Yellowstone has a long, rich history. Some of it beautiful, some of it sad. But beyond the rugged mountains, rolling landscapes, and mysterious geysers is a place that sparks the imagination. The wild landscape is so unique that, honestly, I’m a little surprised there aren’t even more legends and stories surrounding it.
When researching Yellowstone, I expected tales of everything from bigfoot, to time travel, to otherworldly portals. However, I didn’t come across any stories of time travel and very few reports of sasquatch.[1] One mountain man did suggest that Hell itself may have been very close to parts of that land.[2] But, on the whole, I expected more folktales to come out of the area. However, I was still able to find a few interesting pieces of fact and folklore.
Native Americans in Yellowstone
Yellowstone has long been an important part of the culture of local Native Americans, including the Apsáalooke (or the Crow), the Shoshone, the Kiowa, and about two dozen more indigenous tribes.[3] This land is deeply tied into their spiritual beliefs and cultures.[4] However, many of these stories are closed to their specific communities, and even if not, most aren’t written down as these stories are passed down through oral tradition. Therefore, they won’t play much into what I will be talking about today.
However, one Yellowstone myth that we can address was the idea that the indigenous people were afraid of the area and so avoided it. This was entirely false.[5] When Yellowstone was turned into a national park, Native tribes were almost entirely expelled.[6] That is about when these rumors began.
Rather, Yellowstone was a place for local tribes to fish, hunt, and gather food, as well as an area to find other natural resources, including the obsidian that was used to craft tools and arrowheads.[7] The Tukudika (AKA Sheepeaters), a mountain-dwelling branch of the Shoshone, used the geothermal waters to soak sheep horn and form them into durable hunting bows.[8] The thermal waters were also used in medical treatments and religious ceremonies.[9] Today, members of affiliate tribes are once again allowed into the park free of charge to participate in traditional practices, though with restrictions.[10] I’d highly recommend that you look into the history of Native Americans in Yellowstone.
Tall Tales
Yellowstone is an uncanny place. Pools of water in vibrant, unearthly colors alongside bubbling, acidic mud pits that can burn off your skin create a rather unbelievable landscape. It’s not hard to understand why American settlers often thought the mountain man stories of Yellowstone were exaggerated nonsense.[11]
Jim Bridger, an early explorer and mountain man was known to tell strange stories about the area, alongside the true and accurate descriptions.[12] After all of his tall tales, many people doubted Yellowstone was more than a story. For instance, he would talk about a “mountain of clear glass” that worked as a telescope, making deer that were miles away seem nearby.[13] He also spoke of a cool lake with a layer of boiling hot water on top where he could both catch and cook his fish as he pulled them in.[14] These stories all had an element of truth (obsidian cliff, hot springs), but were wildly exaggerated.
One of Bridger’s most famous tales was of a petrified forests where he claimed that a “Crow Medicine man” had cursed the area, causing all of the birds, plants, and animals to transform into living stone. According to Bridger, even gravity itself was petrified which he claimed he proved to himself by trotting his horse over the edge of the cliff and walking on the open canyon air.[15] Here in the stone forest “petrified birds sang petrified songs.”[16] Even the moon and sun shone petrified light.[17]
In another story, he claimed that an ice-cold spring at the top of a high mountain rushed down the summit so quickly and with such friction that it became a boiling hot stream by the time it reached the bottom.[18]
There may be no friction-heated waterfall, but on my own visit to Yellowstone, I did spot boiling water from a nearby hot spring streaming down into a river near the Grand Prismatic Spring. And Yellowstone is home to many petrified trees and forests, so not all of Bridger’s tales are born from nothing.[19]
Natural Mysteries
Even knowing about the scientific reasons for Yellowstone’s unique features, it can still come across as uncanny. You’ll be driving along a forested road and suddenly smell sulfur and see a plume of steam shooting out of the ground. On cool days, fog billows in large clouds across the top of geothermal features like ghosts moving across the waters.
