Picture, if you will, a man named Boyce Luther Gulley, who traveled across the country to Arizona in 1929 to battle tuberculosis. With no cure for the disease at that time, the dry desert air was said to be restorative for those suffering from tuberculosis. But Gulley wasn’t content to simply wait for his health to improve. Instead, he spent several years building a castle for his daughter Mary Lou.

The idea for the castle came from Mary Lou herself. According to the castle’s website, she and her father used to build sandcastles together on the beach in Seattle. When the tide washed them away, Mary Lou asked her father to build her a big and strong castle that she could live in. And so he did.

But it wasn’t until after Gulley’s death in 1945 that his wife and daughter discovered the castle. They eventually moved in and made it their home. However, the castle didn’t stay hidden for long.

As early as the 1940s, people stumbled upon the castle and it became a popular tourist attraction. Mary Lou started giving tours in the 1940s for 25 cents, which included a cup of coffee and a donut handed out by her mother. The castle caught the attention of Life magazine and was featured in a story titled, “Life visits a mystery castle: a young girl rules over the strange secrets of a fairy tale house built on the Arizona desert.”

The Mystery Castle is not your typical castle. With 18 rooms and 13 fireplaces, each room is uniquely decorated and no two rooms look the same. The castle was built using recycled materials such as wagon wheels and old window panes, and seating areas, desks, and storage spaces follow the contours of the building. The home even has a guest space called the Saguaro Room, a kitchen, and a courtyard with a wishing well.

But the real mystery of the castle lies in its original furniture and decor. Most of the antiques, artwork, and furniture were brought in by Frances and Mary Lou, and the castle is filled with eclectic items such as paintings of Frida Kahlo, leopard- and tiger-printed pillows, beagle posters and paintings, Native American art and woven crafts, rocks with cat faces painted on them, and family memorabilia including photos and framed articles about the Mystery Castle.

The Mystery Castle is a unique and enchanting place, filled with the love and creativity of a father who built it for his daughter, and the memories of a family who made it their home. It’s a place where the lines between fantasy and reality blur, and where visitors can step into a world that is truly mysterious and magical.