18 Most Haunted Places in Wyoming: Wild Plains

The most haunted places in Wyoming prove that the Cowboy State isn’t just full of wide-open spaces, it’s also wide-open to ghosts. 

Sure, Wyoming is famous for geysers, canyons, and big skies, but it turns out the spirits here like to roam as freely as the bison. 

These are the 18 most haunted places in Wyoming:

The Historic Occidental Hotel

Buffalo

The most haunted places in Wyoming include a lot of weirdness, but few rival the ghostly reputation of the Historic Occidental Hotel in Buffalo. Founded in 1880 at the foot of the Bighorn Mountains, the hotel was a hotspot for travelers moving through the Old West.

The hotel’s guest list reads like a frontier who’s who. 

Buffalo Bill Cody stayed here. Teddy Roosevelt slept here. Calamity Jane stopped in while driving freight wagons along the Trail. 

Even Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid rode in from their hideout at Hole in the Wall.

The Occidental began losing its shine during the Great Depression, and by the 1980s, the building had fallen into disrepair. 

The Bordello Suite

Long before it became a guest room, the Bordello Suite was part of the hotel’s brothel during its Wild West days. Cowboys climbed the back stairs with tokens in hand, and the deep gouges carved into the steps remain as proof of the rowdy traffic. Visitors today report uneasy feelings in the room and the sense that unseen eyes are watching from the hallways.

Emily

Emily is the most well-known ghost of the Occidental. Legend says she was the daughter of a prostitute who lived/worked in the brothel. In the early 1910s, Emily died after a long struggle with cholera. Guests often feel the gentle tug of a shirt sleeve only to turn and find no one there. 

Travelers drifting off to sleep say they have seen a small girl standing at their bedside. 

Activity grows stronger near the Bordello Suite, where Emily once lived. A stuffed orange tabby sits in the room where she died. Staff keep it there because Emily had an orange tabby cat when she was alive. Children who stay at the hotel often leave notes for her.

Renovation Encounters

During the hotel’s restoration, one contractor saw a young girl in a nightdress standing in a partially demolished part of the building. Worried that a child had wandered into a dangerous construction zone, he followed her across planks and rubble. She vanished the moment he rounded a corner. Many think the contractor saw Emily, the famous child spirit tied to the hotel’s past. 

Margaret

For two decades, Margaret ran the place. Mannequins throughout the hotel display her vintage Victorian clothing like pieces in a living museum. Guests sometimes see a tall woman in similar attire floating calmly down the hallways. Her presence is usually described as regal and watchful.

In 1918, two ranchers won the Occidental in a poker game and asked Margaret, the wife of one of the owners, to run it “for a month or so.”

She managed the hotel for 55 years until her death there at age 92 in 1976. 

Other Manifestations

Other entities reported at the hotel include several cowboy apparitions who appear briefly in doorways or near the old saloon before fading away.

Guests have also seen the apparition of President Teddy Roosevelt upstairs in the library, adjusting outdoor gear, as though preparing for one of the fishing trips he enjoyed during his time in Wyoming. 

Some witnesses see him holding what looks like a rod case or checking the pockets of a canvas jacket before he disappears.

Old Faithful Inn

Yellowstone National Park

The Old Faithful Inn is one of the most visited landmarks in Yellowstone National Park and easily one of the most haunted places in Wyoming.

Built in 1904 and overlooking the erupting geyser that shares its name, the inn’s towering log architecture has become iconic.

The most famous spirit at the Old Faithful Inn is the Headless Bride. Her apparition is often seen near the Crow’s Nest, the lofty balcony space above the lobby where orchestras once played for guests in the early 1900s. 

According to the long-standing legend, her 1914 honeymoon ended in murder in Room 127. After days of fierce arguments and a husband who gambled away their money, the bride was found decapitated in the bathtub. 

A few days later, her severed head was discovered hidden in the Crow’s Nest, and ever since then, people have reported seeing the headless woman carrying her own head in her arms. 

The Crow’s Nest has remained closed to guests since the 1959 earthquake damaged its support beams and made it unsafe to enter. 

