Haunted hotel guide · Wilson, Kansas

The Haunted Midland Railroad Hotel, Wilson: The Girl on the Third Floor and the Sheriff's Room

An 1899 limestone railroad hotel on the Kansas prairie, rebuilt after a fire around 1902 and used in the film Paper Moon, where staff say a little girl runs the third-floor hallway and one door will not always open.

By The Haunted Rooms Team · Updated November 2026 · How we rate hotels

3.0/5Haunted Rooms Score

1899Year opened

3rd floorMost active, say staff

Visit hotel website Meet the ghosts

The Midland Railroad Hotel stands at 414 26th Street in Wilson, a small town just off Interstate 70 between Salina and Russell. Philadelphia businessman W.B. Power opened it on August 7, 1899 as the Hotel Power, to serve Union Pacific passengers traveling between Kansas City and Denver, and its three stories of native limestone, topped by a mansard roof, still dominate the main street. A fire around 1902 gutted the interior, the hotel was rebuilt as the Midland, and in 1973 it appeared in the film Paper Moon. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2002.

It is also one of the most openly haunted hotels in Kansas. Owner Melinda Merrill told KSN in 2018 that the stories started soon after she bought it, and her staff describe a little girl who knocks on doors and runs the halls, a third-floor room where the master key fails, and doors that slam when they should be locked. Older legends add victims of the 1902 fire and the smell of smoke on the third floor.

Midland Railroad Hotel at a glance

3.0/5
Haunted Rooms Score

Haunted reputation3

History4

Ghost hunter access2

$$ · $150 to $300Hotel embraces its ghosts

Address 414 26th St, Wilson, KS 67490
Opened August 7, 1899 as the Hotel Power; rebuilt as the Midland after a fire around 1902; listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002
Most haunted spots The third floor, especially the room linked to a lynched sheriff, and the third-floor hallway
Best-known ghosts An orphaned little girl, a sheriff said to have been lynched, and legendary victims of the 1902 fire
Booking the haunted room No haunted room package is sold. Book through the hotel’s website or call the front desk at (785) 658-2284 and ask for a third-floor room.
Good to know 28 rooms, a basement restaurant called the Sample Room, and The Barn, a 1906 stable moved beside the hotel as a bar and event space. AAA and AARP members get discounted rates.

Visit hotel website

The ghosts of the Midland Railroad Hotel

The little girl on the third floor

The hotel’s best-known spirit is a little girl, described by staff as an orphan. They hear her running down the third-floor hallway, and she sometimes knocks on guests’ doors. Staff told KSN in 2018 that they have found small footprints on the beds.

Everyday-Legacy Paranormal, an investigation team from Wichita, says it recorded her sounds during a visit. Her name and story have not been traced in any published records.

The sheriff's room

One third-floor room is linked to a sheriff who, local legend says, was lynched there long ago. Staff say it is the only room in the hotel where the master key does not always work.

Some retellings give the sheriff a name, but neither the hotel nor KSN’s 2018 report does, and no historical record of a lynching at the hotel has been published. Treat his fate as legend. The stubborn lock, though, is something staff talk about openly.

Smoke and flames from 1902

The oldest story at the Midland goes back to the fire, around 1902, that gutted the interior soon after the hotel opened. Atlas Obscura notes that guests lost all their belongings. Legend goes further and says several people died in the blaze, and guests on the third floor have described smelling smoke and even seeing flames that vanish without leaving a mark.

The hotel’s own history mentions the fire and the rebuild but not any deaths, and none have been confirmed in published sources. Guests also describe figures in old-fashioned clothes at the top of the stairs and in the halls.

Mischief around the building

Staff report a long list of smaller incidents: stomping overhead, doors slamming when they should be locked, a vacuum cleaner that switched itself on and off again and again, and a spray bottle in the kitchen that employee Courtney Dowling says flew about seven feet.

