Spirits from the graves located under Old Faithful Inn make themselves at home.

Drowning victims continue their holidays here.

One spirit is still trying to climb out of the spot where he died suddenly.

A cruelly murdered bride and her dastardly killer both are stuck here.

DESCRIPTION

Tom and I visited the Old Faithful Inn in the summer of 2015. The Old Faithful Inn was built using local natural resources, including lodgepole pine and rhyolite stone. Nice touches of metal-work, and steamed heating were wonderful perks. What a grand old, vintage log lodge it is, being the largest of its type in the world!

As the visitor walks into the lobby, it is an astounding 85 ft high, with a massive standalone stone fireplace and chimney in one corner of the lobby. There are two more open floors that can be seen from the lobby floor, with tables in the common areas, where people can look down at the floor of the lobby. Stair cases go all the way to the area called the Crow’s Nest.

The crows nest area is directly above these floors; an area where musicians used to play for guests. The stairs continue to the roof, where a viewing platform of the Old Faithful Geyser has traditionally been available for tourists and guests alike to witness eruptions.

Both the front porch, and the large porch built on the third floor offer a splendid view of the Old Faithful Geyser, that erupts without fail on a time table, much to the delight of guests and staff. The best place though to watch the Old Faithful Geyser is the porch off the second floor, according to some trip advisor reviews.

Each of the three floors has a wing of guest rooms found off the common areas of all three floors. The second floor rooms are conveniently located to major areas, but the rooms on the third floor are quieter.

The rooms on the first floor are much smaller, but have their traditional decor. Some do not have dressers. The shower facilities are up a floor, and the bathroom for the first floor rooms is shared with tourists who come to use the facilities.

The rooms in the wings on the second and third floors are bigger yet simpler and more modern in decor. Most have some sort of private bath. There are rooms that overlook the old Faithful Geyser, while others overlook the parking lot.

The rooms have an upscale price, ranging from $250.00 and up because of the location of the inn. Some people who normally pay that kind of price expect certain amenities and conditions in their rooms, and are gravely disappointed at the simple decor and lack of the upper level of amenities. Some feel the rooms need some TLC and improvements.

However, the spirit people who reside or visit here have no complaints, and like it the way it is!

HISTORY

The Old Faithful Inn is actually made up of two hotels. The original lodge is known as the “Old House.” The Old Faithful Inn was constructed on the site of the destroyed Fountain Hotel and replaced the Upper Geyser Basin Hotel that burned down as well. This grand effort was started during the winter of 1903-1904.

Built in the “Golden Age of rustic resort architecture,” its design creator was architect Robert Reamer, who was hired by Harry W. Child, President of the Yellowstone Park Company, owned by the Northern Pacific Railroad. Its architecture is also called National Park Service Rustic style.

Reamer designed the glorious, multi-storied lobby, that made such lobbies a popular concept in the mid-20th century, urban hotels. He also designed the beginning phase of guest rooms, and other common areas, that were known as the Old House in 1902.

The Old House was built in 1903-1904, during the cold winter months. The cost of the construction was $140,000, quite a chunk of change back in 1902!

The furnishings cost another $25,000. The dining room, called the Bear Pit Lounge, featured carved and inlaid wood panels, with humorous pictures of bears in the act of mischief, suggested by Reamer. When the Old Faithful Inn with its original 120 rooms opened in 1904, it had both electric lights and steamed heat!

Several American Presidents have visited or stayed at The Old Faithful Inn: Theodore Roosevelt (1903), Warren Harding (1923), Calvin Coolidge (1927) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (fall of 1937).

The newer sections of the lodge and its wings were added in the 1910s and 1920s. In 1913, to be exact, the East Wing was extended on all three floors. In 1927, The West Wing was built, an addition to the dining room was added, and the front of the Inn was extended. In 1936, the original Bear Pit Lounge became a coffee shop, and the lounge was moved to the dining room addition. The humorous bear pictures were etched in glass and added to the new Bear Pit Lounge location in 1988.

In 1940, the bark was pealed from the logs, revealing interesting patterns made by bark beetles. In 1966, the logs were cleaned and varnished.

During World War 2, Yellowstone Park was closed, and so was The Old Faithful Inn. In 1946, the inn was not prepared for the high number of visitors! In 1948, fire sprinklers were added to the interior.

In 1959, Old Faithful Inn was shaken by the notorious Hebgen Lake earthquake. The dining room fireplace chimney was demolished, and both the fireplaces in the dining room and lobby were damaged. More seriously, the whole inn structure was partially shaken loose from its foundation. The structure was fixed, and the fireplaces were repaired and fortified in 1985.

