Most Haunted places in America: Hotel Meade

The building that now serves as the Hotel Meade in Bannack, Montana was built in 1875 to serve as the first Beaverhead County courthouse. Because of the population boom of the flourishing freight line, the county seat was moved to the city of Dillon six years later, leaving the two-story brick building vacant until 1890, when it was bought and converted into a plush hotel by Dr. John Christian Meade.

The place became the social center of the town, serving as both a gathering place for local society and a temporary home for those visiting the area. It was the de facto home for any community receptions and became so popular that a large dining room and kitchen was added to the back of the building, as well as extra living quarters. It was also used as a hospital in times of great need. When the local gold mines were in full operation the hotel did booming business, but when the mines started failing the place would shut down intermittently. It closed it’s doors for good in the 1940s, when the gold mines breathed their last and the town was emptied of wage earners, and there was no reason for a stranger to visit.

The most frequently encountered single entity in the hotel is believed to be Dorothy Dunn, who, while still in her teens, drowned in a pond along nearby Grasshopper Creek on August 4, 1916. She was reportedly swimming with cousins Fern Dunn and Ruth Wornick when they accidentally stepped into deep water that went over their heads. A local boy dove into the pond and pulled the girls out of the water, buy by the time he got to poor Dorothy, she was already dead.

Her ghost first appeared to the other girls who were with her on that fateful day, and now she appears mostly to children who visit the old structure. She is often seen looking out of the second story windows or standing on the balcony of the large master suite. Her father was a onetime manager of the hotel, so she felt as if it was her second home, and has apparently decided to stay there forever.

There also seems to be a lot of the prototypical “haunted abandoned hotel” activity going on here, which might indicate more spirits than the one of little Dorothy Dunn. Adult-sized apparitions have been encountered in the abandoned halls as well as staring out of the second story windows. There are many unexplained cold spots in the house, and doors often slam shut with no assistance from wind or man. A few investigators have even heard the sound of crying children, when there were obviously no children present.

There are many reasons while Hotel Meade holds on to spirits. Certainly the tragic, untimely death of Dorothy Dunn so close to the place would seem to invite a ghost. Then there is the fact that during the gold rush, the American was at times, a harsh, lawless place where violent death was commonplace. There is no recipe for paranormal activity more potent than violent death, and Montana had it in spades during the early years of the hotel. There is also the idea that hauntings often take place on grand stages, where human beings come and go with the flow of years. Hospitals, prisons, and hotels have this in common, and they all seem to hold some of their visitors hostage long after they die.

Related posts:

1. The Stanley Hotel
2. The Haunted Crescent Hotel
3. Haunted Goldfield Hotel
4. Fort Monroe Hauntings
5. The Hauntings of the The Provincial Hotel