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The Ghosts Of Yellowstone National Park
National Parks Traveler's
Essential Park Guide
By Kurt Repanshek on October 29th, 2009
Editor's note: A version of this story ran in past editions
of the Traveler. It seems fitting that it be resurrected in
honor of All Hallows' Eve.
There is perhaps no more ethereal place than the
Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park.
There, when the night skies are thick with scudding
clouds taht filter the moonlight, ghostly phantoms
promenade on the geysers' drifting zephyrs. But do
these wraiths truly exist, haunting the park's geyser
fields, forests and lodges, or are they merely conjured
by the whooshing geysers and sputtering fumaroles?
There are certainly stories that won't die -- eerie tales
of macabre hauntings, such as the bride who stalks the
upper reaches of the Old Faithful Inn with her head
firmly tucked under her arm, a victim of a honeymoonnight decapitation decades ago. While one of the inn's
caretakers, mindful of guests' appetites for the morbid,
confesses to creating that gruesome scenario, there
are some unexplained mysteries that confound
explanation.
Not too many years ago, a woman who stayed with her
husband in Room 2 at the creaky Old Faithful Inn
awoke to find an apparition floating at the foot of their
bed. She immediately roused her husband by digging
her fingernails deeply into his shoulder. "Don't you see
it?" the woman cried, pointing at a woman dressed in
1890s garb.
Do ghosts roam the balconies that overlook the
And, along with the usual suspect ghost stories about
things that go bump in the night, is the tale of a
photo.
housekeeping employee who watched a fire
extinguisher hanging on the wall of the inn's "300" wing
execute a 90-degree turn and then drop back to its original position.
massive fireplace inside the Old Faithful Inn? NPT file
Strolling through the majestic log inn, guests find it's easy to envision ghosts drifting along the inner balconies of
the 85-foot-high lobby, or down the dimly lit hallways of the "Old House," the first portion of the gabled lodge built
during the winter of 1903-04. More than a century of hands have rubbed smooth and shiny the dark log railings
that run up the stairs and skirt the balconies. Too, the wooden floors are worn heavily in places where visitors have
paused to gaze up at the balconies or the massive stone chimney that commands one corner of the lobby. At
night, jigging shadows created by flames dancing in the fireplace dash across across the rough-hewn walls, while
wailing winds send shudders through the inn.
If indeed Yellowstone is haunted by ghosts running wild at night, and not imaginations, whose shadows are they?
Could it be that Mattie Culver, who died during childbirth on March 2, 1889, at the now-gone Firehole Hotel once
located several miles north of the Old Faithful Inn, fretfully stalks the geyser basin, heart-broken over not living to
see her child grow up? When Mrs. Culver died, the hotel's grounds were too frozen to yield a grave, so her body
was placed in two pickle barrels and buried in a snowdrift until spring thaw. Today, not far from her grave, is Dead
Maiden's Spring.
According to Lee Whittlesey, the park historian and author of Death In Yellowstone, "The grave was later fenced
and maintained by the wife of a park concessioner, and Mattie's 18-month-old daughter was sent to live with
relatives."
Or perhaps one of the apparitions is that of L.R. Piper, a cashier from the First National Bank of St. Mary's, Ohio,
who, on July 30, 1890, stepped out of the now-gone Fountain Hotel to enjoy an after-dinner cigar -- and vanished.
U.S. Army troops stationed in Yellowstone at the time searched a month for Piper, and his brother-in-law spent the
month of September that year looking for him. At one point, he slept under the stars hoping that coyote howls
would lead him to Piper's remains. In his book, Mr. Whittlesey offers his own opinion of what befell Mr. Piper:
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I believe he walked out into the night and inadvertently stumbled into one of the many hot springs that
were and are located nearby. Persons who fall into hot springs disintegrate, and there is often no recovery
of them. Two hot springs there, Gentian Pool and Deep Blue Geyser, are very large and very deep, and I
believe that a search of them or other springs there, could it be done, would yield Piper's silicified bones
perhaps covered over by years of spring deposits.
Maybe Charles Phillips is doing the haunting. He was a ranger stationed at Old Faithful during the winter of 192627. He died after eating water hemlock he mistook for wild parsnip. According to Death in Yellowstone, the
ranger's body was found on the floor of the ranger station.
