A WYOMING GHOST STORY: MISS KATE

With Halloween stories being conjured left and right I thought I’d share one of the local ghost stories. While not a scary tale, Miss Kate takes her haunting responsibilities seriously. 

Sheridan, Wyoming, nestled snug in the valley of the Bighorns, has its fair share of things that go bump in the night…And I’m not just talking about when the Burlington Northern goes through town at 1:00 in the morning.  Residents and visitors have reported specters of women “of an undesirable nature” roaming the rooms of Hotel Rex, where they used to do a lot moaning for a different reason.  The disgraced son-in-law of Buffalo Bill Cody is said to haunt the Sheridan Inn where he took his life, or it was taken from him as some people speculate.

There is one spirit who found a home at the Sheridan Inn in life and is determined to remain there through the next.  Miss Kate, as she is affectionately known around these parts, is by far the favorite apparition of Sheridan.

Catherine Arnold stepped off the train in Sheridan, Wyoming in 1901. She was a bright eyed twenty-two-year-old from Virginia. Kate walked across the dusty road from the Depot to the Sheridan Inn, once known as the finest hotel between Chicago and San Francisco. Once her feet crossed the threshold of the Inn, it seemed nothing and no one could keep the young lady and the gabled inn apart.

Miss Kate (courtesy of the Sheridan Heritage Society)

Miss Kate was beloved by staff and guests of the hotel. In her sixty-four years at the Inn, she served as seamstress, desk clerk, housekeeper, hostess and babysitter.  She kept a flower garden behind the Inn, which benefited diners at the Inn’s restaurant as they graced the tables. Though she never married, it seems Miss Kate had a crush on a local man. This we found when the Museum I work for took possession of many of the Sheridan Inn’s items and found an old ice cream carton decorated as a gift (to be used as a trash can) for the gentleman. After years of faithful service Miss Kate was forced to leave the Inn in 1965, when developers purchased the Inn with plans to tear it down. Locals saved the Inn and it was purchased and used for dining and dancing.

Front of Sheridan Inn (courtesy of Kirsten Lynn)

Miss Kate passed away in 1968, her one wish to return to the Inn.  It is said, she was cremated and her ashes buried in the wall of the room she occupied.  I can neither confirm, nor deny this part of the story.

Through boom and bust, Miss Kate has remained at the Inn even as it recently sat empty for a many months.  Under new ownership the Inn is being restored to accommodate guests, parties and receptions.

Miss Kate’s presence has been felt on a daily basis. She is known to repeatedly turn the lights off and on and open and shut doors.  Her presence is strong on the third floor, near her room, with cold spots being felt on that floor and throughout the Inn.  One local, reported seeing lights on and curtains open on the third floor, when they drove by at two o’clock in the morning.

As a personal aside:  My first year at the Museum, we were asked to remove all artifacts from the Inn and keep them safe until someone saved the Inn and bought it.  We arrived at the Inn and the director had kindly purchased coffee and doughnuts for us. After we ate, he announced: “Okay, this is how we’re going to dismantle the contents.”  The lights went off.  No one moved, and no one said the name we were all thinking. The lights came back on and we got to work.  We agreed to blame a faulty electrical system.

The Sheridan Inn plays a small role in many of my manuscripts, but not in my ghost story, THE BALLAD OF ANNIE SULLIVAN.  For Hank and Annie’s story, I chose the backdrop of the Bighorn Mountains and a lone cowboy at cow camp. After interviewing local cowboys, who spent some summers alone on the mountains, I started thinking about how that could start playing with a person’s mind…and how they might start imagining things…or not.  And if you’re going to have a crazy story, the Renner clan is the family to choose. So, if you liked RACE TO MARRY, you’ll enjoy catching up with Cal and Josie and meeting Hank, one of the boys they adopted.

