Granite Ghost Story

The wind was picking up. Leaves swirled on the ground, and rattled on the trees. In Granite Ghost Town, high above Philipsburg, the beautiful fall day was quickly turning to winter. The boarded windows of the Mine Superintendent’s house glared out at me as I crept though the trees, looking for good camera shots. Ghostly whistling rose from somewhere in the quickly darkening forest.

It was my wife, inexplicably whistling “Eye of the Tiger.”

I know of no ghost stories featuring Granite, the abandoned mining town above Philipsburg, Montana, but I am sure that the town boasts its fair share. In fact, I’ve never been much good with ghost stories, but it’s almost Halloween. So here’s what you should do. Go to the Montana section of your book store. The mines and buildings of Southwest Montana are rife with tales of the undead. Some classic books on the subject are Spirit Tailings and Beyond Spirit Tailings both by Ellen Baumler (Montana Historical Society), but there are countless other books out there. Or, visit Ellen Baumler’s blog, she’s been publishing spooky stories throughout October. If you’re in Southwest Montana, find some time to visit the region’s many ghost towns, or the Deer Lodge prison, which has tons of haunted stories.