At the White House, Skagway: The Gold Rush Inn With a Gentle Ghost

At the White House sits on the corner of 8th Avenue and Main Street in Skagway, a short walk from Broadway, the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park visitor center and the White Pass and Yukon Route depot. It is a two-story white clapboard house with a broad porch, built in 1902 and now a small inn with about ten rooms, each with a private bathroom and furnished with Skagway antiques and handmade quilts.

Its ghost story is one of the gentlest in Alaska. Guests have described a young woman standing quietly at the foot of their beds, and others have seen her chatting with children in the house. Nobody claims she means any harm. This guide covers the story, the real history of the house and what to know before you book. For the rest of the state, see our guide to haunted hotels in Alaska.

The ghost of At the White House

The woman at the foot of the bed

The story told most often is simple. Guests wake in the night to find a young woman standing at the end of the bed, looking at them calmly, and then she is gone. People who have told the story describe her as kind rather than frightening, more like someone checking on a patient or a child than an intruder.

Some guests say they have seen her talking with children staying in the house. Families have reported the same thing from both sides: the adults catch a glimpse of a woman with their kids, and the children talk afterward about a nice lady.

Who is she?

The popular belief is that she ran a day care that once operated in the building, which would explain her interest in children. We could not find any record of a day care in the house, so that part is local lore. The history we could confirm offers other candidates. The house was a small hotel for decades, and during World War II the Army used it as a small hospital, a fitting setting for a figure who stands quietly by the bed.

Whoever she is, the stories have a common thread: nobody describes being afraid. If you are hoping for a dramatic night, Skagway’s saloons have louder ghosts. If you want a historic house with a gentle story, this is it.

After the fire

A fire badly damaged the house in 1977, and it was later restored by new owners as an inn. Ghost stories often attach to buildings after a big renovation, and some people link the reports to the restoration. Others say the woman is simply part of the house, as she has been for as long as anyone has told the story.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

• The guest bedrooms: Where the young woman is seen at the foot of the bed. No room number is singled out.
• The family rooms: Where guests have seen her talking with children.
• The porch: Not part of the story, but the best place to sit on a light summer night.

History of At the White House

Robert Lee Guthrie came to Skagway from Texas in the gold rush and by the spring of 1898 owned the Board of Trade Saloon, one of the most profitable in town. A saloon keeper in gold rush Skagway made money from liquor, gambling tables and the women upstairs or in the alley behind, and Guthrie, according to local historian Jeff Brady’s Skagway Stories, did all three. He bought property as fast as it came on the market and served on the town’s first three city councils.

By 1900 Guthrie was building what Skagway Stories calls the most expensive home in Alaska, a $10,000 house on Eighth Avenue that became known as the White House. He married his childhood sweetheart Abbie Atkins in Texas in 1901, brought her back to Skagway, and the couple left town for good in 1908.

After the Guthries left, the house became a small hotel. During World War II the Army used it as a small hospital, and in 1956 a Republican campaign worker reportedly asked the owner whether they would like to keep Eisenhower in the White House; the owner told him he should stay downtown. A fire damaged the building in 1977, and later owners restored it as a bed and breakfast. Today it is a contributing building in Skagway’s National Register historic district.

Tips for a haunted stay

• Book directly on the inn’s website or by phone at 907-983-9000; it is not on Booking.com.
• Breakfast is not included, so plan on one of the cafes on Broadway two blocks away.
• Skagway fills with cruise passengers by day in summer. Walk Broadway in the evening after the ships leave, when the old false-front buildings are quiet.
• Visit the Red Onion Saloon, a former brothel with its own resident madam, then walk back to the inn.
• Ask if one of the rooms on the ground floor is free if you would rather avoid the stairs.

More haunted hotels nearby

• Red Onion Saloon, Skagway: A gold rush brothel and saloon on Broadway, a few minutes’ walk away
• Haunted hotels in Alaska: Including the Alaskan Hotel in Juneau, a ferry ride south
• Haunted places in Alaska: More of the state’s ghost stories
• Haunted hotels in Alaska

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.

• Skagway Stories: Robert Lee Guthrie
• Alaska.org: White House, Skagway
• Fodor's: At the White House review
• At the White House (official site)
• Hotels.com: At the White House, Skagway

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