Bullock Hotel
Sheriff Seth Bullock was one of the most successful and famous lawmen ever to inhabit this town. It is said that even his stare could prevent a brawl from coming about. The hotel was founded in the 1870s by the sheriff, and he has supposedly roamed the halls of the building since his death in 1919. .
Ive acually been there and i really like the way the hotel has a book documenting the phenominon with acual pictures that people has taken and hand written storys of there encounters. I think thats a really good idea on the hotels part to do that.
Comment by Theresa | 03.16.2006 | 6:58 pm
I really like how the hotel has a book of hand written acounts of storys from people that have stayed at the hotel with acual pictures they have taken. I think its a really good idea and wish more places that have supernatural activity had somthing like that.
Comment by Theresa | 03.16.2006 | 7:00 pm
ive seen the guy and talked to sherrif bullock
just kidding. but i have never heard tht story before and i live in sd.
Comment by Seth Bjorkman, | 03.19.2006 | 3:54 pm
When I was younger, probably around 7, I stayed at the hotel with my parents and my twin sister. Early in the moring I heard a loud knock on the door but no one woke up except for my twin sister and I. I looked up and could see Seth Bullock in the reflection of the mirror standing next to my bed. I realized that my sister had seen it too because she gave me the wierdest look. It was strange because it really didn’t freak us out. When everyone had woken up we both correlated our stories and gave our descriptions of the man we had seen to some of the workers at the hotel and without seeing a picture had described Seth Bullock. I know it sounds crazy but it really happened.
Comment by Lindsay | 03.31.2006 | 9:23 pm
Let me just say that a friend and I went to the Bullock hotel knowing full well that it is haunted. We however did not know what room or rooms were the most spectral. We went looking on the second floor of the hotel, My friend noticed that she felt a heavyness close to a certain door, whereas I had felt the heavyness close to another door. We went downstairs to look at the newspaper clippings about the hauntings and what rooms were normally the culprits, we found that we had both been right on! both of the rooms we had chosen were the only rooms in the hotel to be haunted. Another very interesting thing that I noticed while we were looking around in the hallways was that if you stand at one end of the hall and look tward the haunted room you can see the outline of Seth Bullock in the woodgrain of the door to the haunted room.
Comment by Denae | 04.28.2006 | 4:30 pm
i went to the hotel and met this hooker. she did it for free. on the foothill bus number 43. all night long she was acting ***** so i macked on her like i was frank nitty. i once met a girl. her name was melinda. my homeboys called her melinda the blender. she gave head like she made it up. she was 20 years old with a big round butt.
Comment by ican_beyourz | 05.22.2006 | 1:17 am
I Live in Deadwood, I believe that this hotel is truley haunted! One night my friends and I got a room because we never bleieve the stupid stories we herd. When we were sitting on the bed watching tv the tv started going crazy and then a picture flew off the wall. That was only the beggining of our happenings and it was extremely creepy. We also saw the outline of a man. It was a scary experience but it was awesome. I stay away from that place now
Comment by Cora | 05.22.2006 | 11:21 am
WOAH! SCARY STUFF
Comment by Cora | 05.22.2006 | 11:22 am
This story about Seth Bullock roaming the Hotel is often even told by the locals there. But there are ghost stories about the Franklin Hotel and the Old Bodega Bar as well. Someone should get on here and tell those stories as well.
Comment by I worked in Deadwood | 06.9.2006 | 8:24 am
I recently stayed at the Franklin Hotel in Deadwood at the Willie Pep room I believe room 414. No ghosts or presence felt, but bathroom light was flickering (only when I turned it on) probably attributed to the hundred year old wiring . Also the newspaper clippings about boxer Pep were an inspiration for the Deadwood marathon.
