TOP FIVE HAUNTED PLACES IN UTAH

Utah is a haunted state. More so than most people realize. There are all manner of folkloric and legendary spooks and boogies lurking about in our backyard. Here is my list of the top-five most “haunted” and interesting places in Utah:

Danny B. Stewart

October 15, 2022

Number 5

North Temple. In 2018 I spent several dangerous nights (collecting stories here was one of the stupidest, most dangerous things I’ve done for an article) roaming about North Temple, specifically the area west of the Guadalupe Bridge. After midnight this stretch of road becomes Escape From New York meets Night of The Living Dead. I was collecting tales of headless phantoms that float around the TRAX station next to the State FairGrounds, and a footprint-leaving specter that haunts the Mestizo Coffee House alongside a gnome who can be seen rushing across the dining room. There are numerous haunted spots’ along this stretch of road.

Number 4

The lowest west section of Orem’s Center Street (between the freeway and Geneva Road) has a long tradition of weird events. I grew up on a racehorse farm that was tucked away in this area. During my time here, I heard rumors of shadow people, one haunted radio, malfunctioning robots that hide in the abandoned buildings, hermit serial-killers who hid in the swampy areas just north of the street, four different haunted houses, a skeleton lady who hid in farmers’ chicken coops, and one instance of two escaped elephants. The area has since been developed, but if you decide to go exploring, there are several spots in the area that might be worth taking a closer look at.

Number 3

The Provo Vortex. This is my baby. I’ve been actively collecting stories about this area for almost twenty years. There is a square mile radius of spooky joy that sits predominantly in the Grandview Neighborhood of Provo, with the epicenter being Lion’s Park, at 950 W 1280 N Street. I have single handedly collected more than forty different stories involving missing time, teleportation, Faerie and Gnome sightings, Ufological phenomena, and shadow people. I give a two-hour after midnight walking tour of this area to those brave enough to follow me into the woody abyss.

Number 2

Logan, Utah and the surrounding Cache Valley. There is a lot to unpack here. I’ve only been collecting data in this area for a year, but I have already found a plethora of great stories. I’m in the process of collecting them for a ghost tour I am building as my Master’s Project at Utah State University. I’m up to my neck in rumors of “haunted” comic book stores, a female spirit that haunts the local skate shop, and thespian spirits who continue to “perform” at pretty-much every theater in the area. If you are ever in town, I recommend you look skyward, as there are lots of strange things going on in the skies above Cache Valley. I have personally seen seven different unexplainable objects flying about the night sky. Then there are the urban humanoid sightings ― or, as it is more commonly known ― Bigfoot.

Number 1

Coming in at number one in our countdown is Utah Lake. Several Utah cities border the lake, each area having developed many of its own interpretations of the strangeness within and around it.

From a strictly aesthetic standpoint, Utah Lake is a creepy place to visit. There is a “monster” in the lake that has been pulled from early Native American tales as well as reports and sightings from the early Mormon settlers of the area. The morphology of the beast(s) range from a fire-breathing alligator to giant serpents with dog-like ears, to small, dangerous merfolk known as “water-babies.”

I have also found several accounts of people finding large three-toed foot-prints along the west side of the lake. These have been found near the shore areas and further west from the Lake. I find Utah Lake to be one of the most supernatural places in Utah.

Be careful out there!

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Folklore, Hidden Utah

ghost stories, most haunted places

Danny B. Stewart

Danny grew up on a haunted racehorse farm in Vineyard, Utah, where he spent most of his youth chasing after the “water monsters” that lurked in the swamp that bordered his home. These haunted experiences helped to mold him into the creative he is today. He is a traditions bearer, historian, educator, entertainer, writer and storyteller who specializes in folklore, mythology and legend, with a special emphasis on everything that is “spooky” about Utah. He is a former adjunct instructor of Humanities through the Arts at UVU, and is the creator of The Original Provo Utah Ghost Tour. Danny has collected more than one hundred and seventy original pieces of local folklore that will soon be preserved by Brigham Young University’s Library in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections.