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Cheyenne Business Owner Has Had Multiple Ghost Encounters

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By Ellen Fike, Cowboy State Daily

Brian Snyder is familiar with the strange sounds and voices reported at the downtown Cheyenne business he has run for 25 years. He chalks them up to otherworldly occurrences. There is just no other way to explain what he has experienced

Snyder’s business, Bohemian Metals, and home both sit in the 300 block of West 17th Street in downtown Cheyenne. The building is quite old, and also houses the Knights of Pythias lodge.

The building is known for its haunted history, and the lodge hosts an annual haunted house in the building to capitalize on its spooky atmosphere. Earlier this year, a ghost hunting crew actually caught a supposedly haunted chandelier on camera in the building.

But there have been many reported sightings of ghosts and claims of hearing something strange in that particular building, several documented by Snyder himself.

Snyder explained that once, while upstairs in his home above the business, he began to hear heavy footsteps coming up the stairs toward his apartment.

“It wasn’t the witching hour or anything like that, it was fairly early in the evening,” he said. “When I hear the steps, I’m confused, because it’s gated to come up to this area. You can’t access it easily.”

At first, Snyder thought it could have been the police or fire department coming up the stairs, but as he listened, he heard nothing except for those heavy footsteps.

“The stairs are metal, and there is no effort to conceal this noise,” he said.

His dog, who was friendly and used to people, began to bark and growl at the door, his hair on his neck standing up. Snyder also began to worry.

“I’m watching the door, because it wasn’t locked,” Snyder said. “I could sort of hear somebody shuffle on the other side, and then I looked at the doorknob, and it moved a little bit.”

Finally, Snyder went to the door to see who was making all of the noise in the common area, only to discover no one was on the other side. He searched around the area, only to find nothing and no one who could have been causing the disturbance outside of his apartment.

Then, about six months to a year later, Snyder had another encounter.

“I heard a woman’s voice around here, very loud, like you would sound if you walked into a place, looking for someone,” he said. “She said three times, really loud, ‘Hello? Hello? Hello?'”

Again, Snyder’s pets became riled up and ran to the area where they’d heard the noise, but like the previous encounter, no one was around.

Despite the multiple encounters with something he cannot see, Snyder does not feel afraid of any ghosts who may be trying to recreate a horror movie scene.

“People don’t have all the answers right now, but there’s definitely something out there,” he said. “Maybe your mental state when you die has a lot to do with it. If you’re lost when you’re living … you might be staying around in one form or another.”

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The Cowboy Bar in Meeteetse is Allegedly Haunted But We’d Like More Proof Please

Published on in Wyoming ghosts
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Critics of the supernatural world might be more like the Craig T. Nelson character in the movie “Poltergeist.”

Normal guy who gets his life upended when he experiences the supernatural world first-hand.

And when he experiences it, he really experiences it.

Unlike the hapless ghostbusters who — until going to his California home — have lived in a world of theory.

No better scene differentiates the two worlds than when one of the ghostbusters brags about filming a toy car moving seven feet. It took the car seven hours to move.

“Of course, this would never register on the naked eye. But I have it recorded on a time-lapse camera. It’s fantastic,” the ‘scientist’ tells Nelson right before one of the greatest scenes in the movie.

A worn-out and barely patient Nelson opens the door to his child’s room where absolute chaos is erupting. The bed is spinning around by itself. Toys circle the room and one-by-one stop mid-air in front of the frightened spectators.  Except Nelson. He accepts it now.

We’re like Nelson.  We’ll accept that the famed Cowboy Bar in Meeteetse is haunted by cowboys of the past. We’d just like to have more proof.

Not that a cold bathroom or beeps on some machine isn’t interesting but it’s a lot like the Matchbox car. We want the spinning bedroom.

The Wyoming Area Spirit Posse on Tuesday uploaded a new video about their experiences in the Cowboy Bar and it’s fun to watch.

Don’t expect your mind to be blown, however. 

It’s somewhat typical of the onslaught of ghost detective shows out there.  Dimly lit rooms. Millennials. People asking for ghosts to say something. Lots of static. Beeps. Shaky cameras.

But — keeping the 80s theme going — as Clara Peller would say, “Where’s the Beef?”

Although there’s no beef really to be found, at least this group of ghostbusters didn’t take themselves too seriously.

They’re having fun.  They dressed-up like old-time cowboys. That includes fake mustaches.

