In Downtown Salt Lake City, no other street seemingly has as many
hauntings associated with it as 200 South. For Brevity, I'm not
going to list all of the supposed ghosts in each of the various
historical buildings, but I will touch on the 2 most popular,
including one that has had its picture taken.
The first ghosts to note would be residing in one of the taller
hotels along the South side 200 S. on the corner of either West
Temple or State street. Depending on whom you talk to, the stories
can be pinpointed to either the current Hotel Monaco or the Shilo
Inn, though most of the information seems to be related to the
corner closest to Shilo Inn.
According to legend, somewhere between twenty five and thirty
years ago, a family and their children rented a room on the
twelveth floor of the hotel. The woman, for some unknown reason
suddenly determined that her children were possessed by the devil
and that she had to remove the demons from them. Subsequently, she
enlisted her eldest daughter and the two of them heaved each of the
children off the twelveth floor balcony and down unto the pavement
below. Then, the two of them (mother and daughter) both jumped from
the balcony subsequently killing themselves. The good news is that
one child survived the traumatic experience. The sad news is that
upon learning of the family's deaths, the father tore off out of
the parking lot and committed suicide up in one of the local
canyons.
To this day, many hotel guests report hearing strange ghostly
voices on the twelveth floor and in the room that the family had
rented. These voices include children saying "mommy, please don't
make me do it", "crying and sobbing", and "terrifying shrieks". In
addition, it seems that the children's favorite play locations may
be haunted as well - employees have reported hearing laugher in the
area surrounding the pool when no one is in the pool area, and a
pinball machine that seems to play by itself - flippers and
all.
The second ghost of note is located near the famed Capital
Theater. Built in 1912 to host touring vaudeville shows, the
theater is one of the city's most popular still open theaters
today. It currently plays home to Ballet West and the Utah Opera
company and provides many with the fodder for a great evening on
the town.
Most people, however, don't know the darker side of the Capital
Theater. In the 1940's, the theater was undergoing renovation and
remodeling to bring the building up into the modern age so that
movies could be shown there. This building had a live in caretaker
named George, who not only took care of the building, but was an
aspiring actor as well.
One night, for some unknown reason, a fire started in the back
of the theater building. It was a nasty fire, and eventually
engulfed much of the lower seating area and some of the hallways.
While the theater itself was able to be saved, sadly, George
perished inside trying to beat out the fire before the firefighters
arrived.
Even now, theater patrons and workers alike report many strange
things happening in and around the theater. This would include an
elevator that goes up and down, stopping with no one in it, floor
buttons that mysteriously light up, and lots of reports of
malfunctioning equipment. In addition, ghost researchers whom have
been in this building have even taken a picture of what they
'think' is the ghost of George himself -
(special thanks to www.utahghost.org for the above image)
as well as many other unexplained phenomenon. Is the street
haunted? Well.. that's for you to decide.
This is one of a series of spooky Utah geocaches that stem from
urban legends about haunted places. The information contained here
in may or may not be true (or only partially true), and is designed
for thrills and chills. As with all the geocaches in this series,
please stick to normal waking hours to do these (say between 6 am
and 10 pm unless otherwise noted), and please do not disturb those
living/dead nearby. I’m sure you know this already, but
please be discreet. Lastly, have fun - I hope you don’t get
spooked easily!
