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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Helena is home to Montana's #10 haunted place, new index finds

A new index ranks places by published accounts, not legend

September 30, 2026

With Halloween approaching, Helena is home to the #10 site in HauntBound's 2026 index of Montana's most haunted places. The index ranks 61 Montana sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

Benton Avenue Cemetery ranks #10. Lewis and Clark County commissioners established the burial ground in 1870, two decades before Montana's 1889 statehood, and it holds hundreds of graves from before that year. Two separate published accounts describe activity there, retold in two later publications, the earliest dated to 2009.

Visitors and school groups have reported apparitions near two of the cemetery's graves and an unexplained mist in a nighttime photograph taken on the grounds. A KTVH television report profiled the cemetery's stories in 2018.

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:Benton Avenue Cemetery, 1601 N Benton Ave., Helena, is a historic cemetery open to visitors during daylight hours; please visit respectfully.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/montana/The fact sheet, with Helena numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/montana/Photo: Benton Avenue Cemetery, on the fact sheet.Venue contact: bentonavenuecemetery.orgA 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

Helena is home to Montana's #10 haunted place

Helena is home to the #10 site in HauntBound's 2026 index of Montana's most haunted places, which ranks sites by separate published accounts rather than fame. Benton Avenue Cemetery, established in 1870, holds hundreds of graves that predate Montana's 1889 statehood. Visitors and school groups have reported apparitions near two of the cemetery's graves and an unexplained mist in a nighttime photograph taken on the grounds. The cemetery is open to visitors during daylight hours.

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