Questions from readers: Are there any ghosts in Skagway?

Every day at blog headquarters, we get a large bag of mail from interested readers. Many of them are planning a trip to Skagway and have questions. Lots of questions. One of the most common questions from readers, other than inquiring about our elevation, is whether we have any ghosts haunting our quaint Alaska town. Boy howdy, do we ever!

Gold Rush Cemetery – Don’t worry, Ghosts are far too busy adjusting thermostats and flushing toilets to stay put in their grave.

A tragic history perfect for ghost-making

During the Klondike Gold Rush, Skagway was a rough and violent place where gold was far more valuable than human life. Bullets could zing through the air at any time of day or night. Suicide was rampant among the many failed gold seekers who couldn’t return home to face their loved ones. Diseases like scurvy took the lives of many, and other succumbed to exposure from the horrible freezing winds of the north.

It is well known that when someone dies in some tragic way, their spirit is trapped between this world and the next. Even as spirits, they cling to their mortal coil and come in contact with the living when they least expect it. If you like ghost stories, you’re going to love Skagway.

Mary – The most famous Skagway ghost

Back during the Gold Rush, a woman named Mary was staying at the Golden North Hotel when her husband departed for the Klondike. She said she would wait until he returned the following spring, and wait she did. When he didn’t return, she started to worry. Eventually, her worry took root in her bones and she developed tuberculosis and died a miserable death. Just before she took her last breath, Mary managed to pull herself up from her bed and crawl to the second story window, gazing out toward the north for her long-lost husband until she finally collapsed.

The next day her husband showed up with another woman. Mary’s ghost became resentful and angry. Many have seen her specter gazing out of the Golden North’s window shaking her fist at her no-good cheating husband. Housekeepers at the hotel claim that she likes to haunt the rooms of married couples, where she puts the toilet seat all the way up so that the husbands get blamed. Has the world ever known such evil?

Brownie – The ghost of the Red Onion

Many people who visit the Red Onion saloon say they’ve encountered a presence for which there is no explanation. Sometimes when they walk by the bathroom, the toilet will flush unexpectedly and they then smell the horrible stench of a long-dead miner. Some say his name is Brownie. Others say he has no name. Whatever you believe, just stay away from the bathrooms when you hear that eerie flushing sound, or you may be greeted by Brownie’s wicked smell.

The untold truth – Ghosts are everywhere

Skagway is full of ghosts. If you talk to any local, they will regale you with their own ghost story. Some say that the Eagles Lodge is haunted by an evil spirit that makes random noises for no reason. There are those that believe the Moore Cabin is haunted by an evil gnome with long black hair. Still, others say that the grocery store is haunted by a terrible demon that possesses the avocados, which is why they seem ripe but when you cut into them they are black and disgusting.

BEWARE THE EVIL AVOCADO!

In truth, the only place you won’t see ghosts in Skagway is the graveyard, because the spirits are too busy haunting everywhere else.

Just remember, when you visit Skagway make sure to tip your servers and tour guides or one of our more sinister ghosts just may follow you home! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ha