Legendary hauntings
Stage lights inexplicably turn off and on; haunting music drifts throughout the hall; and the silhouette of a man has been seen in the theater, as well as a woman in a white, flowing gown.
The story goes that namesake John D. Losekamp, whom invested in the Billings Polytechnic Institute (now Rocky Mountain College), killed his wife and himself in the building.
Stage lights inexplicably turn off and on; haunting music drifts throughout the hall; and the silhouette of a man has been seen in the theater, as well as a woman in a white, flowing gown.
The story goes that namesake John D. Losekamp, whom invested in the Billings Polytechnic Institute (now Rocky Mountain College), killed his wife and himself in the building.
On Dec. 8, 1945, a plane full of 21 veterans heading home from World War II crashed into what has become Veteran’s Park – hence the name. Seventeen of the passengers will killed – most on impact.
Legend has it that funeral homes were not capable of housing all of the bodies and a local grocery freezer located at 2223 Montana Ave., was used. Now home to the Asylum Distillery, the building is allegedly haunted by one or more soldiers.
As reported by the Gazette, before the Yellowstone County Detention Facility was built in the 1980s, inmates were housed in a jail on the eighth floor of the Yellowstone County Courthouse.
Achieves further reveal that employees claimed to have heard strange noises in the old jail area, which is largely unused.
Perhaps the oddest addition to this list is the Denny's restaurant that sits next to the Yellowstone Art Museum on North 27th Street. The restaurant was built between 1994 and 1995 on a parcel of land previously occupied by a warehouse and freight depot. A railroad spur that was used to deliver newsprint to the Billings Gazette now ends at the east side of the Denny's parking lot, and ties into the alleged phenomena witnessed at the restaurant.
According to witnesses, strange shadows, apparitions and noises have been observed in the restaurant at night. Some have said that a young girl was killed by a train in the area, and that her ghost is responsible for the strange things that happen in the Denny's restaurant. There is no record of such an accident occurring in the area, though.
Occupying the site of a former livery stable next to the famous Castle house, Juliano's is said to be haunted by the ghost of a man dressed in 1920s clothing. Some believe him to be Ernest Murray, a former resident of the house, which was built in the 1920s, shortly before Murray and his wife moved to Billings from Livingston. The ghost has been seen by restaurant staff and contractors working in the building on several occasions, and has even been seen from outside the building at times, staring out at passersby.
Although the historic residence now operates as a museum, it is unnerving how much it feels like a home – and that’s because it is one.
Built in 1930, it is hard to find the origins of 1123 1st Ave N. Now, The Loft Dance Club, the location seems to house at least one resident s…
Editor note: I have decided to write this story as a first-person narrative. The experiences I had while touring the YAM were simply too raw a…
