Ghostly Happenings in Idaho

Ghostly Happenings in the Rooms

The Bates Motel in Coeur d'Alene is known for inspiring the popular horror film "Psycho." Supposedly the author of the book, Robert Bloch, stayed at the hotel in the 1950s. Even though you won’t bump into Norman Bates here, it is among the most haunted hotels in Idaho.

Originally it was built for officer barracks before and after WWII. After the war it was purchased by Randy Bates. Guests say Rooms 1 and 3 have the most paranormal activity. They have had feelings of being watched, seen flickering lights, had items move on their own, and felt cold spots.

Ghostly Spirits

In Silver City, the Idaho Hotel opened during the gold rush in the 1800s. Today it is the oldest operating hotel in Idaho and one of the most haunted in the state.

Guests have felt unexplainable sensations in Room 27, where a past owner committed suicide. An old man is a duster coat has been seen wandering around the stairwell, and young children in old-fashioned clothing play in the street. All throughout the hotel lights flicker.

Paranormal Activity

Today the Idaho State Tuberculosis Hospital is the Gooding University Inn and Resort. It has become a very haunted place.

During the years as hospital patients here suffered or died from tuberculosis. Visitors have seen full-bodied apparitions and shadowy figures and heard voices in empty rooms, door banging, and random knocking.

Ghostly Bellman

In Boise, the historic Idanha Hotel was built in 1900. It symbolized westward expansion and was frequented by travelers using the Transcontinental Railroad.

During its construction, a worker reported strange activity. The hotel’s bellman was gunned down, and now his ghostly spirit runs the elevator up and down. Guests here have seen him around the hotel and seen light going on and off by itself.

Ghostly Spirit of an Indigenous Shoshone Girl

A beautiful waterfall, Mesa Falls was created by volcanic activity ages ago. (pictured above)

According to local legend, the spirit of an Indigenous Shoshone girl haunts the Lower Mesa Falls. She accidentally drowned while trying to save someone near the river. Since then, people have heard the beating of drums, and others have seen her spirit all dressed in white.

Ghost of Snowden and Paranormal Activity

The Old Idaho Penitentiary was established in 1870. On its premises, more than 100 deaths have occurred, among them 10 executions and 110 deaths due to old age, illness, or murder. The most haunted area is House 5, where Idaho’s “Jack the Ripper," or Raymond Allen Snowden, was executed in 1957. Now his spirit haunts the penitentiary even after it closed its doors in the 1970s. Visitors also say they’ve heard disembodied footsteps and heard voices, felt ghostly hands touch them, and seen shadowy figures.

Cannibalistic Dwarves

The Owyhee Mountains are located near the town of Murphy and are in one of the most remote and isolated places in Idaho. Visitors here experience strange happenings.

According to Shoshone and Bannock legend, the Owyhee Mountains were home to strong and vicious cannabalistic dwarves. These dwarves stood two feet tall and had long tails they could wrap around their bodies to hide their appearance. During the time of the mining boom in the 1800s, many settlers didn’t heed the warnings of the Native people to beware of the Owyhee Mountains, and unfortunately, their children would frequently go missing as the dwarves would lure them into the woods.

Phantom Lovers

Among the dense forests of North Idaho, Spirit Lake is known to have hiking and biking trails, lovely views, and many deciduous trees. The lake also holds secrets of its eerie past. Spirit Lake is one of two lakes in the world with a completely sealed bottom so no water can ever escape.

According to local legend, two people from the Kootenai tribe were trapped due to forbidden love. Since the couple vowed eternal love to each other they drowned themselves in the lake so that by dying they would not have to live life apart. Since no one found their bodies, people say their ghostly spirits can be seen on moonlit nights, drifting across the misty lake in a canoe.