Have you ever seen a ghost in the Old Faithful Inn?/Kurt Repanshek file
There recently was a national story by some media outlet about the scariest, or spookiest places in the 50 states, and the one chosen for Wyoming was Old Bedlam at Fort Laramie National Historic Site. Old Bedlam, of course, was a barracks built for bachelor officers, and doesn't seem that scary. There certainly are scarier places in the Cowboy State, such as the Old Faithful Inn.
"The Inn?" you say, with arched eyebrow?
There indeed, as there are more than a few ghost stories tied to the inn and other places in Yellowstone.
There's the tale about the ghostly bride who stalks the upper reaches of the Old Faithful Inn with her head firmly tucked under her arm, a victim of a honeymoon-night decapitation decades ago. And then there's the story of a woman who stayed with her husband in Room 2 at the creaky Old Faithful Inn and 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.
He didn't, of course.
You can read more details of these ghost stories, and other tales from Yellowstone, in this story from the Traveler's archives. There also are other ghost stories from the parks in the archives, such as:
Is The Chateau at Oregon Caves National Monument Haunted?
Haunted House at Antietam National Battlefield?
More Than A Few Ghost Stories Swirl About Crater Lake National Park
Mammoth Cave National Park Harbors More Than A Few Ghost Stories
Ghost at Blevins Farmstead; Excerpt From 'Haunted Hikes'
Ghostly Tales From The National Parks: Voyageurs National Park
Ghostly Tales From The National Parks: Petrified Forest National Park
After you peruse those stories, let us know where you think the scariest location in the National Park System is, and please share any ghost stories from the parks you might have heard.
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Comments
How about the White House?
(Yes, it is part of the national park system.)
Scariest is the Washington Office (kidding).
Mesa Verde has some places where you definitely feel you aren't alone!
My wife and I have taken ghost tours at several NPS sites. Perhaps the most entertaining was at Gettysburg. That said, I don't personally buy into ghostie stuff and the things that alarm me are much more real. I've been sincerely spooked at several parks:
1) Guadalupe Mountains when I was hiking Devil's Hall alone at 6am, heard some rocks skittering, and quickly looked around for a mountain lion. Thankfully it was only some mule deer.
2) Chiricahua when I was hiking the Natural Bridge Trail at 6am. Again heard rocks skittering, saw the cliffs around me, and got freaked out about lions. Nothing. Later I got worried about gathering storm clouds and turned back early for fear of lightning.
3) Great Basin when I climbed up a peak with an approaching thunderstorm and immediately descended for fear of being struck by lightning.
4) Great Smoky Mountains when I forded a flooded creek and later felt fortunate I wasn't swept away and drowned.
5) Joshua Tree when I hiked Lost Palms Oasis with only two 20oz bottles of water. I left at 5am and thought I would beat the heat, but by the time I got back at 10am it was 90 and I thought I was going to die in the blazing sun.
6) Glacier when I rounded a corner and found myself face-to-face with a large male mountian goat. I backed away slowly and so did he, but that was a hair-raising situation.
Bottom line: The real threats weather, nature, exposure, and wildlife at NPS sites are far more of a threat than anything "supernatural."
The red elevators at the Ahwahnee (I'm still going to call it that) were supposedly the inspiration for the blood coming out of the elevators in The Shining.
The White House is indeed part of the system, but the average person can't wander the grounds or the building or spend the night. The White House and the Belasco Theater in NY have the most colorful ghost stories in the US, in my opinion. I've never seen one.
It's not the ghosts of the White House that scare me.
This may be the only time I'll bad-mouth the park that gives me office space, but Cabrillo National Monument may have the lamest ghost story in all of NPS when it comes to their lighthouse. Too lame to share.
Why Lee, whatever do you mean????