Relics Restaurant is located at Historic Rainbows End, which is a Sedona Historical Landmark Attraction. It is the town’s oldest continuously operating restaurant established in 1946. The Gibson House and now the “Gibson” Room (pictured above) was built in the early 1900s by the Gibson family on the last homestead available in Sedona. Relics’ staff and many customers have suspected for years, while some have actually claimed to have experienced, paranormal activities occurring in and around the property. Some have even taken photographs, a potion of which are included herein. Many have been skeptical about such things including the owners; however, others have been convinced.
As a result of this reputation Relics’ paranormal activity and related history have been extensively investigated and filmed by the in March 2016 for a paranormal TV show. The Travel Channel 15 person team including internationally renowned psychic medium Amy Allan and private investigator Steve DiSchiavi spent one full week at Relics and around Sedona performing their investigation early in March 2016. For the filming part of their activity, Relics actually had to close for business for three days and nights to the dismay of its customers.
Yes!, Relics was confirmed haunted and therefore the only public location in Sedona known to be spirited. The extent to which can be partially seen to the left in a rendering of a “sketch” drawn by Sedona artist Sharon Porter and commissioned by Amy Allan to represent what she saw in the Gibson Room.
The remainder of what she saw and the actual “sketch” was revealed along with some unexpected results in The Offering episode which aired on Saturday, March 18th, 2017 (Season 7, Episode 13). You may view the episode by clicking here. In addition a short investigation was done by Susan Faith and Claudia Coronado. Their investigation synopsis can be viewed. You may also read the article about the filming in the Sedona Red Rock News. Relics was also featured as being haunted in the October 2016 issue of the Sedona Monthly magazine which you can read below.
This past spring, a 15-person crew from The Travel Channel’s show The Dead Files took over Relics Restaurant & Roadhouse at Historic Rainbow’s End for an entire week, closing the restaurant for three days. The team, including famed medium Amy Allan and retired homicide detective Steve DiSchiavi, was there to investigate the oft-repeated rumor that one of Sedona’s oldest dining establishments is haunted. (Relics opened as The Gibson House in 1946.) The results will be revealed during the show’s season finale in the spring, but Relics co-owner Joe DeSalvo says the team’s conclusion was that the building is absolutely haunted.
“There are several presences here, but we know the names of just two of them,” says Joe, who, along with Executive Chef Karen DeSalvo, has owned the steakhouse for 13 years. “One is Frank Gibson, who homesteaded here in the early 1900s. He’s the restaurant’s steward. The other ghost is Elizabeth, but we don’t know anything about her. And you’ll see on the show that there are spirits here resulting from the fact that this was a sacred spot for Native Americans.”
Joe himself is a longtime skeptic when it comes to paranormal activity, though that has changed in recent years. Ever since he purchased the place, customers have come to him with photos featuring strange apparitions and “orbs,” which some people believe are otherwordly in origin. Joe has collected some of these photos in a brochure and posted them
online so curiosity seekers can make up their own minds. He says most of the ghost stories have come from diners, though the restaurant’s staff has had their fair share of unexplained experiences. Joe’s office assistant claims to have seen Frank Gibson as a full-bodied apparition before she was even aware he was the restaurant’s original owner. Karen watched a cup fly across the kitchen in broad daylight and has felt a presence brush past her. (For those interested, the Lawson Room tends to see the most activity, though there’s a table in the Roadhouse reserved for ghosts and set with antique Tiffany china.)
Regardless if you believe in actual ghosts, Relics does have an eerie vibe. Joe and Karen spent nearly $1 million renovating the 7,000 square foot space when they purchased it, exposing stone walls, knotty-pine plank ceilings and original flooring. Joe enjoys antiques (the restaurant’s General Store – the oldest part of the space – doubles as an antiques shop), and authentic period pieces such as lamps and furniture can be found throughout the restaurant. Relics’ enormous wooden bar wa purchased from Ann Miller, who had a home in Sedona. The bar features lion heads with spooky glowing red eyes. Locally, Relics is perhaps best known for being an exterior location in the 1965 Western film The Rounders starring Glenn Ford and Henry Fonda.
