Haunted Places in Utah: 26 of the Most Haunted to Visit
A train depot with a lady in purple, a pioneer mill on Ghost Adventures, a ghost town below Zion and a grave that names the Beast. These are Utah’s best-known haunted places, with what is true, what is legend and how you can visit.
Utah’s ghost stories follow its history: pioneer mills and forts, mining camps that boomed and burned, railroad depots where the transcontinental lines met, and mansions built by the men who got rich on silver. Salt Lake City has the densest cluster, and Ogden, Tooele County and the red-rock country around Zion each have their own. We have checked every place below against current sources, so you know which are open, which you can only see from the street, which run ghost tours, and where a famous story has no record behind it.
Where to look The upstairs galleries, the Browning Firearms Museum, the Browning Theater and the annex
Reported ghosts A Lady in White who smells of lavender; children; a soldier in the firearms museum
Visiting City-owned station with museums open to the public
Ogden was the junction of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, and its first union station opened in 1889. After a 1923 fire, the present Spanish Colonial Revival station by John and Donald Parkinson was dedicated in November 1924. Passenger trains stopped in 1997. Ogden City now owns the building, which holds the Utah State Railroad Museum, the John M. Browning Firearms Museum, a car museum and the Myra Powell Gallery.
Staff call it one of Utah’s most haunted buildings. A museum administrator told FOX 13 in 2025 that nearly every long-term employee has a story, describing a Lady in White who smells of lavender, a playful spirit called Frank, children and soldiers’ shadows near the firearms museum. Other stories link the station to the December 31, 1944 Bagley train wreck, which killed 48 people, and to a girl whose body was found in a trunk in 1913.
What investigators report
A FOX 13 reporter using an EMF meter in the Myra Powell Gallery reported a spike while greeting and asking questions of the “Lady in White”; staff say she is often noticed by a lavender perfume scent.
Where to look Lilly Gray's grave, the Moritz mausoleum in the Jewish cemetery next door, and the hilltop views at dusk
Reported ghosts The 'Victim of the Beast 666' grave; red eyes at Emo's grave
Visiting City cemetery open daily dawn to dusk; ranger-led tours on set dates
Hours and season Dawn to dusk daily
The first burial on this Avenues hillside was in 1848, a year after the pioneers arrived, and it became the city cemetery in 1851. It now covers more than 150 acres with about 120,000 burials, including most presidents of the LDS Church, Porter Rockwell and Jane Manning James. It is one of the largest city-run cemeteries in the country and is open daily from dawn to dusk.
Two graves draw the curious. Lilly E. Gray’s 1958 headstone reads ‘Victim of the Beast 666’; Utah State Archives research shows she died of natural causes and her husband Elmer, a former convict with a grudge against officials, was the likely author. Next door in the Jewish B’nai Israel cemetery, legend says red eyes appear in the window of brewer Jacob Moritz’s mausoleum if you circle it chanting ‘Emo’. The owners sealed the window after night visitors kept trespassing.
Haunted Rooms tip: Go in daylight and use the city’s self-guided tours to find the famous graves. The cemetery closes at dusk, and so does the Jewish cemetery next door.
Where to look The museum basement and stairs, the post cemetery
Reported ghosts Clem, a bearded soldier in a blue uniform; voices near the prisoner of war graves
Visiting Free museum on the University of Utah campus; check hours before you go
Colonel Patrick Connor founded Camp Douglas on the bench above Salt Lake City on October 26, 1862, and his troops marched from here to the Bear River Massacre in January 1863. The post later held World War I prisoners of war, closed in 1991 and passed mostly to the University of Utah. It is a National Historic Landmark, and the Fort Douglas Military Museum has occupied two former barracks since 1976.
The museum’s ghost is Clem, a short, bearded soldier in a blue uniform. A Boy Scout troop is said to have named him after a night in the building, and staff told the Daily Utah Chronicle that people who grew up on the base reported him for decades. Guides add stories of German voices near the prisoner of war graves in the post cemetery and of Connor himself, who is buried there.
What investigators report
Local investigators report using a spirit box and a white noise app at the museum, hoping spirits will pick out words; it is said voices of American and German soldiers have been heard within the walls.