On July 23rd, 1973, The Old Faithful Inn was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Luckily, in 1987, roof sprinklers were added, because the next year in 1988, the inn was threatened by the North Fork Fire. With the help of the new sprinklers, firefighters were able to save the inn from the fire.

Also, in 1987, The Old Faithful Inn was added to the Designated National Historic Landmark register.

HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS

Building structures on top of graves, unmarked or marked, usually can be the cause of hauntings of this new structure.

Cincinnati Music Hall, OH (Because the hall was built on top of a mass grave, upset spirits have found peace by becoming spectral patrons who attend concerts for free).

El Campo Santo Cemetery, CA (Building over part of this cemetery has caused issues with a boatload of restless spirits).

The Eagle Hotel, PA (The hotel was built over French soldiers’ graves, which has caused one angry spirit, who was and is still not afraid to confront the living and claim territory).

The Old Faithful Inn, WY (One of the newer additions, known as the West Wing, was inadvertently built over some unmarked graves. Oops!).

The spirits of children or adults who die from accidents or illness like to stay in the place where they died or in a place that they knew, were comfortable in and enjoyed being at while alive in this world.

Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Cabins, WY (Drownings may be the cause of some of the hotel’s hauntings, including that of a young woman who probably stayed here during the 1920s, and a young boy who came with his family on a holiday long ago).

Cuppa Coffee Cafe and More, CA (Ten year old Amy used to live with her family on the second floor apartment above her family’s store. After she died, her spirit chose to stay in her family home).

Fox Theatre, AZ (The spirit of a little girl who may have suffered a sudden death, has a lot of fun playing in the theatre).

Old Faithful Inn, WY (A lot of people of all ages drowned in boating, swimming accidents in Yellowstone Lake, while some had other mishaps. In 1927, a park ranger, Charles Phillips, accidentally ate poisonous hemlock, mistaking it for wild parsnip; a fatal mistake).

If spirits bond with the land itself, they often decide to stay in any new buildings that are built on that land.

Willard Library, IN ( A woman committed suicide by throwing herself into the town’s river. Years later, the Willard Library was built near the spot where she drowned. Her spirit moved inside).

Capitol Records building, TN (Two elderly sisters lived in their family’s home until they died. The property was then sold to Capitol Records, which tore down the mansion and built their multi-floor, new headquarters. The spectral sisters moved inside as well).

Kolb Ridge Court, GA (During the Civil War, a skirmish between Union and Confederate soldiers resulted in casualties. Spirits of soldiers who died there bonded to the land. Houses built there experienced these spirits moving inside, to keep the new homeowners company).

Old Faithful Inn, WY (A Fountain Hotel guest, L.R. Piper, a tourist on holiday from Ohio, stepped out once to enjoy his after dinner cigar, and stumbled into a hot springs on the property).

Brides, or hopeful brides-to-be who are emotionally devastated and deeply disappointed for whatever reason, often are restless after they die, and are still in mourning over what they feel is a loss of or a profound betrayal from a loved one or beloved.

Plains Hotel, WY (On their honeymoon, Rosie and her new husband checked into their suite. After experiencing issues in the bedroom, Rosie’s husband stormed out, and went down to the bar and found a prostitute. He went back to her room.

Rosie came down to the bar to find him, and saw him going upstairs with the woman. After waiting outside of the room, she went inside to catch her husband in bed with his sex partner. Rosie shot them both, and then herself, leaving three dead bodies for housekeeping).

Hotel Adolphus, TX (A bride and her family had planned a big wedding here. When the groom-to-be got cold feet and didn’t show up, she hung herself from the stairway out of grief).

Hassayumpa Inn, AZ (A newly wed couple check in to begin their honeymoon. The husband went out to buy some cigarettes and never returned, perhaps regretting tying the knot. The bride waited three days before hanging herself out of grief).

Old Faithful Inn, WY (A young woman from a well-to-do New York family fell in love with a family servant. Against her family’s wishes, they married and were sent away with start-up money, accepting the condition set by her father to never come back to New York.

After they had checked into the Old Faithful Inn, she realized that he was in love with her money to feed his gambling habit, and not her. She soon discovered that he had gambled away all of their start-up money, which filled her with disappointment and regret. They barely had enough to pay for their room).

The spirits of women who have been murdered by someone whom they thought loved them, often can’t get over this betrayal and remain restless in this world.

Ashley’s of Rockledge, IL (A young woman who loved to flirt with customers in the tavern, was brutally murdered by a jealous suitor).

Hotel Alex Johnson, SD (A bride was shoved out the window because of greed).