— By Erika Ayn Finch
This photograph on the right was taken after the guest in the picture saw a full-bodied apparition sitting at the table she is pointing at in the Lawson Room. After seeing the ghost, she ran to the Bar to get her girlfriend only to discover when they returned that it was gone. Though disappointed, she had her girlfriend take a picture of the table where she had seen the apparition. The Orbs (2) were not visible with the naked eye; however, they could be immediately seen on the screen of her digital camera. It is just beneath her pointing finger, which she could not see she was pointing at until viewed with her digital camera.
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Imagine the surprise of this wedding reception couples’ first dance photo (above) taken in the Lawson Room, when they received the proofs from their photographer and discovered the Orbs (3). There had been no indication of paranormal activities occurring throughout the evening by any of their guests.
The photograph to the right of a couple sitting on bar stools was part of a series of 35 mm photos taken in rapid succession on the Patio next to the oldest building on the property and only this one that had the paranormal ghostly image. No one was smoking at the time.
A ghost/history and antiques tour is offered daily at 4:30 p.m. before opening – reservations required. The cost of the tour is $5 per person, which includes a future visit $10 Relics Dinner Gift Certificate. Make your reservation today!
While on the property feel free to use your ghost finder app, take photos and if successful e-mail us your results to [email protected] Scroll down for more pictures featuring our guests and the ghosts.
Picture taken by one of our guests of an orb at the ghost table.
“My wife and I visited beautiful Sedona in the last week of January, 2013.
The first night we were there, we ate at your restaurant. The food and service was excellent. We happened to have the dining room all to ourselves, which was a nice quiet change from what we are used to. Since we had the room to ourselves, we walked around and looked at the many antiques, and noticed the table reserved for your ghost. After sitting down at our table and ordering dinner, I took a couple pictures with my cell phone. In one photo, I pointed the camera towards the front little room with the ghost’s table and said out loud “Okay ghost, show yourself!” I was shocked to see a quite clear image of a person standing on the left side of image. The head is in the upper left corner, circled in red, and you can see it in profile looking down towards the wine glass on the table in the foreground.
The photos have only been adjusted slightly to increase the contrast, but are otherwise totally unaltered. Frankly, I think this is one of the best ghost photos I’ve ever seen, let alone taken. In fact, it’s the only photo of a ghost I’ve ever taken – – so far :)”
– Aaron Frick, 2013
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Our ghosts having a party of their own and hanging out with the Cuban Band on Hot Havana Night.
April 2013
“Thank you to all for making it a lovely night, one day after our wedding at Chapel of the Holy Cross and a great meal. Here is the orb photo as promised in the Gibson room showing the big dense white orb (above the below). Very strange. I don’t think orbs are usually that dense. This was with the flash on.”
Marcia Jedd & Chris Powell, 2018
A recent photograph sent in by one of our customers. This photograph was taken in a series of
shots in our Lawson Dining Room. The customer and his wife thought it was strange after
they realized this window is on the second story of the building.
A group of three customers from Texas submitted this photograph to us. After their tour of the restaurant they took some pictures in case they might get something given their interest in the paranormal. They were traveling in a 2012 CTS Cadillac station wagon which formerly belonged to one of the guest’s deceased husband. Thus the vehicle was christened the Bill Mobile. During dinner joking between the guests was made about Bill taking the trip with her, along with being a guest in the fourth chair at the dinner table. These guests are recognizing this Orb seen in the photo above as Bill.
A recent photo taken by a couple celebrating their 17th wedding anniversary. When they got home and looked at their pictures, this one stood out to them showing two glowing balls of light. Another picture was taken of same spot in succession and does show any anomaly in it.
A newly engaged couple had their picture taken at Relics and this very noticeable orb showed up in the shot.
An evening picture, taken by visitor Callie Eide and sent to us. This photo was taken in front of the building where various orbs were also in attendance.
This recently found photo was taken during the remodel of the Lawson Room in early 2003. At the time it was not known by the owners that Relics was haunted. Notice the orb in the upper left hand corner of the picture!
