Est. 1894 · Industrial Worker Safety History · Salt Lake City Industrial Heritage · Utah Haunted Attraction
The Portland Cement Works opened in 1894 on the industrial west side of Salt Lake City, processing raw limestone and other materials through a complex of kilns, crushers, and conveyance equipment. The site grew to six buildings, some reaching six stories, with underground tunnels connecting the processing areas.
The plant's machinery claimed workers throughout its operating years. The venue's own historical account documents more than 11 deaths, with accounts of electrocutions, falls, and industrial crush injuries. Among the named incidents: George Howe, a maintenance worker on the coal crusher, was pulled into the machinery and killed. A separate account describes a worker named Frank Holmes who was caught in a revolving shaft in 1903.
Salt Lake Magazine's independent investigation of the property corroborated the industrial death record, describing the Holmes and Howe incidents and noting the pattern of accidents consistent with early 20th-century industrial operations before modern safety regulations.
After the plant's closure, the property sat largely vacant. Fear Factory Entertainment Group acquired the site in 2010 and conducted its first haunted attraction season in 2011. The attraction has since appeared on multiple national 'best haunted house' rankings and was reviewed by the Legendary Haunt Tour circuit in 2018. The original industrial structures—silos, processing towers, underground passages—are preserved as the backdrop for the attraction.
Sources
- https://fearfactoryslc.com/history/
- https://saltlakemagazine.com/six-haunted-locations-in-salt-lake-city/
- https://www.abc4.com/news/everything-utah/is-fear-factory-slc-haunted/
Unexplained soundsShadowy figuresEVPCold spots
Fear Factory's owners have spoken publicly about paranormal reports from within the original industrial buildings. Staff and performers working during setup and after-hours operations describe hearing sounds that do not match any identifiable mechanical or human source—whispering, footsteps on metal grating, and what some describe as a persistent low-frequency pressure in the underground tunnel sections.
The areas most consistently associated with activity are those nearest the original crusher machinery and the underground passages—spaces where the documented industrial deaths occurred. ABC4's investigation into the venue found the owners willing to distinguish between the theatrical effects they deliberately stage and accounts from workers who reported experiences when no performance was underway.
The Ghost Adventures crew documented an investigation of the property in 2014, capturing what they described as anomalous EVP responses in the industrial sections. The production's findings have not been independently verified, but the episode has contributed to the site's national profile among paranormal enthusiasts.
Whether the reported phenomena connect specifically to the workers who died at the plant cannot be established. What the historical record confirms is that people did die in the machinery at this address, and that the industrial infrastructure where those deaths occurred remains structurally present within the attraction.
Media Appearances
- Ghost Adventures: Fear Factory (TV, 2014)