Comment by Tom | 06.13.2006 | 5:38 pm
The Blind School in Gary South Dakota is haunted. It was the first one in the midwest, and there are stories of the teachers torchering and sometimes killing the patients. There tunnels going from building to building. I was there with a group of friends one night and we heard noises and when we were walking through a doorway one of those window vents was above the door it flung around and hit one of my friends in the back of the head, very frieky and a foresure haunted place. A must see
Comment by GregMeyer | 07.27.2006 | 12:03 am
There are a few real haunted houses in Rapid City. They say some are the results of the big flood in 1972. There is a house off of Sheridan Lake Blvd., that is said to be very haunted. They had a hard time keeping workers that were there to remodel the house. They kept hearing their names whispered close to their ears….calling, calling, calling. Also, they saw a dog run into a room & upon entering the room…no dog. Just a few of the stories. Rapid City & the surrounding area is said to be the home of many satanists and witches. Alot goes on in the forests of the Black Hills. Beware.
Comment by Lindy | 08.7.2006 | 2:29 am
i have no idea what a “brawl” is.
Comment by Amber | 10.4.2006 | 12:25 pm
the bullock is definitely a metaphysical curiousity, being a professional psychic of several years now and having stayed there on numerous occasions i can say yeah its haunted… all the casino machines do interfere with the psychic feeling however which would probably be way too much in its pure form. the hotel itself was not founded in the 1870’s, at that time it was star and bullock’s hardware store and did not become a hotel til around the turn of the century.
i found the basement to be the most haunted and while seth may be the most famous ghost, it was a hospital for children with small pox for a while and you can feel that presence much more profoundly than that of bullock. its a great place to stay because you get the haunted vibe but its tempered by the electronics so its a good place for the curious to stay who have an electronic refuge in the downstairs casino if things become too intense. its weird yeah and its a good and safe weird too. i have gotten the creeps there followed by a night of solid sleep so in the way of haunted buildings its one of my favorites. the whole town of deadwood is outrageously haunted but also full of the electronic bells and whistles of slot machines, which makes it really nice. you can explore the strange then shift back into “reality” fairly easily… which is an uncommon gift.
Comment by molly shepard | 10.11.2006 | 9:35 am
I have never heard of that story and I live only 90 miles away. I would like to go and visit. This is a very interesting story.
Comment by Shawnee Price | 10.24.2006 | 10:48 am
I have worked at the Bodega,the Buffalo Saloon and Oyster Bay and have had experiences in all of them. As a teenager I worked at the Bodega.It was still a restaraunt then before this gaming came to town.Anyway a few of us were cleaning up one night and heard what sounded like a ball rolling down the stairs. I mentioned it to my mom who had also worked there years before and she said they all heard the same sounds. It is claimed to be the head of a prostitute who lived upstairs(in the brothel) a man was upset with her and chopped her head off and threw it down the stairs. The Buffalo Saloon is very creepy at night. You hear wierd sounds and voices. At the Oyster Bay there is a lady in red. Seen her often. She doesn’t quite care for men. She supposedly jumped from one of the windows of the Fairmont Hotel,connected to Oyster Bay. Also seen a preacher man one night when I was closing up. He walked right through the door. The basement in the Oyster Bay has the old jail cells. This place is way creepy.
Comment by Sheila | 10.27.2006 | 11:35 am
Two more hauntings to add to the Deadwood list: the former K-SKY building, and KDSJ’s studio - which used to be the old morgue!!
K-SKY building was haunted by the dentist Dr. Smiley and a Chinese woman that he accidently killed. Of course, the studio was the room where his office was, and when I worked there (mid-90s) they still had the old door with his name on it! Overnight DJs can testify that at 4:30 a.m. something weird would always happen - CDs would start skipping or would pop out of the player, the door would shut. The woman is supposedly more mischievous. One time my purse was in the middle of a table, and it suddenly tipped over onto the floor and spilled everything. When I had to do midnight-6 a.m. shifts, I’d walk the halls to stay awake, and one time I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall and I SWEAR I felt myself being tipped back, like in a dentist’s chair!!!!! (I didn’t last long at that job.)
A few months later I ended up at KDSJ - which was even more haunted. The building still had the giant sink, and if I had to cut commercials at night, I’d always smell formaldehyde (sp). My husband would notice it too… That would never happen during the day - only at night. One night, my husband picked me up and we were closing down the station for the night, and the moment I hit the lights, the temprature dropped and it became very muggy (this is mid-July in the mountains, so no humidity!) and the WHOLE BUILDING smelled of formaldehyde!! We hauled our butts out quick!!!
