This Haunted Road Trip Will Lead You To The Scariest Places In North Dakota
If you consider yourself interested in the paranormal and you’re looking for the spookiest, most notoriously haunted spots in North Dakota, then you’re in luck. We’ve put together a road trip that will take you to some of the most haunted places in North Dakota, where decades’ worth of ghost stories have been shared and endless tales of terror have been spread. It’s the perfect kind of journey to take to get into a spooky mood… if you’re brave enough!
Hit the road and experience this haunted road trip through central North Dakota! It is about 4 hours and 40 minutes in driving time, with many stops to make throughout, so you may want to set aside a weekend to take it.
For an interactive map of the route, click here.
For the first stop, you'll be checking out one of North Dakota's ghost towns: Sims.
Sims, North Dakota is a tiny town that is mostly forgotten to time these days. All that's really left is this abandoned brick home, some dirt roads, unusable bridges, a cemetery, and an old yet charming church and parsonage. Not only will this area give you the kind of chills associated with being somewhere abandoned, but it's got a paranormal past, too. The parsonage has long been considered haunted by a women who once lived there, sometimes referred to as the "Gray Lady." According to old news reports, people who took residence in the parsonage were often scared out by the ghost and wouldn't last long there before choosing to leave.
Sims, ND 58520, USA
The next destination of the journey is the historic and notoriously haunted Fort Abraham Lincoln near Mandan, ND.
Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park has everything you'd want in a state park. Lovely trails, nice campgrounds, historic sites, and apparently - ghosts! Maybe that last one isn't quite desirable for all, but if you're on this kind of road trip it is part of the appeal. The park includes an old cemetery, fort buildings, and Custer's House. Custer's House is known to be haunted and this time of year it even turns into a seasonal haunted house that is considered one of the scariest in North Dakota.
4480 Fort Lincoln Rd, Mandan, ND 58554, USA
Just a little ways away from the park in Bismarck is the next spooky location, the North Dakota State Library.
The state library is located on the capitol grounds and is in the Liberty Memorial Building. According to legend, a "stacks monster" had haunted the shelves of books for years. It was known to cast creepy shadows from unknown sources, walk through the library with audible footsteps, and even disembodied voices were heard occasionally.
604 E Boulevard Ave, Bismarck, ND 58505, USA
From the big state library to a little small town library, we move on to the next destination.
Not far from Bismarck and the previous haunted library is another, albeit smaller, public library with a haunted history as well. The small town of Harvey has a library that was apparently built upon the grounds of an old house where a gruesome murder occurred many decades ago in 1931. It is supposedly haunted by the victim all these years later.
119 10th St E, Harvey, ND 58341, USA
Now that we've gotten our fill of haunted libraries, the next spot on our trip is actually a ghostly bed & breakfast in Anamoose.
This charming little bed & breakfast called the Sage Hill B&B is usually a lovely place to stay. However, people have reported feeling cold spots, seeing lights flickering, and feeling the hair on the back of their neck stand up. This is apparently due to spirits that have lingered here since it was an old schoolhouse.
2091 33rd St NE, Anamoose, ND 58710, USA
To round out this haunted road trip, we'll finish off at Fort Totten.
The Fort Totten historic site has been through quite a wild history. As the name would suggest, it was originally a military post built in the late 1800s with various buildings and living quarters. It later became an Indian boarding school and, very briefly, a tuberculosis preventorium. There have been many accounts of ghostly encounters at Fort Totten that has given it the reputation of being one of the most haunted places in the state.
Fort Totten, ND, USA
Have you been to any of these most haunted places in North Dakota? And if you have, have you had any creepy experiences there? North Dakota has tons of spooky, reportedly haunted places, but unlike the places featured on this road trip – not all of them are visitable. This sanatorium, for instance, is a place you should never go, not only because you’d be trespassing on private property – but also because it’s by far the scariest place in all of North Dakota!
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The OIYS Visitor Center
Most Haunted Places In North Dakota
August 18, 2019
Nikki Rhoades
What is the most famous ghost story from North Dakota?
North Dakota is one of the larger states in our nation, and its spectacular expanse hides a great deal of history. It was admitted to the Union in 1889, but its landscape hosted indigenous cultures for thousands of years before the arrival of American settlers. Even so, most of the real North Dakota ghost stories seem to focus on more recent historic sites. The local sanatorium is said to be one of the spookiest North Dakota hauntings, and you can also find a spirit or two in the oldest building on the capitol grounds. While these are the some of the most infamous haunted sites in the state, you’ll find haunted history across many towns and communities. Ask around about North Dakota ghost stories… a local is sure to know of one or two that’s worth sharing!
What is the most haunted town in North Dakota?
While there are many cities in North Dakota, most of them are known for low unemployment, friendly residents, and interesting landmarks. All of that, however, is quickly forgotten when it comes to Fargo. This lovely community is the largest city in the state, and it’s also said to host some of the most famous real haunted places in North Dakota. This spooky city hosts a history that’s downright bizarre, in many cases, and it has the perfect recipe to create hauntings. Case in point: a local park once hosted a potter’s field that was previously dug up… but locals murmur that some bodies are likely still resting there, long forgotten. Spooky.
What is the creepiest abandoned place in North Dakota?
In a place as unpredictable as North Dakota, it’s no surprise that some towns were settled and, eventually, abandoned. There are a number of abandoned places in North Dakota, and many still stand as modern day ghost towns. The spooky and deteriorating community of Wheelock is one of the most well known ghost towns, but it’s one of many. Temple also has zero residents in this modern age, but some towns, like Marmarth, are only partially abandoned. You’ll find all sorts of spooks and scares in these creepy abandoned communities.
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Leah moved to North Dakota when she was 12 years old and has traveled from the Red River Valley to the badlands and many places in between. She loves small-town life and currently enjoys living on a small farm in the ND prairie. She's always had a passion for writing and has participated in novel writing challenges such as NaNoWriMo multiple times. Her favorite part about this job is recognizing small businesses that deserve a boost and seeing the positive affect her articles can have on their traffic, especially in rural areas that might have otherwise gone overlooked.