Other Manifestations

• The Bride and Groom: In Room 127, guests have heard whispers, felt chills, and sensed someone standing near the bed. These experiences are attributed to the doomed couple whose violent final days unfolded behind the room’s closed door. Accounts vary, but most versions claim the groom murdered his bride before killing himself. Their deaths were discovered only after the room remained silent for an unusually long time.
• Creepy Creaking: Disembodied footsteps echo along the long guestroom hallways at every hour of the night. Guests step outside their rooms expecting to find someone nearby, only to see empty corridors. The footsteps are heard running, pacing, or circling the halls.
• Room 2 Visitor: A guest in Room 2 once woke to find a woman standing silently beside the bed. She vanished instantly and is believed to be a second female spirit, unrelated to the Headless Bride.
• The Architect: A short man with a stern expression has been spotted in the lobby and upper levels of the inn. Witnesses believe he may be the ghost of the architect Robert Reamer, famous for designing The Old Faithful Inn, who is still watching over his masterpiece.

Wyoming Frontier Prison Museum

Rawlins

Built slowly between 1888 and 1901, the Wyoming Frontier Prison became one of the most haunted places in Wyoming. For decades, it was known for harsh conditions and executions.

At first, the prison carried out public hangings, where people could gather and watch. In 1916, the prison added a private execution room, so hangings no longer happened in front of crowds.

From 1912 to 1933, the prison used Julien Gallows, which forced prisoners to cause their own death. They would stand on a trap door connected to a small stream of water. When the water flowed, it slowly opened the trap door. 

The prisoner would fall, but not far enough to break their neck, which meant they died slowly from strangulation. 

Nine men died this way.

In 1936, the prison switched to a gas chamber, which was considered a “more humane” method at the time.

The prison closed in 1981 and later became a museum.

• Executions: Only 14 death sentences were carried out at the prison: nine by hanging and five in the gas chamber. When the prison closed in 1981, it sat empty until 1987, when the horror movie Prison was filmed there. 

• Frank Wigfall & Esther the Pie Lady: Esther, known as “The Pie Lady,” visited the prison weekly to bring homemade pies. Inmate Frank Wigfall became obsessed with her. After he was released, he found her home and brutally raped and murdered her. He was caught and returned to prison, where the other inmates—who loved Esther—hanged him from a second-floor balcony. Today, museum visitors claim they still see this hanging repeat, happening as fast as lightning.

• Andrew Pixley: Andrew Pixley murdered a judge’s children, Debbie (aged 12) and Cindy (aged 8), and were killed in the gas chamber. He became known as the inmate who took the longest to die, lasting nearly 7 minutes while laughing. On ghost tours, candles in his old cell sometimes flicker wildly, go out, glow bright, or relight on their own.

• Julius Greenwelch: One of the prison’s most famous spirits is Julius Greenwelch, inmate #338. He was in prison for murdering his wife, who worked at his favorite brothel. While serving a life sentence, he convinced officials to let him start a small cigar-making business. After he died in 1901, people began reporting the smell of fresh cigar smoke in empty rooms, believed to be a sign that Julius is nearby.

• Prisoner Cell Blocks: Visitors to the old cell blocks see dark shapes move across the walkways. They also hear whispers, screams, and crying echo through the hallways. These noises happen even when the building is completely empty.

• The Death House: People who enter it often feel a sudden, heavy pressure on their chests. Some visitors have also seen the reflection of a man wearing a brimmed hat standing in the room where the old homemade gallows once operated. Many believe he is one of the prisoners who died there.

• Main Prison Shower Room: The shower room is known for strange sounds and mysterious footprints. Visitors hear voices coming from the dark showers, even though no one is inside. Wet footprints sometimes appear on the floor, even though the water hasn’t been turned on.

Irma Hotel

Cody

The Irma Hotel in Cody was built by William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, one of the most famous Americans of his era.

He was a scout, showman, and founder of the world-renowned Wild West show, which toured the United States and Europe.

After helping establish the town of Cody in 1895, he built the Irma Hotel in 1902 and named it after his youngest daughter. 