When I had to close the station at night, I’d start my car and turn the headlights on to shine in the building, have the door propped open, and after I hit the lights, I’d RUN! VERY creepy!!
Comment by Jennifer | 12.10.2006 | 10:08 pm
It’s all true. I live here in Watertown and have been told these stories since I was a kid. Deadwood is a beautiful place to visit as well to go to many of the gambling places. The Badlands are haunted too. It’s real creepy at night.
Comment by imp | 01.25.2007 | 11:48 am
P.S. You can get a book called Road Guide To Haunted Locations In South Dakota. There are more haunted places here in South Dakota then you think. It gives directions to the places. Another good book is Dakota Apparitions they let ya of other hauntings in South Dakota. Give it a try.
Comment by imp | 01.25.2007 | 12:06 pm
I don’t believe any of this because i dont believe in ghosts, i have been to this town when iwas younger and we heard no stories of this.
Comment by Mary-Kate | 02.3.2007 | 12:32 am
Mary-Kate did u ask n-e body?????????
Comment by Jessy Houston | 02.15.2007 | 3:24 pm
I have heard this story many times but what I was really wondering about was a ghost supposedly in northern south dakota somewhere neear aberdeen I believe. I remember seeing a story about on a show called sighting and it was quite strange they even had a whole team go in with special equipment. This ghost is named dolly and apparently hates men. The couple and their young that lived there said it was only the man who was tormented and also physicaly harmed. Any info on this would be nice. Sorry I don’t remember the name of the town I believe it’s a farmhouse.
Comment by Josh | 02.18.2007 | 2:04 am
THAT REALLY HELPS JOSH. I’LL SEE WHAT I CAN FIND OUT. I LIVE CLOSE TO ABERDEEN.
Comment by imp | 02.27.2007 | 4:23 pm
Lindy, there is no Sheridan Lake Blvd in Rapid City. But there is a Jackson Blvd and a Sheridan Lake Road. Yep there was a flood 09 June 1972 but there aren’t any houses, haunted or otherwise, left along Rapid Creek because of the flood plain. As for the satanist and witches comment - LMAOAFOTF!
Comment by Kyle | 03.31.2007 | 2:12 am
My sister and I stayed in the Bullock Hotel once. I normally don’t really believe in ghost stories but I believe my sister. She was in the shower and she swears that while rinsing her hair, she saw the outline of a cowboy (she could tell by his hat) through the shower curtain. She ran out of the bathroom crying and screaming. She was so scared that she didn’t even grab a towel. Now when my sister lies she can’t keep a straight face, but this time she was pale white and she looked more terrified than I have ever seen her. How’s that for a true life account?
Comment by Cassandra | 06.11.2007 | 1:44 pm
I recently took the ghost tour at the Bullock Hotel… we were allowed to take pictures… I took one down the hall on the 2nd floor and in the picture you can see several large orbs…. also, there is an old dresser with a mirror on it on the same floor acrossed from the Roosevelt Suite. President Roosevelt stayed at the Bullock because he was good friends with Seth. I guess the faint face of Roosevelt has been showing up in pictures of this dresser in the last few weeks. They are currently investigating this phenominon. I took a picture, but didn’t see the face…
Comment by Kendra | 07.7.2007 | 3:18 pm
I recently went on the ghost tour at the Bullock Hotel in Deadwood. I took many pictures and got orbs on the chair outside the Roosevelt suite, an “A” in the mirror, and other orbs at various places. The actor playing Seth Bullock had orbs on him in many of my pictures. It was a great tour, even without the ghosts!
