Ghost Stories and Haunted Places in Utah

When I was a teenager I had the chance to spend some time in Utah, right around the Salt Lake City area. It was beautiful out there, so beautiful that I found it hard to leave. Back then I had no idea of the many haunted places this state has to offer.

First is the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Depot in Salt Lake City, a place I had the chance to visit up close and in person. This building from 1910 now houses the local historical society and has a black haired woman in a purple dress that haunts it. Supposedly the woman was engaged to a man living in the area and came into town frequently for visits. The two had a fight, her ring ended up on the tracks and she was hit by a train when she attempted to grab it.

This Utah landmark is also haunted by a strange group of people in the cellar area. Those who have wandered across them claim that it looks like they're having a party of sorts. Employees working late at night have also heard footsteps as if someone was walking around the closed building. Of course when they investigate, they find nothing.

Salt Lake City is also where you'll find the haunted Brigham Young Forest Farm House. Young lived in the house with one of his many wives, a young woman named Ann Eliza Webb Dee. She was the 19^th wife he took and she was unhappy the entire time she lived there. Eventually she divorced Young, wrote a book about her life with him and spoke out about Mormonism. Today many people claim the woman still haunts the house. There are stories about people seeing her ghosts, hearing someone playing with the doors and things moving around on their own. Other stories include phantom smells and footsteps.

Utah is also where the Great Salt Lake is located, which has a few ghost stories of its own. During the 1800s a man by the name of John Baptiste quietly worked as a gravedigger in Salt Lake City, though few knew what he actually did to make ends meet. When he was caught, the man was sentenced to time alone on an island in the lake, but he mysteriously disappeared soon after. Today people claim that Baptiste still haunts the island, with stories that some have seen him standing on the island.

Utah also has the story of the three Nephite. Supposedly these three men with white beards come forth when someone's about to have a run of good luck. Often these stories surround a poor mother who needs help caring for her children and sometimes people claim only one or two Nephite visitors will bring good luck.

You'll also find the Alfred McCune Mansion in Salt Lake City, Utah. Alfred and his wife Elizabeth Ann commissioned the design of the house from C.S. Dallas, based on one they saw and loved on a trip. In 1901 the couple moved into their dream house, with no idea of what the future held. At one point Alfred was shot at while calmly sitting inside and at another point, the house was robbed by several men armed with guns. There were always the parties his wife had, where she invited all her female friends into town, banned the husbands and only allowed the women to wear simple clothing.

There are a number of ghost stories told about the McCune Mansion. The couple loved having music in their home and even when the house is near empty, people have heard the soft strains of music. Others have seen lights turning on and off, found things moved and had doors and windows lock or unlock on their own. There are also stories of strange figures seen inside the house such as a man wearing a cape or a woman in white.

You also have to add the stories told about the Dove Creek Camp in Kelton, Utah to your list. This spot was once the site of a large camp where Chinese men working on the railroad line once lived. People in the area late at night have seen strange lights, heard voices talking in a foreign language and even heard the sounds of a train passing by. These experiences are shared by man of those who dared venture into the area after dark.

Cedar City's Southern Utah University is also haunted. The auditorium on campus is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a former pianist who died at the school. Some people walking by at night have heard the sounds of someone playing the piano. Another version of the story claims that the girl died before playing her final performance, which is why she haunts the building.

Stories are also told about another building on campus, Old Main. Legend persists that one stone will bleed blood because it's the exact spot where a worker was killed during the building's construction. Another story claims a series of bricks are blood red because a former custodian murdered his wife on that spot years ago. Yet another story says the bricks were created out of a stone that a woman was once killed on.

Then there are the unbelievable stories told about Route 666. This stretch of highway has been the subject of several books and movies though most ignore the legends told. There are stories of phantom dogs and cars spotted on the road, but these things always disappears. There are also stories of a woman in a white gown spotted walking alongside the road. Route 666 also has its own tales of the vanishing hitchhiker and phantom travelers that appear and disappear inside vehicles.

A trip to Scofield, Utah isn't complete unless you check out the Winter Quarters Mine. The small town of Winter Quarters appeared in the 1870s when miners arrived to work. The company made them stay through a particularly brutal winter, which is when they named their town. Nearly 200 men were killed when this same mine exploded in 1900 and countless more were injured.

The town struggled to keep going and eventually lasted another thirty years. In the end though, the residents simply up and left Winter Quarters, turning it into a modern day ghost town. Those who have been in the area after dark have heard the sounds of men talking and other sounds as if several women are crying loudly. Many believe these are the sounds of those poor miners and the wives they left behind.

Lastly you have the tale of the white lady in Latuda, Utah. Latuda began as one of many coal mining towns in the country with a handful of house and residents. Once the mine closed in the 1950s, most of the residents left and today Latuda is considered a ghost town. The town is supposedly haunted by a ghostly woman in white and legend claims she was the wife of a miner and died during a freak avalanche. Another story claims her child was killed in the avalanche and she killed herself out of grief. There actually was an avalanche that struck the town at one point and a number of people died. The woman is usually spotted wandering around the streets of this small ghost town, always clad in a white dress.

Sources:

http://www.utahghost.org/haunted_utah.html

http://www.ghosttraveller.com/utah.htm