Buffalo Bill kept two suites and an office here, making the hotel both a family space and a place where he entertained dignitaries, performers, and celebrities.

One of the hotel’s greatest treasures is the magnificent cherrywood backbar. Queen Victoria gifted it to Buffalo Bill after seeing his Wild West show and admiring both his performance and the frontier spirit he represented. 

Manifestations:

• The Cavalry Soldier: Guests and staff have reported seeing the lower half of a uniformed soldier moving through the hotel. The boots and sword make him easy to identify, even though the top half of his body doesn’t always appear. He is believed to be a former Confederate cavalryman.

• Room 35: Room 35 is known for odd nighttime activity. Visitors say faucets turn on and off without reason, belongings shift places during the night, and artwork ends up on the floor in spots where it could not have fallen naturally. 

• Irma Cody Garlow: The spirit of Buffalo Bill’s daughter, Irma, is said to wander the halls of her namesake hotel. Guests report seeing her in her old room, often seated in a rocking chair as if keeping watch. 

• Room 16: This was Irma’s room, and many guests have seen a figure matching her description sitting quietly in the corner. Her presence here feels especially strong because she died inside the hotel at the age of 35, only days after her husband, the hotel manager, died of pneumonia.

• Buffalo Bill: Some employees have seen Buffalo Bill himself, especially in the early morning hours. He has been seen walking the halls or appearing near the historic bar, as if checking in on the hotel he loved. Objects in Room 20 (the Colonel Cody Suite) have been known to shift or move on their own, and investigators often report sudden temperature changes and spikes in electromagnetic readings.

Fort Laramie National Historic Site

Goshen County

Fort Laramie has stood in the lonely prairie winds for nearly two centuries, first as a trading post and later as a military fort. 

Today, Fort Laramie is one of the most haunted places in Wyoming.

Manifestations:

• Lady in Green: The most famous ghost at Fort Laramie is the Lady in Green, a young woman who vanished after falling off her black stallion. She ignored the guards chasing her and was never seen alive again. Now, every seven years, witnesses see her gliding along the Oregon Trail east of the fort. Recurring time cycles, like seven-year cycles, are common and often symbolize an unresolved promise, a vigil, or a soul retracing its final steps. She appears in a long green riding dress with a veiled hat and carries a jeweled quirt (a short-handled riding whip with a braided leather lash). She never looks at those who see her. 

• The Old Captain’s Quarters: Inside the old Captain’s Quarters, doors open with no one near them, and footsteps scrape across empty rooms. Bright lights shine late at night, even though the building has no electricity. Staff have given the restless spirit here the nickname George, though no one knows who he really was.

• Old Bedlam: Old Bedlam is the oldest military building in Wyoming. A Cavalry Officer has been seen walking the halls, his boots echoing against the wooden floors. He sometimes tells visitors to be quiet.

• Cavalry Barracks: At dawn, people hear the heavy thud of boots marching along the boardwalk outside the barracks, exactly when soldiers once rose for reveille. 

• Other Sightings: A young man in a raincoat has appeared around the fort, speaking to someone no one else can see. The apparition of a surgeon in a blood-soaked uniform has startled more than a few guests. 

The Historic Plains Hotel

Chyenne 

The Historic Plains Hotel opened in 1911 in what was once called the Magic City of the Plains. Beneath the polished wood and velvet charm, something colder lingers. 

Bride Rosie is the most sorrowful of the hotel’s hauntings. On her honeymoon, she discovered her groom with another woman. Her heartbreak ignited into rage. 

In room 444, she shot them both before turning the gun on herself. Guests now hear crying and muffled arguments coming from that room at night, even when it stands empty. 

Rosie has been seen wandering the halls in her blue dress. Her groom appears in a black coat and white shirt on the fourth floor and in the basement. The other woman drifts through the second floor in a short red dress trimmed with white lace.

Today, Bridge Rosie makes this hotel one of the most haunted places in Wyoming.

Sheridan Inn

Sheridan

Open since 1893, The Sheridan Inn is one of the most haunted places in Wyoming thanks to its long history and its ties to Buffalo Bill.

