DEADWOOD

Let’s talk Deadwood. This bizarre little South Dakota town is kinda sorta one of my new favorite places. Not only is it gorgeous and tucked away in the Black Hills in all its historic mining-era glory, but it’s literally the most full of ghosts and haunts possible.

Easily one of the best parts of any old mining town is the saloon culture. Why would I drink a domestic beer anywhere else when it can be where Wild Bill Hickock was shot?

The Bullock Hotel dates back to full 1890s glory, back when it was operated by man of the town Seth Bullock. Even by today’s standards, the Bullock is one of the better accommodations in Deadwood thanks to tasteful renovations to keep up that charm from the glory days.

Aesthetics aside, the Bullock is a host to an absolutely ridiculous number of spirits. Seth Bullock sightings are frequently reported, particularly in the basement or Seth’s Cellar even though he didn’t actually die in the hotel. However, even in the after life his nosy ass wants to come check in and be sure his business is running in tip top shape. 

Of course, he’s not alone down here. While he’s got the most obvious story for why he’d be sticking around, there are plenty of other shadows, touches, and energies floating around down here making this one of the most active corners of the hotel.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you wanna look at it, the ghosts aren’t limited to the basement. Each guest room is a host to its own ghost or two, with room 314 being the most widely known for having guests flee in the night out of sheer terror. When we checked in and were told we were in 313, I nearly passed out at the desk in a panic of how I was going to survive a three night stay next to such a hotspot. The front desk employees were quick to tell me it wasn’t a big deal since “oh, all the rooms here are haunted”.

Activities in guest rooms of course include shadow figures darting around, or maybe the classic disembodied voice but they also love to mess with your TV remote and alarm clocks just trying to make themselves right at home while making you feel the opposite.

The hotel as a whole is so haunted they host their own nightly ghost tour that meets in the bar and takes you on a whirlwind of a tour through the entire history of the hotel and Deadwood itself, all with a cold drink in your hand. Fascinating.

One little nugget from the tour is our room (313) was called out for a guest once reporting that after getting out of bed to use the restroom in the night, he returned to a fully made bed. Compliments of the ghost, of course.

Mt. Moriah Cemetery is Deadwood’s premier cemetery, which is literally perched on the side of a mountain. Here you’ll find the graves of local legends like Wild Bill Hickok and the outlaw queen herself Calamity Jane. 

Across the street from the Bullock is the significantly creepier Fairmont Hotel. This is a slot machine, cigarette smoke-laden karaoke haven on the bottom, and violent hauntings central on the top. Like, the kind of hauntings that gave the current owner a heart attack after an experience while sleeping in an upstairs bedroom called the Red Room.

The history of this hotel is that it was the finest brothel in all of Deadwood. The ladies at the Fairmont were the best you could buy (sigh) and even though we know they were icons, they lived a pretty brutal existence leaving behind a substantial amount of negative energy. 

The most famous death and apparition seen in the hotel is the ghost of Maggie, a red headed woman who worked at the hotel as a prostitute. And since she was so extra fabulous, she had the nicest suite in the whole hotel for client entertainment. However, after a rejection from one of her clients that she fell in love with that had promised to make her a “proper woman” by marrying her, Maggie jumped from her third story window to her death.

The most troubling part about this story that will haunt me for the rest of my life is that in 1800s Deadwood, the roads were made up of mud and horse shit which cushioned her fall. Unfortunately, Maggie didn’t die instantly and died slowly from internal bleeding a few days later in the hospital. And honestly, had she not suffered enough? Poop had to cushion her fall? And over a man? I mean, who among us hasn’t been there but I digress. This is still beyond bleak.

The ghosts in this hotel are far more violent than those that roam the Bullock. In the Ghost Adventures investigation in this hotel, an interview subject claimed to have been pulled down the stairs by his chain. Because of course a local Deadwood ghost hunter is wearing a giant ass chain around his neck, nothing else would even make sense. 

Dead Files filmed an episode here as well, claiming that in the upstairs hallways there are literally hundreds of ghosts just milling about at any given moment. So needless to say, experiences in this hotel are numerous and intense. 

Similar to Bullock, the hotel offers nightly ghost tours that begin at the bar and take you around the hotel for all their best stories. The key difference about this hotel though is that the tour is primarily in the dark, as there is no electricity upstairs and they’re unable to renovate this to a fully functional hotel. Mostly that’s due to logistics and modern laws requiring hotel rooms to have windows. Ya ask me, who needs em? 

Anyway, if they were to move forward with the renovations necessary it would be millions on millions to only yield a handful of hotel rooms that really wouldn’t be all that profitable. That, and the ghosts up there would be livid and would exact sooo much revenge I don’t even want to think about it. So for those visiting Deadwood, you can wander around in its abandoned splendor which if you ask me is better anyway.

As a ghost town palette cleanser, I should also flex the natural beauty around Deadwood. Nearby Spearfish Canyon is a highly underrated yet stunning little stretch of road. There are all sorts of waterfalls & hikes tucked back in here if that’s your thing.

Next on this photo tour - the Adams House. This is another haunted location in the town that was investigated by Ghost Adventures, even though our guide kept swearing it wasn’t haunted.

So going into the story behind this certainly haunted home real quick, this home was inhabited by W.E. Adams and his family. He had a daughter living in Pasadena, CA who was pregnant. His wife made the trip to Pasadena to be with their daughter for the birth, but shortly after arriving she died from a sudden heart attack. The daughter from shock, died shortly after and miscarried. 

So it goes without saying that Mr. Adams was stricken with grief, writing down the deaths of his family members in a family book that remains on display to this day. Not too long after, he remarried to a woman significantly younger and lived in the home until he died in 1934. Claiming to experience hauntings, she moved out leaving the house exactly as it was. She literally left a jar of cookies behind that is still on display today. Yeah, it is gross but what a vibe. Today you can tour and get the historical story of the home and all of its fine china, Italian marble, and not damn near enough about the ghosts. 

Overall, Deadwood is something everybody needs to experience. The history, the ghosts, the quirky locals, the martinis.. I mean, I think those are actually my four favorite things. Guys, should I move here during my next breakdown?