HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
1904 railroad hotel opposite the Livingston depot, where guests still request the 'haunted' rooms
201 W Park St, Livingston, MT 59047
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Overnight rates vary by room and season. The hotel bar and restaurant are open to non-guests.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Four-story historic hotel with an elevator in downtown Livingston
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1904 · Northern Pacific Railway · Yellowstone Gateway · Sam Peckinpah · Historic Hotel
The Murray Hotel opened in 1904 as the Elite Hotel, built to serve passengers arriving on the Northern Pacific Railway at Livingston, the principal gateway to Yellowstone National Park. The hotel stands at 201 West Park Street, directly opposite the railroad's depot, and was positioned to capture the steady flow of tourists transferring toward the park.
The property became associated with the Murray family, relatives of James E. Murray, who later served as a U.S. Senator from Montana, and it took the Murray name. Originally a two-story building, it was expanded to four floors in the 1920s, reaching 66 rooms at its peak; the hotel today operates with a smaller number of restored suites and rooms.
The Murray accumulated a long roster of notable guests over the twentieth century. Among the best documented is filmmaker Sam Peckinpah, who kept a suite at the hotel for years; the room still carries his name. After periods of decline and renovation, the Murray continues to operate as a full-service historic hotel with a bar and restaurant, anchoring the Park Street historic district alongside the restored Livingston Depot across the street.
Sources
The Murray Hotel's reputation for activity is unusual in that guests seek it out, regularly requesting the rooms known for stories rather than avoiding them. The accounts collected by regional coverage are varied and specific.
One of the most repeated is a young girl, around eleven or twelve, in a white dress, whose giggling is said to have woken a former employee. Another is a woman visible at a second-story window facing Park Street who is gone when anyone looks more closely. In the basement, staff describe an elderly man and woman seen together, along with unexplained moaning sounds sometimes noted when the old Otis elevator is in motion.
The hotel's owner has connected one strand of the lore to a woman remembered in local telling as a mistress of Walter Hill, said to have died young; the woman is not otherwise identified, and the account is presented as story rather than record. The Peckinpah Suite carries its own legend, tied to the filmmaker's long residence there. The reports are folklore drawn from guest and staff experience, and the hotel treats them as part of its character rather than a marketed attraction.
Notable Entities
Stay in the four-story 1904 hotel across from the Livingston depot, where guests have long requested specific rooms with reputations for activity. Book the Peckinpah Suite, once the long-term home of filmmaker Sam Peckinpah, or any of the restored rooms with original character. The hotel bar and restaurant are also open to the public.
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