10 Real Haunted Places in Alaska: The History Behind Each Legend (2026 Guide)

Alaska's isolation, brutal winters, and Gold Rush-era boomtowns left behind a smaller but stranger collection of haunted sites than the Lower 48. Many of the state's ghost stories are tied to real tragedies — shipwrecks, epidemics, mining deaths, and one of the worst earthquakes in North American history. Here are 10 Alaska locations where documented history and hedged local legend intersect.

Quick answer if you're short on time: The Alaskan Hotel & Bar in Juneau and the Red Onion Saloon in Skagway are both still open to the public and lean into their haunted reputations with tours and events; the Historic Anchorage Hotel is bookable for an overnight stay.

1. The Alaskan Hotel & Bar (Juneau)

The Alaskan Hotel opened on September 16, 1913, making it the oldest continuously operating hotel in Alaska. Built during the height of the regional gold rush, the Victorian-style building originally operated as a hotel and bordello, later serving stints as a speakeasy, and was at one point condemned before being restored. It remains a working hotel and bar in downtown Juneau today.

Locals say the spirit of a woman named Alice, who reportedly died in what is now Room 219, appears in a flowing gown with arms outstretched and has been seen sitting on beds or reflected in mirrors throughout the building. Guests describe a cold, damp air settling into the room just before she appears.

Can you visit: Yes — it operates as a hotel and bar open to the public.

2. Golden North Hotel (Skagway)

Built during the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush, the Golden North Hotel was for decades one of Skagway's most recognizable landmarks, its golden dome visible from the town's main street. The hotel closed to overnight guests in 2002, though the building and its sign remain standing. Local historians have noted that hotel owners promoted the ghost story to drum up business as early as the late 1960s.

Locals say a young woman named Mary, who came to Skagway with her prospector fiancé and died alone in what is now Room 23 while waiting for his return, still haunts the room. Visitors passing the building report a cold, choking sensation and glimpses of white fabric moving past darkened windows.

Can you visit: Partially — the building still stands in Skagway's historic district but is closed to overnight guests.

3. Red Onion Saloon (Skagway)

The Red Onion Saloon was built in 1898 at the peak of the Klondike Gold Rush and operated as one of Skagway's most well-known bordellos, with ten upstairs “cribs” serving prospectors passing through town. It closed as a brothel within two years as the gold rush moved on to Nome, and the building has since served as a dance hall, army barracks, bakery, and television station before reopening as a saloon and museum.

Locals say the ghost of a madam named Lydia still tends to the upstairs rooms, her presence marked by a strong scent of perfume and sudden cold spots. Staff also describe a second spirit, a madam nicknamed “Diamond Lil,” said to place a hand on male guests' legs, and a foul-smelling, more aggressive presence nicknamed “John.”

Can you visit: Yes — it operates as a saloon and museum with historical tours.

4. Jesse Lee Home for Children (Seward)

Founded in 1890 by the Women's Home Missionary Society, the Jesse Lee Home relocated to Seward in 1925 and housed more than 70 children, many orphaned by a flu epidemic. Alaska's state flag, designed by 13-year-old resident Benny Benson, was first raised there in 1927. The devastating 1964 earthquake heavily damaged the building and reportedly killed several children, and the home relocated to Anchorage afterward. The Seward structure was largely demolished in 2020.

Locals say the sound of children giggling and a jump rope tapping on pavement can still be heard on the empty grounds, though no living child is ever found nearby.

Can you visit: No — the building was demolished in 2020; only the site and planned memorial remain.

5. Fourth Avenue Theatre (Anchorage)

Built between 1941 and 1947 by Alaska businessman Cap Lathrop and designed by noted theater architect B. Marcus Priteca, the Fourth Avenue Theatre was Anchorage's premier movie house, seating 960 people. It survived the 1964 earthquake largely intact and served as a landmark for decades before closing in the 1980s. The theater was ultimately demolished in late 2022 after years of preservation debate.

Locals say the ghost of Cap Lathrop himself lingered in the building, along with a woman in mid-century dress reportedly seen in a mirrored corridor near the old restrooms. Visitors described cold spots and shadowy movement in the balcony and projection booth in the years before demolition.

Can you visit: No — the theater was demolished in 2022.

6. Portlock Ghost Town (Kenai Peninsula)

Portlock was a cannery town on the southern Kenai Peninsula, roughly 16 miles south of Seldovia, active in the early 20th century. Its post office closed in 1950 after the last residents left, and the town's decline is generally attributed to shifting economics and the construction of the Alaska highway system bypassing the area. It remains accessible only by boat or floatplane.

Locals say the town was abandoned because of a Bigfoot-like creature known as Nantiinaq, said to have destroyed fishing equipment and stalked cannery workers around 1905. Researchers note this specific legend appears to have emerged decades later, in the 2000s, well after the town's actual, more mundane decline.

Can you visit: Partially — the ghost town's remains are accessible by boat or floatplane, but there is no road access.

7. Historic Anchorage Hotel (Anchorage)

Opened in the early 20th century and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Historic Anchorage Hotel is the city's only historic hotel still in operation. On February 20, 1921, Anchorage's first police chief, John “Black Jack” Sturgus, was found fatally shot near the hotel in a killing that was never solved.

Locals say Sturgus's ghost returns to the site each year, and staff maintain a guest log of reported encounters, including moving curtains and objects shifting on their own. A separate legend describes a bride who died by suicide in her room after being left at the altar, said to appear in a flowing white dress near the hotel's mirrors.

Can you visit: Yes — it operates as a hotel open to the public.

8. Kenai Cemetery (Kenai)

Kenai Cemetery, located near 1st Avenue and Coral Street, serves as one of the oldest burial grounds on the Kenai Peninsula, reflecting the area's Russian colonial and gold-mining past. Local lore holds that laborers brought in during the region's gold-mining period were killed rather than fed once the mines ran dry, and buried in unmarked graves outside the cemetery's main plots — a claim that is part of oral tradition rather than a documented historical record.

Locals say a heavyset woman named Marie and a caretaker-like spirit named Arthur are both seen at night tending the graves. Visitors have reported unexplained figures appearing in photographs taken at the site, particularly near the older, unmarked section.

Can you visit: Yes — it's a public cemetery, though visitors should be respectful of it as an active burial ground.

9. Igloo City Hotel (Cantwell)

Built in the late 1970s by Missouri developer Leon Smith, Igloo City was intended as a novelty roadside hotel shaped like a giant igloo along the George Parks Highway. It never opened as a hotel because the four-story concrete structure failed to meet building codes, and after briefly functioning as a gas station stop, it was fully abandoned by the 2000s.

Locals say strange lights are seen glowing from inside the empty structure at night, and drivers passing on the highway report the shape of a woman in white standing in one of the upper windows.

Can you visit: No — the building is private property and entry is prohibited, though it's visible from the highway.

10. Baranov Museum / Kodiak History Museum (Kodiak)

Built between 1805 and 1808 by the Russian-American Company, the building that now houses the Kodiak History Museum (known as the Baranov Museum until 2019) is the oldest of four surviving Russian-era structures in Alaska. The Erskine family lived in the house for roughly 30 years beginning in 1911. In 1886, when the building served as an Alaska Commercial Company station, a man named McIntyre was killed inside; a skeleton and the suspected murder weapon were later recovered in the surrounding woods.

Locals say McIntyre's ghost still haunts the back rooms of the museum, and staff describe unexplained footsteps and cold drafts in that section after closing.

Can you visit: Yes — it operates as a public museum.