By day, Ogden appears as a typical small town in Utah, but by night, this quiet little community awakens more than its share of spooky happenings.

Ogden was not always such a friendly community. In the late 19th century it was full of opium dens and brothels along 25th Street. Many were connected by underground tunnels that were the scenes of violent acts. In fact, for a short time, Ogden was known as the “murder capital” of the West! Today, walk along 25th Street at night and you may hear the sound of popping noises on the pavement. This was where the prostitutes would drop dried beans from second story windows to attract customers. Some believe many are still there still looking for business.

The Bellshire Hospital, once an old mental facility, has a violent past and has been the scene of many paranormal sightings. Legend has it, the doctor managing the hospital had a reputation for implementing experimental treatment methods on patients. Today people have heard blood curdling screams that seem to come out of thin air, or see figures staring out of the windows. An encounter with a young girl occurred during a recent ghost hunt. Today, the hospital has been converted to an interactive fright theater during the Halloween season.

The Ben Lomond Hotel is a popular destination by ghost seekers. Apparently in the 1940’s a woman staying at the hotel got word that her son died in World War II. She returned home, but she must have enjoyed her stay because many say her spirit has returned and haunts the hallways. There are accounts of the elevator stopping at floors where no button has been pushed. The front desk has received calls from room 1106 when no one is occupying the room. If you visit, be sure to request one of the haunted rooms.

The Union Railroad Station was once a temporary morgue where spirit sightings and unexplained events are common. The most popular tale (with many versions), is of a lady in a blue dress who was arguing with her lover. She quickly turns to run away, steps in front of an oncoming train and is killed instantly. The figure of a woman dressed in blue and crying while running across the rail yard has been spotted over and over.

Dead Haven was a popular Halloween haunted house that has its own eerie past. Although it’s entertained many uses over the years, the building in the 1920’s was a farm implement store located in the wrong part of town. Two apartments across the street burned down, killing 2 occupants, and the area was the site of many accidental deaths and murders. Paranormal experts theorize that there are still wandering souls in the area. Ghostly figures have been spotted and the sound of children’s laughter has been heard at night when the building was empty.

Members of Utah Paranormal Exploration and Research spent an evening staking out the corridors of this creepy place in search of hard evidence of a haunting. In one of their recordings, a voice could plainly be heard saying, “Who’s there?” Other than some flashlights that suddenly refused to work, and shots of a bobbing light appearing through the camcorder of another investigator, the night was fairly uneventful.