Miss Kate is the heart of the inn’s haunted reputation. 

Catherine “Miss Kate” Arnold arrived from Virginia in 1901 and began working at the Sheridan Inn at 22. Over the next 64 years, she became part of the hotel’s identity. 

She lived in the Sheridan as a seamstress, clerk, housekeeper, hostess, and sometimes even a babysitter, forming deep bonds with staff and travelers alike. Even when the inn closed in 1965, Miss Kate insisted on staying. 

After she died in 1968, her ashes were placed inside the wall of her third-floor room, exactly where she had spent most of her life. People have speculated which room number this actually is, but nothing substantial is publicly known. 

Guests and employees report that Miss Kate still watches over her beloved inn. 

Virginian Hotel

Jackson Hole

The Virginian Hotel was completed in 1911, built to serve railroad workers, ranchers, and travelers passing through the valley.

The hotel quickly became a social hub where deals were made, and drinks flowed. With more than a century of footsteps echoing through its halls, the Virginian carries the weight of countless lives, heartbreaks, and unfinished stories.

The Virginian Hotel was built by local entrepreneurs, whose names were not well documented, eager to create a refined lodging place for railroad travelers and Jackson Hole’s growing ranching community. 

Manifestations:

• The Woman in Beige: Guests describe this spirit as a tall woman dressed in early-1900s beige clothing, with dark hair and a prominent nose. According to local legend, she waited for her fiancé to arrive by train from the East Coast. When he never came, she jumped from a third-floor window. Visitors see her figure in the hallway and sometimes hear a sudden crash from that part of the floor, or from the “Back 40” section of the saloon below. In old Western terms, “Back 40” means the farthest, most out-of-the-way part of a property, and the nickname stuck.

• Riley: Riley is the gentle spirit of a former employee. Witnesses describe him as calm and friendly, often sensed sitting at his favorite barstool. 

• Hank, the Cowboy Ghost: Hank is one of the hotel’s most beloved spirits. Guests report seeing a tall cowboy wearing an old-fashioned hat and duster coat. He’s known for playful mischief, such as pushing glasses off tables in the bar, turning on the television, and politely opening doors for women. Locals say he died of a heart attack on the third floor while waiting for his wife to arrive from back east. Despite the sad tale, people rarely feel anything but warmth around him. According to lore, his room is across the hall from Room 34. Unfortunately, for ghost hunters, renovations, room renumbering, and changes to the building layout over the decades have left the space Hank is associated with a little lost to time. The most accurate way to find his area is on the third floor around Room 34. 

• The Virginian Saloon Ghost: A former saloon employee who once lived in a small room behind the bar was known as a quiet fixture of the place. He spent long hours working late and often relaxing in the same chair at the end of the night. After his sudden death, people began seeing an older man seated calmly in his usual spot, watching the room. Chairs have been found pulled out, and employees say the air feels noticeably heavier near his favorite seat. 

Acme Theatre

Riverton

The Acme Theatre gets its name from the Acme Amusement Company, a short-lived entertainment venture that arrived in Riverton in 1914.

Operated by L.P. Smith of Thermopolis, the theater packed the King Building with crowds eager to see short silent films.

Manifestations:

• Man on the Balcony: A ghostly figure is seen standing on the Acme’s balcony, quietly watching the show. He’s described as wearing vaudeville-era clothing and is often assumed to be a former performer. 

• The Projectionist: One of the theater’s most well-known legends centers around a devoted projectionist who died on the job. People have heard the soft whir of an old projector coming from the booth, even when nothing is running. How he actually died remains a mystery; some say he died from a work-related accident, others say it was a suicide. 

• The Dark Presence: The basement once stored stacks of film reels and equipment, and many believe its dark history has left an imprint. Employees often feel an oppressive heaviness in the basement, and some refuse to go down alone. 

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

Cheyenne

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church has deep roots in early Cheyenne. 

When the Union Pacific Railroad reached the area in 1867, Episcopalians were among the first to organize religious services in the rough frontier town. 

On January 14, 1868, Rev. Joseph W. Cook arrived and was shocked by the lawlessness he saw. 

