Haunted hotel guide · Glenrock, Wyoming

The Haunted Hotel Higgins, Glenrock: Edith the Housekeeper, Josephine and the Face in the Photos

An oil boom hotel built by a rancher and his wife, who both died within a few years of each other. Locals say at least four ghosts still walk its halls, including a housekeeper called Edith.

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

3.0/5Haunted Rooms Score
1917Year opened
4+Ghosts in local lore

Meet the ghosts

The Hotel Higgins is a white, two-and-a-half-story hotel with deep hipped roofs and a front porch on West Birch Street in Glenrock, a small town east of Casper. It opened in 1917 during the area’s oil boom, has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983, and is one of the lesser-known haunted hotels in Wyoming.

Its reputation rests on a handful of stories: Edith, said to be a former housekeeper who tucks guests into bed; Josephine Higgins, who built the hotel with her husband and is said to appear on the stairs; and a man’s face that people say turns up in their photographs. The hotel was listed for sale in 2021 and has been under remodeling, so read the booking notes below before you plan a stay.

Hotel Higgins at a glance

3.0/5
Haunted Rooms Score
Haunted reputation3
History4
Ghost hunter access2
$$ · $150 to $300Hotel embraces its ghosts
  • Address 416 W Birch St, Glenrock, WY 82637
  • Opened May 9, 1917; designed by Edward Reavill; listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 25, 1983
  • Most haunted spots The upstairs halls and guest rooms, and the third-floor Centennial Floor
  • Best-known ghosts Edith the housekeeper, Josephine Higgins and a man’s face in photographs
  • Booking the haunted room There is no named haunted room. The Centennial Floor can be rented whole or by the room.
  • Good to know The hotel has been undergoing a remodel. Call 307-277-0865 to check which rooms are open before you travel.

The ghosts of the Hotel Higgins

Edith, the housekeeper

Edith is the ghost most often named at the Higgins. In a 2019 Y95 Country feature, writer Debbie Cobb described her as a former housekeeper who is “kind enough to tuck guests into bed”, and Wyoming Public Media repeated the story in 2023. When the hotel was listed for sale in 2021, Y95 Country said it had at least four ghosts. We have not found any record of a housekeeper called Edith, so she belongs to the hotel’s folklore rather than its documented history.

Josephine Higgins

Josephine Amoretti Higgins built the hotel with her husband John and saw it open in 1917. She died in an automobile accident in 1924, only seven years later, and John died in 1926. Y95 Country reports that she has been seen as a full-bodied apparition on the stairs and in the dining room, still keeping an eye on the hotel she built.

The face in the photographs

Guests say a man’s face appears in the photographs they take on the property, and nobody has identified him. With John Higgins dying two years after his wife, some visitors like to think it is him, still watching over the business his heirs fought over.

The others

Local lore puts the count at four or more. The other ghosts are not named in anything we could find, so if you stay, ask the staff what they have heard.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

  • The stairs and dining room: Where Josephine Higgins is said to have been seen.
  • The upstairs guest rooms: Where Edith is said to tuck guests in.
  • The Centennial Floor: The third floor, kept in its original layout with five bedrooms, a living room and a shared three-room bath.
  • The lobby and public rooms: Look closely at the old photographs on the walls.

History of Hotel Higgins

John E. Higgins was a rancher, state legislator and oil investor in Glenrock. As new oil discoveries brought people to town, he and his wife Josephine commissioned Edward Reavill to design and build a hotel on the site of the old Deer Creek trading post and stage station. Built in 1916 and 1917, it opened on May 9, 1917, with 38 rooms trimmed in mahogany, high ceilings and plaster trim around a U-shaped plan. A newspaper of the day called it one of the most elaborate and finely furnished hostelries in the region. Our earlier guide described it as a railroad hotel; it was built by a local couple during the oil boom.

Josephine died in an automobile accident in 1924 and John in 1926. Their heirs argued over the property, and in 1942 Dr. and Mrs. Leonard Tabor bought it at a tax sale and renamed it the Tabor Hotel. After a series of owners it took back the name Hotel Higgins in 1978, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 25, 1983. The state historic preservation office notes that it has operated as a hotel under every owner, hosted the town’s social events and even housed Glenrock’s city offices for a time.

In 2021 the hotel was listed for sale at $595,000, with 17 guest rooms, three apartments, the Paisley Shawl restaurant and the Antelope Bar; the commercial listing now shows it as sold. Converse County Tourism describes a remodel aimed at restoring the rooms, lobby, restaurant and bar to their early 1900s look, and lists the Antelope Bar and Prairie Kitchen.

The third floor, now called the Centennial Floor, keeps the hotel’s original arrangement of five bedrooms and a large living room around a single three-room bath, and is popular with hunters and outfitters who rent it as a group.

Tips for a haunted stay

  • Call 307-277-0865 before you go: with the remodel and recent sale, it is the only way to know what is open.
  • For a group, rent the whole Centennial Floor. It is the most original part of the hotel.
  • Check the photographs on the walls for the mystery face, and ask staff about Edith.
  • Glenrock sits just off I-25 east of Casper, so it makes an easy detour on a road trip across the state.

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.

See all Wyoming ghost hunts, including the Wyoming Frontier Prison

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Frequently asked questions

Is the Hotel Higgins in Glenrock haunted?

Local lore says it has at least four ghosts, including Edith, said to be a former housekeeper who tucks guests into bed, and Josephine Higgins, who has been reported on the stairs and in the dining room.

Who was Josephine Higgins?

She and her husband John E. Higgins built the hotel, which opened in 1917. She died in an automobile accident in 1924.

Is the Hotel Higgins open?

Converse County Tourism lists it as lodging while it undergoes remodeling. Call the hotel to check before you travel.

Was the Hotel Higgins ever called something else?

Yes. It was the Tabor Hotel from 1942 until 1978, when it became the Hotel Higgins again.

When was the Hotel Higgins built?

It was built in 1916 and 1917 and opened on May 9, 1917.

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.

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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.

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