By Brian Munchie
Feb 20, 2021
It all started in Tonopah, Nevada back in 1985 when Leona and Leroy David built this motel in memory of their father Clarence David who died in the Belmont Mine Fire and is buried at the Old Tonopah Cemetery right next door.
Clarence David was a clown lover and left a collection of 150 clowns in his home which Leona and Leroy David decided to use as the theme and focal point of their motel in memory of their father. The Clown Motel was named “America’s Scariest Motel” due to its clown theme and proximity to the cemetery where many miners were laid to rest due to the Tonopah-Belmont Mine Fire of 1911.