Haunted hotel guide · Fort Totten, North Dakota
The Haunted Totten Trail Historic Inn: Sleeping in an 1860s Frontier Fort
A Victorian-style inn inside one of the best-preserved frontier military posts in the West, where guests describe shadowy figures that seem to follow them through the house and a feeling of being watched.
The Totten Trail Historic Inn is a ten-room inn inside Fort Totten State Historic Site, on the south side of Devils Lake in northeast North Dakota. The building is one of the fort’s original officers’ quarters, set on the old parade ground among brick buildings from the 1870s. It was restored in 2001 and 2002, and each room is decorated in the style of 1870 to 1910.
It is often called the most haunted place to stay in North Dakota and is among the best known haunted hotels in North Dakota. Guests describe shadowy figures that seem to follow people through the inn, and older lore speaks of the officers who once lived here. A story also goes that a man and a woman died in the building shortly before it was renovated. The inn itself does not tell ghost stories, so treat them as guest lore.
Totten Trail Inn at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 4 Historic Square, Fort Totten, ND 58335
- Opened Fort founded 1867; officers’ quarters used until 1890, then school staff housing until about 1960; an inn since the 2001 to 2002 restoration
- Most haunted spots The upstairs bedrooms and hallways
- Best-known ghosts Officers who lived here with their families, and two shadowy figures linked to a man and a woman said to have died in the building
- Booking the haunted room No room is singled out. Six of the ten rooms are upstairs, where most stories are set; request one when you book.
- Good to know Seasonal and by appointment. Book through the inn’s Airbnb listing, linked from its website, or call (701) 766-4874. North Dakota Tourism lists rates of roughly $100 to $200.
The ghosts of Totten Trail Historic Inn
The officers
From 1867 to 1890 this building housed the fort’s officers and their families. The original version of this guide led with guests seeing the apparitions of officers in the inn. We have not found a published first-hand account that describes a uniformed figure, so treat this one as the inn’s oldest piece of lore rather than a well-documented sighting.
No individual officer has been named in the accounts. Generations of soldiers and their families passed through the post, and any of them could be the uniformed figures guests describe.
The shadows that follow guests
The most repeated reports are of shadowy figures that seem to follow guests through the building, or dart in and out of the corner of the eye. Write-ups also mention doors that open and close on their own and a feeling of being watched that does not depend on which room you are in.
These accounts come from guest submissions to ghost directories rather than from the inn or any investigation, and they are hard to check.
The man and woman who died here
A story attached to the inn says that a man and a woman died in the building shortly before it was renovated, and many people connect the two shadowy figures to them. No names, dates or records have been published to support it, so it is best treated as local legend.
The boarding school years
From 1891 the fort became the Fort Totten Indian Industrial School, a federal boarding school for Native American children that ran until 1959, with up to 400 pupils, and the officers’ quarters became housing for school staff. Boarding schools like this one separated children from their families and cultures, and many people in the Spirit Lake Nation still remember that history.
Some online write-ups claim that many children died at the school and tie the inn’s activity to them. They cite no records, and this building was staff housing, not a dormitory, so we do not repeat those claims as history. But the boarding school era is part of the site’s history, and part of why it feels heavy to some visitors.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- Upstairs bedrooms: Six of the inn’s ten rooms are on the upper level, reached by the original staircase. Most of the ghost stories are set up here.
- Ground-floor rooms: The remaining rooms, including an accessible option with a roll-in shower.
- The Parlor: A shared Victorian sitting room, also rented out for small events.
- Kitchen, dining room and reading room: Shared spaces for guests, including a fully equipped kitchen and an outdoor grill.
History of Totten Trail Historic Inn
Fort Totten was officially established on July 17, 1867, and named for Joseph Gilbert Totten, head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It was built to support and oversee Dakota people, now the Spirit Lake Tribe, who had been moved to the Devils Lake area after the Dakota War of 1862. The first fort was built of oak logs inside an 18-foot stockade.
In the 1870s the army rebuilt the post in brick on stone foundations, adding a hospital, mess hall, four barracks, storehouses and officers’ quarters, at a cost of about $100,000. Officers and their families lived in buildings like this one until the fort was decommissioned on December 20, 1890.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs then turned the post into the Fort Totten Indian Industrial School, which ran until 1959 with a short closure from 1917 to 1919 and a tuberculosis preventorium from 1935 to 1939. The officers’ quarters housed school employees until about 1960. Several original buildings were demolished during these years, but 16 survive and are on the site’s walking tour.
Fort Totten was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 9, 1971, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota calls it one of the best-preserved military posts of the Indian Wars period. One of the officers’ quarters was restored in 2001 and 2002 and opened as the Totten Trail Historic Inn. The Fort Totten Little Theatre, built during the school era, still stages shows on the site.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Book well ahead: the inn opens seasonally and by appointment.
- Ask for an upstairs room if you want to be where the stories are set.
- Take the self-guided walking tour of the 16 original buildings, and check the Little Theatre’s summer schedule.
- There is a full guest kitchen and grill, so bring food; restaurants nearby are limited.
- Devils Lake and the Spirit Lake Casino and Resort are close by.
- Visit the site with respect for the boarding school history; it is part of the Spirit Lake Nation’s story.
Want to investigate, not just sleep?
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.
- Fairweather Inn Ghost Hunt and Sleepover: a historic gold rush hotel in Virginia City, Montana
- Old St. James Hospital Ghost Hunt: a historic hospital in Butte, Montana
- Old Ravalli County Courthouse Ghost Hunt: Hamilton, Montana
More haunted hotels nearby
- Rough Riders Hotel, Medora: Theodore Roosevelt’s Badlands town hotel
- Haunted hotels in North Dakota
Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened
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.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Totten Trail Historic Inn haunted?
It has that reputation. Guests describe shadowy figures that seem to follow them through the inn, doors that move on their own and a feeling of being watched, and older lore speaks of the officers who once lived in the building. These are reported experiences and local legend, not documented events.
Can you stay overnight at Fort Totten?
Yes. The Totten Trail Historic Inn, inside Fort Totten State Historic Site, has ten guest rooms. It is open seasonally and by appointment.
How do I book the Totten Trail Historic Inn?
Through the inn’s Airbnb listing, linked from its website, or by phone on (701) 766-4874. Group rates are available.
How old is the Totten Trail Historic Inn?
The building is one of Fort Totten’s original officers’ quarters. Officers lived there until 1890 and boarding school staff until about 1960. It became an inn after a 2001 to 2002 restoration.
Where is Fort Totten?
On the south side of Devils Lake in northeast North Dakota, on the Spirit Lake Reservation.
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.
- Totten Trail Historic Inn (official site)
- North Dakota Tourism: Totten Trail Historic Inn
- Wikipedia: Fort Totten State Historic Site
- HauntedPlaces.org: Totten Trail Historic Inn
- Only In Your State: The historic Totten Trail Inn is notoriously haunted
- Listverse: 10 lesser-known haunted hotspots (2022)
Get new haunted hotel guides by email
New guides, haunted hotel picks and ghost hunt dates near you. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
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.