The Most Haunted Places in Montana
61 documented locations, ranked by depth of evidence. Updated September 2026.
What makes this ranking different
- Evidence-ranked. Ordered by how many independent published reports we found, how far back they go, and how well they hold up, not by how often a story is retold. A place with more recent accounts can rank below one with a longer record. See methodology.
- Family-rated. A family-suitability rating on every site, so you know before you go.
- Logistics-checked. Each entry says how you can visit, book, or stay, as far as we could confirm it; where we could not, the page says so.
Montana has 61 documented haunted locations in the HauntBound index.
- Total documented
- 61
- Museum / Historical Site
- 17
- Haunted Hotel / Inn
- 12
- Theater / Performance Venue
- 7
- Family-friendly
- 55
- Bookable
- 27
- Oldest documented site
- Bannack State Park (1862)
- Most-reported phenomenon
- apparitions
- Stays
- Top 10 you can sleep in
- Investigations
- Top 4 overnight investigations
- Eat & Drink
- Top 7 bars & restaurants
- This October
- 13 experiences running this October
The upset
Montana's most famous haunted site, Bannack State Park, does not make the evidence top ten; the winner is Virginia City in Virginia City. Bannack State Park · Virginia City
Ranked
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Prospectors struck gold at Alder Gulch in 1863, and Virginia City grew into Montana's territorial capital from 1865 to 1875. Vigilantes hanged 21 men accused of road agentry here in 1864. Actors at the Opera House, where most reports cluster in the attic and basement, describe voices and footsteps on the balcony, and bartenders at the Bale of Hay Saloon report bottles shifting on shelves and figures reflected in the back-bar mirror.
6 original accounts · documented across 7 decades, 1911-2004
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HauntBound identified two distinct published accounts at this museum site, across four kinds of published source. Four later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions.
2 original accounts · documented across 4 decades, 1970-2023 · retold in 4 later publications
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Prospector James Riley built a saloon and bathhouse over these springs in 1863, and a hotel followed in 1881; the building was condemned by the 1980s before restoration in 1989. Legend holds that a woman named Simone worked here and was killed by a mining executive after an argument, unconfirmed by record. Staff describe her as playful, blamed for turning on the stove, plus perfume, footsteps, and a figure in old dress upstairs.
1 original account · documented across 3 decades, 1979-2015 · retold in 5 later publications
- 4. The Wild Hare (formerly The Lobby Bar) Great Falls · Haunted Dining / Bar · Family Comfort: Not Recommended
Built in 1914 as the Davenport Hotel, this Great Falls building was rumored during Prohibition to house a speakeasy and brothel; a 1925 fire damaged it and reportedly killed one of the women there. Staff describe a cowboy at a second-floor window whose bootsteps leave no prints in the dust, a woman in a beaded dress announced by perfume in the restroom, and a shot glass left out that turns up empty.
4 original accounts · documented in 1925
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This Virginia City lot was deeded in 1863, weeks after Bill Fairweather's gold strike touched off the rush that built the town; the building began as a meat market before becoming an 1880s hotel, renamed by the Bovey family in 1946. Vigilantes hanged five men from a beam nearby in their 1864 campaign against Plummer's gang. Guests report the most activity in Room 10, and a figure in a long dress upstairs.
2 original accounts · retold in 5 later publications
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HauntBound identified two distinct published accounts at this historic home, across four kinds of published source. One later publication retells those accounts. Reported phenomena include a sensed presence and phantom footsteps.
2 original accounts · documented in 2015 · retold in 1 later publication
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Bill and Percie Knowles opened this hotel at a Paradise Valley hot spring in 1900. After Bill died in 1910, Percie ran the resort for decades and brought in a doctor who built a 20-room hospital wing for guests seeking the springs' therapeutic reputation. The wing closed in the early 1930s, and the resort passed through several owners before a 1973 restoration. It operates today as a year-round destination with lodging, dining, and the original hot-spring pools.
1 original account · documented across 2 decades, 1986-1990 · retold in 2 later publications
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HauntBound identified one distinct published account at this working theater, across three kinds of published source. Reported phenomena include a sensed presence and objects moving.
1 original account · documented across 2 decades, 1930-2016
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HauntBound identified four distinct published accounts at this working hotel, across three kinds of published source. One later publication retells those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and disembodied voices.
4 original accounts · documented in 2009 · retold in 1 later publication
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HauntBound identified two distinct published accounts at this burial ground, across three kinds of published source. Two later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions.
2 original accounts · documented across 2 decades, 2009-2014 · retold in 2 later publications
Superlatives
Methodology
For purposes of the HauntBound Index, "most haunted" means the location with the strongest documented record of reported haunting phenomena. We evaluate the quantity, independence, persistence, and documentary quality of published reports. We do not attempt to determine whether paranormal phenomena are real, and we never count a source that only establishes a building's history as evidence of haunting claims. Repetitive coverage is subject to diminishing returns, so a story retold many times does not outrank a story independently documented. Rankings never consider commercial relationships.
The 2026 Index reflects sources identified and classified as of September 15, 2026.
Updated October 19, 2026: listings that could not be sourced, or that are private or have no public access, were withdrawn after an October review, so some of the state's town counts are lower. The documented total stays as published until the November update.
This is a documentation ranking, not a visitation guide; sites not open to visitors are marked on their entries.