Haunted places in South Dakota

Welcome to the haunted hovels section of Haunted places in South Dakota. Please select a link below to view information on that location.

Please note that this section is growing all the time and new locations will be added when time permits, so please check back if you don't find what your looking for. Alternatively, if you know of a haunted location that isn't in the list, then feel free to send me a message in the contact section and I'll will make it a priority to cover it for you. But for now, please enjoy what information has been provided.

Aberdeen - Northern State University - Jerde Hall

A few of the students who live on the fourth floor of Jerde Hall have told different but very similar accounts of a little girl who appears occasionally. One student saw her reflected in the mirror, but turned to look at her and she was gone. Another was walking down the hall and heard a child's voice whisper her name. She turned to look at the empty hallway and heard the delighted giggling of the absent girl. Still another student woke up in the middle of the night to see the little girl sitting on the end of her bed. The phantom girl raised her finger to her lips as if to say, "Shhh..." The student screamed and the little girl ran out of the room, slamming the door loudly behind her.

Aberdeen - Northern State University - Johnson Fine Arts Center

This building was erected early in the 1970s. However, there have been reports of some unexplained occurrences. Occasionally, there can be heard a whistled tune from one of the men's toilets when there is no one is around. Sometimes the lights in the makeup room and costume shop switch on and off, depending on how they have been left. On rare occasions, phantom keys have been heard jingling in the empty seating area, on one occasion this was followed up by a loud crash on some platforms set up onstage. Once, a small group of students had a ball of tape thrown at them from nowhere and the wheelchair lift operated on its own. After dark, when the building is empty, many students who have passed through the front hallway have expressed an intensely creepy feeling accompanied by the need to hurry up and get out of the hallway.

Firesteel - The Coal Mines

Back in the 1930's firesteel was a booming town after the discovery of coal. One day when all the miners were hard at work an explosion killed about 100 of them and to this day they say that if you get too close to the mines you can hear the voices of the miners hard at work. The town of firesteel was once a large and prosperous city but is now doomed as the people are said to be driven away by the ghosts that haunt the old mines.

Hill City - 1880 Train

This is now a tourist attraction. It still uses authentic engines and cars from the 1800's. Many abandoned train cars still sit on the train yard, and many strange occurrences have been reported of them. The Highliner Eatery, which sits on the train yard, is an authentic dining car, and one employee reported seeing a strange man in a brown suit standing in the back, then seconds later, he had disappeared.

Hill City - Mount Rushmore Brewing Company

This building was the first funeral home in the city, and the crematorium can still be seen in the basement. Employees at what is now a restaurant, highly dislike going up to the third floor to sweep late at night, as many strange noises have been heard. One waitress said she was cleaning upstairs by herself one night and she heard the pool balls on the pool table being broke but when she turned around the balls were still moving, but no one was upstairs with her.

Isabel - Post Office

Recently people have reported seeing strange figures in the windows. Once someone went to the post office at night and was checking their mail when they happened to look into the window, and in the reflection of the window they saw someone standing behind them just staring at them. By the time they turned around to look and see who it was, they were gone. They got really frightened and tried to leave but the door was locked. They tried everything to get out but nothing worked so they had to stay in there until the next morning.

Keystone - Old Cemetery

The old cemetery overlooking Mount Rushmore is a burial site for many of the mine workers and people who died working on Mount Rushmore. It is said that if you bring a video camera you can catch faces in the video camera and white figures hanging from the trees even though you can't see them with the naked eye.

McLaughlin - Jackpot Bingo Hall

One witness that used to work at the bingo hall says she always heard a baby crying but when she looked in every lane to see if anybody was there, there was no-one. She was alone in the bingo hall while everybody else was in their offices or outside smoking a cigarette. The bingo hall is supposed to be built on a cemetery and you can see a lot of things moving around. Especially chairs, papers, and tables. She says she quit because of the phenomena.

Rapid City - Alex Johnson Hotel

Built in the 1920's, this hotel is said to be haunted by many ghosts including the original owner. Employees tell of noises, items moving, and a woman has been seen on the eighth floor. Guests have also told of strange happenings especially on the eighth floor, pianos playing themselves, crying in a room that a woman reportedly jumped out of the window of on her wedding night.

Rapid City - The Hotel Alex Johnson

This hotel is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a former manager who leapt to her death from the roof in the 1930's. There is a ghost who stands at the foot of a rooms bed at night that has been seen in several rooms. Several hotel workers have reported poltergeist activity on the top floor. This floor is currently used for storage, and workers have heard furniture moving around and lights flickering on and off. One employee reported having a chair thrown down the stairwell at him from the top floor doorway when there was no one on the floor at the time. Several employees have quit because of the apparitions.

Rock Creek (Bullhead) - Rock Creek Day School

Witnesses report hearing an old record player, foot steps and doors opening when the building is empty. teacher's grading papers late at night will also hear voices and paper, desk, and chairs moving around. One occasion the head cook opened early to cook breakfast and heard voices coming toward her but no one was there. Another occasion people have seen a man and woman peeking out of the window late at night when they pass by the school. A long time ago there was a flood in Rock Creek that took out a graveyard, the water covered the entire village and all of the coffins were floating around and they had to evacuate to the hills, horseback riders roped the coffins to bring to shore. A lot of the coffins were opened and no bodies were missing. A lot of the bodies were sunk into the sand. So it is to be believed that the whole village is haunted.

Roscoe - Edmunds Central High School

There have been strange sightings reported from teachers at EC high school. One included a door opening on it's own. Another occasion a whole room was messed up, and no-one one had broken in, because the door was still locked. At night teachers have heard footsteps walking up and down the stairs. They think it is the old janitor Harold haunting the school.

Vermillion/Meckling - GPR Stops House

This house was abandoned long ago. There are reports of strange noises from the top floor, and a girl who went in was hit on the chest, resulting in a bruise in the shape of a perfect triangle. Some think that it may be the ghost of a school superintendent who hung himself when the Meckling school was dissolved.

Yankton - Mount Marty College - Whitby Hall - Room 200

This room in particular is said to be haunted, and due to this, until the past two years, has been left vacant. Light never touches the door, no matter what lights are on, and even during the day, light barely makes it into the window to hit the door. There have been other sightings on the same floor, a figure walking across a resident’s room near the door, they were the only one in the room, and the door was closed. In other rooms witnesses have seen figures in hard hats and blue suits. When they rolled over to get up and talk to them, the figure was gone, and when they checked the door, they realized it was still locked, the doors at that time would unlock if you closed them while they were locked. They have also seen a white figure in a corner, it is non-descript and is just standing there.

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