Utah's Haunted Train Depot

Welcome to another installment of Haunted America!  Utah isn't generally known on a national level for its ghosts, but there are still plenty of wonderful legends and hauntings to go around...such as these stories from the Denver and Rio Grande Western Train Depot, located in Salt Lake City.

Commonly referred to as just the Rio Grande Train Depot, construction for this depot was completed in 1910 by architect Henry Schlacks, and for many years, was the main rail line in and out of Salt Lake City.  In fact, it is noted that many celebrities came through this station, as well as scores of LDS missionaries, and even more soldiers on their way to and from Fort Douglas during WWI and WWII.  However, as personal automobiles replaced the train as the preferred method of travel, the station's usefulness steadily declined.  It did act as the area's Amtrak station from 1986 through 1999, but even then, its career as a train depot was nearly at an end.  The building was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and was purchased by the state two years later.

In 1981, the Utah State Historical Society moved into the building and to this day, the old depot houses its many offices and facilities.  It also houses a couple of ghost stories!

Since the 1940s, sightings of what has been dubbed the Purple Lady have been reported at the depot, most often near the current cafe and mezzanine areas.  Legend tells that this lady was accompanying her fiance to the depot to see him off during his enlistment in either the First or Second World War.  The two allegedly got into an argument, breaking off their engagement, and a ring was flung or fell onto the tracks.  As the young lady went to retrieve the ring, she was struck and killed by an incoming train.

The most detailed sighting of the Purple Lady was recorded in 1992 by a staff member with the Utah State Historical Society.  While in the women's restroom near the cafe, she noticed a woman with black hair, wearing a purple sequined dress, sitting on the couch in the lounge area.  The woman apparently appeared very angry, and ran out of the bathroom before disappearing from view.  Her footsteps have also been reported throughout the northern section of the building.

The Purple Lady is not alone, however.  Another ghost is reported as being a man who was killed during the construction of a nearby train tunnel.  While it is not usually noted how this particular ghost makes its presence known, he is dubbed the Tunnel Ghost. 

Wikipedia
All Aboard!  Rio Grande Depot Turns 100 This Year!
Prairie Ghosts

Lehi Hospital: Gone but not Forgotten

The Lehi Hospital in Lehi, Utah was built around 1891 and used as a bank, with the second story being reserved as a ward house for the local LDS congregation.  By 1924, the basement of the building was being used as a crematorium business by a local autobody businessman...and apparently due to a lack of space, the bodies had to be cut into fourths to fit into the small cremation oven.

However, by 1926, the building became Lehi's first hospital, possibly since there were already cremation facilities on site, the perfect size to dispose of amputated appendages and other medical waste?  It is during the time of the building being a hospital is where it picked up its majority of legends and ghostlore:

It is said that the head doctor hung the head nurse from the flagpole.  And, being a hospital, many deaths verifiably did occur.  One such death happened in the elevator, where a patient died while being transported to surgery.

The hospital shut down by 1968 and remained vacant for many years until it was bought by Todd Vincze, who hoped to restore the building.  The costs of renovating such a building are tremendous, so the building was turned into a spook house attraction.  The 'haunted house' attraction was intended to bring in much needed money for repairs and upkeep, capitalizing on the building's macabre history, as well as some reported ghostly activity.  (Theresa's Note:  It always amazes me how many of these haunted Halloween attractions are ACTUALLY haunted, lol)

During its tenure as a haunted house attraction, many crew members had their own experiences, and paranormal investigators were allowed in to properly investigate and document such claims.  Unfortunately, by 2009 (3 years after I posted the orginal article on this site) the building was condemned and torn down.

Luckily, one of the paranormal investigators who had a long relationship with the ghosts of Lehi has documented her experiences.  Those can be found HERE.

Photo property of April Slaughter, from her website listed above

Much of the original historical information is from an ABC4 newschannel investigation