Near Utah Border: Your Wicked Vacation Needs More Hauntings

You’ve been to National Parks and visited beaches and theme parks. Maybe it’s time you did something different. Plan a trip with stories that will stick with you long after it is over. Maybe it’s time you took a ghost vacation.

Pioche Nevada is just a couple hours from Southern Utah just over the state line. Here you will find the Overland Hotel and Saloon. This place is haunted, especially room 10. It has been featured on the Travel Channel’s show "Ghost Stories" and is listed as number two in the most haunted hotels of Nevada. 

The town of Pioche came to be when some Native Americans showed a missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints some rock with silver in it in 1864. A man named L A Pioche purchased claims and the town was founded. It was rough and tumble like most mining towns of that era. 

Guns were the only law, and Pioche made Bodie, Tombstone, and other better known towns pale in comparison. It has been reported that seventy-five men were buried in the cemetery before anyone in Pioche had time to die a natural death 

Many feel the whole town is haunted, but if you really want a paranormal experience, you should spend a night at the Overland Hotel and Saloon in one of the haunted rooms. The décor of the place looks like the old west and is like stepping back in history. 

There have been many stories of strange occurrences in room 10, like things flying across the room, strange noises, and shadowy figures. Several people have reported waking up in the room and not being able to move. One guy saw a figure holding his friend down.

See the google reviews for many more stories.

I talked with Dakota Millward from St. George who spent a night at the Overland Hotel and Saloon in room 10. He and his father were out shed hunting and they were looking for a place to stay. They called the Hotel and the only room available was 10. 

“We’re trying to sleep, we heard creaking the entire night,” said Millward. “It was like three in the morning, and we could hear talking. And we couldn’t tell if it was someone downstairs or in the room. It was so sketchy. Even though it was the middle of the night, me and my dad got up and left.” 

Enough with the vacations in some tourist trap location, it’s time to visit a place where you can learn history firsthand from those who lived it and have now passed on. Check-in at the Overland Hotel and Saloon for a story that will give goosebumps to you and your listeners. 

IS THE SITE OF THE FIRST HOSPITAL IN ST. GEORGE HAUNTED?

A motel was purchased in 1913 in St. George by Dr. Donald A. McGregor and, along with his brother-in-law, Dr. Frank Woodbury, was turned into the city’s first hospital. It stood at 35 E 100 South in St. George. It was the area's only hospital until 1952 when it became a convalescent home and then was later torn down in 1993. 

There are many stories of haunted hospitals throughout the country. The Travel Channel even has a show by that name. It makes sense as these are places where people suffered pain and often died. If any place is going to be haunted, it would be an old hospital. 

The building that now sits on the property is home to several different firms. I talked with Todd Gardner who works for Alpha Engineering in the building. When I asked him if anything supernatural ever happened in the building, his eyes lit up. 

He said two separate secretaries who had worked there in the past had described many such occurrences. One told of a time when she had been alone in the building.

She had come in early to get some pressing work done. The lights were off except where she was working. The hallway lights turn on with motion sensors and suddenly one of the hallways popped on, then the next hallway and the next. She called out to see if there was anyone in the building, but it was all quiet. She finally worked up the nerve to check and found the place empty. 

The other receptionist told stories of specific people who had made themselves known to her. Unfortunately, she has since moved from the area. I would love to talk to her about her stories. 

I plan on keeping my ears open for other stories of the old McGregor hospital in St. George. Who knows, maybe I'll get one from one of those who have passed on.