If you’re in the market to buy a motel – look no further than Tonopah. You'll take possession of a 31-room motel --- and 600 clowns.
Owner Bob Perchetti has owned the motel for 22 years but this past July he turned 79 years old. Perchetti told KNPR's State of Nevada that he has three sons, five daughters, and 14 grandchildren that he wants to spend time with.
He says whoever buys the motel will have a lot of work to do.
"It's been really busy the past five or six months," Perchetti said, "Every since we were on "Ghost Adventures" and ever since the thing came out that said we're the scariest motel in the United States, it has gotten really busy."
He said it's not just people wanting to stay in the hotel, but people wandering in to take pictures and ask questions. One of the biggest draws to the area is the rumors that it is haunted. Perchetti said people have seen "abnormal" things happen at the cemetery, which is a few yards from his property, but his motel is free of anything strange, that he has seen.
Whether it is haunted or not, the Clown Motel gives off the creepy vibe to many people because of the 600 clowns. There is a real phobia associated with clowns not to mention the Stephen King classic "It," which has given clowns a bad name for decades.
Perchetti said he buys clowns from yard and estate sales and now people send him clowns.
"Just last week I got 40 clowns from a woman in Georgia who wanted a new home for her clowns," he said, "She had them her whole life. She didn't want to just have a yard sale and sell them. I sent her the money to freight them out here and they're on the shelf now. They have a happy home now."
So far, about five people have expressed interest in buying the motel.
From Desert Companion: When you look into the clown, the clown looks into you
Bob Perchetti, owner, the Clown Motel in Tonopah, NV