East Wind Inn, ME (A woman who was murdered by her husband, a man whom she thought loved her as she loved him. He wanted to be with a new girlfriend. Her spirit is full of anger, feeling betrayed. She claimed the third floor and took out her anger on the owner).

Old Faithful Inn, WY (After the bride received tickets from her father to come home, her husband killed her in their suite when she started to go out the door).

People who have died because of beheading, and are buried sometimes without their heads, sometimes are restless because of this, either still looking for their head, or carry it around with them.

Bobby Mackey’s, KY (Two dental students who were devil worshipers killed the pregnant girlfriend of one of them, took the fetus and sawed off her head. They threw the head down the well in the building. Her spirit still searches for her head and her baby).

Bannack – Henry Powell, MT (A criminal suffered a bad hanging and his head popped off. His body was buried without his head, because it was put on display like a trophy).

Walker House, WI (The spirit of cantankerous William Cafe may have lost his head in a bad hanging. His spirit likes to hold his head and appear in front of the living for his personal chuckles).

Old Faithful Inn, WY (The bride’s killer proved to be “a twisted, self-centered narcissist with a cold, murderous heart.” After he killed her, he cut off her head, and took it with him, to get back at her father who sent the tickets for her ride back. Her headless body was sent back to her New York family who buried her, and forgot all about her afterward. Her decaying head was eventually found up in the hotel’s crow’s nest).

People who have done financial, emotional or physical harm intentionally or unintentionally to their significant other or family member, sometimes try to find this person in this world after they die, trying to make amends, out of shame or regret.

Myrtles Plantation Bed and Breakfast, LA (Chloe was the house slave who lost her ear for trying to eaves-drop on her master’s conversation. For revenge, she baked a cake with oleander seeds, poisoning the young daughters and the mistress. She only wanted to make the children sick, not kill the members of the family. OOPS! This house servant slave suffered a brutal end, and is grounded here. She looks for the spirit of her mistress, but can never find her to perhaps tell her that she is sorry to get out of spectral hot water).

DuPont Mansion and Park, KY ( Victor DuPont’s wild womanizing behavior caught up with him. When he refused to have anything to do with his illegitimate baby, he wound up being shot dead, and probably grounded. His spirit haunts the DuPont Mansion and the park located in front of the mansion, still looking for this child, wanting to do the right thing by the boy).

Old Faithful Inn, WY (The brutal bride killer was never seen again, but his spirit is paying the price for his evil deed on the other side, and has been grounded at the scene of his crime. He looks in vain for the spirit of his murdered bride but can’t find her to make amends, as they are on different planes of existence).

MANIFESTATIONS

PARANORMAL FINDINGS

Many guests have experienced the manifestations listed above.

There is a recent eye-witness account by a staff member who saw the bride dressed in a white, flowing bridal gown, coming down the stairway from the catwalk, with her head under her arm. She made her way down the hallway to her room in the wee hours of the morning, not wanting to disturb the other guests.

She has also been spotted, looking down from the second floor common area over the railing to see the grand old lobby.

The National Paranormal Society lists the Old Faithful Inn as a haunted location, but hasn’t made any public display of any of their findings as an investigation group, or linked any other hard evidence gathered by other groups. This is probably because the people who run this wonderful inn don’t want to attract ghost hunters, and want their guests, both alive and in spirit form to not be scared or bothered.

STILL HAUNTED?

Most Probably. Despite the claims of some personnel that the Old Faithful Inn is not haunted, many guests and staff members have come to the opposite conclusion. Personal experiences make believers out of people who are lucky enough to be eye-witnesses to paranormal activity.

LOCATION

Old Faithful Inn,
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190

The Old Faithful Inn is located in Yellowstone National Park, in the lower Geyser Basin, with a terrific view of the Old Faithful Geyser. The Park is off Highway 20.

SOURCES INCLUDE

• The Ghost Hunter’s Guide, by Rich Newman, Llewellyn Publishers, 2011.
• Yellowstone Ghost Stories, By Shellie Hertog Larios, Riverbend Publishing, 2006.
• http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2009/10/ghosts-yellowstone-national-park4734
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Faithful_Inn
• http://ghostinmysuitcase.com/places/faithful/index.htm
• Ghost Stories Give the Old Faithful Inn a Haunted Reputation, Deseret News, Published: Thursday, July 4 1991.
• http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2012/10/the_headless_bride.html
• http://www.yellowstonepark.com/2013/10/ghosts-of-yellowstone/ , By Kurt Repanshek on October 29th, 2009

Our Haunted Paranormal Stories are Written by Julie Carr

Our Photos are copyrighted by Tom Carr

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