Distinctly Montana Magazine

PHOTO COURTESY OF FRIENDS OF GHOSTS Friends of Ghosts (F.O.G.) of Seattle captured orbs above Russ Wells' knee, in the ceiling directly over- head, and on the wall to the right in Room 2 at the Bonanza Inn. Not all encounters at the Bonanza Inn are comforting. In the summer of 1975, the Bo- nanza Inn housed the production crew film- ing The Missouri Breaks with Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. The occupant in Room 1 was ill and declined dinner in Ennis. As he dozed alone in the building, a loud knocking jolted him awake. He flung open the door to find no one there. Then behind him came a sharp knock at the window. He whirled around, pulled up the shade: no one was there. Then at the door, at the window, at the door—he gathered his belongings and thereafter slept in his car. After this terrifying incident, Room 1 at the Bonanza Inn sat locked and unused for 20 years. In 1997, the State of Montana acquired the building and readied its eight rooms for housing state workers and others. Fear paralyzed one of the first overnight guests in Room 1. She awak- ened to see a male figure looming at the foot of her bed, staring at her, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and duster. She watched as he faded away. Some years later, another guest in Room 1 felt someone watching her through the window. She drew back the curtain to find a figure looking in at her. He wore a wide-brimmed hat and a duster. During renovations to the building, another worker staying at the Bonanza spent a scary, sleepless night as something under his bed plucked at the bedsprings. Around this time, removal of old lathe and plaster ex- posed a Civil War belt buckle someone — perhaps a dying patient — had carefully hidden. Could this belong to the man in the duster? I stayed in Room 7 in the summer of 2000. Coming out of the steamy bathroom after a shower, a strong unpleasant odor hit me, like that of the geriatric ward where I worked as a candy striper in high school. The cloying smell lingered then dissipated. Another guest in Room 7 awakened to the sound of water splashing, as in a bowl. Later she discovered that the sisters used basins for washing wounds and bath- ing patients. High style Idaho Street residences were once home to Virginia City's prominent elite. The caring entity seems to especially favor Room 2 where one guest reported unseen hands pulling up her covers, and tucking them around her. Profes- sional paranormal investiga- tors came to the same con- clusion in 2008. Investigator Russ Wells had seriously injured his knee. He sat in Room 2 and asked the sisters to help him heal. Sooth- ing warmth flooded through his knee. As this occurred, a digital photo captured a large orb over Russ's head. Later, Russ and another investigator both heard footsteps outside Rooms 1 and 2. And that same evening, an EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) captured a female voice on a digital recorder saying "....help you?" DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL Scare up more Virginia City ghosts Go to www.distinctlymontana.com/ghosts114 My own recent experience adds to the growing inventory of stories. The August afternoon was intensely hot and the silence profound as I lay down to rest in Room 2, thinking about my lecture that evening. I had the Bonanza Inn all to myself. At first the sounds were so soft I didn't notice. Then I could hear the small female footsteps in sturdy shoes at the far end of the hallway. She came closer, paus- ing midway down the hall. I clearly heard a key turn in a lock. The door clicked open and softly closed. I heard a few bumps and clunks, and then more footsteps behind the closed door. Slowly they grew faint and then faded away. Did Sister Irene pay me a visit, or was it someone else? Ellen Baumler is the interpretive historian at the Montana Historical Society in Helena. Her books weaving history with the supernatural include Montana Chillers, Spirit Tailings, and Beyond Spirit Tailings, were honored with an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History. www.distinctlymontana.com 71

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