The 10 Most Haunted Places in Salt Lake City, UT

When people think of Salt Lake City, they tend to make the usual connections with the Mormon community.

However, this is also a veritable hotbed of paranormal activity. In fact, it is nearly impossible to turn around without encountering a building that has its own ghost story to tell!

Perhaps the most haunted city in Utah, let’s take a closer look at the ten most haunted places in Salt Lake City!

City Hall opened in 1894 and is said to be home to at least five different ghosts. This includes a pair of children who were apparently killed while playing in the building.

Their heartbroken mother is also said to haunt the building along with a former Salt Lake City Mayor.

Some have also claimed that the ghosts of prisoners, or perhaps former guards are haunting the underground tunnel then runs below City Hall.

Another one of the most haunted locations in Salt Lake City is said to be Fort Douglas which is haunted by the spirit of a Civil War era soldier who goes by the name of Clem.

People have reported a variety of contact with Clem including feeling his breath on the back of their necks and even seeing his full bodied apparition.

The Alta Club was established in 1883 and was named after the Alta Mining District and it is apparently one of the most haunted buildings in Salt Lake City.

One of the most well known stories linked to the club involves a man who fell asleep in a third floor room at the club with a lit cigar in his hand.

The cigar lit a fire that burned most of the third floor. It is is still possible to see evidence of the fire to this day. The man was the only fatality during the fire and he is apparently still around.

Visitors to the club have reported seeing the apparitions of a man in a 1950s outfit sitting on a couch smoking his cigar.

There are also reports of a second spirit known as ‘the lady of the evening’ who makes her presence known via the scent of lilacs and cold touches on visitors’ shoulders.

Westminster College is apparently home to a wide selection of ghosts, making it one of the most haunted spots in Salt Lake City.

However, there are seven spirits in the college who are particularly prominent. These include a woman in white who haunts Converse Hall.

She is said to be a bride who got married in Gunston Memorial Chapel which is very close to where the College now stands.

The bride and her new husband were killed after being hit by a drunk driver on their way to their honeymoon.

It is believed that the bride returned to the place of her marriage which is why she now haunts Westminster College.

Another of the spirits that haunts Westminster College is said to be either Jeanette Hollister Ferry or perhaps her daughter Mary Hollister Hancock.

Jeanette was one of the driving forces behind Westminster College and she is honoured with Ferry Hall being named for her.

Other spirits on campus include a teacher or dorm mother who has never actually been seen, but makes her presence known by causing people near her to experience a tightening in their chest.

Nunemake Hall, Ferry Hall, the Science building, Foster Hall and Hogle Hall all have their own ghosts in residence.

The Brigham Young Farmhouse no longer sits in its original location on Ashton Avenue. It was relocated to ‘This is the Place Heritage Park’ in 1975, but it certainly brought its ghosts with it!

The house was originally built in 1863 and although it was named after Brigham Young he never actually lived in the house! It was a popular venue for musical performances and dances and history suggests that it served as housing for visiting dignitaries and their guests.

It is also one of the most haunted houses in Salt Lake City! One of the main apparitions that is reported in the house is Brigham Young himself who has been seen in various places around the house.

There are also reports of an apparition that is thought to be his son John A. Young. On one occasion, the couple who restored the property in the 1950s took a photo of themselves in the house and once it was developed John could be seen standing beside them!

The Shilo Inn is apparently haunted by the ghosts of several children, with the 11th floor and the hotel pool said to be particular hotspots.

There are frequent reports of guests claiming that they have heard the disembodied laughter of a woman. This would tie in with the story that a female guest once drowned in the pool and that her body was supposedly covered in child sized handprints.

Could these child ghosts have been attempting to save the woman from drowning? Some say they actually are responsible for her death, but this is difficult to believe since the ghosts are always described as playful rather than malevolent!

As for the origin of the childlike ghosts, that is easy enough to explain.

In August of 1978, Rachel David threw all seven of her children off of an 11th floor balcony before jumping from it herself!

The Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City is allegedly haunted by the spirit of a 17 year old former usher named Richard Duffin who died in a fire at the theatre in 1949.

There are also reports of a second spirit named George who is a bit of a trickster who likes to  cause all sorts of mischief throughout the theatre.

Other reports of spirits at Capitol Theatre include a lady dressed in period style costumes and a darker, more malevolent force that most people feel uncomfortable or threatened when they are around it!

Dating back to circa 1910, the McCune Mansion is a popular historic venue for weddings and other celebrations, but these soirees often have uninvited guests in the form of the two ghosts that haunt the mansion!

The first is a male spirit who is described as wearing a black cape. He is mainly seen throughout the Christmas season.

The other ghost is much more commonly sighted and is the spirit of a little girl who has a portrait in the mansion suggesting that she was once a resident there.

She is approximately 10 years old and loves when McCune Mansion is hosting a celebration, especially weddings.

She has been spotted by wedding guests dancing and giggling!

Devereaux Mansion has been remodeled and added to over the years, but the oldest sections of the house date as far back as 1857 when William C Stanes, a prominent member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, arrived in Salt Lake City with one of the first groups of pioneers.

Devereaux Mansion has changed hands fairly frequently over the years and was almost destroyed by a fire in 1979.

However, it has now been fully restored and serves as a restaurant and wedding venue.

The most prominent spirit in the property is a young girl who seems to be something of a trickster!

She is constantly playing pranks on te kitchen staff and guests have also spotted her at night when she is always happy to offer a friendly wave!

The same cannot be said of the second spirit to haunt Devereaux Mansion! This one is far more aggressive and is believed to either be the former lady of the house, or the head housekeeper.

She is very protective of the mansion and is not at all please that it is being misused – at least in her eyes!

One of the most well known haunted spots in Utah, is the Rio Grande Depot.

The spirit that is known to haunt here is called The Purple Lady and she apparently passed away after running in front of a train.

The story suggests that the woman was chasing an engagement ring that had fallen, or perhaps even been thrown onto the tracks and she did not realise she was throwing herself directly into the path of an oncoming train!

She is most often sighted in the ladies restroom, but there have been reports of her in other spots around Rio Grande Depot.

There is another lesser known spirit that also haunts the building, but he seems to confine himself to the basement.

Many believe that he could be the spirit of a construction worker who was killed during construction of the depot tunnel.

[Please Note: This depot is no longer in operation]