Ghosts in Grand Canyon: Happy Halloween!

Ghosts in Grand Canyon: Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! The Grand Canyon is a place of magnificent beauty. Its scale alone is enough to make visitors sit in awe of this natural wonder. And, like many wild places of natural places of beauty, the Grand Canyon has taken lives. Among those who have lost their lives in the Canyon are early explorers traveling its depths when the river was uncharted, as well as adventurers who just happened to have some bad luck. Often death is accompanied with tales of the dead revisiting the earth plane. In today’s edition of Freaky Friday, we’ll explore some ghost lore of the Canyon.

Deaths in Grand Canyon

According to Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon (1), there had been 550 total deaths since Powell’s first expedition in 1869. Unaccounted for in that number were thousands of years in which the Canyon was occupied by Native peoples prior to Powell’s exploration. 

On your Grand Canyon river trip, your guides will even point out to you the memorials of some who have died along the river. Watch for the inscription near Soap Creek Rapid written by Robert Brewster Stanton marking the place where his companion died: “F.M. Brown was drowned July 10, 1884 opposite this point.” And, keep your eyes to river right after Upset Rapid for a pie plate memorializing Hatch Boatman, Shorty Burton.

Ghosts in Grand Canyon

Two men standing in front of TWA2/UAL718 crash wreckage in Grand Canyon

Some claim to have seen literal ghosts in some of the canyon’s hotels and on some of the trails. One such place is near Crash Canyon where two planes collided and wrecked into Chuar and Temple Buttes in 1956. People claim to have seen some of the 128 crash victims, along with some Native Americans, walking and talking to each other.

Others claim to have seen specters in the various buildings on the rim. In fact, El Tovar boasts the presence of its builder, Fred Harvey, walking around in a coat and black top hat. Nearby is Hopi House, where two poltergeists have been reported. The “Brown Boys” are known for running around Hopi House in the evening, turning off electrically-powered items and throwing things. For more tales of ghosts, ghouls, and UFOs, check out Ghosts of the Grand Canyon: Personal Encounters that Will Have You on the Edge (2).

Honoring the Past

Whether these ghost stories truly indicate the presence of spirits in the Grand Canyon, or are merely the result of imaginations running wild, there are signs everywhere that the canyon has long been occupied. From the petroglyphs along the walls in the Deer Creek Narrows to Ben Beamer’s cabin near the confluence of the Little Colorado River and the Colorado, signs of those who lived in and visited the Canyon long before us are all around. 

A man stands in front of Nankoweap Graneries with view of Colorado River.

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, it’s impossible to ignore the vast history between the canyon walls or remnants of those who have gone before. One of the most phenomenal things about being in the Canyon is knowing you are standing where so many others have stood, admiring what so many others have admired.

(1) Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon, by Michael P. Ghiglieri and Thomas M. Myers; published 2001, updated 2017. (2) Ghosts of the Grand Canyon: Personal Encounters that Will Have You on the Edge Paperback, by Brian-James Martinez and Judy Martinez, 2019.