Comment by Patti | 07.16.2007 | 11:46 pm
ALL OF THESE STORIES ARE TRUE IN DEADWOOD.iVE LIVED IN RAPID CITY 32 YEARS AND HAVE BEEN TO DEADWOOD AT LEAST 6 TIMES A YEAR AND ONE INCIDENT WAS IN THE FRANKLIN HOTEL ME AND MY BOYFRIEND WAS STAYING IT WAS ABOUT 2:00AM WE WENT TO BED AFTER A NIGHT OF GAMBELING AROUND 4:30AM I HEARD A BANG IN NEXT ROOM SO I WOKE UP MY BOYFRIEND,HE WOKE UP THEN YOU WOULD HEAR A COUPLE FIGHTING AND THROWING THINGS AROUND ,SO I CALLED THE FRONT DESK TO HAVE SOMEONE COME CHECK IT OUT INCASE SOMEONE WAS IN TROUBLE, YET TO FIND OUT WE WERE THE ONLY ONES IN THAT PART OF THE HOTEL NOONE ELSE WAS BACK THERE, THEN THE SECURITY SAID IT HAPPENS SOMETIMES! THAT WAS TOO REAL FOR ME, :0
Comment by LISA HWM | 07.18.2007 | 3:44 pm
OKAY THAT AINT NUTHIN COMPARED TO PINE RIDGE RESERVATION!!! I LIVED THERE FOR LIKE ALL ALL MY LIFE ND I SEEN MORE STUFF THEN U CAN AMAGIN!!!! ITS SCARY!! GO AND CAMP OUT IN THE HILLS OF PINE RIDGE ND YOU’LL SEE SOME FREAKY STUFF!!
Comment by Jazzeh jayeh | 07.27.2007 | 2:16 pm
I just went on the Ghost Tour at the Bullock Hotel on Saturday. I took some pics and got a couple anomalies — one in a hallway on the second floor looked like a large woman in a dress, the other was in the cellar in the mirror above the bar. That one had a face in it that either appeared to be yawning or screaming. Very creepy. Also, right when “Seth Bullock” the tour guide was going through his spiel on the second floor and talking about people smelling cigar smoke throughout the hallways, right then I got a whiff of cigar smoke. Quite strange.
I hope to spend the night there some time and do sort of a paranormal investigation. That would be hella awesome.
Comment by SDgal | 08.20.2007 | 12:06 am
Took many pictures in the hotel and didn’t think I had anything… until I started to magnify them when I got them on my computer. In the mirror by the Roosevelt room I got a perfect reflection of a little girl standing right beside my daughter. Behind the little girl is an older girl or maybe her mother, however she is more of a grey transparent image. Apparently a young girl and her mother had succumb to smallpox when the basement was used as a treatment facility in 1876. Very, very strange.
Comment by Canuck Mark | 09.13.2007 | 1:48 am
Have you heard that the Alex Johnson Hotel was haunted well its true if you want to belive that once my mom and dad went there and they saw a ghost well if you belive in ghost because god is a ghost and it freaked them out and they have told me that story every time i say something about that hotel and everyone has said at least 10 times that its haunted well if you know if it realy is true then coment back on this website and i will read it every day well i luke this websit beause it realy is true facts about these hotels that you mite stay in some times wellnever go alone just to be safe it helps to know that you are safe in a placeyou have never been before in you r life well gots to go well night you people.
Comment by Tabitha | 10.13.2007 | 2:35 am
My son works at the Bullock and says that his hair stands on end when he enters the basement. He believes strongly that he feels a presence. He thinks it is the children from the small pox epidemic, not Seth that he feels there.
Many ghost stories abound in Deadwood, and I believe that most are probably true. I rented an old victorian home that was once lived in by Stan Bullock. It was definately haunted. I had to have the house saged in order to continue living there.
Comment by LM | 10.15.2007 | 6:55 pm
I live in Sioux Falls, SD. and work at Raven Ind. This building was once the Manchester biscuit and cookie factory. I have workers that tell me they see shadows and hear odd noises. My co-worker was back by where the ovens are, they are still there, and he saw a man going by him really fast. I asked if maybe someone was really in there. He said if there was he had to have gone through the wall to get out. I know when I have to go back there it creeps me out. The doors will close and you at times can hear almost a breathing noise. The hair on my arms always stands up back there. Another lady I work with saw a shadow on her mag-lite and thought it was one of us behind her and when she turned no one was there. I work nights so it just makes it even more creepy. I think a lot of the buildings in the downtown area are in fact haunted. Good thing I don’t believe they are here to hurt anyone or I would be unable to continue to work there. I can’t imagine being there alone all night and what must go on when we all leave. Creepy!!!!!
