History re-lives itself at Mining Museum

This archived article was written by: Kris Kohler

Earthbound spirits may be reliving their final moments at the mining and railroad museum in historic downtown Helper, Utah.
The age old question of whether or not ghosts exist doesn’t seem to be a question at all to the museum staff and two separate groups of paranormal investigators who claim to have evidence proving that death may not be the end for human kind after all.
According to SueAnn Martell, director of the museum, one group of professional investigators found the historic building to be so full of paranormal activity that they are planning a second investigation. The group has plans on surveying several other reportedly active sites, including the bowling alley and cemetery in the small Carbon County town.
“We hear and see things in here all the time,” said Martell. “There have been at least seven documented deaths that have occurred in the building, some of which were murders and suicides. I know that there are definitely some lost souls still hanging around. I think that along with the ghosts of the people that actually died here, there are also ghosts that seem to have attached themselves to their worldly possessions, thus making the museum their home when we inherit their belongings.”
According to a group of CEU students and Carbon County residents that recently braved a night locked inside the haunt, everyone agreed they were definitely not alone.
“We heard a baby crying somewhere on the second floor and I saw what appeared to be a man dressed in a suit with white hair just standing there looking down at us from the third floor,” said Image Miller, a member of the group, “The museum is definitely haunted, we heard some really weird things all night and the temperature seemed to keep changing from warm to freezing cold in a split second.”
The museum building has been around since 1835 and through the years has served as a restaurant, a hotel and is rumored to have been a brothel during Helper’s infamous prohibition scene.
“There was a woman that used to be a cook here back when the building served as a restaurant. She was murdered by her husband who supposedly found a love letter addressed to his wife from a man in Colorado. We don’t know what her name is but she has a habit of cooking breakfast in the morning. It is quite usual to smell bacon, eggs and coffee when we open up the doors in the morning,” Martell said. “On the third floor we often see a ghost known to us as the cleaning lady. She is have had many reports of her stepping out of one of the rooms at the top of the stairs, stopping for a moment to wave and then walking out of sight and vanishing.”
The museum offers haunted tours around Halloween or by request, however according to Martell, residents can catch a glimpse of one of the museum’s many ghosts by simply taking a walk through during regular business hours.
According to citizens, Carbon County is rumored to have several haunted locations, most of which are fairly accessible.
If curiosity ever manages to get the best of you and you decide to visit one of these so called haunted places, Utah Ghost Research & Investigations recommend that you bring a camera, compass, camcorder, voice recorder and a lot of patiences, in order to possibly see a ghost.
There are currently no scientific institutions that are are devoted to investigating the reality of the paranormal and there are virtually no university courses on ghost research as well as no credible academic textbook on the topic. However, those who try to investigate the phenomena are likely to be housewives, police officers or college students working on their own nickel with no support from any institution.
“This type of do-it-yourself investigation is what has made the situation fun,” said Martel. “We have our own little haunted museum. And there are many other locations locally where you can have a good time looking for a haunted experience.”