage Theatre and Big Nose Kate's Saloon. These were all places where Doc spent the better days of his life. Is it possible that Doc Holliday's spirit roams between the three locations? Can it be that his ghost has the ability to travel across several states and haunt various places that were significant to either his life or his death? Or is it simply a matter of believe wanting to believe that the spirits they have seen, or think they have seen, are attributed to Doc because of his fame and notoriety. These are topics that are discussed in my newest book. If you would like to contribute your thoughts to the matter, please leave a comment. I would love to hear from all of you, believers and skeptics alike. I would also love to hear from anyone who believes that they have had an encounter with the infamous Doc Holliday. Please share your stories and your thoughts and look for my new book, True Tales of Ghostly Experiences: Spirits of the Old West, coming soon!

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