These all have well-documented scientific explanations. However, there is one natural mystery in Yellowstone that scientists have yet to fully explain. During the winter, when Yellowstone lake freezes over, a buzzing sound sometimes described as wailing or singing sound sometimes emerges from the waters.[20]
From recordings, it sounds a bit like howling wind over the mouth of a bottle or wind moving through the trees. Pops and cracks accompany a kind of wailing sound.[21] On the whole, it’s a bit spooky. What causes the phenomenon is still uncertain. But theories suggest it might be the sounds that occur when moving water underneath the surfaces causes cracks in the expanding ice.[22] And yet, the sound of lake music has only been reported at Yellowstone and nearby Shoshone lakes.[23]
Whatever the reason, this lake singing is enough to inspire haunting tales. This is why some people blame ghosts and spirits on the strange sound.[24] Some claim the song comes from the ghosts of Native Americans passed on, while others say that it is the wailing of the drowned victims of the freezing cold waters.[25]
Yellowstone also has a few species associated with superstition and creepy stories, for instance it is home to 50 different kinds of bats.[26] Personally, I find that awesome instead of creepy. And there are also ravens everywhere throughout the park (here’s looking at you, Mr. Poe!).[27] But if you’ve ever been walking by yourself on a snowy day and heard that croaking of a raven, you know that sound alone is enough to send chills down your spine.
Reports of Ghosts
The steam and fog and the creepy calls of ravens aren’t the only spooky apparitions of Yellowstone. For several years, there have been reports of ghosts at the various hotels throughout the park.
The Old Faithful Inn has its own set of haunting stories. One couple staying in Room 2 purportedly had an uneasy night’s sleep when the wife asked her husband if she could see the woman in late Victorian dress floating at the end of the bed.[28] She was so frightened, she left fingernail marks in her husband’s shoulder.[29]
Hotel employees have reported seeing other strange things. One worker remembers witnessing the fire extinguishers in the hallway turning on their sides before righting themselves.[30] Another haunting tale says that a bellman witnessed a door opening and closing by itself.[31]
But perhaps the most famous haunting story of Yellowstone is that of the Headless Bride. George Bornemann, former assistant manager of the Old Faithful complex told how, one night when the inn was almost completely empty, he kept hearing running feet past his doorway. When he went to investigate, he saw a ghostly woman in what appeared to be a wedding dress on the balcony, carrying her head.[32]
He said that he began to research the site and came across a murder that happened in 1915 that might explain the tale. [33]
The story goes that in 1915 a former New York heiress and her new husband arrived at the famous Yellowstone destination for their honeymoon. Her husband, a former servant in her father’s household, was older by her than several years and the girl’s father disapproved of the match. Hoping to dissuade her, he told the couple that if they were to go through with the marriage, she would be completely cut off and must agree to leave New York. The only support he would ever give the union was the substantial dowry she would receive as a wedding gift. Determined, she married anyway and she and her new husband traveled to Yellowstone.[34]
However, the girl’s new husband was not a kind and loving man. Through gambling and excess, he spent all of their money within a month. After an intense argument heard by hotel staff, the husband stormed out of the hotel and never returned. A few days later, when the staff went to check on her, they found the bride dead in the bathtub, missing her head. Eventually, the head was located. It had been tossed in the crow’s next of the hotel, the location where the band would play.[35] Ever since, there have been reports of the ghostly bride coming down from the balcony, carrying her severed head.
The only problem with this ghost story?
There was no such murder.
Bornemann made up the story in 1983 to give people a little thrill and a scare. However, the sound of footsteps running down the hall? That part, he says, is real and what inspired him to create the tale in the first place.[36]
And yet, people have reported seeing the ghost bride, or at least something very similar. A waitress at the inn named Gretchen May told of her own ghostly encounter as she witnessed a woman in a frilly white dress for just a moment before she disappeared.[37] Whatever the explanation for these stories, the legends persevere.
