Quote from Angela on September 22, 2021, 6:20 pm

(Read on to the end to hear a little of my own relatable personal experience). 

The Dude Rancher Lodge in Billings, Montana, is a charming timeless lodge which has won numerous awards for preservation of authenticity and historical Western charm. The Lodge proudly displaying much of its original furniture today. 

The location has also been used as a hospital and later as a coffee shop. 

The Dude Rancher was originally built in 1950 by Percy and Annabel Goane with bricks from locally demolished buildings. The building is speculated to be haunted by Percy and Annabel today. Although staff have described it more as ‘being supernaturally stalked’.

Those ghosts are just about every corner you turn. The ghost of Annabel is often actually very helpful and has been seen opening doors for the living and enjoys assisting anyone who needs help! 

Virginia Carlson purchased the ranch in 1992 and still runs the place today with three actively haunted rooms. These rooms come with their very own disembodied voices, continual electrical disturbances and mysterious knocking sounds. 

In 2012 the Lodge was featured on Hotel Impossible when there was an incident involving an officer being shot on the premises. 

Also sighted here is the apparition of a man wearing a blue shirt who is believed a previous kitchen worker or chef named Bob.  Bob is non malevolent, does not interact, and honestly just seems happy to linger here. 

During the night hours many guests will complain of the sounds of children playing, a little too loudly, in hallways. However, night staff and faultless security camera systems still fail to locate any such children. 

It is vital to appreciate that there are many residual footprints within historical locations.  

These hallways once breathed life, death and everything else inbetween. 

So it is only natural that sometimes we stumble upon layers of heavy generational emotional texture. Layers of history which sometimes manifests as active residual phenomena before our very eyes.  

It would seem these are supernatural children just doing what children do best, playing in corridors. 

Speaking of child ghosts, for anyone interested, please find my own personal experience below. 

I myself have experienced something similar. I was at a haunted castle in Scotland and accepted an offer of a guided tour, along with a group of other guests, of the castle and its grounds. We were informed that specific rooms are actively haunted. I have to be honest and say I was not hopeful and just presumed it was another grab at notoriety.  

However, I was sorely mistaken. That night, for the first time in my life, I heard loud audible running footsteps coming from an empty room. But what fascinated me most was the sounds of the ghost children there. I heard crying, a baby, which was honestly distressing for me to witness. 

Why? Because I could not see a baby but could hear its cries. Goes against our very fibre right? I wanted to help this child but there was no baby there, it was a spirit I could hear. Then we heard a group of children giggling. I was absolutely shocked. Never experienced anything like that in my life. I was later informed that I acted as a sort of magnet, to the children there. That they don’t always come out but the castle owners were of the belief that they were somehow drawn to me.  

I think about it most days because honestly, if that was true, well it was an honour to be that person. 

If you would like to read more on Montana hauntings please hit our book link below.