Arizona's best Halloween party, the annual Haunted Hotel Ball, was founded in 2008 by the hotel’s infamous innkeeper and party host Mr. Franklin Bates. The hotel’s staff had been quietly and mysteriously disappearing until only Franklin and his zombie staff remained. Being a social creature at heart, Franklin craved more human interaction. He missed the liveliness of the hotel and longed for fresh blood to pass through the hotel’s door. So Franklin thought, “what better occasion to liven things up than his favorite holiday, Halloween?”

Mr. Franklin Bates set out to organize the most epic Halloween party anyone had ever experienced. He wanted to make it a night to remember for all and should it be a success, he hoped to do it every year inviting new victims, uh-ehm, guests, to experience the best Halloween costume party in the country. Franklin took great care in booking top DJ talent and making over the hotel from head to toe into a spooky Halloween paradise. The first annual Haunted Hotel Ball was held in Chicago at the W Hotel. The event sold out and was a great success. Soon Franklin had his sights set on expanding the party to other cities. The Haunted Hotel Ball over the next six years would also take place at the Mandalay Bay Las Vegas, Hilton Chicago and Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale.