Haunted Hotels in Montana: 9 Historic Places to Stay with a Ghost Story
Steamboat hotels, hot springs lodges, a railroad hotel and an 1860s gold rush inn: Montana’s haunted hotels come with real frontier history and stories guests still tell.
Montana’s haunted places grew out of gold camps, copper towns and railroad stops, and several of its historic hotels still take guests. We have checked every hotel below against current sources, kept the stories guests and staff actually tell, and noted where a legend has no record behind it. Haunted Rooms also runs ghost hunts in Montana, including overnight sleepovers at the Fairweather Inn in Virginia City and investigations at the Old St. James Hospital in Butte.
$$ · $150 to $300Haunted room bookableGhost tours or eventsHotel embraces its ghosts
Address 1 Grand Union Square (14th St and Front St), Fort Benton, MT 59442
Where to look The main staircase, Room 202 and the third floor
Reported ghosts The "Staircase Shooter" cowboy and his horse, a woman in Room 202, a laughing little girl
Booking the haunted room Request Room 202 directly with the hotel; the owner says guests often ask for the rooms with sightings.
Built in 1882 on the levee of the Missouri River, when Fort Benton was the head of steamboat travel, the Grand Union is Montana’s oldest operating hotel and a contributing building in the Fort Benton National Historic Landmark district. Its red brick Italianate front still faces the river.
Its best-known ghost is a drunk cowboy who tried to ride his horse up the main staircase on a dare and was shot by a guard before he got halfway; guests still report hoofbeats on the stairs. Owner College Longin told KTVH in 2024 that guests often ask for the rooms with reported sightings, including Room 202.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for Room 202 or a third-floor room, and listen for hooves on the staircase late at night.
$ · Under $150Haunted room bookableGhost tours or eventsHotel embraces its ghostsHaunted Rooms ghost hunts
Address 305 W Wallace St, Virginia City, MT 59755
Where to look The second-floor hallway and the first-floor rooms
Reported ghosts Small running footsteps upstairs and presences on the first floor
Booking the haunted room Book a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt and sleepover night at the inn.
The Fairweather Inn stands on Wallace Street in Virginia City, the preserved 1860s gold rush town where Bill Fairweather found gold in Alder Gulch in 1863. The building began as a meat market, became a hotel and saloon in the 1880s, was the Anaconda Hotel from 1896, and was remodeled by the Boveys after they bought it in 1946.
It is widely reported to be one of the most haunted buildings in Montana, with small footsteps running the length of the second-floor hallway and activity on the first floor. Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunt and sleepover nights here, so you can investigate it properly and then sleep in it.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book one of our Fairweather Inn ghost hunt and sleepover nights, then walk down Wallace Street to the Hangman’s Building.
$$ · $150 to $300Haunted room bookableHotel embraces its ghosts
Address 31 Hot Springs Rd, Boulder, MT 59632
Where to look Simone's Suite, the old side of the building and the office
Reported ghosts Simone, a woman said to have been stabbed in the office by a Butte mining executive
Booking the haunted room Simone's Suite is one of the inn's named themed rooms and can be requested when booking with the inn.
This Mission-style hot springs hotel south of Helena grew from an 1863 bathhouse into a resort hotel in the 1880s, is on the National Register of Historic Places, and once hosted Teddy Roosevelt. Anne Wilson Schaef bought it around 1990 when it was condemned and slated for demolition, and restored it as a retreat with about 30 themed rooms and geothermal pools.
Its ghost is Simone, said to have worked here and been stabbed in the office by a Butte mining executive. The general manager told Montana’s Secretary of State in 2023 that she is friendly: she kept turning on the stove during renovations until the owners made her a cup of tea.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book Simone’s Suite, and leave time for the indoor and outdoor pools fed by the springs.
$$ · $150 to $300Haunted room bookableHotel embraces its ghostsPet friendly
Address 201 W Park St, Livingston, MT 59047
Where to look The Peckinpah Suite, the upstairs two-room suites, a second-floor window on Park Street and the basement
Reported ghosts A railroad heir's mistress in the Peckinpah Suite, a giggling girl in a white dress, a woman at a window and an old man in a bathroom doorway
Booking the haunted room The Peckinpah Suite, the former Walter Hill suite tied to the mistress story, is booked by phone on (406) 222-1350; it cannot be booked online.
The Murray opened in 1904 as the Elite Hotel, across the street from Livingston’s Northern Pacific depot, the old gateway to Yellowstone. It grew to four stories in the 1920s, still runs its hand-cranked 1905 Otis elevator, and has hosted Will Rogers, Robert Redford and director Sam Peckinpah, who lived in its largest suite. Anthony Bourdain counted it among his favorite hotels.
Owner Kathleen Kaul and her husband Dan have long shared the hotel’s ghost stories. A railroad heir’s mistress is said to haunt the suite that became the Peckinpah Suite, a former employee saw a giggling girl in a white dress fade away, passersby report a woman in a second-floor window on Park Street, and a 1999 guest woke to an old-fashioned man in her bathroom doorway.
Haunted Rooms tip: Call the hotel to book the Peckinpah Suite, the largest suite and the one tied to the best-known ghost story; it cannot be booked online.
Where to look Percie's third-floor room in the 1900 main lodge, the lobby piano and the kitchen
Reported ghosts Percie Knowles, the original owner's wife, seen as a lady in white; a rocking chair that rocks on its own
Bill and Percie Knowles opened the Chico Warm Springs Hotel in 1900 in Paradise Valley, about 30 miles north of Yellowstone. After Bill died, Percie hired Dr. George A. Townsend and added a 20-room hospital wing, and the resort became a health spa. The original 1900 inn still stands beside the hot pools.
