ALASKA's
most haunted locations
Back to All Haunted Locations
History
This hotel, which opened in 1965, was named after Captain James Cook who was the first person to map Alaska’s coastline.
The hotel was part of a pledge to rebuild downtown Anchorage after the devastating earthquake in 1964 that leveled the core. A second tower was opened in 1972 and a third in 1978.
The hotel has 18 floors with 546 rooms and 96 suites and has been serving Anchorage’s tourists for over 50 years.
Paranormal Activity
Although there are a few stories of ghosts and paranormal activity in the hotel – including a disembodied hand that tries hold hands with the living – only 1 ghost truly stands out.
It is unclear whether this remains true or not today, but at some point, one of the stalls (the last one on the left) in the women’s lobby bathroom was permanently locked. This would seem to be related to a number of paranormal incidents related to this room.
Details are not available but, apparently, a woman took her own life in this washroom in the early 1970’s. Her ghost is now a “lady in white”.
The ghost is a young woman in her 20’s who appears to be very stressed.
The lights are known to flicker wildly on and off in the bathroom. The faucets in the sinks turn off and on as well. The stall doors are reported to bang open and closed – sometimes violently – on their own.
It has been reported that Hotel Managers have had to enter the bathroom and ask the ghost to calm down after customers have a particularly disturbing encounter with the “lady in white”.
HAVE YOU HAD A PARANORMAL EXPERIENCE AT THIS LOCATION?
Share Your Experiences
History
This auditorium on the University Of Alaska (Anchorage) was named after the late jazz musician and UAA professor John Wendell “Wendy” Williamson. It is the largest auditorium in the entire State and has hosted everything from concerts to plays to the Miss Alaska pageant.
Construction was begun in 1973 but halted due to financial issues. It was later finished in 1976 but in a diminished state hence the elevator shaft with no elevator, doors that go nowhere and an unfinished catwalk. The building has been described as creepy and is said to have an unusual energy around it.
Paranormal Activity
Six ghosts have been identified at this location.
The haunted activity started immediately; as soon as people began using the theatre. There are no reported deaths in the theatre or on the grounds it occupies. This location is an anomaly. The most common reason given for the level of paranormal activity is that they are attracted to the emotional energy present here.
The most common is the “woman in white” who has been seen throughout the theatre. She is most famous for floating in the back ground at a play. When the actors were asked how they got the girl in the back to float they were confused. There was no girl floating like that in the play – yet she was witnessed by the entire audience.
Another ghost is thought to be a male musician – possibly Wendy Williamson himself – that does not like the portrait of Williamson in the lobby. When it’s hung it’s removed during the night and set on the floor without any damage being caused. There were multiple attempts to rehang it until one night the metal wire on the back was snapped in half – the theater gave up after that.
Testimonial By Sharlin
I have a picture of the woman in white!
HAVE YOU HAD A PARANORMAL EXPERIENCE AT THIS LOCATION?
Share Your Experiences
History
There is a lot of versions of the story of this location - much of which is contradictory – although the major players seem to stay the same.
In the 1970’s Leon Smith, a railroad worker, began using the scrap lumber and other materials to build his dream hotel modeled after the igloos Alaska’s native population constructed.
Other versions of the story say Smith was an adventurer who owned the original gas station on the property. In this version he cleared out the land behind the gas station to build his hotel; which at least explains how he came to own this land.
Even in Alaska you can’t just built whatever you want wherever you want.
This property is located about halfway between Fairbanks and Anchorage; so essentially in the middle of nowhere.
The igloo is 80 feet (24.4 metres) high and 105 feet (32 metres) wide. Put another way, this structure is said to be visible from jets flying over at 30,000 feet.
The exterior, made of wood and urethane, was constructed but the windows were deemed to small for a commercial property. And that was just the beginning of Smith’s issues with the creation of his hotel.
In the end, due to financial problems, Smith sold the property and igloo to Brad Fisher in the 1990’s. Fisher operated a gas station on the grounds and also attempted to make Igloo City a reality, but it proved too expensive for him as well.
There being no electricity on site is one of the unsurmountable issues; everything has to be run from generators; adding a huge price tag to both building the hotel and operating it. And there’s the bears; one of the scariest grizzly bear attacked happened only a half mile away when a man had his head clamped in the jaws of the bear resulting in an injury requiring 1,000 stitches and 7 hours of surgery.
