SLC’S SPOOKIEST HAUNTS
Sure, October is all about Halloween, but did you know Salt Lake City has its fair share of year-round spooky spots? We’ve rounded up some of our favorite creepy and mysterious places in town, so grab some friends and get ready for an eerie afternoon exploring Salt Lake’s spookiest spots… if you dare.
Victim of the Beast Headstone
One of the mysteries yet to be solved lies in the Salt Lake Cemetery. For over 60 years people have wondered why the words “Victim of the Beast 666” are inscribed on the tombstone of Lilly Gray. If you have any theories, let us know!
Ted Bundy Locations
While Ted Bundy’s cellar and cave might be things of local urban legends, it is a fact that he spent time in Salt Lake City. In fact, it has been proven that he lived on 1st Ave North, only 1.5 miles west of the University of Utah, where he rented a room while pursuing his law degree.
Rio Grande Depot
Lights turning on by themselves. Taps running and refusing to turn off. Singing coming from an empty women’s bathroom. Rio Grande Depot has everything you would ever expect from a haunted train station. Local legend says a spirit named the Purple Lady roams the halls decades after losing her engagement ring on the train tracks. Though the depot is currently closed to the public, a walk around the area may still give you a spook. (Hot Tip: Go in a group, and make the easy walk from the Peery Hotel.)
Capitol Theater
Reportedly home to three different spirits, Salt Lake’s Capitol Theater is home to performances on and off the stage. Allegedly haunted by the spirit of 17-year-old usher Richard Duffin, who died in a fire in the theater in 1949, visitors to the theater have reported slamming doors, an elevator operating on its own, and shadows on the wall. Some staff have also seen a woman in a historic dress walking down the theater’s hallways!
City Hall
Politicians. City residents. Ghosts? Built in 1894, Salt Lake’s City Hall is said to be home to five different ghosts. Staff have reported hearing typing noises coming from an empty office, phantom touches, and children laughing in an empty hallway. Theories run rampant, but the most popular ones say that the spirits belong to two children of a former SLC mayor that were killed playing in the building while it was being built
Westminster College
College freshmen aren’t the only spooky things trying to find their way around campus. Westminster College has multiple ghosts-in-residence. Some are more prominent than others, particularly a woman in white who roams Converse Hall (said to be a bride who was killed alongside her husband when driving home from their honeymoon nearby). The founder of the college, Jeanette Hollister Ferry, is thought to still be present throughout the college grounds, while Nunemake Hall, Ferry Hall, and others also have spirits who let their presence be known. Students, beware!
Brigham Young Farmhouse
Even changing locations won’t deter the spirits living in the Brigham Young Farmhouse. Built in 1863, the farmhouse was already thought to be haunted. When it was relocated to its current spot in 1975, it seems the ghosts wanted to come along for the ride. Many sightings have been reported, with many believing that either Brigham Young himself, or his son John A. Young are the main spirits that live in the farmhouse.
