Haunted Utah: Paranormal and supernatural investigations across the state

SALT LAKE CITY — For over 10 years, KSL TV has been exploring paranormal and supernatural sites across the state. From haunted buildings with a deadly past to family-owned restaurants that last for generations, here are the places that could be haunted in Utah.

Keys on Main

In 2014, KSL TV visited Keys on Main in downtown Salt Lake City, where workers claimed dishes were being displayed on the floor like playing cards, pianos played without a pianist, and balls of light being caught on photos. The possible reason for these events is that, back in the 1930s, when the building at 242 S. Main Street was a hotel. According to workers, a fire started in the basement kitchen and killed five of the workers.While exploring the basement, one of the spirits supposedly took an interest in KSL TV's photographer, speaking his name over and over again through a "spirit box." As of 2025, the downtown piano club is still in operation in the same building.

Salt Lake City and County Building

The historical landmark in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City's Washington Square was built in 1894, and because of its longevity, it has gained some haunted rumors.One story involves two children falling to their deaths during the building's construction, as building workers told KSL TV in 2015, that the children are still roaming the hallways.The Salt Lake City and County Building was also used to transport prisoners to and from the jail via its underground tunnels. One prisoner was convicted serial killer Ted Bundy.

Leslie’s Family Tree

A local, family-owned restaurant in Santaquin served locals and travelers for over three decades, giving plenty of time for family spirits to settle in its walls. In 2016, then-owner Leslie Broadhead told KSL TV that she heard disembodied chatter, children’s laughter, objects moving on their own, and even apparitions that appear and disappear.One of the apparitions that frequently visited the workers was known as the "Lady in Red," who scowled and growled at them. Leslie’s Family Tree closed in November 2020, with the owners announcing their retirement.

Rio Grande Cafe

Another restaurant filled with rumors and conversations from its workers and owners was the Rio Grande Cafe inside the historic Rio Grande Depot in Salt Lake City. During its 30-year tenure at the historic site, the owners reported seeing a ghostly sighting known as the “Purple Lady” haunting the building in 1910 after she died during an argument with her fiancé.Some of the hauntings included lights turning on and off, doors slamming, objects being displaced overnight, and paintings in the building appearing crooked after they had been straightened out. In 2020, the cafe relocated to its new home at 258 S 1300 East. Meanwhile, the future of the Rio Grande Depot is in limbo as city and state government officials decide what's next for the historical site.

Euro Treasures

An antique store is bound to attract cursed objects and haunted items, and the same happened to Euro Treasures in Salt Lake City. In 2017, the then-owner, Scott Evans, told KSL TV that he felt some of the objects were haunting him. One object was a "death mask" that he acquired, which coincided with a personal financial downturn.The store closed its doors on Oct. 10 after nearly 4 decades in business.

West Jordan Middle School

Before its demolition in 2019, school staff and students at the old West Jordan Middle School building reported hearing mysterious sounds and seeing people who were not there in the hallways. The old school was built in the 1950s on 7550 S. Redwood Road, giving spirits and ghosts plenty of time to settle in with the facility.Lauren Flygare, a teacher at the school from 1980 to 2015, told KSL TV that one of the ghostly encounters involved the basement door violently shaking twice in the middle of the night. Even though the 60-year-old building was demolished, West Jordan Middle School was rebuilt on the same site, possibly giving those old spirits a new home.

Skinwalker Ranch

Located in the wilderness near the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Uintah County, lies one of the most reported and investigated sites for paranormal activity in Utah: Skinwalker Ranch.  The 512-acre land is not just home to ghosts and spirits, but aliens and UFOs. The former owners told the Deseret News in 1996 that they had seen unidentified flying objects at least three times and that their cattle had disappeared.However, the ranch is known for the titular "skinwalker" that was cursed on the property by a Native American tribe. According to local rumors, the skinwalker can take the form of several animals, including a human. The ranch owners sold the land to an aerospace scientist in 1998 for the sole purpose of studying the paranormal activity. In 2016, a Utah commercial real estate magnate bought the land for his own research into the supernatural.

Fielding Garr Ranch

On the southern end of Antelope Island is another historic ranch site that had visitors feeling watched and touched by the paranormal. Fielding Garr Ranch was built in 1848 as a stronghold for managing tithing herds for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was operated by the church until the 1870s.In modern times, it's a historical site for tourists to see how people lived in the 1800s and 1900s. However, those visitors have reported encounters with spirits and aberrations, including a paranormal investigation group whose two members received unexplained scratches on their arms.

Helper

Approximately 120 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, the city of Helper was founded in the 1890s as a coal-mining town and freight terminal. In 2023, the city was repurposed to accommodate travelers who are passing through to visit Utah's national parks and wildlands. Part of the renovation project included restoring the old buildings, but some of those old structures housed spirits from the city's glory days.The man who fronted these projects told KSL TV that he and his workers heard voices and moving objects in several of the buildings, including one that had connections to the mafia. While several of these old buildings now have a new purpose, some of the former inhabitants may still be lingering to this day.

Browning Mansion

Built in 1900, the historic John M. Browning Mansion in Ogden was home to the famed firearms designer John Moses Browning, who invented the state's gun —the Browning M1911 automatic pistol. However, like many old buildings built in Utah, the owners of the home reported odd occurrences happening in the mansion, like weights being knocked over and doors being slammed shut.When KSL TV visited the mansion in 2023, the spiritual medium said that the ghost of Browning didn't like the reporter being in his room. The John M. Browning Mansion is open to visitors who dare to look through the halls of this historic residence.

Eureka

Another Utah mining town, Eureka, was established in Juab County in 1892 after nearly 20 years of mining gold and silver. Unlike Helper, this town has seen a decrease in its population as of 2024, with only 700 residents. While Eureka is not technically a "ghost town," it doesn't mean that ghosts and spirits don't reside in the historic buildings left by miners.According to Eureka's former mayor, the town could be hosting the spirits of cowboys and outlaws, miners killed in accidents and residents who died during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. The former mayor also spoke of an old poem about the mischievous “Tommyknocker," who foretold deadly accidents in the mines. One resident told KSL TV that a man and two children haunted her store. One of the paranormal researchers said they felt unwelcome in the building and refused to enter it.

The Great Saltair

The Great Saltair is a historic concert venue originally built in the 1890s, which burnt down in the 1950s. As a result, rumors of ghostly sightings have led workers to believe the space is truly haunted. One worker told KSL TV that his nearly 15 years at the Saltair have turned him and his coworkers into believers of the paranormal. The workers said they hear children laughing up in the rafters and “shadow figures” around the venue. During KSL's investigation, a dog with supposedly heightened senses refused to enter certain areas of the venue. In an audio playback, the paranormal investigators discovered two unexplained “hissing” sounds that were recorded as the dog toured the Saltair.

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