Open to the publicGhost toursParanormal investigations allowed
Address Camp Floyd State Park Museum, 18035 W 1540 N, Fairfield, UT 84013
Where to look The Stagecoach Inn, the 1898 schoolhouse, the commissary and the army cemetery
Reported ghosts Voices on recorders, moving rocking chairs, perfume and cigar smoke with no source
Visiting Utah state park museum; the inn and commissary are open on museum days
Ghost hunting The park hosts a Ghosts of Camp Floyd paranormal night each October
In 1858 the army sent thousands of troops to Utah over a feared Mormon rebellion that never came, and built Camp Floyd at Fairfield, briefly one of the largest communities in the territory with its own red-light district, Frogtown. The troops left in 1861 for the Civil War. John Carson’s 1858 Stagecoach Inn, a stop on the Overland Stage and Pony Express routes, the army commissary, an 1898 schoolhouse and a cemetery of blank soldiers’ markers survive as a state park.
In 2003 the Paranormal Society of Utah told the Deseret News it had recorded voices and light anomalies in the inn, the schoolhouse and the cemetery. The park itself now leans in: each October it holds a Ghosts of Camp Floyd night, and the park manager told FOX 13 in 2023 about the murders in Frogtown, while visitors describe rocking chairs moving and smells of perfume and cigars.
What investigators report
Investigators running digital recorders and EMF scanners overnight reported EMF hits in the Stagecoach Inn’s back room, and one EVP reportedly answered “Yes, you do!” when asked if there were ghosts in the room. The schoolhouse, commissary and cemetery were also covered.
Where to look The third and fifth floors, the hall of mayors' portraits and the old tunnel
Reported ghosts Two children said to have died during construction; a former mayor; a presence in the tunnel
Visiting Working city hall, open to the public during business hours
Salt Lake City’s sandstone city hall was dedicated on December 28, 1894, on Washington Square, the 1847 pioneer campsite. The Richardsonian Romanesque building by Monheim, Bird and Proudfoot served as Utah’s capitol from 1896 to 1915 and is still the seat of city government. A 1989 renovation set it on rubber and steel base isolators, which is why it came through the 2020 earthquake with little damage.
It has one of the city’s busiest ghost reputations. Local lore says two boys were killed by falling sandstone during construction and still play in the halls, joined by their mother. A city employee of 20 years told KSL in 2015 that an unseen hand grabbed her arm, and guards told the Daily Utah Chronicle in 2005 that some skip the fifth floor at night. Others describe a former mayor near the portraits and a menacing feeling in the tunnel.
What investigators report
A KSL investigation reported spirit box sessions in the underground tunnel to the library and on the third floor, where asking how many were present twice drew the answer “One.” An Ovilus used on the second floor reportedly produced words such as “down,” “deep” and “under.”
Haunted Rooms tip: The building is open to the public on weekdays. Walk the third-floor halls and the line of mayors’ portraits, then circle Washington Square at dusk for the clock tower lit up.
Address 325 E Pole Canyon Rd (UT-138), Stansbury Park, UT 84074
Where to look The upper floors of the mill, the old pond area and the grounds
Reported ghosts Alice, a girl said to have drowned nearby; an angry man on the second floor; a woman in white at a third-floor window
Visiting Tooele County historic site and park; open to visitors on posted days
Pioneers hired by a church corporation built this mill on Twin Springs Creek in 1854, and Apostle Ezra T. Benson’s name stuck to it. It ground flour for Tooele Valley families and occasional California-bound emigrants, then animal feed, before closing in the mid 20th century. Volunteers led a restoration from 1983, and Tooele County now runs it as a historic site with pioneer cabins and gardens. It is on the National Register and the California National Historic Trail.
The best-known story is of Alice, a young girl said to have drowned in the old pool or reservoir; KSL Homes names her as six-year-old Alice Irene Solomon. Visitors also describe an angry shadowy man on the second floor and a woman in white who waves from a third-floor window. Ghost Adventures investigated the mill in 2021. In 2025 Preservation Utah put it on its endangered list over worn floors and a failing waterwheel.
Haunted Rooms tip: Visit in daylight when the county opens the site, and come for the October fall festival. Stay off roped-off floors: the old boards are fragile.
