These are the top 5 haunted locations to visit in Utah
If walk-through haunted houses are too tame for you, how about visiting a place that’s actually haunted?
According to urban legend, Utah has its fair share of haunted locales. While this isn’t a comprehensive list of everywhere someone has claimed to see a ghost in Utah, these five are some of the most popular and have several reports of the same supernatural experiences.
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1. Union Station, Ogden
Now home to several museums, this building was originally the Intermountain West’s junction for train travel, according to Visit Ogden. First built in 1869, it was rebuilt in a new location in 1889 but mostly burned down in 1923. Repairs began soon after, but after a railroad clerk was killed by falling debris, the building was completely rebuilt in 1924, per the Ogden City Council.
Additionally, several people were murdered in or near Union Station, according to Visit Ogden’s list of paranormal locations in the city. There was also a train crash at the station in 1944 that reported 48 fatalities.
Given the list of people who have died at the station, it’s unsurprising that the place is reportedly haunted. Visit Ogden says the ghost of a woman who died in the train crash has been reported roaming the upstairs, and that several other spirits have appeared to move objects and otherwise haunt visitors.
You can visit the station for free during regular operating hours or take a ghost tour around Ogden to learn more about its haunted history.
2. Rio Grande Depot, Salt Lake City
Utah has another haunted railroad station south of Ogden in Salt Lake City. The Rio Grande Depot was built in 1910 but was no longer used as a train station after Amtrak relocated its trains to a different hub in Salt Lake, per Utah Humanities.
A ghost known as the “Purple Lady” reportedly haunts the station, per KSL. According to local legend, she lost her engagement ring on the tracks and was hit and killed by a train after she went to retrieve it.
Several employees of the Rio Grande Café, which operated out of the station until 2020, told KSL they had witnessed inexplicable activities at the depot that they attributed to the Purple Lady. These included flickering lights, water problems, objects moving overnight and even sounds and sightings of the lady herself.
The depot is currently closed to the public, per the Utah Department of Cultural & Community Engagement, but can be admired from the outside.
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3. Rock Canyon, Provo
Rock Canyon is another location with a slew of recorded deaths. In 1850, settlers new to the Provo area killed dozens of members of the local Timpanogos tribe after a disagreement, per Intermountain Histories. While it is now a popular location for hikers and rock climbers, several climbers have met their demise after falling in the canyon, ABC4 reports.
Hikers have reported seeing multiple ghosts in the canyon, including a hiker, a small child and the wife of the Timpanogos tribe’s chief, per ABC4. Only in Your State additionally reports that visitors have heard the sounds of drums beating and distant screams.
4. Old Tooele Hospital, Tooele
The original Tooele Hospital was built in 1873 as a residence and was repurposed as a senior citizens home in 1913 before becoming a hospital. When the current Tooele Hospital was built in 1953, the building reverted to a nursing home. Half of the building is now under new ownership and operates as Asylum 49, a haunted house.
Hundreds of people have died there, which is understandable given the building’s history as a hospital and nursing home. Reports of the deceased returning to haunt the building have circulated for years, per ABC4.
In 2011, the Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventures” team visited the building to investigate claims that several members of the staff had seen three ghosts: a man in black, a woman in white and a small child.
You can go through the Asylum 49 haunted house during regular operating hours in the fall, or you can attend one of their special ghost hunts to explore the building on select nights.
5. Golden Spike National Historic Site, Corinne
This is the location where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific tracks connected on May 10, 1869, to create the first direct train route from the West to East coasts, per the National Park Service. Before the final golden spike was hammered into the track, this area was home to a bustling camp of railroad workers.
Since the spike completed the railroad, the area has become a national historical site, but it is also home to some supernatural activity, as the Deseret News reported in 1995. One visitor reported a steam locomotive speeding along the now-deconstructed tracks and hearing the disembodied voices of the laborers who had worked there.
The Golden Spike National Historic Site and visitor center is open five days a week if you’d like to explore the area for yourself.
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