To fix this lawlessness, he quickly established a parish, and by August 23 of that same year, the first church building in the Territory of Wyoming was dedicated. 

A major early feature of the church was its 600-pound bell, donated by the S. E. Fallons of St. Mark’s Church in Philadelphia. 

First used on April 4, 1869, it hangs outdoors in the Bell Tower Garden, where visitors can view it up close.

In 1903, the church became tied to one of Wyoming’s most infamous events, known as the Tom Horn affair. Tom Horn, a hired gun and range detective, was accused of killing 14-year-old Willie Nickell during a violent conflict between cattle ranchers and sheep herders. 

The case divided the entire region. 

Horn was arrested and eventually found guilty, though many people at the time, and even today, questioned whether he truly committed the murder.

St. Mark’s played a role in his final days. The assistant rector, Rev. Watson, attempted to spiritually counsel Horn the night before his execution, and the rector, Rev. Rafter, prayed with him on the scaffold until the moment of his death.

Manifestations:

• Whispers: At the turn of the 20th century, a newly arrived rector eagerly moved into his office in the bell tower. His excitement faded quickly. He heard whispers, knocks, and muffled voices coming from inside the walls. The disturbances became so frequent and unnerving that he moved to another office, and the tower was declared off-limits.

• Construction Disturbances: During periods of construction on the tower, both workers and church members heard unexplained voices. One worker even claimed to hear a disembodied voice state, “There’s a body in the wall.” People described persistent knockings and whispers that seemed to come from deep within the structure.

• The Hammers: Workers reported the sound of hammers striking from behind the walls when no one else was present. They approached the rector at the time, Father Bennett, suggesting that the church build a dedicated room for the ghost to quiet the activity. It didn’t work. The bell tower would sometimes ring in the early morning hours with no one pulling the rope, and the pipe organ occasionally sounded on its own.

Sweetwater County Library

Green River

The Sweetwater County Library stands on land that once served as Green River’s original cemetery, today one of the most haunted places in Wyoming.

Although the city tried to relocate the graves to a new burial ground, shifting soil, a natural spring, and decades of construction meant many bodies were never moved. 

Human remains continued surfacing well into the 1990s. 

Today, the library sits directly over the dead.

Manifestations:

• Buried Alive: In 1926, grave digger Captain Bill Harsha described what he saw when a dropped casket cracked open. Inside lay a woman with long red hair and Western clothing, two pistols at her sides. When he leaned in, he noticed claw marks gouged into the wood. Her nails were dark with dried blood. Harsha became convinced she had been buried alive (a mistake that was not unusual in those days). Today, staff and visitors report seeing a woman in old-fashioned clothing standing silently between shelves or near dark corners before disappearing. Late at night, scratching sounds and faint tapping are sometimes heard, like someone is still trying to escape.

• Supernatural From Day One: When the library was built in 1978, workers immediately encountered strange activity. As they dug the foundation, more bones surfaced. Tools vanished without explanation. Cold spots drifted across the site. Some workers heard voices whispering their names. Others refused to return. After the library opened in 1980, the disturbances escalated. Staff heard footsteps in empty rooms, smelled pipe tobacco with no source, and listened to skirts brushing past them when no one stood nearby. Electronics turned on and off at random.

• Apparitions: Multiple full-bodied ghosts have appeared to patrons and workers alike. Custodian Don Leasor shared one of the most famous accounts. While vacuuming late at night, he saw a woman in 1800s clothing, hunched forward with her face in her hands. After several seconds, she lifted her head and glided across the room before passing through the ceiling with a sharp popping sound. Others have reported a man in a top hat, a furious-looking woman, someone wearing an old helmet-like headpiece, a man running in knee-length trousers, and a little girl who appears beside people as they wash their hands in the bathroom. 

The Wonder Bar

Casper

The Wonder Bar has stood on South Center Street since 1914, surviving countless owners, name changes, and more than its share of chaos. 

First a pool hall, then The Mint Bar, it became the Wonder Bar after Prohibition ended and quickly grew into the wild heart of Casper’s Saloon Row. Cowboys once rode their horses straight through the front door for a beer. 