Where to look The closed wings, the old patient rooms and the halls at night
Reported ghosts A nurse in white; Samuel Lee; children; a dark figure on the ceiling
Visiting Commercial haunted attraction; ticketed nights only
Hours and season Fall season; October 1 to 30 in 2026, closed Sundays and Mondays
The old Tooele hospital served the county as a poor farm, hospital and nursing home before Kimm and Cami Andersen bought it in 2006 and turned it into Asylum 49, a haunted hospital attraction. KSL and the Deseret News trace it to a home Samuel F. Lee built in 1873, but Tooele County’s own history notes place Lee’s 1873 house on Main Street and say it no longer stands, so the building’s age is uncertain.
The haunted reputation came first from nursing home staff, who said they avoided the halls at night and that patients described a nurse in white when no nurse wore white. Ghost Adventures investigated in 2011, and the owners have described a black figure crawling onto a ceiling. The 2026 season runs October 1 to 30. What you see on a ticketed night is a staged haunted house, separate from the stories.
What investigators report
The owners report EVPs, disembodied voices and doors opening or closing inside the old hospital, and run private overnight sessions aimed at experienced researchers alongside the public tours.
Haunted Rooms tip: Asylum 49 opens on fall nights, closed Sundays and Mondays in 2026. Choose the no-contact level if you only want to see the building.
Where to look The basement rehearsal rooms, the freight elevator and the stage
Reported ghosts Usher Richard Duffin, who died in the 1949 fire; a prankster called George
Visiting A working performing arts theater; inside for performances and events
The Capitol opened on August 2, 1913, as the Orpheum vaudeville house and took its present name in 1927. It is now run by Salt Lake County as the home of Ballet West and Utah Opera, after a major 1975 restoration and a 2019 renovation. In 1949 a fire broke out in the basement during a film screening, and 17-year-old usher Richard Duffin died of smoke inhalation after helping others out.
Staff have long said the usher never left. Former stagehand Doug Morgan told the Deseret News that lights failed during The Nutcracker until he shouted at the ghost to stop, and two police officers working night security described cold, whispers and the smell of smoke on SyFy’s Paranormal Witness. The county’s arts spokesperson said in 2019 that she had never experienced anything and the theater does not promote the story.
What investigators report
Investigators with temperature scanners and motion detectors focused on the stage and the basement corridor, where they reported a cold spot and a creaking door. Staff say the stage lights once came back on after a crew member shouted at the ghost.
Haunted Rooms tip: Buy a ticket for a ballet or opera and arrive early to take in the 1913 auditorium. Ghost stories are not part of the theater’s own tours.
Address 300 S Rio Grande St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Where to look The north side by the old cafe, the women's restroom, the balcony and the basement
Reported ghosts The Purple Lady; a worker killed building a tunnel; footsteps on the balcony
Visiting Closed to the public since the March 2020 earthquake; view from the street
The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad opened this Beaux Arts depot in 1910, designed by Chicago architect Henry Schlacks. The state bought it in 1977 for one dollar and for decades it held the Utah State Historical Society and the Rio Grande Cafe. The 2020 earthquake damaged it, and it has been closed to the public ever since. In March 2026 the Deseret News reported that ownership is passing to the University of Utah, with no reopening date.
Its best-known ghost is the Purple Lady. The legend, which a longtime cafe server told KSL he first heard in the early 1980s, says a woman ran onto the tracks after an engagement ring her fiance threw there during a quarrel and was killed by a train. No record of such a death has been found. A society secretary told the Deseret News in 1992 about a woman in a purple dress seen on a restroom couch, and cafe staff and security guards described lights, locked doors and footsteps in the empty building.
Haunted Rooms tip: You can only see the depot from outside for now. Walk around to the north side, where most of the Purple Lady sightings were placed, then look up at the big arched windows.
Where to look The drawing room mirror, the staircase and the reception rooms
Reported ghosts A little girl who dances at weddings; a tall man in a black cape
Visiting Private event venue; inside only for booked weddings and events
Mining and railroad magnate Alfred W. McCune built this house on Capitol Hill between 1900 and 1901 for about one million dollars, to designs by S. C. Dallas. The McCunes gave it to the LDS Church in 1920, and it became the McCune School of Music. It was sold in 1973, damaged by the 1999 tornado, restored by Philip McCarthey by 2001, and is now a privately owned venue for weddings and events.