What’s supposed to happen in the bar that’s haunted?

Bottles of booze are supposed to fall on the ground by themselves and not break. Ghosts are supposed to order steak (you can hear the order but no one is there). And there’s plenty of sounds like footsteps and voices.

It’s a fun idea and the behind-the-scenes coverage is located in this article from the Cody Enterprise.

Or you can check-out their new video here.

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Cody, Wyoming Has Plenty of Ghost Stories

Published on in Community/arts and culture
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By Wendy Corr, Cowboy State Daily

It’s no surprise that Cody, with its history rooted deeply in the Wild West, might have some ghost stories.

Several can be found at the historic Irma Hotel, according to hotel co-owner Mike Darby.

“I’ve heard stories that housekeeping (staff members) actually saw the bottom half of a soldier walking through the room and all they saw were his faded blue pants with a gold stripe and a saber,” said Darby, whose family has owned the hotel built by western showman “Buffalo Bill” Cody for 30 years. “And he just journeyed across the room and went out (into the hallway) through the door, which was closed.”

Some ghosts, apparently not satisfied with being seen, make their presence known in other ways, Darby said. He recounted the story of two travel writers who were staying at the hotel and had gone to bed for the night.

“And pretty soon the sink starts going off and on, three or four times, and they’re really worried, so they turn the lights on,” he said. “Somehow they go back to sleep, they wake up in the morning and here their clothes are piled up in a pyramid at the foot of the bed.”

Darby said he regularly hears ghost stories from guests at the Irma.

“I’ll hear about them say, once a week, once every 10 days,” he said. “Somebody will see something, somebody will come in and all their cell phones will go dead, their computer will go dead. And as soon as they walk out the door, everything comes back to life.

Jeannie Cook, a retired Park County historian, also knows plenty of stories about hauntings, such as the one reported at a business inside what was once the furniture store of J.H. Vogel.

“I talked to some of the ladies who worked there and they told me there was a young boy that would appear from time to time,” she said. “Come to find out, (Vogel) had a furniture store and was also the undertaker. They had the coffins. So apparently, this little boy must somehow be connected to that.”

Cook, whose grandfather settled in Cody in the early 1900s, said spirits are also often seen in the yard of what used to be Cody’s Lane-Bradbury Hospital and have been reported in what was once a cemetery for the community.

The bodies from the cemetery were moved to another location in the 1960s, but some may have been missed.

“They probably didn’t get all the bodies because in the early days, when they buried somebody, they may have only had a wooden cross or something and it just went away,” she said.

Interest in such paranormal sightings appears to be growing as people hear more stories about them, Cook said.

“I think in modern times, people are beginning to recognize there really is something with paranormal activity,” she said. “And I think there’s really been a lot of it in this town.”

Darby agreed.

“Different things have happened that weren’t explainable,” he said. “People have passed away and in their rooms I’d find things, I’d hear things. It’s not that I believe, I was shown.”

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Virginian Hotel Owner Says Hotel is Haunted But By Friendly Ghosts

Published on in Community/arts and culture
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By Mike McCrimmon, Cowboy State Daily

The historic Virginian Hotel in Medicine Bow probably is probably visited by ghosts, according to its owner.

Vernon Scott, who has been involved with the Virginian throughout his life, said although he has never seen a spirit in the hotel, he is pretty sure they do exist.

“I think there’s spirits, honestly, here,” he said. “It’s good spirits, though.”

Since the hotel was built in 1911, it has hosted a number of famous visitors, including Teddy Roosevelt, Western artist Charlie Russell, football legend John Madden and author Owen Wister. The hotel took its name from Wister’s novel “The Virginian.”

It has also seen several tragedies, such as the death of a woman who jumped from the window of one of the hotel’s upper floors, as well as the death of a county sheriff, Scott said.

Scott said people who believe they hear spectral noises may just be hearing the sounds of an old building.

“I think what people hear are the steam pipes rattling the winter time,” he said.

However, he said many people have told stories of seeing strange things in the old hotel.

“My wife has a picture on her telephone,” he said. “At the bar, there’s an orb sitting there on a barstool. Strangest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Then there is the bed in one room that shows signs of being used just minutes after it is made.

“You can make it right now and right after that, butt cheeks (imprints will appear) in there like somebody sat down,” he said.

Another guest reported that when she stayed in the suite named after Wister, she often would see a woman dressed in a white gown.

“There’s just different things like that,” Scott said.

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