The things that go bump in the night in Yellowstone might not be just the resident wild creatures. The park’s historic hotels and mysterious landscapes have inspired countless ghost stories over its long history.
Last year, I visited the Old Faithful Inn on a winter’s night. Every fall the Inn is closed and shuttered for the season until it reopens the next spring. As I walked through the darkened hallways and listened to my lonely footfalls, thoughts of The Shining certainly entered my mind. Indeed, employees have a spooky tradition of gathering for showings of the film over the winter in one of the Inn’s dark rooms.
The Old Faithful Inn, over one hundred years old, has numerous ghost stories associated with it. One tells of a newlywed bride beheaded during her honeymoon at the Inn. Soon after the murder, guests began reporting a headless apparition that wandered through the hallways. Visitors and employees have also witnessed the specter of a small, intense-looking man walking through the lobby—he is thought to be the ghost of Robert Reamer, the architect of the Old Faithful Inn and many other historic buildings in Yellowstone.
Other well-known landmarks in Yellowstone also possess spooky stories. Visitors have reported hearing the whispers of the drowned on Yellowstone Lake and a little, lost boy is said to appear among the onlookers watching the Old Faithful Geyser.
A strange phenomenon takes place in the high country above Yellowstone Lake in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park. Travelers in the area hear a disturbing whining noise that is said to last up to thirty seconds. The Yellowstone Whispers are heard most often between the hours of dawn and ten a.m., usually when few people are around. There's nothing new about this occurrence-early trappers in the region knew of it, and Native Americans regarded the Whispers as a sacred occurrence.
Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park is the largest log structure in the world—a giant log cabin, of sorts—and features an 85-foot tall lobby, huge rough stone fireplace, overhanging balconies and railings made of spectacular twisted gnarled logs. The inn’s architect was a 29-year-old Ohio designer named Robert C. Reamer, who took immense pride in his creation. He must have, because his spirit may very well remain at the inn. Visitors have reported a short, ghostly man walking the hallways during the evening. He has a worried look on his face, and seems to be walking with a purpose.
After the Old Faithful Inn opened in Yellowstone, a newlywed couple booked a night in the hotel. They checked in and had the perfect day: touring the geyser basins, dining at the Inn, and simply enjoying nature. Everything seemed perfect - but when the housekeeping staff entered their room the next morning, the headless body of the bride was laid out on the bed. The park conducted a thorough investigation, lasting for weeks, but neither the husband or the wife's head could be found. Life slowly got back to normal at the Old Faithful Inn, but the management started to receive reports of a headless apparition on the balconies of the lobby. Both guests and employees have seen the ghost, even though the Inn tries to dispel the ghostly stories. If you spend the evening at the Old Faithful Inn, set your alarm and go for a stroll on the upper balconies in the wee morning hours - you just might encounter the ghost!
The hotel is definitely trying to stifle any ghost stories about their inn. We took the guided tour - which we highly recommend, by the way. When the tour guide didn't mention any ghosts, we asked about the hauntings of the Old Faithful Inn. She was silent for a moment, and finally said, "We used to tell a few ghost stories, but since we were afraid that we were scaring the kids on the tours, we stopped them. It's all nonsense anyway - I've never seen anything like that here."
A final story that we heard was about two tourists that spent the night in the Inn's 1928 west wing. Every night in Yellowstone is chilly, so the couple went to sleep under the heavy covers of the guest room's bed. In the wee hours of the morning, they awoke to find that they were completely undressed, and the covers off of them and folded neatly at the foot of the bed. Wondering if they could have done it in their sleep, the husband stood up and felt of the room's radiator - it was stone cold.
I want to return to an earlier item;
“A strange phenomenon takes place in the high country above Yellowstone Lake in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park. Travelers in the area hear a disturbing whining noise that is said to last up to thirty seconds. The Yellowstone Whispers are heard most often between the hours of dawn and ten a.m., usually when few people are around. There's nothing new about this occurrence—early trappers in the region knew of it, and Native Americans regarded the Whispers as a sacred occurrence.” Our anomalous photo of Yellowstone Lake has been thought to resemble “a giant mechanical ear.” Some have thought that it might be a picture from the past, others from the future. I have already pointed out the “scientific” version of film developing flaws being responsible for the odd artifact in the photo. The anomolus image appears in the negative which is in good condition. So here is the picture, if you so choose, go to the “Big-Ear” blog and discuss theories and any explanations you come up with. It might be nothing, but then …
