• On Good Things Utah this morning – You don’t need to wait for Halloween to visit a haunted house. There are plenty of sites and ghost towns that are reportedly haunted year-round in America. Every state has its own urban legends and places where only the brave tread (and ghosts are reported to patrol). We’re talking old state hospitals, murder sites, homes with talking dolls, and hotels so disturbing, they’ve served as the setting for some of the most iconic horror movies. No matter what scares you, your state has a place to freak you out. Whether you want to take a guided tour or a bone-chilling solo walk into the darkness, we’ve got the spots for you. Here’s where you can go to truly embrace the Halloween spirit this year—no costumes required.
    • Arizona, Jerome Grand Hotel – Jerome, Arizona
      • Located in the scenic hillside town of Jerome—an old gold mining hub once known as the Wickedest City in the West, and today, one of Arizona’s coolest small towns—is the Jerome Grand Hotel, formerly known as the United Verde Hospital. Originally built in 1917 (and rebuilt in 1926 after a mine explosion destroyed the first), the Great Depression caused the hospital to take a serious downturn; by 1950, it had been abandoned entirely. The hospital sat essentially dormant until it reopened as the Jerome Grand in 1996. Much of the building’s original structure and facilities have been restored, and many of its spirits still linger: the specter of a maintenance man found dead in the basement in the 1930s; human-shaped figures that roam the hall; children who run and laugh in the corridors; and even the spirit of a cat who scratches at guests’ doors at night, begging to be let in.
    • Idaho, Old Idaho Penitentiary – Boise
      • This prison, built in 1872, was closed for nearly 50 years. Today, it’s a full-stop tourist attraction, not unlike Alcatraz; you can tour the place, see where prisoners were held in solitary, and even get a peek at the gallows from death row. So, yeah, this place is haunted AF, largely by the prisoners who helped build it and ended their life sentences in the very walls they erected. Visitors report voices, a feeling of heaviness, and seeing apparitions, both with their eyes and in photos. With respect to the World’s Largest Potato, you can’t get that kind of experience with other Idaho tourist attractions. —AK
    • Nevada, The Clown Motel – Tonopah
      • Long a destination for people who can’t say no to a dare, this old-school motel is home to a collection of 2,000 clown figures and some seriously ghostly vibes (owner Hame Anand told us he’s seen ghosts, but most of them are friendly, if that helps). That’ll happen when you park a decades-old motel next to a dilapidated cemetery in a small town dotted with mining ruins. But hey, there’s a bonus: When Anand bought the motel a couple years ago, he did some renovations to make the rooms more comfortable, so at least you’ll be wetting a very comfortable bed. He also embraced the scariness by converting some rooms into horror themes, in case “clown motel in the middle of the desert” wasn’t creepy enough. —AK
    • Utah, Moon Lake, High Uintas
      • If you go to a place like Utah’s Mountain Meadows massacre site, you shouldn’t be too surprised when you hear the voices of the 100+ people slain by a militia in the 1850s—it’s right in the name. But imagine you’ve found a great lakeside campsite in one the Uintas Mountains, a serene patch of mountain bliss in a state loaded with natural beauty. Suddenly, you’re confronted by a young, dripping, shivering girl with bluish skin looking for help. Then, as you panic, she suddenly disappears. In broad daylight. The Blue Lake ghost appears at all hours to campers, hikers, and fishers. Some people simply hear her wailing in the woods. Others report her running through campsites at night. And many claim to have seen her first-hand—probably not twice, though. This isn’t a site that’s big with repeat visitors. —AK
      • We hope you tune in for this Hot Topic and so much more this morning on GTU!