America’s ‘scariest’ motel houses a 7,000-clown collection

America’s Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada, bills itself as one of the creepiest places to stay in the world, thanks to a collection of about 7,000 clown figurines and memorabilia, a string of horror-themed rooms, and its location next to the historic Tonopah Cemetery. The property has cultivated its haunted reputation through years of stories about unusual activity reported by guests and nearby lore surrounding the cemetery, which sits adjacent to the town’s mining-era graves.

The motel was built in 1985 by Leona and Leroy David to honor their father, a clown lover who left behind a sizable collection of toys, ornaments, figures and artwork. What began as a personal tribute evolved into a lodging business that now markets itself on the unusual and unsettling atmosphere that surrounds the property. From just $79 per night, guests are offered a chance to experience “the excitement of the unknown” in rooms that deliberately mix traditional motel amenities with theatrical, sometimes disturbing, designs.

Inside, the Clown Motel’s 31 rooms are advertised as standard in layout—each includes a bed, sofa and desk, along with a television, refrigerator, microwave and coffee pot—but the decor is anything but conventional. Some rooms burst with bright colors, mismatched furniture and clown memorabilia, while others are themed around horror cinema and literature, drawing on popular franchises like The Exorcist, Friday the 13th, Chucky and Stephen King’s IT. The overall effect is meant to unsettle even seasoned travelers, reinforcing the property’s branding as a destination for thrill-seekers and collectors alike.

Among the haunted-looking spaces, Room 108 stands out for its Pennywise mural and is cited as one of the motel’s most active rooms. Guests have reported hearing disembodied voices and feeling a presence while staying there. Room 107, nicknamed “Fear Unlimited,” is described by guests as featuring distorted clown imagery and reports of unexplained banging and unusual sounds in an otherwise empty room. The motel’s own site notes that Room 107 was closed for four years after a pair of deaths in the last decade; it reopened in May after management cited a surge of peculiar activity in neighboring rooms and corridors that year.

To accommodate specter-seekers and skeptics alike, the motel offers EMF readers for rent so guests can try to measure electromagnetic activity, a feature some visitors link to spirits. Beyond its rooms, The Clown Motel runs a free-to-visit Clown Museum, home to thousands of clown figurines and memorabilia, and a gift shop that sells souvenirs and photo opportunities with life-sized clown cut-outs. The property also welcomes clown donations from guests and non-guests in a bid to build what it describes as the world’s largest clown collection, with the website inviting donations of “all kinds of clowns, including artwork and other clown paraphernalia.”

The broader experience is often shared by visitors on social media. A traveler going by the handle @jeff.c.rhoades described the stay as among the creepiest and most unique road trips he has documented, highlighting Room 108’s mural and the sense of presence some guests reported. Another user, @counting.countries, called it “every bit as creepy as it looks,” while @afpistudio urged that the motel offers a spine-tingling, one-of-a-kind stop for thrill-seekers or travelers simply passing through.

The Clown Motel’s combination of a collectible trove, themed rooms and proximity to a cemetery has helped it become a notable roadside attraction in the American West. While some guests embrace the unsettled atmosphere as part of the experience, others approach with caution, drawn by curiosity about a place that doubles as a museum and a lodging option. Management and marketers emphasize that the rooms provide a dramatic departure from typical motel stays, and the on-site museum and donation program reinforce the property’s mission to preserve and expand its clown collection.

Whether viewed as a Halloween-season spectacle year-round or a quirky lodging for adventurous travelers, the Clown Motel remains a symbol of the era’s fascination with eerie aesthetics, collectible culture and the enduring appeal of haunted lore in tourism. At its core, it is a family-founded business that grew from a personal passion into a unique cultural landmark, attracting visitors who are curious about the intersection of memory, memorabilia and the uncanny.