Its two ghosts are some of Salt Lake City’s most repeated. One is a girl of about ten, said to be a former student or resident, who giggles, dances at weddings and moves decorations. Salt Lake Magazine quotes a guide’s story of a pianist who saw her during a rehearsal and an electrician who said she stepped out of the tall drawing room mirror. The other is a tall man in a black cape, said to appear around Christmas.
Haunted Rooms tip: The mansion opens for booked events only. See it from Main Street at the foot of the Capitol, or look for it on one of the downtown ghost walks.
Address Bridge Rd, about 3.5 miles south of Rockville, Washington County, UT
Where to look The cemetery with the Berry graves, the 1886 schoolhouse and the Russell homes
Reported ghosts Infants crying in the cemetery; a woman walking among the graves; whispers in old basements
Visiting Preserved ghost town and cemetery open to visitors; some areas are fenced off
Pioneers sent by Brigham Young to grow cotton settled on the Virgin River in 1859. The Great Flood of January 1862 destroyed their first town, and they rebuilt a mile upstream as Grafton. Floods, drought and the Black Hawk War, when the town was evacuated in 1866, made life hard, and families drifted away; the last residents left in 1944. Scenes for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were filmed here in 1969.
The Grafton Heritage Partnership has restored the 1886 adobe schoolhouse, the Russell homes and the cemetery, where many graves belong to children and a large stone marks Berry family members killed in April 1866. Local retellings say infants are heard crying in the cemetery and a woman is seen walking among the graves; these are stories, not records. It is often called the most photographed ghost town in the West.
Haunted Rooms tip: Follow Bridge Road south from Rockville across the 1924 one-lane bridge; the last two miles are graded dirt that turns slick after rain. Visit by day and leave everything as you find it.
Where to look The 11th floor, Rooms 1101 and 1102, and the elevators
Reported ghosts A drowned bride in Room 1102, her grieving son, a mother who stopped eating, a cook killed in the elevator shaft
Visiting Now apartments; no hotel rooms, so view from Washington Boulevard
Ogden’s tallest historic hotel opened in 1927 as the Bigelow, was renamed the Ben Lomond by Marriner S. Eccles in 1933, and took back the Bigelow name in 2017. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2019 it was converted into apartments, so it no longer works as a hotel.
Its legends are some of the best known in Utah: a bride said to have drowned in the bathtub of Room 1102 on her wedding night, her son said to have died in the room next door, and an elevator that moves on its own. In 2024 the Standard-Examiner reported that Room 1102 was being rented on Airbnb.
Haunted Rooms tip: You can no longer book a hotel room here. Look at the 13-story tower from Washington Boulevard, a block from Peery’s Egyptian Theater.
Address 110 W 300 S (Broadway), Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Where to look The elevator, the hallways and doorways on the guest floors
Reported ghosts "Moaning Molly" in the elevator, children running in the halls, a man who vanishes in doorways
Visiting A working hotel; book a room to stay overnight
The Peery was built in 1910, built with Peery family money and designed by Charles B. Onderdonk and Irving Goodfellow. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978 and is now a Tapestry Collection by Hilton boutique hotel of about 73 rooms on West Broadway, a few blocks from the Holiday Inn Express.
A hotel spokesman told FOX 13 that its ghost, known as “Moaning Molly”, lives in the elevator, and that many guests report experiences riding it. Other stories tell of a lingering perfume, children running in empty hallways and a man who appears in doorways and vanishes.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ride the old elevator late in the evening and ask the front desk about Molly; staff have talked about her on local TV.
Where to look The back of the auditorium, the balcony and the piano
Reported ghosts A girl said to have fallen during construction; a woman on the balcony
Visiting Working performing arts and film theater; inside for shows
Harman and Louis Peery opened this Egyptian Revival movie palace on Washington Boulevard on July 3, 1924, at the height of the craze that followed the opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb. It closed in 1984 after a health code violation and reopened on January 17, 1997, after a restoration backed by Weber County, Ogden City and Weber State University. It is now a performing arts and film venue.