Comment by Patty B. | 11.20.2007 | 3:58 am
I am from south dakota and living near deadwood an i am most deffiantly going to check this place out people please keep adding your stories and acounts on here.
Comment by andy | 11.27.2007 | 2:36 pm
I actually live a few miles away from here. Im trying to try to spend a night in this hotel whenever i get the chance. I think in a few weeks ill try. ill tell u about it whenever i go.
Comment by your mom | 01.16.2008 | 9:28 pm
Thats all the ghost storie in South Dakota. I know there has to be more from what I heard. I heard alot more ghosts stories and stuff.
Comment by Charlie | 02.28.2008 | 2:33 pm
Hi, I’m from South Africa and we have loads of ghosts. If anybody is interested in listning to a few stories you can email me at tongringdrummer@gmail.com
Comment by Melissa van Niekerk | 03.30.2008 | 5:13 am
The only thing scary on this thread is the spelling and grammar.
Comment by chris | 05.23.2008 | 12:04 am
Would love to hear more about the hauntings near Aberdeen that I read above, the farmhouse that someone mentioned? Normally Ghosts are nothing anyone need to fear, it’s just those that have not fully passed over and have something they feel needs to be done, or possibly residual hauntings, where it’s a type of Ghost that just keeps reliving the same thing over and over again and does not acknowledge “people” in it’s way. Intelligent haunts are the type that do mischievious things and know they are doing them. Demon type hauntings are really the only type to be afraid of. I find all of them interesting. I’ve lived in SD for about four years now, formerly from MN for 40 years, so love to hear about hauntings. Thanks everyone for sharing. I hope to visit some of these places again with more knowledge than I had on previous visits. Thanks
Comment by Dixie | 06.6.2008 | 6:24 pm
My boyfriend and I stayed at this hotel just this past weekend. We caught some amazing photos. Orbs, apparitions, faces… I was truly amazed and creeped out
I have posted the pics on my personal website, if you are interested in seeing them, you can email me at mistydawnross@yahoo.com for the website address.
Comment by Misty Ross | 06.16.2008 | 4:06 pm
This place is haunted. I went on a ghost tour about two weeks ago, and we were in a hallway on the second level and lights flickered twice, i felt coldness all around me and our tour guide was wearing a shall, and it came off of her, she didnt move and i watched it happen. i took snap shots around the hotel and saw orbs with eyes in them right above me. I took a picture through a mirror and there was a cross in it, and when i took another picture of the same thing, the cross was gone. this place is spooky and i would lovee to stay there soon, although its booked all year round
Comment by katie | 06.17.2008 | 12:26 am
I just got back from the Bullock, where my husband and I stayed in the Roosevelt Suite. We took pictures of the mirror outside of the suite, and saw an H in them. We also went upstairs and took pictures of the Bullock Suite door, and saw several floating orbs.
Comment by kris | 07.1.2008 | 9:16 am
I’m from Texas and on a trip to SD / WY we stayed at the Bullock on 6/27/08. When we checked in around 6pm I noticed the loose leaf binder close to the front desk which contained haunt testimonials and photos from previous guests. My wife and two daughters did not see it and I decided not to mention it to avoid scaring my 11 year old who still asks me to go outside with her at night.
About 30 minutes later after we had unpacked, we left our room to go check out Main Street. When we reached the end of the hall on the 2nd floor my 15 year old who is very laid back and never B.S.’es about anything said “When we passed by the staircase out of the corner of my eye I saw a man standing a few stairs up leaning against the wall….and when I took a second look he was gone”. She has never said anything like that before and she seemed genuinely surprised. She also had no idea at the time the place is purportedly haunted.
When we got down to the lobby I leveled with everyone, told them the place may be haunted, and then showed them the book I had looked at previously. I just knew my youngest daughter would freak and want to leave immediately, but she said “Cool….I hope we see a ghost tonight!”. I about fell out. We heard a few noises in our sleep, similar to pipes vibrating or expanding, but that was it.
Interesting place. I recommend staying there if you get a chance and checking it out for yourself.
Comment by Don | 07.8.2008 | 12:04 am