Haunted hotel guide · Greybull, Wyoming
The Haunted Hotel Greybull: Bank Vaults, a Prohibition Speakeasy and Six Friendly Ghosts
A bank on the ground floor, hotel rooms upstairs and a speakeasy in the basement. The owners say six ghosts still share the building, and that every one of them is friendly.
The Historic Hotel Greybull stands on the busiest corner of downtown Greybull, a small town in the Bighorn Basin between Cody and the Bighorn Mountains. It was built in 1916 as the town’s first big brick and concrete block, with a bank on the corner and hotel rooms upstairs, and it is one of the quieter, quirkier haunted hotels in Wyoming.
The ghost stories here grow out of its Prohibition years, when the owner ran liquor and a speakeasy operated in the basement. Owners Myles Foley and Lori Davis, who bought the hotel in 2008, are happy to talk about them, and the old speakeasy is now a family restaurant. Here is what guests, staff and owners describe, what the historic record says about the building, and how to make the most of a night there.
Hotel Greybull at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 602 Greybull Ave, Greybull, WY 82426
- Built 1916, by Gagnon & Co. of Billings; National Register nomination prepared in 2009
- Most haunted spots Rooms 332 and 333, the basement speakeasy, the old bank vaults and the restaurant kitchen
- Best-known ghosts Six friendly spirits, a girl called Alice in a chair, laughter from empty rooms and voices in the speakeasy
- Booking the haunted room Rooms are not sold as haunted rooms, but you can ask for Room 332 or 333, in the block of rooms legend says was once a brothel.
- Good to know A small, simple hotel and a handy overnight stop between Cody and the Bighorn Mountains. The basement speakeasy is now the Speakeasy Restaurant, and families are welcome.
The ghosts of the Hotel Greybull
Six friendly ghosts
The owners told Y95 Country that six ghosts live in the building, and that all of them are friendly. They have not tied them to particular people from the building’s past, though a few names have come up over the years.
Laughter in Rooms 332 and 333
Legend says a block of upstairs rooms was once kept as a brothel, and the owners pass on a rumor that the back corner of the building housed “ladies of the evening.” Guests in Rooms 332 and 333 have told Cowboy State Daily they heard men and women laughing when nobody else was there, and visitors to the basement have reported the laughter of men from the old speakeasy.
Alice in the chair
Six different people have reported seeing a girl named Alice sitting in a chair when the chair was empty. In the restaurant, a cook named Rita says she saw the full figure of a girl run through the kitchen. And one family in the Speakeasy watched a straw spin by itself in a soda can, until the can left the building.
Names on the recorder
A group called the Wyoming Area Spirit Posse investigated the hotel and told the owners they had found paranormal activity, including a man’s voice in the speakeasy and orbs in the old brothel rooms. EVP sessions are said to have picked up the names Delores, Toby, Lottie, Molly and Eve, along with words like “girls”, “drink” and “nightmare”. As with any amateur investigation, that is their interpretation of what they recorded.
The tunnels
Local stories say tunnels under the hotel were used to move illegal liquor, one of them reportedly to a druggist across the street who bought from the owner, and that the building saw shoot-outs with federal agents during the rum-running years. A Wyoming radio feature says the tunnels are closed off, with only concrete remnants left. The National Register history of the building confirms the basement speakeasy but does not mention tunnels, so treat them as local legend.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- Rooms 332 and 333: In the block of rooms legend links to a brothel, and where guests hear laughter from nobody.
- The Speakeasy Restaurant: The Prohibition-era basement bar, now a family restaurant, where a man’s voice was recorded and a straw spun by itself.
- The bank vaults: The original vaults of the 1916 First State Bank, where the owner is said to have kept his liquor.
- The restaurant kitchen: Where a cook saw a girl run through and vanish.
History of Historic Hotel Greybull
James T. Hurst and A. S. Wyant picked the corner of Greybull Avenue for a new commercial block in the young town. The building’s National Register nomination calls it the most important intersection in the downtown. Gagnon & Co. of Billings, Montana, put up the brick and concrete building in 1916, when most of Main Street was single-story wood. Some local accounts say work began in 1914 and that the hotel opened in 1926, but the National Register research dates the building to 1916.
The First State Bank took the corner storefront, with a drugstore, a hardware and furniture store and the post office beside it. Upstairs, Dr. Gorder had an office and the rest of the floor was hotel rooms, each with hot and cold running water. Our older guide said the building only became a hotel in 1927; the National Register history shows it rented rooms from the start.
The bank failed in April 1927, one of many Wyoming banks that went under that decade, and J. J. “Joe” Carey, a rum-runner who brought in liquor through his car dealership, bought the building. According to an account Carey gave his niece in 1979, preserved in Tom Davis’s book Glimpses of Greybull’s Past, he ran a bar serving soft drinks upstairs and a members-only speakeasy below, with gaming tables, liquor stored in the old bank vaults and a freight elevator to move it. Mott’s clothing store and later Bob’s Bar used the ground floor for years. The building is sometimes called the Carey Block or the Hurst Block.
The Carey family held the building until 1994, and Myles Foley and Lori Davis bought the hotel in 2008. Betsy Bradley prepared its National Register nomination in 2009. Today the building holds shops, a few private homes, the Speakeasy Restaurant and the Hotel Greybull, which still rents rooms to travelers crossing the Bighorn Basin.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Ask for Room 332 or 333 if you want the rooms with the most stories.
- Eat in the Speakeasy Restaurant and ask the owners about the vaults and the old tunnels.
- Greybull is about an hour east of Cody, so it pairs well with a night at the Irma Hotel.
- Head east next day over the Bighorn Mountains on US 14 toward Sheridan and the Sheridan Inn.
- Keep your expectations simple: this is a small historic hotel, not a resort, and that is its charm.
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.
- Old St. James Hospital Ghost Hunt, Butte, Montana: the nearest Haunted Rooms investigation with dates on sale
- Fairweather Inn Ghost Hunt & Sleepover, Virginia City, Montana: an overnight ghost hunt in an 1860s gold rush hotel
More haunted hotels nearby
- The Irma Hotel, Cody: Buffalo Bill’s hotel, an hour west
- The Sheridan Inn: Miss Kate’s room, over the Bighorns
- Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone: the headless bride legend
- Haunted hotels in Wyoming
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 Hotel Greybull haunted?
The owners say six friendly ghosts live there. Guests report laughter in Rooms 332 and 333, a girl called Alice sitting in an empty chair and voices in the old basement speakeasy.
Was the Hotel Greybull a bank?
The corner of the building was the First State Bank from 1916 until it failed in April 1927. Its vaults are still inside. The upstairs was a hotel from the beginning.
Was there a speakeasy at the Hotel Greybull?
Yes. During Prohibition, owner Joe Carey was a rum-runner and a basement room served as a members-only speakeasy. It is now the Speakeasy Restaurant.
Are there tunnels under the Hotel Greybull?
Local stories say tunnels were used to move liquor, and one recent account says they are now closed off. The building’s National Register history does not mention them.
How old is the Hotel Greybull?
The National Register research dates it to 1916. Some local accounts give 1914 for the start of work.
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.
- WyoHistory.org: Greybull Hotel
- Cowboy State Daily: Ghosts still have Prohibition liquor parties at Greybull hotel (2024)
- Y95 Country: Haunted 307, Historic Greybull Hotel (2018)
- Wake Up Wyoming: Greybull Inn ghost hunting
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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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