Investigators found that he had apparently come out of the bedroom into the kitchen and fell forward,
striking his head above his left eye on the table. Dirt on his hands indicated he had crawled on the floor for
awhile, probably in agony, and he exhibited the vomiting and frothing at the mount which are characteristic
of hemlock poisoning.
On your next visit to the Old Faithful Inn, stay up late one night and test your belief in the afterlife, which seems
more restless now that the mournful howling of wolves once again hangs in the air.
Visiting the Parks
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Comments
Submitted by Anonymous on October 23, 2015 - 6:18pm.
I've heard rumors of creepy things happening on either the second or thirs floor of the inn. (I heard this from
my mother who grew up in West Yellowstone)
reply
Submitted by Anonymous on October 2, 2015 - 9:37am.
I'm curious about the ghost sighting in Room #2 as I had a very similar experience at the hotel many years ago
- including waking my husband and seeing a woman dressed in a 19th century dress. I would love to compare
notes with the woman who saw the ghost - what color was the dress, what, if anything did the woman say or
do, etc. If you know who the guest was, please pass this on. I don't remember the room number - it was in
the old part of the lodge, corner room with a window seat that looked out to the geyser. May have had a sink in
the room. Also, has anyone ever mentioned a cowboy, perhaps in late 1800's or early 1900's clothing in any of
the rooms? Thanks!
reply
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Submitted by Anonymous on July 13, 2015 - 12:46am.
When I was about 10 I saw an arm come out of a hot pot near Old faithful. Its one of those things you
remember as a child. I never had any confirmation about my sighting. In fact for 30 years I've never told
anyone about it. Reading about LR Piper has convinced me it was real.
reply
Submitted by admin on July 29, 2012 - 10:45pm.
I heard there's a ghost in room 4040 at the inn. Anyone else hear that? Check out this book made for iPad:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-inn-at-old-faithful/id537407828?mt=11
reply
Submitted by admin on May 8, 2011 - 10:14am.
Ive never been to Yellowstone or OFI but my aunt has and when she back she had a book about Yellowstones
ghost stories it's pretty interresting i would reccommend people read it.
reply
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Submitted by admin on August 3, 2010 - 9:34am.
I am not usually one to believe in ghosts. After our recent trip to Yellowstone (and the Old Faithful Inn), I am a
bit more inclined to open my mind to the possibility. Nothing dramatic, but here is our story for what it is worth.
We stayed at the OFI in mid-July. We stayed on the floor just above the reception area. We were the first door
in the hallway as you come up the stairs and off the balcony area. After leaving the kids to read in the room (it
was 11pm or so), my husband and I sat out on the balcony overlooking the fireplace for about 20 minutes. We
returned to the room, found that the kids were asleep and went to bed ourselves. It was very quite in the Inn
that night and nobody was out when we returned to our room. I turned the lights out, but kept my eyes open
as I wasn't really tired and was processing the days events. Within minutes, I saw a white "orb" (that is the only
way I can describe it) move quickly across the room towards the door. The door then rattled 5 or 6 times. It
became very quite after that and I sat up and asked my husband if he had just seen and heard what I did. He
said "yes...just close your eyes and go to sleep...that was creepy".
That was it. Nothing spectacular, but enough to make me wonder!
By the way...that was our second visit to OFI in 15 years...and we will return!
reply
Submitted by admin on May 24, 2010 - 3:54am.
It has been many years since I've been to Yellowstone but I found this site and wanted to share an actual story
that by no means is made up. When I was younger I decided to take the trip with a church group. One of the
stops we visted was old faithful and we had alot of time on our hands before the gieser went off, so me and a
friend decided to check out the inn. Most of the inn looked comfortable and people where checking out the gift
shops and what not. We walked up to the top of the inn and then got all the way to the end of the western side
of the inn. My friend kept saying i wonder if this place is haunted. About the third time he said that he only got
to say i wonder if this place is hau... then all at once the two pull string lights went off and on at the exact same
time as well as two or three doors on the left side of the hall and 3 on the right open and close violently all at
the same time. You can believe what you want but to this day i still think about it.
reply
Submitted by admin on April 7, 2010 - 3:14pm.
Hi, has anyone heard any ghost stories about Glacier National Park or Waterton Lakes National Park in
Canada? I'm the author of "Haunted Montana: A Guide to Haunted Places You Can Visit" and have been
asked to collect ghost stories of Glacier-Waterton for a new book. True encounters and spooky campfire tales
are all welcome. You can contact me at [email protected]
Thanks!
reply
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