Montana’s Yellowstone Country tourism office tells the story: Percie is said to appear often, a security guard smelled perfume and watched a chair rock by itself until he switched on the light, and two other guards saw a woman standing by the lobby piano who then vanished.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book a room in the historic main lodge rather than the newer wings, and take a late soak in the pools before walking back through the old building.
Where to look The third-floor ballroom, the billiard (game) room, the basement and the first-floor hallway
Reported ghosts A pale, fog-like figure in the basement and hallway, a cold presence in the game room and footsteps in the ballroom
Copper King William A. Clark built this 34-room red brick mansion in Uptown Butte between 1884 and 1888, with frescoed ceilings, stained glass, hand-carved fireplaces and a third-floor ballroom. The same family has owned it since 1953, lives in it, and rents four antique-filled rooms as a bed and breakfast, including the Clark family’s own suite.
The ghost stories are low-key and the family reportedly does not believe the house is haunted. Visitors still describe a pale, fog-like figure in the basement and first-floor hallway, a cold presence in the game room, doors that move on their own and footsteps in the ballroom. A 2022 House Beautiful round-up called it the most haunted house in Montana.
Haunted Rooms tip: Every overnight guest gets a free tour, so you can see the ballroom and game room before the house goes quiet. Haunted Rooms ghost hunts at the Old St. James Hospital are a few minutes away.
Sleeping in a haunted hotel is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through the building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and lets you explore on your own during free roam.
Where to look The third-floor hallways, the bar and the basement
Reported ghosts A woman in a yellow gown with French perfume, "George" in 1930s golf knickers, tiny handprints on mirrors
The Pollard opened on July 4, 1893 as the Spofford, built by the Rocky Fork Coal Company, and was Red Lodge’s first brick building. Thomas F. Pollard bought it in 1902. Buffalo Bill Cody, Calamity Jane and William Jennings Bryan all stayed here, and it is still the town’s historic hotel on Broadway, near the Beartooth Highway.
Montana’s tourism office says mysterious figures move in and out of the third-floor hallways at night. Other reports describe a woman in a yellow gown who leaves a trace of French perfume, a pot-bellied prankster named George in 1930s golf knickers, and tiny handprints on mirrors when no children are staying.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for a third-floor room, and have a drink in the bar, where our original guide placed George.
Reported ghosts Builder John Q. Adams checking on his hotel, and a maid who vanishes
Railroad agent John Q. Adams built the Sacajawea in 1910 for passengers on the Milwaukee Road, which ended its line in Three Forks until 1927. The white Colonial Revival hotel with its long columned porch is on the National Register, a Historic Hotels of America member, and was restored by the Folkvord family after they bought it in 2009.
Montana’s tourism office says visitors still see Adams roaming the halls, making sure everything is in order. Local writers add a maid who walks into a third-floor wall that was once a linen closet, and staff have described footsteps and a radio switching on at 2 a.m. on the empty third floor in winter.
Haunted Rooms tip: Sit on the long front porch at dusk, then walk the upstairs halls, where Adams is said to do his rounds.
Address Many Glacier Rd, Glacier National Park, Browning, MT 59417
Where to look The empty winter halls, the lobby and the upper floors
Reported ghosts An unseen guest who opens wine in the closed winter hotel; older stories of a woman in red
The Great Northern Railway built Many Glacier on Swiftcurrent Lake between 1914 and 1915, a huge Swiss chalet style hotel that is now part of a National Historic Landmark district. It has around 214 rooms, opens only from early June to mid-September and is run by Xanterra.
Its best ghost story comes from winter, when the hotel is closed. Former caretaker Steve Lautenbach told author Karen Stevens he found an empty wine bottle in a hallway and an open wine case, with no guests for months and no tracks in the snow. Asked if ghosts were real, he said: “If I say yes, then I’m crazy, but if I say no, then I am a liar.”
Haunted Rooms tip: Rooms sell out a year ahead for July and August. Book a lake-view room and walk the quiet lobby late at night.
Removed from this guide: The Bonanza Inn in Virginia City, a former Sisters of Charity hospital with stories of a nun in a black robe, no longer runs as a hotel; its rooms are rented individually as vacation rentals, so we now point Virginia City visitors to the Fairweather Inn. Added: the Fairweather Inn.
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We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.
The Grand Union Hotel in Fort Benton, Montana’s oldest hotel, has the strongest reputation: hoofbeats on the stairs, a woman in Room 202 and a girl on the third floor. Chico Hot Springs and the Pollard are close behind.
Can I go ghost hunting in a Montana hotel?
Yes. Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunt and sleepover nights at the Fairweather Inn in Virginia City, an 1860s gold rush hotel.
Which Montana hotel lets you book the haunted room?
At Boulder Hot Springs you can book Simone’s Suite, named for the inn’s ghost, and the Grand Union Hotel takes requests for Room 202.
Is the Pollard Hotel in Red Lodge haunted?
Montana’s tourism office says figures move through the third-floor hallways at night, and guests report a lady in yellow with French perfume and a prankster named George in the lobby.
Are there haunted hotels near Yellowstone?
Chico Hot Springs is 30 miles north of the park and the Pollard is at the start of the Beartooth Highway. Inside the park, the Old Faithful Inn in Wyoming has its own headless bride legend.
Are there haunted places to stay in Butte?
Yes. The 1888 Copper King Mansion, built for Copper King William A. Clark, is a four-room bed and breakfast where visitors describe a pale figure in the hallway and a presence in the ballroom. Haunted Rooms also runs ghost hunts at Butte’s Old St. James Hospital.
Sources and how we research
Every hotel in this guide is checked against the hotel’s own website, historic register listings and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as the hotels, guests and local historians tell them; we note where a story can’t be confirmed. Read how we rate haunted hotels.
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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.
Booking links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never affects which hotels we include or how we score them.