Visit Ogden tells the story of a carpenter’s daughter who brought her father lunch during construction and fell from the scaffolding, and says her ghost is seen at the back of the theater, playing the piano and switching off lights. Visit Utah adds patrons and staff who feel watched and a woman seen on the balcony whose identity nobody knows. No record of the construction death has been found.
Haunted Rooms tip: Catch a film or show to see the painted Egyptian courtyard interior; the Ogden Ghosts walking tour also stops outside.
Address Antelope Island State Park, reached by the causeway from Syracuse, UT
Where to look The shorelines facing Fremont Island
Reported ghosts Jean Baptiste, the exiled grave robber, carrying bundles of stolen clothes
Visiting Antelope Island is a fee-area state park; Fremont Island is state land with difficult access
In 1862 Salt Lake City gravedigger Jean Baptiste was caught with clothing stolen from the dead, after the family of an outlaw buried in donated clothes found his body naked. He was accused of robbing around 300 graves. To keep him from a lynch mob, officials took him to Antelope Island and then to remote Fremont Island. About three weeks later herders found a slaughtered heifer and boards torn from a ranch house, apparently for a raft. He was never seen again.
In 1893 hunters found a skeleton with an iron clamp on its leg near the mouth of the Jordan River; the Tribune suggested Baptiste, and the Deseret News disputed it. Folklore says his ghost walks the shore in chains carrying stolen clothes, and that campers on the islands hear the chains. Fremont Island is state land, reached on foot only across a sand bar at low water; Antelope Island is a state park.
Haunted Rooms tip: Drive the causeway to Antelope Island State Park and look north across the water to Fremont Island at sunset.
Address Rock Canyon Trailhead, east of the Provo Utah Temple, Provo, UT 84604
Where to look The canyon trail above the mouth and the cliffs
Reported ghosts A man running down the cliffs; a crying woman; drums and screams
Visiting Public canyon trail in Provo; open year-round in daylight
Rock Canyon cuts into the Wasatch Mountains directly behind the Provo Utah Temple and is one of Provo’s most popular hiking and climbing areas. Its recorded history begins with violence: in February 1850 Mormon militia attacked a Timpanogos camp on the Provo River, and survivors who fled into the canyon were pursued and killed there. A Timpanogos woman died in the canyon, and the peak to the north was named for her; it is now Kyhv Peak.
Hikers and campers describe drums and distant screams, a crying woman and a man who stands on a high ledge and then runs straight down the rock face before vanishing. These are stories told by visitors, not records. Several climbers have died in falls here, and the canyon’s past is a hard one for the Timpanogos people, so treat it with respect.
Haunted Rooms tip: Hike the lower canyon trail in daylight from the trailhead above the temple; it is steep and rocky, and climbing here is for experienced climbers only.
Address 334 W South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Where to look The upstairs windows and the kitchen
Reported ghosts A playful little girl; a stern housekeeper or lady of the house
Visiting Church-owned historic house used for occasional events; view from the street
The oldest part of Devereaux was built in 1857 for William Staines to designs by William Paul. Mayor William Jennings, said to be the valley’s first millionaire, bought it in 1867, enlarged it and named it after a family home in England. It later housed the Keeley Institute alcohol cure and mining offices, nearly fell to a 1979 fire, and was restored in the early 1980s as a reception center and restaurant. The LDS Church has owned it since 2005.
Two ghosts are described here. One is a girl, said to be five to eight years old, who plays tricks on kitchen staff, hums to herself and waves from an upstairs window. The other is an older woman, said to be a housekeeper or the lady of the house, who slams doors and throws things at people she thinks are misusing the house. These stories come from staff and visitors rather than any record.
Haunted Rooms tip: The house is not open for tours. See it from South Temple, a short walk from the Gateway and the Rio Grande Depot.
Address This Is the Place Heritage Park, 2601 E Sunnyside Ave, Salt Lake City, UT 84108
Where to look The stairs, the front doorway and the ballroom
Reported ghosts Ann Eliza Webb; Brigham Young with his cane; a laughing child
Visiting Inside This Is the Place Heritage Park; the house is used as an event venue
This Gothic Revival farmhouse was built between 1861 and 1863 on Brigham Young’s Forest Farm, about four miles southeast of downtown. One of his wives ran the experimental farm, and the house later served as a school and meetinghouse. Frank and Gwen Wilcox began restoring it in the 1950s, and in May 1975 it was moved to what is now This Is the Place Heritage Park, where it is used for weddings and events.
