The Fives: Five places where things go bump in the night around the Hills

By Todd Williams, Journal staff | Wednesday, October 29, 2008

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Some people seem disappointed when I tell her that I don't believe in ghosts.

It's not that I completely deny the experiences folks have recorded since time began. It's just the ideas put forth in literature, film and television just don't seem viable.

That being said, there are certainly plenty of people who stand (and have stood) adamant in their belief that those some of those who have passed on remain among us in some form. And who am I to dispute their claims.

A testament to the popularity of the belief of ghosts and other things that go bump in the night, there are literally dozens of stories attached to buildings, towns and places throughout the Black Hills and western South Dakota. Some make sense, such as the stories attached to Dakota Middle School, which served as Rapid City High School when the cheerleaders who inspired the Spirit of Six Award were tragically killed in a plane crash returning from a state tournament. And then there is the ghost of the costume room in the Black Hills Playhouse room that purportedly would arrange costumes for visitors to see.

Heck, even the Rapid City Journal building has a ghost that I know of at least a couple of people have claimed to see. One, a Russian immigrant who used to oversee the night cleaning crew at the building, told me he saw it when he was working in the basement. He vowed never to work the night shift again in the building, having his workers have that responsibility.

Following are five of the best known ghosts in the Black Hills area. Please feel free to share your stories as well. You know, in the spirit of Halloween and all.

Hooky Jack's

Earlier this year, a group calling itself the South Dakota Paranormal Investigators descended on one of Rapid City's oldest standing structures in the heart of Rapid City to see if they could make contact with the ghost of an armless police officer who was struck and killed by a motorist sometime in the first quarter of the 20th century. The group was responding to reports that when people walked to the door of his former room on the third floor, you would see a slim man in the window, waving to you.

No word on whether the groups efforts were successful, but my question is: If he was an armless man (they were apparently blown off in a mining explosion in the late 1800s), how did he wave?

Oh, well, these are the questions that are left to skeptics such as me.

Bullock Hotel

I can only imagine that the number of people looking for the ghost of Seth Bullock at the hotel that still bears his name on Historic Main Street in Deadwood are there hoping to get a gander at what would be a pale apparition that looks remarkably like Timothy Oliphant. He was the actor who played the lead character in HBO's Old West series "Deadwood."

Word is, the ghost of the town's original sheriff is pretty amicable and those that have reported seeing him say that, remarkably, the feeling of utter terror that regularly accompanies encounters with other worldly phenomena is absent when they come face to face with the good Mr. Bullock. That's highly fortunate for the marketing folk at the Bullock. In fact, it's surprising the number of overnight accommodations carry such stories. One of the best known, and certainly best marketed, is ... 

Hotel Alex Johnson

The story of the Lady in White is fully embraced by Rapid City's landmark hotel.  It goes something like this.

On her wedding day some years ago, it was reported that a bride fell to her death from her room on the eighth floor. It isn't certain whether she leaped to her death (unlikely, the hotel's Web site says, because she was was known as a relatively happy and balanced person) or whether she was pushed. The hotel's Web site embraces the story, even selling visitor packages for those who wish to stay on the eighth floor.

In addition to this story, there are others of little girls playing in the wee hours of the morning and mysterious maids dressed as long ago. Needless to say, if it's a good night's peaceful rest you seek, maybe it's better to try out the Alex's seventh floor or lower.

Adams House

If there is a haunted house story I would be most inclined to believe, it is that of the Adams House in Deadwood.

Built by one of the city's founding fathers, the sight of the then-dilapidated turreted house was straight out of the "Goosebumps" series. Passing it after dark, as I occasionally did when I was growing up in Deadwood (it was only about two blocks from my house), there is no doubt it sent shivers through me every time I passed it.

It had grown to look old and deserted because that is exactly what happened when Mary Adams left it shortly after her husband, W.E. Adams died. Even when she would return to Deadwood from her home in California throughout the years, she would not stay in the house but instead would rent a room out down at the Franklin Hotel.

Having been restored in the past 20 years, there have been numerous reports of strange occurrences (dark figures seen smoking a cigar in the detached garage -- a pastime of W.E. -- and rocking chairs going wild) by those who spent the night when it was a bed and breakfast.

Now a museum, much of the midnight haunting likely occurs without anyone to see. But if you get a chance, check this one out. If it isn't haunted, it certainly is the closest thing to it.

Elk's Theater

Just down the street from the Journal building, "Jimmy" has been haunting the Elks Theater for decades now. The legend of Jimmy the Friendly Ghost began apparently before the Elks was even a movie theater -- when it was an Opera House.

Apparently, Jimmy is not one of those "Poltergeist" type ghosts as those reporting seeing him don't offer up the chilled version, sharing their story with a smile rather than a quake. But it does beg the question: Maybe the Journal is simply borrowing Jimmy for it's own haunting needs.

Hey, anything's possible, right?