Floating Coffins Of Rock Creek - Bullhead, South Dakota

Years ago in the quiet little village of Bullhead, South Dakota located on the rugged central plains, nature took it's toll.  The town was ravaged by the flood waters of Rock Creek which splits the town in two as well as the larger nearby river that it empties into. The flooding was so fierce that the coffins in the cemetery began to rise and wash away.  As the coffins were retrieved, many were found to be empty of the bodies that the once contained. It is believed that the remains of many of the cemetery inhabitants were lost, scattered and reburied in the soil surrounding the town.  It is because of this tragedy that many believe that the town of Bullhead is haunted.

Years ago, the flood waters of Rock Creek dislodged inhabitants of the local cemetery, scattering their remains across town.  The village of Bullhead, SD has not been the same since the floating coffins of Rock Creek.

Most of the "Rock Creek" hauntings however, are centered around a school in town known as the Rock Creek Day School. Ever since the tragic flood, there have been stories of strange happenings in that school.  Figures have been seen through the windows of the building late at night when no one is supposed to be in there.  Teachers staying late to grade papers in the quiet after school hours are said to have heard voices and the shuffling of feet only to find that upon investigating, not a singe person was around to have made those noises. Some arrive in the morning to find that the desks and chairs have been rearranged in a random manner and some claim to have even heard the furniture moving as they worked alone in the building.

Grounds of the supposedly haunted Rock Creek Day School in Bullhead, South Dakota.

The normally docile Rock Creek at Bullhead, SD once flooded to the point where coffins from the local cemetery were dislodge and some of the occupants lost and scattered over the surrounding terrain.

Other incidents in the village have residents convinced that the spirits of the relocated dead are restless and are letting those around know it.  Awakened from their state of rest for all eternity.  The village has not been the same since the floating coffins of Rock Creek.

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Sioux San Hospital - Rapid City, South Dakota

The Sioux San Hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota was once a boarding school and then a sanitarium.  Throughout it's history many have died there and are still thought to roam the premises to this day.

Sioux San Hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota formerly a boarding school and a sanitarium

Around 1898, a boarding school was constructed in Rapid City for Native American children so that they could learn how to read, write, and learn more about English culture. It was called the Rapid City Indian School or School of the Hills due to the close vicinity of The Black Hills. However, most who were sent there were not happy to be there, being "forced" to learn a new way of life.  Allegedly, some of these children where mistreated when they tried to run away and others were outright neglected, and it is rumored that some where even beaten to death and buried right there on the premises of the school.  The boarding school was eventually closed in 1933.

Rapid City, South Dakota in the late 1800s

It was a few years later that due to the wide spread epidemic of tuberculosis that hit the country, a hospital was opened specifically for Native Americans which was known as the Sioux Sanitarium.  Treatment for TB patients was very crude and experimental.  Most often resulted in a horrible death.  Most patients died there in the hospital any many who had no close relatives were buried there on-site.  After the advancement in medicine brought on a cure for tuberculosis, the hospital closed it's doors during the 1960s.

Entrance sign for the Sioux San Hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota

The hospital building was later remodeled and became the Rapid City Indian Health Service Hospital or as many local people refer to it, still using a derivative of the old name, the Sioux San Hospital.  Although it is a modern facility, there remain on the site unmarked graves of the children and patients who died there.  Many claim that their presence can still be felt as well as seen in the hallways of the hospital.  Some have heard the sounds of children crying when no children are around and others have witnessed the apparitions of young Native American children on the grounds and in the building, still searching for their long lost homes.

Sioux San Hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota

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American Ghosts and Hauntings Index by Region

The Ghost of Seth Bullock - The Bullock Hotel in Deadwood, South Dakota

Many believe that the town of Deadwood, South Dakota is one of the most haunted places in the mid-west.  This could be so because it is the place where legendary figures from U.S. history abounded.  Among them, Seth Bullock who had become the first Sheriff of Deadwood.  Some say that he has never left.

Seth Bullock in his younger days

Seth arrived in Deadwood in 1876 along with his partner Sol Star.  They were in the hardware business and began by selling mining equipment out of their wagon.  Being successful, they soon set up shop on the corner of Main and Wall Streets, building a store.  That same year the law in Deadwood, Wild Bill Hickock died.  Having prior experience as a Sheriff, Bullock was soon made the law in town to keep the peace.  They say he was able to do so because he had a stare that scared most people.  It was said that he was the sheriff "whose gaze could stop fights."

The Star & Bullock Hardware store in Deadwood, South Dakota 1877

Seth Bullock and Sol Star circa 1880s on their ranch

Although  his hardware business still thrived, it burned down in 1876.  The only surviving structure was the brick warehouse in the rear of the building.  Seth and Sol decided to abandon the hardware business and rebuild on the site with a luxury hotel which became widely known as the finest in the region.  They added a bar in 1900 obtaining the adjacent property.

The Bullock Hotel in Deadwood, South Dakota 1876

Seth Bullock met with Theodore Roosevelt when he was in Deadwood bringing in a horse thief.  The two became good friends over the years and when Roosevelt was elected president, he appointed Bullock as the first Forest Supervisor of the Black Hills Reserve.  He was appointed U.S. Marshall of South Dakota by Roosevelt in 1905 and continued the office through two more presidencies through 1910.

Almost a decade later, Seth died of cancer in September of 1919 at the age of 70.  He was laid to rest near Mt. Moriah Cemetery which some say has become a very haunted place in itself.  However, Seth had never really left the hotel which became his pride and joy.  

Seth Bullock of Deadwood, South Dakota

The Bullock Hotel still stands to this day and several dozen people over the years have claimed to have seen his ghost with it's steely stare roaming the hallways of the hotel.  Most sightings have occurred on the second and third floors of the hotel, but other strange occurrences have occurred in the restaurant and cellar area of the hotel which is used for meetings and banquets.  Occurrences range from a full body apparition to misty figures being seen in several of the rooms.  Some guests have sworn that someone has tapped them on the shoulder or felt someone brush against them to turn and find nobody actually there.  Other folks have heard whistling and foot steps only to find that there was no one around to have actually made the sounds.  Several times in the hallways, apparitions have been spotted in mirrors, some claimed to have captured them in photographs.

The Bullock Hotel today

There are some poltergeist activities that take place as well.  In the restaurant, dishes have been known to rattle, lights turn themselves on and off, appliances turn on and off at their own accord as well. Glasses and bottles have been known to move in the bar area by some unseen force.  There is an antique clock that stands on display but does not function.  Every now and then it has been known to chime.

A snapshot taken inside The Bullock Hotel showing what many to believe is an image of a man in the right of the mirror

In the cellar of Bullock's Hotel which is known as "Seth's Cellar", near the bar an image of a cowboy has been spotted in the mirror when of course there was no one dressed as a cowboy in the room.  Perhaps this is Seth looking out from the after world to make sure that everything is running smoothly at his pride and joy hotel!