Guides, a night watchman and the Wilcox family have all been credited with ghost stories here: Brigham Young seen with his cane, Lucy Ann Decker tending the stove, a child laughing in the ballroom and a man in old clothes who appeared in a photo. The best known is Ann Eliza Webb, the wife who divorced Young and lectured against polygamy. Historian Matthew Bowman told KUER in 2026 that her story says more about how polygamy is remembered than about ghosts.
Haunted Rooms tip: See the farmhouse on a daytime visit to This Is the Place Heritage Park. Inside visits are by event or arrangement with the park’s events team.
Where to look Florence Grange's grave and the World War I soldier statue
Reported ghosts Flo, a teenage girl who answers headlights; a statue whose eyes follow you
Visiting City cemetery; open daily until dusk, patrolled at night
Ogden’s best-known ghost story belongs to Florence Louise Grange, who is buried here under a headstone that gives her age as 15. The legend says she was hit by a car while waiting for a boyfriend her parents disliked, and that if you flash your headlights three times at her grave she walks toward your car. Another story says the World War I soldier statue moves or follows you with its eyes if you circle it three times in the dark.
Records tell a different story. Florence died at home on December 29, 1918, aged 15; her death certificate gives probable endocarditis with influenza as a contributing cause. Researchers note that her father was one of Ogden’s early auto mechanics, which may be how a car crept into the legend.
What investigators report
Local legend says the spirit of “Flo” (Florence Louise Grange) can be coaxed from her grave by blinking your car headlights, a tradition visitors still try at her headstone.
Haunted Rooms tip: Visit in daylight to find the Grange family plot. The cemetery closes after dusk and police patrol it at night, so do not try the headlight ritual.
Address Off Utah Highway 73, Mercur Canyon, Tooele County, UT
Where to look The fenced child graves and the cemetery trail
Reported ghosts A phantom horseman; children's voices; shadowy figures
Visiting Remote pioneer cemetery reached by dirt road; the canyon above is private mine property
Mercur was a gold camp in the Oquirrh Mountains that boomed twice, first as Lewiston in the 1870s and then in the 1890s, when it reached about 5,000 people. A fire in 1902 burned most of the town; it was rebuilt, but the mines closed and by 1913 nearly everyone had gone. Later open-pit mining scraped the townsite away, and the hillside cemetery with its weathered wooden grave fences is nearly all that remains.
Stories of a phantom horseman, footsteps and child spirits have circulated online for years, often traced back to haunted-places lists rather than local reports, and we found no record behind them. FOX 13 joined a paranormal group there in 2025, and a state public archaeologist described the town’s violent, hard-drinking past. Visitors leave pennies and toys on the graves.
What investigators report
Following local legend, a team left a stuffed animal at a little girl’s grave and used an ITC device while calling out, reporting replies such as “She’s bad.”
Haunted Rooms tip: Go in daylight with a full tank. The cemetery trail is reached by a dirt road off Highway 73, and the upper canyon is gated private mine land.
Address Southern Utah University, 351 W University Blvd, Cedar City, UT 84720
Where to look The third floor and upper windows of Old Main, the auditorium catwalks and the theater tunnel
Reported ghosts Virginia, said to be bound to Old Main's sandstone; a pianist who plays 'Deep Purple'; a ballet dancer
Visiting A working university campus; grounds open to walk
Old Main, finished in 1898, was the first building of the Branch Normal School that became Southern Utah University, built by Cedar City residents. The campus legend says a young woman named Virginia was murdered that year and her body found on a sandstone boulder that was then cut into stone for Old Main, binding her to it. The story adds that her killer came back as a janitor and died in a 1948 furnace fire.
KSL found no records that clearly support the Virginia story, though SUU’s special collections keeps a stained brick linked to it. Students describe flute music at night, a figure in the third-floor windows and an elevator that stops by itself. Other campus ghosts include a pianist said to play ‘Deep Purple’, the song she never got to perform at her prom, and a ballet dancer in the auditorium.
Haunted Rooms tip: Walk past Old Main after dark during the fall semester, when SUU’s student alumni group tells the Virginia story on the steps.
