1886 Black Hills Landmark with a Protective Ghost
Hill City, SD
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Fine dining with European Bavarian cuisine; check menu for current pricing
Access
Limited Access
Historic building interior with some steps; accessibility may be limited
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1886 · Black Hills Mining Era · Historic Hill City Commercial Architecture
The Alpine Inn at Hill City was constructed in 1886, during the period of intense mining activity in the Black Hills that followed the discovery of gold at Deadwood in 1874. According to accounts gathered by KOTA television in 2024, the building was originally constructed for tin mining executives. When the mining enterprise shifted its focus to gold at Deadwood, subsequent owners converted the structure into a hotel. Over a period of roughly ten years, the building housed various businesses before becoming the current Alpine Inn restaurant in 1984.
South Dakota Public Broadcasting's 2024 reporting describes the structure as 'this historic landmark, with its reputation for fine dining, has become showplace of Hill City.' The restaurant is known within the region for its European Bavarian menu, making it an established destination on the Mount Rushmore road corridor.
The current owner, Monika Matoush, took over the property and has documented unusual experiences in the building on multiple occasions. In a 2024 KOTA television interview, Matoush described photographing what she characterized as orbs — circular light anomalies associated in paranormal investigation with energy manifestations — using two separate cameras in identical positions within the same room.
Sources
The Alpine Inn's paranormal lore clusters around two categories of reported phenomena: visual apparitions and what the current owner characterizes as a protective presence.
Owner Monika Matoush described to KOTA television in 2024 an experience of waking to see a figure standing at the end of her bed in the building. She described the figure as tall, with wide curly hair, wearing bib overalls — consistent with the visual archetype of a 19th-century manual laborer. The previous generation of Alpine Inn management, associated with a longtime owner named Waltraut 'Wally' Matoush, developed the tradition that the building's spirits were benevolent in character. An account from that era holds that Wally expressed a wish to be buried in the building's basement after her death so that she could haunt the building alongside its other residents.
Patrons and staff have reported seeing a woman in vintage clothing in the dining room and hallways at various points. The second floor of the inn is identified in accounts as the most frequently active area for unexplained sounds and visual anomalies. No formal paranormal investigation by a named organization has produced documented findings at the Alpine Inn.
A protective dimension appears in some accounts: one narrative attributes the building's survival of a severe hail storm to the intervention of its resident ghost, described as having shielded the property from damage.
Notable Entities
Dine in a Black Hills landmark built in 1886, known for authentic German-Bavarian cuisine in the historic Hill City downtown. The owner has documented photographing orbs in the dining room using two separate cameras, and a woman in vintage attire has been observed by staff and patrons in the dining room and hallways. The second floor is described as the most active area.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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