Whether you prefer natural phenomena, the tales of mountain men or more modern ghost stories, Yellowstone is rich in mystery, ancient culture, and natural beauty. It is a place well-worth exploring, in life and in the imagination.
[1] U.S. Department of the Interior. (n.d.). Unexplained and unreported phenomenon in Yellowstone. National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/yell/blogs/unexplained-and-unreported-phenomenon-in-yellowstone.htm
[2] Trapper’s Tales: Early stories from Yellowstone. (2025, August 28). Distinctly Montana. https://www.distinctlymontana.com/trappers-tales-early-stories-yellowstone
[3] Historic Tribes – Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service). (n.d.). https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/historic-tribes.htm
[4] Community 7 Television. (2023, June 23). High noon: “The History of Indigenous People in Yellowstone National Park” [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGQ7nIWRJqg
[5] Debunking the myth, fear of Yellowstone (U.S. National Park Service). (n.d.). https://www.nps.gov/articles/archeology-debunkingthemyth-fear-of-yellowstone.htm
[6] Indian Removal from Yellowstone National Park | Intermountain Histories. (n.d.). Intermountain Histories. https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/344
[7] Indian Removal from Yellowstone National Park | Intermountain Histories. (n.d.). Intermountain Histories. https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/344
[8] Historic Tribes – Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service). (n.d.-b). https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/historic-tribes.htm
[9] Historic Tribes – Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service). (n.d.-c). https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/historic-tribes.htm
[10]Indian Removal from Yellowstone National Park | Intermountain Histories. (n.d.-b). Intermountain Histories. https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/344
[11] Jim Bridger: Yellowstone’s Spinner of Tall Tales. (n.d.). USGS. https://www.usgs.gov/news/jim-bridger-yellowstones-spinner-tall-tales
[12]Trapper’s Tales: Early stories from Yellowstone. (2025b, August 28). Distinctly Montana. http://distinctlymontana.com/trappers-tales-early-stories-yellowstone
[13] Jim Bridger: Yellowstone’s Spinner of Tall Tales. (n.d.-b). USGS. https://www.usgs.gov/news/jim-bridger-yellowstones-spinner-tall-tales
[14] Jim Bridger: Yellowstone’s Spinner of Tall Tales. (n.d.-b). USGS. https://www.usgs.gov/news/jim-bridger-yellowstones-spinner-tall-tales
[15] Jim Bridger’s Tall Tales. (2019, October 3). True West Magazine. https://www.truewestmagazine.com/article/jim-bridgers-tall-tales/#:~:text=Bridger%20claimed%20a%20great%20medicine%20man%20of,a%20mountain%20causing%20everything%20to%20become%20petrified.
[16] Jim Bridger: Yellowstone’s Spinner of Tall Tales. (n.d.-c). USGS. https://www.usgs.gov/news/jim-bridger-yellowstones-spinner-tall-tales
[17] Trapper’s Tales: Early stories from Yellowstone. (2025c, August 28). Distinctly Montana. https://www.distinctlymontana.com/trappers-tales-early-stories-yellowstone
[18] Trapper’s Tales: Early stories from Yellowstone. (2025c, August 28). Distinctly Montana. https://www.distinctlymontana.com/trappers-tales-early-stories-yellowstone
[19] The underappreciated fossil riches of Yellowstone. (2022, April 25). USGS. https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/underappreciated-fossil-riches-yellowstone#:~:text=Studies%20performed%20at%20these%20stands,in%20the%20Eocene%20in%20Yellowstone!
[20] Fitzgerald, E. (2024, October 1). Winter Song: When Yellowstone Lake Sings. Yellowstone Forever. https://www.yellowstone.org/winter-song/
[21] Sound Library – Singing Lake – Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service). (n.d.). https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/sounds-singinglake.htm#:~:text=Listen%20to%20the%20rare%2C%20wintertime%20song%20of,to%20changing%20temperatures.%20Raw%20audio:%20no%20commentary.
