Deadwood: The spookiest place in the Black Hills

DEADWOOD, S.D. (KELO) –October is a scary celebration month with kids in costumes, spooky stories of the past, and even ghost tours.

Deadwood is known for its history of gunslingers and folk heroes, however, they also have a deep history of spirits roaming the town.

During the day, you’ll find people walking the streets of Deadwood stopping by casinos and learning about Wild Bill Hickok. 

Clean, but spooky, car wash that benefits nonprofit

At night, many of the historic buildings come alive with stories of spirits and ghosts from the city’s past.

“I always tell people that you could probably go any place in Deadwood and somebody is going to tell you a story. There seems to be so many reports of paranormal activity here,” Haunted History Ghost Tour Historian Kim Keehn said.

Kim Keehn shares those stories as a Haunted History Ghost Tour Historian.

The tours include a variety of experiences both inside buildings and on the street. 

“I started looking in all the old newspapers and Deadwood had a lot of stories of hauntings in the old newspapers. And they were fascinating and I just started researching where these happened and the stories,” Keehn said.

Black Hills Paranormal Investigators have searched throughout the hills looking for paranormal activity… but often find themselves called back to Deadwood.

They’ve done numerous investigations in the Adams House, which has been standing since 1892.

“Deadwood seems to have a pall over it, if that makes any sense. I don’t know if it’s because of the violent past it’s had but there’s something there. And every place we’ve ever been to in Deadwood has paid dividends for us,” Lead Investigator Maurice Miller said.

Matt Weekly takes people on ghost tours in the historic Bullock Hotel.

“I love telling these old stories. Deadwood and the Black Hills in general but in Deadwood specific, there’s an energy to the place. Anybody that comes here for the first time, the vast majority of them, the first thing they notice outside of the casinos, the people, there’s an energy that flows through this place,” Bullock Hotel Manager and Tour Guide Matt Weekley said.

The Bullock was the first hotel built in Deadwood, and said to be haunted by the town’s first sheriff, Seth Bullock. 

“There’s something there at the Bullock, especially in Seth’s Cellar because we have seen. We’ve got flares for looking at infrared cameras, SOS kind of things and we’ve seen stuff down there that we cannot explain. We’ve also had meters like our trifields and stuff have gone off for no reason, nobody is there, we’ve had tables vibrate on us there,” Miller said.

“We get stories all the time, especially in the month of October of peoples pill bottles moving in the middle of the night, peoples glasses moving in the middle of the night. We had a report last week where we had a lady sitting on her bed in her room and her pill bottle in her back in the bathroom started shaking,” Weekley said.

While mysterious movements may not be for everyone… Deadwood’s tour guides can’t help but be intrigued by the history of what was once the most notorious town in the wild west.

“But there’s a nostalgia to it, and nostalgia is kind of a bittersweet longing for another time, another place that connects us with the past,” Keehn said.

Deadwood offers several historical and spooky tours year round, where you can learn more about the scary history hidden in the Black Hills.