Haunted tales around the Flathead Valley

Oct. 28—Local lore reveals tales of ghosts haunting some of the Flathead Valley's historic buildings.

Rumors of supernatural activity have occurred at many places, but some of the ghosts have more well-documented stories. Ahead of Halloween it is a great time to showcase a few of those spooky encounters.

Kalispell's historic Central School building, now the Northwest Montana History Museum, has been known to have possible paranormal activity within its hallowed halls.

When Margaret Davis, the museum's new executive director, asked several of her longtime volunteers, "What do you know about the ghosts in the building?" many replied "Oh, her?"

Apparently a young girl described as having dishwater blonde hair and wearing a white dress haunts the halls. But she is universally considered a friendly ghost. One volunteer claims to have seen her at the welcome desk looking out to the southside stairwell window. Others have claimed to feel gusts of cold air up in the attic. The maintenance man has heard heavy footsteps.

Other tales spun over the years tell of the school bell ringing when no one pulled the rope.

Spooky goings-on notwithstanding, apparently the museum had, at one time, bats in its belfry. Some years ago the museum staff found a baby bat trapped in the building. Together, they nursed it back to health and freed it back to the wild.

At the Conrad Mansion, many have claimed to have seen a little girl through the upstairs windows while driving by the mansion. Could it be the Conrads' youngest daughter, Alicia, who lived there until 1974?

Others have noticed the scent of cigar or pipe smoke. Charles Conrad, who died in his own bed in 1902 of tuberculosis and diabetes complications, loved a good smoke. Lettie would follow him to her grave from the same bed in 1923.

Mysterious lurkings have been reported by construction workers and tour guides in the attic where the Conrad children often played and in the children's bedroom. Even Lettie Conrad has been seen in passing through the upstairs hall and down the stairway in a white Victorian dress.

Chairs rocking, pictures found face-down on the floor, and candlesticks flung across the room all make for spooky tales for generations to come.

AT THE Belton Chalet, heavy footsteps in the halls, slamming doors, swinging chandeliers, a man in a derby hat either seen in the hotel or across the road at the Belton train station are just a few examples of the paranormal activity the 112-year-old historic railway hotel is famous — or infamous — for. There's even stories of a little girl frequently haunting the shower. Employees have reportedly gotten used to the pranks of "Belton Bob," the resident spirit has played on them and the guests — the moved furniture and kitchen equipment, the missing room keys and reading glasses, and the lights switching on and off. It's all part of the iconic hotel's elegant, and mysterious, ambiance.

In Whitefish, The Remington Bar has long been rumored to be haunted. The former hotel boasts a number of ghosts. One may be the ghost of a man found dead in his room in 1919 under suspicious circumstances, and another who had celebrated his 75th birthday at the hotel in 1922 a few hours before he was hit and killed by a train. Over the years, lipstick-stained smoldering cigarette butts have frequently been found in the ashtrays long after the bar was closed and cleaned for the night. Squeaky floors where no one is seen walking them, a missing set of master keys and a kitchen clock seen flying across a room are a few of the many spooky tales of this historic downtown building.

In 2010, the Inter Lake reported a story about an image sent to the paper by a woman who had taken the photo three years earlier while celebrating her 50th birthday at the Remington. She'd snapped a digital photo of her mother and nephew but didn't look at her party pictures for some time. When she did, behind her nephew and mother appeared the disembodied, translucent head of a woman floating up the stairway.

Some of the material for this story was found in the following publications: "Haunted Montana" by Karen Stevens, Riverbend Publishing 2007; "More Haunted Montana" by Karen Stevens, Riverbend Publishing 2010; and "Haunted Montana" by Ednor Therriault, Globe Pequot 2020.