[22] Social, Y., & Social, Y. (2023, September 25). Sounds of Yellowstone. Yellowstone National Park Lodges. https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/connect/yellowstone-hot-spot/sounds-of-yellowstone/
[23]Unexplained and unreported phenomenon in Yellowstone – Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service). (n.d.). https://www.nps.gov/yell/blogs/unexplained-and-unreported-phenomenon-in-yellowstone.htm
[24] Staff. (2020, October 21). Mysterious Sounds like Whispers on Lake Yellowstone. Yellowstone National Park Trips. https://www.yellowstonepark.com/things-to-do/natural-wonders/yellowstone-mysterious-lake-music/?__hstc=121325079.839d5c3dd51d6deee395fa20adacfc39.1605312000267.1605312000268.1605312000269.1&__hssc=121325079.1.1605312000270&__hsfp=1481149013&scope=anon
[25] Paranormal Reporter. (2011, October 9). Mysterious whispers of Yellowstone Lake [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0ekyY067Rw
[26] Fitzgerald, E. (2025, September 11). Frightening phenomena in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone Forever. https://www.yellowstone.org/frightening-phenomena-in-yellowstone-national-park/
[27] Spot, Y. H., & Spot, Y. H. (2023, November 1). 10 animals you may (or may not) see in Yellowstone. Yellowstone National Park Lodges. https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/connect/yellowstone-hot-spot/ten-animals-you-may-or-may-not-see-in-yellowstone/
[28] Staff. (2013, October 31). Ghosts of Yellowstone. Yellowstone National Park Trips. https://www.yellowstonepark.com/park/history/ghosts-of-yellowstone/?scope=anon
[29] Spot, Y. H., & Spot, Y. H. (2025, September 26). Ghost Stories from Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone National Park Lodges. https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/connect/yellowstone-hot-spot/ghost-stories-from-yellowstone-national-park/
[30] National Parks Traveler. (2009, October 29). The Ghosts Of Yellowstone National Park. https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2009/10/ghosts-yellowstone-national-park4734
[31] Deseret News. (2024, January 27). GHOST STORIES GIVE OLD FAITHFUL INN a HAUNTING REPUTATION. Deseret News. https://www.deseret.com/1991/7/4/18929144/ghost-stories-give-old-faithful-inn-a-haunting-reputation/
[32]Deseret News. (2024, January 27). GHOST STORIES GIVE OLD FAITHFUL INN a HAUNTING REPUTATION. Deseret News. https://www.deseret.com/1991/7/4/18929144/ghost-stories-give-old-faithful-inn-a-haunting-reputation/
[33] Staff. (2013a, September 27). Headless Bride Ghost of Old Faithful Inn. Yellowstone National Park Trips. https://www.yellowstonepark.com/park/history/yellowstone-old-faithful-inn-ghost/
[34] Spot, Y. H., & Spot, Y. H. (2025b, September 26). Ghost Stories from Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone National Park Lodges. https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/connect/yellowstone-hot-spot/ghost-stories-from-yellowstone-national-park/
[35] Spot, Y. H., & Spot, Y. H. (2025c, September 26). Ghost Stories from Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone National Park Lodges. https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/connect/yellowstone-hot-spot/ghost-stories-from-yellowstone-national-park/
[36] Staff. (2013b, September 27). Headless Bride Ghost of Old Faithful Inn. Yellowstone National Park Trips. https://www.yellowstonepark.com/park/history/yellowstone-old-faithful-inn-ghost/
[37] Deseret News. (2024b, January 27). GHOST STORIES GIVE OLD FAITHFUL INN a HAUNTING REPUTATION. Deseret News. https://www.deseret.com/1991/7/4/18929144/ghost-stories-give-old-faithful-inn-a-haunting-reputation/