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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Wild Hare ranks #4 among Montana's most haunted places

A new index ranks places by published accounts, not legend

September 30, 2026

With Halloween approaching, The Wild Hare in Great Falls ranks #4 among Montana's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index. The index ranks 61 Montana sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

The Wild Hare ranks #4. J.G. Anthony built the four-story building at 518 Central Avenue in downtown Great Falls in 1914 as the Davenport Hotel, and the upper floors were later rumored to hold a Prohibition-era speakeasy and brothel. A fire in November 1925 damaged the building, and local tradition holds that one of the women working there died in the blaze. Four separate published accounts describe activity there.

The most-cited figure in those accounts is said to be that woman, and recordings made in the building are said to capture screams attributed to the women who worked there. Staff also describe a lean cowboy glimpsed at a second-floor window whose bootsteps leave no prints in the thick dust on the closed upper floors, and a woman in a beaded 1930s dress announced in the restroom by perfume and running water. Bartenders say a shot glass left out as an offering turns up empty, the glass overturned.

Statewide, Virginia City ranks #1, and Bannack State Park, the state's most famous haunted site, misses the top ten.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound. The ranking shows each site's documented record.

Visiting:The Wild Hare, 518 Central Ave., Great Falls, is an operating bar, 21 and older; the building's closed upper floors are not open to the public.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/montana/The fact sheet, with Great Falls numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/montana/Venue contact: thewildharemt.comA short version follows.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

Short version

SHORT VERSION

The Wild Hare ranks #4 among Montana's most haunted places

The Wild Hare in Great Falls ranks #4 among Montana's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index, which ranks sites by separate published accounts rather than fame. The 1914 building, once the Davenport Hotel, was later rumored to hold a Prohibition-era speakeasy. Local tradition ties the building's most-cited ghost story to a woman said to have died in a 1925 fire there. Staff also describe a cowboy at a second-floor window and a woman in a beaded dress in the restroom. The ground-floor bar is open to the public; the historic upper floors are closed.

Full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/montana/