Fisher – despite the stories of there being multiple owners – is still the owner of the property; although he his has put it up for sale more than once.
According to recent posts (202t-22) the property has been leased to a company who are looking to open a distillery complete with a tasting bar and restaurant here. The company also hopes to be able to buy the property in the future.
Paranormal Activity
The paranormal activity is said to be possibly related to an aboriginal burial ground nearby.
The hotel, thus far, has not been completed so no one has ever stayed here – let alone died here – although it’s been abandoned since some time in 2005. Meaning this may be another case of a tulpa: a Buddist belief that a supernatural entity can basically be created by people’s belief that there should be haunting.
While a tulpa may not be a spirit or ghost per say they certainly fall under the category of paranormal activity.
The reported activity reported at this site includes a woman in white who is seen either looking out of or passing by one of the building’s small windows and unexplainable light anomalies from streaks of colors to orbs.
There are reports of feeling as if you are being watched but that may just be a natural reaction to be all alone in the middle of nowhere.
HAVE YOU HAD A PARANORMAL EXPERIENCE AT THIS LOCATION?
Share Your Experiences
History
This cemetery was built on land set aside in 1938 and divided into sections such as Alaskan Natives and the Masons.
The cemetery is known for its collection of Alaskan folk monuments, freedom from the regulations in other US cemeteries and its adherence to strong Alaskan sense of true freedom and individualism.
Paranormal Activity
The most famous ghost here is that of “The White Lady”. Her apparition has been seen in the cemetery since 1938 – when it was opened – and she is clothed in a white pioneer era white dress and a fancy hat.
A misty formless apparition is often seen hovering over and enveloping the tombstones. As well the ghosts of young boy and girl have been seen playing in the cemetery.
None of the ghosts seem to be aware of the living and, as of yet, have not yet obviously interacted with paranormal investigators. This location is said to be used by area investigators as practice grounds in training for more advanced locations.
Disembodied voices and captured EVPs are the most common phenomena here.
HAVE YOU HAD A PARANORMAL EXPERIENCE AT THIS LOCATION?
Share Your Experiences
By <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:RadioKAOS" title="User:RadioKAOS">RadioKAOS</a> - <span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
History
In 1991 efforts began to raise money for the creation of new modern hospital as Fairbanks population began to grow. Construction began in 1992 and was completed in 1994.
Paranormal Activity
Curious that only this relatively new hospital has reported this activity.
Apparitions that are reported as angels are often seen when a baby is near death in the nursery. The phantom sounds of babies crying are often in the maternity ward and the nursery.
People have also reported sudden unexplained chills all over the hospital.
HAVE YOU HAD A PARANORMAL EXPERIENCE AT THIS LOCATION?
Share Your Experiences
By <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Wknight94" title="User:Wknight94">Wknight94</a> - <span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
History
This hotel is one of the oldest still operating hotels in Alaska. It first opened; to much fanfare; in September of 1918 owned by a promoter and 2 brothers who had struck it rich on their gold claims in nearby British Columbia.
It was elegant hotel; boasting steam heating and its own wireless station. The glitz and glamour, however, hid a much more seedy side of legal prostitution and the sale of some not so legal items.
The hotel promised to always keep its doors open to guests and managed to do just that, even through the dry years of the Prohibition, eventually turning into a house of very ill repute called the Northlander where the female entertainers serviced their male guests outside of the law.
The Northlander was closed and condemned in 1977 by the Fire Marshal and the (interestingly enough) Litter Control Board. Although guests no longer walked through the doors the historic hotel was not left to the ravages of time.
The current owners, Mike and Bettye Adams, purchased the property and began a restoration to its former Victorian grandeur. The restored bar is on the list of the best bars in America. In October of 1978 the hotel was placed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places.
This hotel provides a very special experience in the heart of one of the most unique cities in America. It is also considered, possibly, the most haunted place in Alaska.
Paranormal Activity
The most frequently encountered, and most famous, ghost of the hotel is that of Alice. Legend says she was the young wife of one of the original owners. The story is her husband went on a trip related to his gold claims and was gone longer than expected. The Alaskan and British Columbia wilds were no place to take lightly 100 years ago and when he didn’t return, she feared he might be dead. What’s a girl to do on the Alaskan frontier with no husband and no money coming in?
She turned to prostitution to stay clothed and fed. Tragically, her husband was still very much alive and he did eventually return. He was very unhappy about his wife’s career choices, flew into a rage, and murdered her on the spot.
