Haunted Wyoming

Paranormal locations are in demand these days, and Wyoming has its share. Here are just a few.

The Wort Hotel, Jackson, WY – The ghosts of two girls murdered in the 1960s haunt the halls of the Wort Hotel. The sound of a child sobbing can be heard from behind the front desk and in other areas of the building. On August 7, 1964, two young girls were murdered on the second floor of the hotel. The family of five was on holiday, and while the parents were downstairs enjoying some evening entertainment, a young drifter slipped through the hotel room window. The assailant strangled the eldest and middle daughter, leaving the youngest daughter alive. The parents returned to the room and found a man unconscious on the floor near the two dead daughters. The father held the man until police arrived.

www.planetjh.com/news/A_107818.aspx

The Plains Hotel, Cheyenne, WY –A passionate crime of murder and suicide has resulted in three restless spirits who roam the hallways of the Plains Hotel. It happened just after the hotel opened. A newly married couple’s honeymoon turned disastrous when the bride found her husband cheating with a prostitute in a room on the 4^th floor the hotel. The bride overcome by grief and despair shot her new husband and his mistress, then turned the gun on herself. All three ghosts have been seen wondering throughout the hotel ever since. Witnesses report the feeling of unseen presences watching them and hear disembodied laughter and crying coming from the newlywed couple’s room.

www.hauntedhouses.com/states/wy/plains-hotel.htm

The Historic Sheridan Inn, Sheridan, WY - The historic Sheridan Inn was once home to Buffalo Bill Cody and though it has long been closed for sleeping rooms, it remains home to a ghostly spirit by the name of Miss Kate Arnold. Miss Kate was well-loved by both the staff and the many guests of the hotel. She stayed at the hotel until 1965. Three years later, Miss Kate passed away. Her last request was to return to the Sheridan Inn. Her remains were cremated and her ashes buried in the wall of the room that she occupied on the third floor for so many years. Today, legend has it that Miss Kate continues to act as guardian over the inn. According to staff, her presence is felt on an almost daily basis. Cold spots randomly appear near the front downstairs windows and in the ballroom. She is known to repeatedly turn lights on and off and open and shut doors. Many have reported hearing footsteps throughout the inn. The Historic Sheridan Inn is on the National Register of Historic Places.

www.legendsofamerica.com/wy-sheridaninn.html

Wyoming Territorial Prison, Laramie, WY -  It is thought that the noisy process of  a renovation and the removal of his cell “awakened” the spirit of the former inmate, Julius Greenwelch, in the Wyoming Territorial Prison.  Mr. Greenwelch was an aspiring cigar maker who died in the prison serving a life sentence for killing his wife upon discovering she was secretly working in a brothel. The benign entity of Julius Greenwelch makes himself known to the living by appearing in the doorway where his cell once was and the smell of cigar smoke sometimes whiffs throughout the north wing of the building. He gets his chuckles by letting tourists, staff, and workmen know that he is still there serving his time even in his after life, perhaps still planning his cigar venture behind bars. Other common occurrences are strange voices in the cells, a feeling of being tense, and seeing people disappearing around corners. These entities are thought to be other former inmates of the prison who experienced violent and vicious attacks during their incarceration. The prison is now a historical tourist site. www.hauntedhouses.com/states/wy/wyoming-territorial-prison.htm

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-top-five-most-haunted-places-wyoming-2888389.html

St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Cheyenne, WY – Two Swedish stonemasons mysteriously disappeared while working on the bell tower of the Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in the 1900’s. Since then, sounds of hammering and muffled indistinguishable words came from the stone walls of the bell tower. The sounds were eerie enough that it would scare off any new workmen that were hired to complete the construction of the bell tower. Later, it was confessed by one of the Swedish stonemasons that his friend had fallen to his death while working. The remaining stonemason believed he might be accused of murder, so he entombed his friend’s body into an open part of the foundation. Eventually, reconstruction of the bell tower continued, but this time, Father. Rafter, the church’s rector at the time, ordered that a room be built as a “home” for the spirit of the deceased stonemason. This “ghost room” room can only be reached by climbing an 85 foot spiral stairway, which starts in the church basement. Father Rafter and the stone mason continue to haunt the tower and ghost room today.

www.hauntedhouses.com/states/wy/saint_marks_church.htm