Haunted 307: The Old Faithful Inn In Yellowstone National Park
Today on Haunted 307, where we explore a different haunted location in the Cowboy State, we're travelling all the way to the first United States National Park, Yellowstone. Nearby the geyser it's named for, the Old Faithful Inn is a stunning work of architecture, but the 85 ft lobby may be hiding something sinister at the peak of it.
Built on the same location as the Upper Geyser Basin Hotel that burned down, the "Old House" of Old Faithful Inn was the first structure erected in 1903, with more additions being added to keep up with the increased demand for lodging in Yellowstone National Park. The interior of the structure contains four stories of balconies and a chimney and "crow's nest" centered in the mammoth room.
The hotel boasts being on the National Register of Historic Places, a National Landmark, and has had many notable guests, including Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin Roosevelt.
But the hotel also has it's legends, and those who stay in the picturesque tourist lodge claim to see guests that never checked out. One guest woke her husband up in the middle of the night while staying in room #2, claiming to see an apparition of a woman dressed in 1890s attire floating above their bed.
The most famous legend of the hotel, however, is that of the "Headless Bride." It's said that the young woman was a socialite in New York in 1914. She went against her father's wishes, choosing to marry a much older man who was a servant in their household. Her father cautioned her that he may only be after her money, offering a dowry upon their marriage under the condition that she be cut out of the line of inheritance and never return to New York.
The love-struck woman took the deal and the couple embarked on a honeymoon to Yellowstone National Park, where the new groom immediately began spending the money allotted to them at an alarming rate. The couple fought almost nightly, and one night the husband slammed the door to their room and left the hotel, never to be seen again. The staff gave the young bride her space, but checked the room after she hadn't been seen in a few days.
They stumbled upon a grisly scene, with the woman lying in the bathtub, having been decapitated. A search of the hotel didn't turn up her missing head until a week later, perched in the hotel's crow's nest at the peak of its 85 ft lobby. Guests now say that you can see the bride, wearing a flowing white dress and holding her own head under her arm, wandering the halls of the Old Faithful Inn, especially in the upper levels near the crow's nest.
The former manager of the Old Faithful Inn claimed later to have invented the story of the Headless Bride to attract tourists in the 1980s, but guests still claim to see the woman, so it's authenticity is up for debate. But you won't know until you visit and look for the heartbroken woman for yourself, will you?
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