HAVE YOU HAD A PARANORMAL EXPERIENCE AT THIS LOCATION?
Share Your Experiences
History
Built in 1926 to replace former homes for displaced children in Unalaska and Nome which were showing their age and overpopulated.
The Spanish Flu pandemic after World War I left many more children as orphans than was usual, especially in the Aboriginal population.
All houses were run by the United Methodist Church.
Seward was chosen because, at the time, it was the largest port and biggest transportation hub in Alaska.
The house was named after a Methodist minister who worked in the northeastern USA during the colonial days.
Most of the kids brought to the house were from either the Seward Peninsula or the Aleutian Islands. Many of them became famous including Benny Benson who in 1926 won the contest to design the Alaskan Territorial flag which is still used as the Alaskan State flag today,
Ephraim Kalmakoff who at 14 won the Mt Marathon Race and still holds the record for the youngest winner ever and Peter Gould who went onto to the Alaskan Methodist University (now Alaska Pacific University) and became it’s President.
The campus consisted of 3 main buildings – including a boys and a girls dormitory – as well as a number of smaller buildings.
In World War II the US Army moved the orphans and painted the buildings in camouflage thus creating the Fort Raymond Army Base.
When the war ended the government gave the site back to the church but some changes were made. The kids now attended public school in the town and were served government supplied food rather than growing their own on the farm.
The Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964 severely damaged the site so much – the boy’s dorm had to be demolished afterwards – that the church abandoned the site and built a new facility in Anchorage.
In 1966 ownership was passed to the City of Seward who sold it to a number of private firms over time – none of which did much of anything – until 2014 when ownership was passed to a non-profit called Friends of the Jesse Lee Home. They were to remove all the hazardous materials and convert it into a modern high school.
In 2015 – with little work done and lots of money spent as well as a lack of accountancy – the city removed it’s grants.
In 2019 – with still little work done – the city declared the conditions of ownership were not met and took the property back.
In 2020 City Council voted to demolish all remaining buildings and replace them with a park.
The structures were demolished in 2020-21.
Paranormal Activity
Many reports indicate that children were killed in the earthquake – especially in the badly damaged boys dorm – and that is the source of the paranormal activity.
Reported activity includes:
Apparitions of children playing (this may time slips pre-1964 when children would be playing on the grounds); shadow figures usually moving across the broken windows of the buildings when they stood; phantom sounds of children laughing; disembodied voices; phantom sounds of children jumping rope or bouncing balls; touches and pulls by little hands around the waist level by unseen entities; empathic feelings of anxiety and sadness; phantom sounds of little children walking and running and feelings of being watched.
HAVE YOU HAD A PARANORMAL EXPERIENCE AT THIS LOCATION?
Share Your Experiences
By Scott McMurren - <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/alaskatravelgram/5628081634/in/photostream/">https://www.flickr.com/photos/alaskatravelgram/5628081634/in/photostream/</a>, CC BY 2.0, Link
History
The property was originally purchased by EL Van Gilder who then returned to Idaho to collect supplies and his wife and daughter. Upon returning to the Alaska Territory, he set about building a 2 story building – which became a 3 story building – as an office.
Shortly after construction was completed, however, financial issues forced Van Gilder to sell the building.
In 1921 the building was converted to apartments for a short while and then to a hotel. In the 1950’s and 60’s the building was called Hotel Renwald. This time period is said to be when the hauntings originated.
The building was then leased to the State up until 1978 when it was used as a dormitory for the Seward Skills Center. It then was converted back to a hotel which it has remained since.
Paranormal Activity
Room 202B is said to be haunted by a woman from the 1950’s called Fannie.
She left her husband and was staying in that room when he showed up drunk and demanding she return to him. Fannie refused and he shot her dead.
Her apparition is seen both in the room and walking down the hallway dressed either in an evening dress or a bathrobe. She has long blonde hair and her ghost is said to be very solid appearing.
Another female ghost dressed in a 1940’s hotel uniform is seen in the hotel. She is thought to be responsible for guests who say their room door was opened and closed even though it remains locked from the inside the entire time.
In room 308 a male ghost is reported. His apparition is never really seen; just a bright white light.
HAVE YOU HAD A PARANORMAL EXPERIENCE AT THIS LOCATION?