Today, the bar is one of the most haunted places in Wyoming.

Manifestations:

• The Wonder Bar Curse: Strange activity at the bar began decades ago with a string of tragedies, starting with a guest who died after falling down the stairs. Over the years, shootouts erupted in front of the building, and the bar has a reputation for violence. It’s reported that fights that could lead to stabbings were common. It was not uncommon for shootings either.

• The Children: Guests have heard children laughing and running up and down the stairs, even when the bar is empty. A little girl ghost is known for trying to coax visiting children into playing with her.

• The Cleaning Lady and Her Cat: One of the bar’s most famous stories tells of a cleaning lady who brought her cat with her during a late shift. Both reportedly saw a ghost descending the stairs, and the cat reacted with every hair standing straight up. 

The Wort Hotel

Jackson

The Wort Hotel has been a Jackson landmark since the early 1900s, when Charles J. Wort first settled in the valley and later raised his sons, John and Jess, just outside what would become the modern town. 

Today, this historic lodge is known not only for its Western charm but also for being one of the most haunted places in Wyoming.

One of the hotel’s best-known ghosts is Robert “Bob” Tomingas, a gifted maintenance engineer who began working at the Wort in 1950. Bob spent decades rebuilding the hotel’s heating, water, and electrical systems, becoming a quiet legend among the staff. He died of a sudden heart attack while still employed at the hotel.

Engineers continue to credit Bob with helping solve mysteries involving burst pipes and faulty wiring. In one famous incident, a worker searching for a hidden break in a water line noticed a pipe wrench mysteriously leaning against a hallway wall. Taking it as a sign, he decided to investigate behind the wall and discovered the exact break he had been searching for.

Staff also report tools shifting on their own and the maintenance shop being subtly rearranged, as if Bob is still making sure everything runs the way it should.

McAuliffe sisters

The McAuliffe sisters’ tragic deaths shook Jackson in 1965. While vacationing at the Wort, the family’s three daughters were sleeping when an intruder entered their room. 

Debbie, age 12, and Cindy, age 8, were killed, while their youngest sister survived. Their parents, Judge Robert and Betty McAuliffe, ran to the room after hearing a disturbance and found the attacker passed out drunk.

Since then, people have reported hearing children crying, faint screams, and small footsteps on the second floor and behind the front desk. Some have seen childlike figures playing in the hallways or peering from the upper windows.

The Higgins Hotel and Paisley Restaurant

Glenrock

Built between 1916 and 1917 during the oil boom in Glenrock, the Glenrock Hotel quickly became a hub for travelers and eventually, one of the most haunted places in Wyoming.

Guests and staff have reported seeing Josephine Higgins gliding along the grand staircase or watching over the dining room, as if still keeping an eye on the hotel she once called home. Her presence is said to be protective, often accompanied by the faint feeling of being observed.

Another lingering spirit is Edith, a former housekeeper who remains quietly attentive even after death. Those staying at the hotel have felt blankets gently tucked around them, chairs slightly moved, or the faint scent of lavender drifting through the hallways.

Occasionally, pictures taken on the property capture a man’s face, though no one has been able to identify him. 

Atlas Theatre

Cheyenne

The Atlas Theatre, originally built in 1887, is another of the most haunted places in Wyoming. 

Over the years, the building has been a penny arcade, soda parlor, and community theatre. Today, it hosts performances, special events, and weddings.

Manifestations:

• The Lady in White: In 1894, the wife of a local minister met a violent end on the second floor. Some say the minister murdered her in a rage after learning of her work in the red-light district before taking his own life. Her spirit is seen staring out the window, dressed in white.

• Frankie and Gussie: Before the Atlas Theatre, the site housed boarding houses above a music store and meat market. A fire destroyed the buildings, and two children, Frankie and Gussie, perished. Today, visitors sometimes see a young boy playing with a red ball in the theatre.

• The Blue Girl: This gentle presence is associated with the faint, sweet scent of flowers. Patrons have smelled the fragrance unexpectedly throughout the theatre.

