The Ultimate Fall Adventure Awaits With These 3 Haunted Places in Montana

I love it when haunted places embrace their ghost lore. I also love discovering unique, storied haunts that few people have heard of.

Montana isn't typically known for its abundant paranormal activity, but that doesn't mean the Treasure State doesn't have its fair share of spooks and specters—Montana's haunted places are just a little more dispersed than those found in other states. But while there are certainly ghost stories floating around that are exaggerated, there are also plenty of eerie legends that have a strong basis in fact, and decades of personal stories as proof.

1. Dude Rancher Lodge, Billings

The Dude Rancher Lodge in Billings has been around since 1950, when it was built by hand by the original owners. Uniquely, the supernatural seems to have been sealed into the lodge from the ground up, starting with the very bricks that were used in its construction. The motel was built using salvaged bricks from the old St. Vincent’s hospital, the Russell Refinery, and the Washington School, no doubt with centuries of supernatural energy fused into every rock, just waiting for an opportunity to break free.

The motel was run by Annabel and Percival Goan for over a decade, until Percival passed away and Annabel continued to run it on her own. When Annabel passed in 1982, that's when the hauntings really kicked up a few notches.

Today, strange phenomena occur all around the lodge, ranging from harmless lights turning on and off to items moving around on their own to mysterious knocking. Guests and staff alike have encountered very real presences inside the building, disembodied voices, children at play, and much more. A variety of these haunted happenings were even caught on tape by the Montana Paranormal Research Society.

But really, most of the activity at the Dude Rancher revolves around a few specific rooms in the lodge; specifically, the second floor. As it turns out, after Annabel passed away, her son took over. And for whatever reason, the spirits didn't take kindly to the change in management. Experiences in these rooms have been a little less mischievous and a little more nerve-wracking. Think doors opening and closing on their own, and even sightings of Annabel herself.

If that doesn't deter you, the Dude Rancher books these rooms out on special to strong-willed guests with a penchant for the creepy. What's more, with the lodge's 75th Anniversary on the horizon, word on the street is that whoever these restless spirits actually are, or why they've hung around, they're extra active. Fortunately, the lodge has also been known to host "Spirits to Dine For" events during Halloween, where lucky guests have the opportunity to stay in one of the haunted rooms, receive a complimentary EMF reader to scout for ghosts with, and enjoy an eerily delicious meal to remember.

2. Armstead, Montana

Historic ghost towns are notoriously associated with the paranormal. Skeptics might cite their rundown ambiance and eerie silence as playing tricks on the mind, but what happens when a living, breathing town gets buried by the elements? What happens to the graves, unfinished stories, trapped energy, and restless spirits that once called it home? In the case of Armstead, the better question is: what happens to resident entities left behind and fully submerged underwater?

Armstead isn't a true ghost town, though. It was a thriving community of around 100 up until the early 1960s when it disappeared beneath Hap Hawkins Reservoir (Clark Canyon) after the construction of the Clark Canyon Dam. Unlike the gradual decline of mining towns like Virginia City and Nevada City, Armstead's demise was in an instant. Many homes and businesses were moved in anticipation of the dam, but others were left behind to be swallowed by the wall of water. And with them, the ghosts of Armstead itself were buried beneath the surface.

Most Montanans look back on Armstead's history with fondness and nostalgia. But for the spirits tied to this land, the construction of the dam wasn't necessarily a positive one.

On late-summer days when the water is low in Hap Hawkins Lake, you can still see parts of Armstead jutting above the water: chunks of the old highway, a section of the submerged railroad here and there, and even foundations of buildings where the townspeople used to live, sleep, and shop. But deeper still, the otherworldly residents of this historic town—where trains, generations of Shoshone, and countless local families left their mark as they passed through—are forced to wander the submerged streets in eerie, blue-tinged silence. At night, when the water is calm and local beach-goers have all gone home, it's said that you can hear them crying out from beneath the water. And in the glitter of the moonlight, you might even see the occasional ghostly hand reaching upward toward freedom.

3. Canyon Creek, Glendale

Speaking of ghost towns, Glendale, Montana, has some of the coolest authentic mining remnants still standing. There's not much left to visit, but one could argue that while the population of Glendale is zero, there are still plenty of residents living here. Yet, for all the rumors about chills, eerie sounds, and strange visions dotting the town proper, few haunted roundups mention the spooky happenings just outside of town at the Canyon Creek Kilns.

The Canyon Creek Kilns are a group of around a dozen beehive-shaped charcoal kilns and their remains, which were built in the mid-1880s to provide fuel for Glendale's silver smelter. They've stood abandoned since long before the town's sad fade in the 1890s.

What you might not know is that there are countless paranormal rumors surrounding these kilns.

A part of the larger Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, the woods around these kilns are the perfect setting for legendary creatures like splintercats and hidebehinds to call home. And, with them, the aggressive spirits supernaturally put in charge of containing them. Under the cover of darkness, the trees are said to come alive with crashing, screeching, and fracturing wood as the two otherworldly beings wrestle for control. The splintered wood created in the aftermath was then hauled to the kilns by the Canadian wood-cutters to be burned alongside the other logs. As the theory goes, it's likely that using this "cursed" wood contributed to the town's demise—although officially, the repealing of the Silver Purchase Act was the main cause. Either way, Glendale's smelter is still harboring some of this same energy as well and has some spooky lore of its own.

Montana's most popular haunted places are well-documented. Haunted prisons, hotels, bars ... but the spookiest stories tend to fly under the radar, buried in pages of real, authentic history and first-hand accounts. This season, as you're out and about enjoying creepy haunted houses, claustrophobic corn mazes, and chilling museum tours, just remember that there's a lot more hiding beneath Montana's surface than you realize.

Need help planning your next road trip, spooky or otherwise? Use Only In Your State's AI Travel Planner to find some hidden gems along the way.