Take A Haunted Road Trip To Visit Some Of The Spookiest Places In Montana

Sometimes it takes more than a pumpkin patch and a scary movie to get into the Halloween spirit. Luckily, Montana happens to be full of haunted places, from our oldest mansions and hotels to our deserted mining towns. This road trip will take you to some of the most haunted places in Montana, so you just might have a real-life paranormal experience to talk about this Halloween.

The entire road trip clocks in at just under 8 hours.

Stop off along the way and spend a night or two in a new town, bring a tent and camp out in nearby campgrounds, make a whole weekend out of it!

1. Lobby Cafe, Great Falls

The best way to start a haunted road trip is definitely visiting Montana’s most haunted building. The Lobby Cafe, or Lobby Bar, once had a hotel above it which was often used by vagrants. Some of them died there, and now the building is reportedly haunted by at least 12 spirits. The Lobby Bar has been the focus of many paranormal investigations, and a lot of patrons report strange activity regularly. They open at 10 AM, so stop in in the morning and ask the manager, Tara, about her ghostly encounters.

Address: 518 Central Avenue, Great Falls, MT, 59401

2. Garnet Ghost Town

Next, drive to Montana’s most well-preserved ghost town. Garnet was the home of many gold miners and their families in the late 1800s, and while no one lives there now, some say that a few souls from the past remain. People have heard ghostly fingers playing the piano late at night, and in the winter, you might see footprints in the snow leading into a building but not out of it.

Address: Drummond, MT, 59832

3. Mai Wah Society, Butte

Butte is one of the most haunted cities in Montana, with paranormal activity being reported at quite a few places. The Mai Wah Society is a museum that pays homage to all the city’s thriving Chinese community from the 1930s. People have seen a dark apparition staring down into the street from the building’s upper floors, and an evil spirit likes to attack people and try to push them down the stairs.

Address: 17 W Mercury Street, Butte, MT, 59701

4. Dumas Brothel Museum, Butte

Haunted or not, the Dumas Brothel Museum is a fascinating place to explore. But the numerous reports of paranormal activity make it difficult to deny that some ladies from the past didn’t get the memo about the brothel being closed for business. There are dozens of stories of spooky encounters and ghost sightings here, and sometimes they even show up in photos.

Address: 45 East Mercury Street, Butte, MT, 59701

5. Mount Moriah Cemetery, Butte

If you can make it to the Mount Moriah Cemetery before dark, you just might spot the wheelchair-bound spirit that many have seen. The first known witnesses were two police officers in the 1970s. They were patrolling the property one night when they both saw someone in a wheelchair pass through the locked gates of the cemetery. They even ran over to the gate to see if whoever it was needed help. Not only had the wheelchair-bound spirit disappeared, but they found no sign of him and no wheelchair tracks in the snow.

Address: 2415 South Montana Street, Butte, MT, 59701

6. Boulder Hot Springs

Spend the night at Boulder Hot Springs… but don’t expect to get much sleep. Some say the property is haunted by the ghost of Simone, a prostitute who was murdered by a mining executive. Strange male voices have also been heard echoing through empty rooms.

Address: 31 Hot Springs Road, Boulder, MT, 59632

7. The Original Governor’s Mansion, Helena

On your way home, drive by the Governor’s Mansion in Helena., built by William Chessman in 1887 for his family. Caretakers claim the mansion is haunted. Closet doors open on their own, strange footsteps have been heard when no one is around, and picture frames have been turned toward the wall. The Chessman family owned a black cat, and strangely, a black cat has been spotted in various rooms… but it disappears when someone tries to get close to it.

Address: 304 North Ewing Street, Helena, MT, 59601

Whether or not you believe, studying these Montana ghost stories is a great way to learn about our state history. Here are some of our most famously haunted houses.

Have you ever had a paranormal experience? We'd love to hear about it in the comments below! And also let us know your thoughts on the most haunted places in Montana.