Share Your Experiences
{{Information |Description=Red Onion Saloon, a former brothel and current museum at Broadway and Second Avenue in Skagway, Alaska. |Source={{Own}} |Date=2009-08-05 |Author= Wknight94 |Permission={{Self|GFDL|Cc-by-sa-3.0}} |other_version
History
First built in 1898 as a brothel to provide female company for the Klondike miners who could afford it.
The second floor was used for entertaining “gentlemen” with each lady of the night represented by a doll so the customer could pick to their personal tastes. The dolls were laid out on the bar if that particular lady was working.
When the lady was actually “working” her doll was laid down and then brought back to a seated position when she was available for a new customer.
The second floor is still exactly as it was – although there is no longer any adult entertainment available – but it now a museum showing the brothel as it was.
The first floor was a bar, dance hall and hosted live events. This floor hasn’t changed much except no dancing and there’s also food available as well as more than just whiskey and water.
There is no better location in the 21st century where you can feel like you’ve stepped back into the Klondike than the Red Onion.
Paranormal Activity
This location fully embraces it’s paranormal activity and even offers ghost tours.
The most well known and famous ghost is that of Lydia; a former Madame of the brothel. It is commonly accepted she hung herself in the corner of her old room – where she most commonly appears – after contracting syphilis.
Her apparition often appears with marks on her face that late stage syphilis causes.
Lydia most often announces her presence with a smell of lilacs and phantom footsteps on the second floor.
Lydia also waters the plants in the building. Plants have been found with damp soil that haven’t been water by anyone alive in the recent past.
Lydia’s apparition – which is usually very translucent - generally appears in her old room but she has been seen throughout the building. She does have a history – probably well deserved – of being hostile towards some men.
One night there was such apparent chaos on the second floor the police were called. When they arrived a shadowy figure ran into a room that just happened to be the Madame’s room when the brothel was operating. The room was found to be completely empty.
This was thought to be Lydia’s ghost.
Lydia often caresses people’s faces that she likes.
She often appears as an orb, or blue mist or the faint outline of her face in people’s photos taken on site.
The lesser known and decidedly less friendly ghost at the Red Onion is John. He is thought to have been a bouncer who was stabbed to death by a lady of the night who got fed up with his constant harassment.
He generally announces his presence with the over bearing scent of body odor. Although he is more known for pushing people on the stairs and throwing open doors to reveal staff in the process of changing.
HAVE YOU HAD A PARANORMAL EXPERIENCE AT THIS LOCATION?
Share Your Experiences
By <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/97844767@N00">Jessica Spengler</a> - originally posted to <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Flickr" class="mw-redirect" title="Flickr">Flickr</a> as <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/97844767@N00/2526760179">Whittier, Alaska</a>, CC BY 2.0, Link
History
Where Whittier is located was originally designed to be a harbor and logistics center for the US Army after World War II.
The building – originally called the Hodge Building – was designed to be the main headquarters of the US Army Core of Engineers. It was completed in 1957 has 14 floors and is separated into 3 interconnected modules. The Army’s plan was to build 10 buildings on the site – only 2 were actually built including this one – but they abandoned the site after the tsunami from the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake.
The building was not heavily damaged but it was enough to convince the Army to decide to move on. The building was converted into a design suitable for public use. Residential units were built as well as a large commercial center.
Tunnels connected it to the new school as well as stores and everything a town needed to survive without actually going outside should residents choose not to. In 1972 the name was changed to Begich Towers in honor of an Alaskan Congressman who died in the area in a plane crash.
Until 2000 the only way to access Whittier without a boat was a 2 ½ mile railway tunnel through a mountain. There is now a neighboring tunnel you can drive your car through.
The building is very unique in one very important way; almost the entire population (300) of Whittier lives in it. Whittier is known as “the town under one roof”.
The population swells with tourists in the summer so 2 floors of the building were converted into bed & breakfast suites.
Paranormal Activity
No one knows who the ghosts of the tower are – logically it must be related to the time when the Army owned it - but they are described as friendly. While the paranormal activity may startle residents no one has ever been harmed or even threatened.
A shadow figure has been seen moving through the hallways. It is seen most often by people alone late at night.
The phantom sounds of chains rattling and whistling is commonly heard. Heavy phantom footsteps are heard stamping in the hallway; they also occasionally enter people’s suites.
More than one resident has been awakened in the night by disembodied voices in their suite. On one occasion the ghost(s) went into a resident’s kitchen and opened the fridge door; perhaps looking for a late night snack.