Address 206 S West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Where to look The upper floors, the pool area and the corridors
Reported ghosts Children heard laughing near the pool, footsteps in empty halls
Visiting A working hotel; book a room to stay overnight
This downtown tower opposite the Salt Palace has had several names. It opened as the International Dunes Hotel, spent years as the Shilo Inn with its bright red neon, and is now the Holiday Inn Express Salt Lake City Downtown. It is a practical, modern place to stay a short walk from Temple Square.
Its ghost stories come from a real tragedy. In August 1978, days after cult leader Immanuel David took his own life, his wife Rachael led their children off an 11th-floor balcony. Seven people died and one teenage daughter survived. Staff have told local press they hear footsteps and children’s laughter when no guests are around.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for an upper floor when you book, and remember the 1978 deaths were a real family tragedy when you ask staff about it.
Where to look The front porch swings and the historic inn rooms
Reported ghosts Friendly female spirits on the front porch; two child spirits
Visiting A working hotel; book a room to stay overnight
Built in 1882 as the Pines Hotel, this white frontier inn on Marysvale’s Main Street is one of the oldest lodgings in Utah. Zane Grey is said to have written Riders of the Purple Sage while staying here, and a local woman claimed to have seen Butch Cassidy in the dining room long after he supposedly died in Bolivia.
Randy and Katie Moore renamed it in 1994, and today it has seven themed inn rooms, including the Zane Grey Room, plus eight cabins styled as an old Western town. Guests have described friendly female spirits seen talking together on the front porch, and local retellings say the porch swings rock on their own on still nights.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for the Zane Grey Room and sit on the front porch after dark. Marysvale is on the Paiute ATV Trail, so book ahead in summer.
Where to look The Sherlock Room in the attic, where polygamists hid from marshals
Reported ghosts An unsettled feeling and objects that move, linked to the house's polygamist past
Visiting A working hotel; book a room to stay overnight
This adobe house was built in 1873 for Edwin G. Woolley and became St. George’s first bed and breakfast around 1980. For decades it was the Seven Wives Inn, named for the pioneer legend that polygamist men hid in the attic when U.S. Marshals came to town. Peggy Armour bought it in 2020 and renamed it the Mulberry Inn.
It is the longest-running B&B in St. George and has seven rooms. Online lists call it one of the most haunted places in Utah, and ghost hunters book the attic Sherlock Room. The owner told St George News she has never seen anything resembling a haunting, which is worth knowing before you go.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book the Sherlock Room, the attic hiding place behind the legend. The owner says she has never seen a ghost, so go for the history.
Address 11332 E Big Cottonwood Canyon Rd, Brighton, UT 84121
Where to look The upstairs guest rooms and the old dining room
Reported ghosts Cold spots, whispering voices, flickering lights and moved objects
Visiting A working hotel; book a room to stay overnight
Silver Fork stands in Big Cottonwood Canyon on the site of an 1850s tent camp for miners and sawmill workers, and the building once served as their general store. Today it is a small lodge with a well-known restaurant and seven upstairs rooms with mountain views, about 30 minutes from Salt Lake City and minutes from Solitude and Brighton ski areas.
The ghost stories are low-key: guests have described sudden cold spots in warm rooms, whispering voices, lights that flicker and small items that move. The lodge itself does not promote them, so think of it as a cozy canyon stay with a rumor attached.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book one of the seven upstairs rooms and eat in the dining room under beams from the Cardiff Fork Mine.
Address Moon Lake, Ashley National Forest, Duchesne County, UT
Where to look The shoreline near the campground at dusk
Reported ghosts A drowned girl with blue lips; Moonie, a lake monster
Visiting National forest lake with a Forest Service campground; seasonal access
Moon Lake sits at about 8,100 feet on the south slope of the High Uintas, a natural lake that the Bureau of Reclamation enlarged with a dam in 1938. It is in the Ashley National Forest, about 36 miles of paved road north of Duchesne, with a Forest Service campground on the shore.
Two legends are attached to it. One is the ghost of a young girl, dripping wet with bluish skin, who is said to appear near the water looking for her family and vanish when approached. The other is Moonie, a dark, bumpy creature said to follow boats. Both stories circulate in online lists, including older versions of this guide, and we found no drowning record or local report behind the ghost.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book a site at the Moon Lake campground for the summer season and walk the shore at dusk; nights at this height are cold even in July.