Dowling told KSN that every employee has seen or felt something. Staff call it mostly harmless mischief, and Merrill believes the stories bring in thrill seekers rather than scare guests away.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

The sheriff's room (third floor): The room where the master key does not always work. Ask the front desk which one it is.
The third-floor hallway: Where staff hear the little girl running and where guests report the smell of smoke.
Any third-floor room: The girl is said to knock on doors and leave small footprints on the beds up here.
The kitchen and the Sample Room: Scene of the flying spray bottle. Dinner in the basement restaurant is a good excuse to linger downstairs.

History of Midland Railroad Hotel

The railroad reached Wilson in 1871, and on August 7, 1899 Philadelphia businessman W.B. Power opened the Hotel Power about 200 feet from the tracks. It was built for Union Pacific travelers, many of them salesmen heading between Kansas City and Denver. Its builders used the native limestone of central Kansas, and the late Victorian design is crowned by a mansard roof that holds the whole third floor.

Around 1902 a fire destroyed much of the interior, and the rebuilt hotel took the name Midland. The hotel’s own history credits a local businessman, Mr. Anspaugh, with leading the renovation. A brick addition in 1915 brought it to 28 rooms. Through the Great Depression it stayed busy and employed local residents, renting rooms by the month to boarders who took their meals in the dining room. At one point the third floor even served as a chicken coop to supply the kitchen.

The Golden Belt Highway ran through Wilson, so the hotel also became a stop for truckers. It held one of only two long-distance phone booths in town, and doctors from larger cities came once a month to see patients there. Diners knew it for a huge steak that was free if you could finish it. Scenes from Peter Bogdanovich’s Paper Moon, starring Ryan and Tatum O’Neal, were filmed here in 1973.

As the railroad declined, so did the hotel, and it closed in 1988. In 1997 a local group, the Wilson Foundation, bought the empty building and spent about six years and $3.2 million restoring it, stripping, refinishing and reinstalling the original woodwork. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 3, 2002 and reopened in 2003.

Melinda Merrill bought the hotel in 2014 and runs it today with 28 rooms, the Sample Room restaurant in the basement, gardens and fire pits, and The Barn, a 1906 stable moved next to the hotel in 2021 and turned into a bar and event venue.

Tips for a haunted stay

Book directly through the hotel’s website or front desk, which also unlocks its AAA and AARP rates. Ask for the third floor if you want the stories.
Ask the front desk which room is Sheriff Bart’s, then try your own key in a few doors along the hall.
Eat in: the Sample Room restaurant downstairs serves dinner most nights, and the hotel hosts live music and themed dinners, especially from May through October.
Wilson is an easy stop on Interstate 70, so the hotel works well as a break on a drive between Kansas City and Denver.
For organized investigations, see Haunted Rooms ghost hunts in Kansas.

More haunted hotels nearby

Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview, Wichita: a 1922 river hotel with a ghost called Clarence, about two hours southeast
Weaver Hotel, Waterville: another restored railroad hotel, with two quiet ghosts
The Beaumont Hotel, Beaumont: an 1879 fly-in hotel with Zeke the cowboy ghost
Haunted hotels in Kansas

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Frequently asked questions

Is the Midland Railroad Hotel in Wilson haunted?

Staff and the owner say so. They describe a little girl who runs the third-floor hallway, knocks on doors and leaves small footprints on beds, a third-floor room linked to a lynched sheriff where the master key fails, stomping, slamming doors and objects that move.

Who haunts the Midland Railroad Hotel?

The best-known spirits are an orphaned little girl on the third floor and a sheriff said in local legend to have been lynched in a third-floor room. Older stories add guests said to have died in the 1902 fire, though no deaths have been confirmed.

Was Paper Moon filmed at the Midland Hotel?

Yes. Scenes from the 1973 film Paper Moon, starring Ryan and Tatum O’Neal, were shot at the hotel in Wilson.

When was the Midland Railroad Hotel built?

It opened on August 7, 1899 as the Hotel Power and was rebuilt as the Midland after a fire around 1902. It closed in 1988, was restored by the Wilson Foundation, and reopened in 2003. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Can you stay at the Midland Railroad Hotel?

Yes. It is an operating hotel with a restaurant and bar. Book on its own website or by calling the front desk.

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.

About the authors

The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.

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