Heart Mountain Relocation Center

Park County

Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Park County, Wyoming, is a memorial that guests can still visit to remember the atrocities inflicted on people by the United States government. 

During World War II, over 10,000 people of Japanese descent, including American citizens, were forcibly uprooted from their homes in Oregon, Washington, and California and sent to this remote camp under Executive Order 9066. 

Families were crammed into hastily built barracks, surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards, with little privacy, harsh winters, and a constant sense of fear. 

Lives were upended, possessions lost, and dignity stripped away as parents, children, and elders endured long months of confinement under grueling conditions.

The psychological toll was immense, and the scars of that experience linger to this day.

Visitors to the site report that the echoes of those suffering souls remain. Shadow people are frequently glimpsed in the corners of empty barracks, and footsteps, whispers, and muffled voices are heard when no one is there. Cold spots hit suddenly, even on warm days, and a heavy sensation of being watched pervades the hallways. 

Some report feeling guided by a friendly presence, a spirit who appears during daytime tours to lead guests before vanishing into thin air. 

Others have seen figures moving along the grounds, heard unexplained coughing, or felt unseen hands brushing past them, at one of the most haunted places in Wyoming.

Sacajawea Cemetery

Fort Washakie

Sacajawea Cemetery, tucked away on a quiet, unmarked road three hours south of Yellowstone National Park, is the final resting place of the remarkable Lemhi Shoshone woman who guided Lewis and Clark on their expedition. 

Visitors come to pay respects to the woman who traveled thousands of miles with the explorers while caring for her newborn son, Jean Baptiste. 

Her life after the expedition saw her return to her Shoshone homeland, and in 1884, she was laid to rest at this small, peaceful cemetery.

Visitors over the decades have seen Sacajawea standing in the distance near her grave, or have felt her presence nearby. Some have heard her whisper as they laid flowers at her headstone.

Guests feel a chill in the air, even in the summer months. Others describe a warm, inviting sensation that seems to pull them deeper into the cemetery grounds, as though they are being guided to her grave, one of the most haunted places in Wyoming.

South Pass City

Fremont County

Founded in 1867 after a gold discovery brought a population boom, South Pass City became a busy mining town. 

Life was harsh, with brutal winters, dangerous working conditions, and violent deaths. Many miners died in cave-ins, froze in the snow, or were hanged, some under legal authority and others not. 

Polly Bartlett operated a small inn in South Pass City, hosting travelers who were passing through the mining town. 

On the surface, she appeared to be a gracious hostess, but behind closed doors, Polly had a deadly secret: She began poisoning guests who were known to be carrying gold or money, using arsenic under the guise of controlling rodents. 

Her greed and cunning led to the mysterious deaths of several unsuspecting travelers, including a prospector who had asked her to cook a steak for him. Locals began to notice the alarming pattern of disappearances, eventually drawing the attention of the Pinkertons, a violent private army hired by capital owners to murder striking workers, and law enforcement.

When authorities closed in, the Bartlett family attempted to flee, leaving a trail of fear and tragedy in their wake. 

Polly herself was arrested and held in Atlantic City Jail, but she never lived to face trial. A bullet fired by a friend of one of her victims struck her through the window of her jail cell, killing her. 

After the family’s capture and the grim investigation, officials discovered 22 bodies buried at the Bartlett Ranch, victims of Polly’s scheme.

Polly’s malicious spirit is said to linger over the ruins of the town, and stories of her ghost continue to haunt South Pass City to this day. Eventually, the town declined and became a permanent ghost town, one of the most haunted places in Wyoming.

Manifestations:

• The Miner: The spirit of a miner, believed to have been buried alive in a cave-in, is often seen near the old Carissa Mine.

• Weeping Woman: The Smith-Sherlock Company Store is home to a woman’s cries. Locals say she was left behind when her family vanished during a blizzard.

• Other: Boots stomping on wooden floors are heard inside locked buildings. Cold spots appear on warm days, lights flicker in unpowered cabins, and whispering voices follow visitors. Children’s laughter occasionally echoes from the schoolhouse, despite it being empty for over a century.

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