These places appear in older lists of haunted spots. We keep them here so you know the facts before you go, but you cannot (or should not) visit them.
Old Cottonwood Paper Mill, Cottonwood Heights
The stone shell of the Cottonwood Paper Mill, which made paper for Utah publications, burned on April 1, 1893, later became a nightclub, and in the 1970s and 1980s hosted a Halloween ‘Haunted Old Mill’. Neighbors and former workers describe doors moving, lights switching on with the power off and a woman’s voice. The building has been condemned for failing earthquake codes and its owners say it is not open to the public. Trespassing is illegal, so see it only from the road.
St. Anne's Retreat ('the Nunnery'), Logan Canyon
Legends of a murdered nun and crying babies made this private retreat a teenage dare for decades. In October 1997 three security guards held 38 trespassing teenagers at gunpoint there and were later arrested. It is private property: do not go.
Kirk Hotel, Tooele
Tooele declared a holiday when this hotel opened in 1928. Stories told of a woman on the third floor who showed up in photographs, windows and mirrors. It became apartments in 1973 and takes no guests; residents live there, so view it only from Vine Street.
Changed from our older guide: the Rio Grande Depot has been closed since the 2020 earthquake and is passing to the University of Utah, so it is now listed as exterior only. The Bigelow (Ben Lomond) in Ogden is apartments, not a hotel. We say plainly that the Moon Lake ghost and the Mercur horseman have no record behind them, and that records show Ogden’s ‘Flo’ died of illness, not a car crash. We added Union Station, Grafton, Camp Floyd, the Salt Lake City Cemetery and other well-documented places.
Visited one of these places? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from visitors and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your visit. We read every story before it’s published.
The Rio Grande Depot in Salt Lake City, home of the Purple Lady legend, is the most often named, followed by the Benson Grist Mill, the old Tooele hospital (Asylum 49), Union Station in Ogden and the Capitol Theatre. The depot has been closed since 2020, so you can only see it from outside.
Can you go ghost hunting in Utah?
At a few places. Camp Floyd State Park holds a paranormal night each October, Asylum 49 opens its old hospital as a haunted attraction each fall, and ghost walks run in downtown Salt Lake City and around Union Station in Ogden. Most of the places in this guide do not allow investigations.
What is the most haunted hotel in Utah?
The Bigelow (former Ben Lomond) in Ogden is the most famous, for Room 1102, but it is now apartments. Of the hotels still open, the Peery Hotel and the Holiday Inn Express (old Shilo Inn) in Salt Lake City have the strongest stories. See our guide to haunted hotels in Utah.
Is the Purple Lady real?
The Purple Lady of the Rio Grande Depot is a legend. Cafe staff told KSL the story goes back at least to the early 1980s, but no record has been found of a woman killed by a train there after chasing a ring. What is real are decades of reports from staff and guards of lights, footsteps and singing in the empty building.
What are the best ghost towns in Utah?
Grafton, below Zion National Park, is the best preserved and most photographed, with its 1886 schoolhouse and pioneer cemetery. Mercur in Tooele County has almost nothing left but its cemetery. Both are remote, so visit in daylight.
Which haunted places in Utah can you visit at night?
Book a room at the Peery Hotel, the Holiday Inn Express, Moore’s Old Pine Inn, the Mulberry Inn or Silver Fork Lodge. Union Station in Ogden is the starting point for nightly ghost walks, the Capitol Theatre and Peery’s Egyptian Theater have evening shows, and Asylum 49 and Camp Floyd open after dark in October.
Sources and how we research
Every place in this guide is checked against its official website, historic register listings and news coverage, and we confirm whether it is open, closed, private or gone before we list it. Ghost stories are reported as staff, visitors and local historians tell them; we say so where records contradict a story. Each place shows how many independent sources we checked it against; our own Haunted Rooms pages are not counted.
New guides and haunted places to visit. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team are paranormal researchers who write about historic haunted places across the United States. We research every place in our guides using official sites, historic registers, local archives and news coverage, and we report ghost stories as the stories they are. We review each guide regularly so you are not sent to a place that has closed, changed hands or banned visitors. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
