Explore Wyoming’s Ghost Towns
Buffalo Bill's Irma Hotel, Cody, Wyoming
By Fern Siegel (Posted 10/8/24)
The West is loaded with legends of cowboys, outlaws and wild history. Less known is its ghost towns and haunted places, particularly those in small-town Wyoming.
Consider the Irma Hotel in Cody, Wyoming, opened in 1902 by Buffalo Bill (William Cody) and named for his youngest daughter. Founded as a staging point for sightseers headed for Yellowstone, the Irma’s famous cherrywood bar was a gift from Queen Victoria. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show tryouts were held close by, buffalo roamed the streets and European royals booked it while on hunting treks.
But it’s held special fascination for paranormal fans. It is said the spirits of the 121-year old hotel remain to this day.
Room 35 of the Irma Hotel, known as the Paul Stock room, it is one of the original 15 rooms and famed for its ghostly aura. From the sound of disembodied voices to the bathroom water turning on and off by itself — guests have also reported personal items moved while they slept.
Down the hall in Room 16, guests have reported seeing an apparition of Irma Cody Garlow sitting in a rocking chair. Irma died of influenza in the hotel when she was 35, just a few days after her husband and hotel manager Fred expired.
Employees claim they’ve seen Buffalo Bill wandering the hallways at night or heard the jangle of spurs in the bar after closing time.
Want to meet the friendly ghost of the Irma Hotel? Book Room 35. And if you come in the summer, check out the Cody Stampede Rodeo.
Cowboys, a key part of any rodeo, are part of Wyoming’s haunted past — especially TA Ranch, which is considered one of the most haunted places in the area and a Smithsonian Institute National Historic Landmark. The TA Ranch, still a working cattle ranch, was the site of the Siege of the TA Ranch, which took place from April 11–13, 1892, and was the climax of the Johnson County War. Live reenactors play the characters, some murdered by the invaders, and said to still haunt the property.
TA Ranch also offers homestead accommodations and horseback riding.
Finally, the mining town of Kirwin, along the Wood River near Meeteetse, is now a Western historic site. In its glory days, during the gold and silver boom, 200 residents called it home. Now, it’s an abandoned town. it’s post office long closed.
In the winter of 1907, a massive snowstorm caused an avalanche, taking lives. In the 1930s, the land became part of the Double Dee Guest Ranch. Amelia Earhart and her publisher-husband, George Putnam visited and were building a cabin when Earhart disappeared in 1937 during her around-the-world flight. Though some original buildings remain — an old hotel, small log structures and mining machinery — only the past haunts Kirwin.
Visitors can book a private tour or an ATV for an off-road adventure.