With old frontier outposts, abandoned mines, and forgotten ghost towns, it’s no surprise that North Dakota is home to many historic haunted spaces. One of the spookiest places is the Totten Trail Historic Inn, which served as quarters for army officers and later as a reeducation school for indigenous children. Known as an active paranormal hotspot, Totten Trail Inn has the kind of history to back up its eerie reputation. Would you dare to book a night’s stay at the historic haunted inn?
The History
Two years after the Civil War, as white settlers continued to push into the American West, the U. S. Army established Fort Totten in 1867 to conduct peacekeeping activities on the frontier.
During the second half of the nineteenth century, the fort served as housing for military officers and their families. At the fort, soldiers guarded roads that ran through the reservation. An expedition setting out to survey Canada and the United States territories also met at the fort. By 1890, wars on the frontier saw Native Americans herded onto reservation land. A dark history followed as the Indian Boarding School opened in the old fort to educate local children from 1890 to 1960. Many Indian boarding schools existed to strip indigenous children of their language, culture, and tribal identity while recreating them with white education, culture, and values. Between 1935 and 1939, the boarding school turned into a tuberculosis sanatorium to treat children who fell ill or showed signs of succumbing to the deadly disease. This quarantine prevented tuberculosis from spreading. But native children did not have the same immunity when exposed to foreign germs by soldiers or teachers. Many children died at the fort. After the boarding school closed, the old frontier fort turned into a historic landmark site. It later became a charming inn.
The Haunting
Many years after the boarding school shut down, whispers remain about the dead native children who died there. Before the current renovations took place, a couple also died together under unspecified circumstances in the house. According to visitors, something strange is happening at Totten Trail Inn. Spooky shadows flit in and out of the corner of your eye. Objects shift by themselves. Doors open and shut on their own when there’s no hand or breeze to close them. Some people have even reported seeing full-length ghostly figures that seem to emanate angry energy. Even in each beautiful, themed guest room, you can’t escape the feeling that someone is watching you. Ghosts of dead children flitter through the grounds, creaking across wooden floors, or staring out of windows. Sometimes, if you listen, according to local folklore, you can hear the babbling sound of a child laughing.
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