Hank Renner enjoys summers and early autumns when he can escape his large family and spend time alone at the cow camp in the Bighorn Mountains. That is, until he starts seeing a beautiful woman with flaming red hair and brown eyes, who disappears as quick as the Wyoming sunshine. Questioning his sanity, Hank begins a search that just might lead him to his heart.

Annie Sullivan wants only one thing more than revenge for a rape and murder that occurred ten years ago…Hank Renner. Haunting the mountain, she’s kept watch over the handsome cowboy. But this year she did something she’s never done before, something that could change everything. She’s let the man see her—and exposed her soul.

Two lonely souls search for the truth that could solve a murder and a love that could resurrect their hearts.

AMAZON

Kirsten Lynn is a Western and Military Historian. She worked six years with a Navy non-profit and continues to contract with the Marine Corps History Division for certain projects. Making her home where her roots were sewn in Wyoming, Kirsten also works as a local historian. She loves to use the history she has learned and add it to a great love story. She writes stories about men of uncommon valor…women with undaunted courage…love of unwavering devotion …and romance with unending sizzle. When she’s not writing, she finds inspiration in day trips through the Bighorn Mountains, binge reading and watching sappy old movies, or sappy new movies. Housework can always wait. 

RE-RUN: GHOSTS, LEGENDS AND LORE BENEATH THE BIGHORNS!

I know it's fall and the new shows are supposed to be on all channels, but I'm afraid I have to play a re-run here at Sweethearts of the West. I'm knee deep in deadlines and that can be scarier than some of the stories in this post.

Hope you'll forgive me and enjoy reading these legends beneath the Bighorns again!!

Wyoming has her share of ghouls, ghosts, legends and lore that’s for sure.  And here at the foot of the Bighorns we’re carving pumpkins and stockin’ up on candy for the little gobblins who will be knockin’ on our doors this Halloween.  So, it’s a good time to share about those haunting voices carried on the Wyoming winds and the bumps in the night that has us pulling our blankets over our heads.

Here in Sheridan there are tales of Miss Kate Arnold still keeping watch over her beloved Sheridan Inn. Miss Kate arrived in Sheridan in the early 1900s and worked and lived at the inn until her death in the 1960s. She loved the Inn so much, she requested her ashes to be buried there and it’s said they were buried the wall of her room.  Miss Kate is joined in her haunts by the son-in-law of Buffalo Bill Cody who took his life at the Inn after a series of business and personal failings. There is some speculation, however, that he didn’t take his life, but it was taken from him.  These are joined by many other tales from beyond from Sheridan to Buffalo and everywhere in between. Today,  I’d like to visit the in between at Lake DeSmet.

Lake DeSmet at sunset

 

Lake DeSmet , named for Father Pierre-Jean DeSmet a Jesuit missionary priest to the Indians in the 1800s. The lake is a beautiful, tranquil lake attracting fishermen and tourists.  Pioneers, however, reported horses and dogs wouldn’t go near the lake and strange noises echoed across the water at night. Hidden under this gem of blue water are legends and secrets best left undisturbed…but we’re going to disturb them. 

The low moans of a heart breaking it’s said belong to a Crow warrior, Little Moon.  His band was camped along the lake, when Little Moon asked his sweetheart, Star Dust, to meet him at the edge of the water once the others went to sleep.  Little Moon arrived at the spot before Star Dust. While he waited a mist hung over the lake and in the mist was the face of a beautiful girl, more beautiful than any girl he had ever seen.  The girl beckoned Little Moon with a smile.

Hypnotized by the water enchantress, Little Moon viciously pushed Star Dust aside when she arrived and tried to put her arms around him.  He turned back to the face in the mist to see it gone.

Star Dust cast herself into the water when repulsed by her lover. The next morning Star Dust’s body was found drowned by the red bluff north of the lake. Her father demanded revenge against Little Moon. The men of the band bound Little Moon to the rock and left him there to watch for his mysterious maiden. 

Now, when the wind moans over the lake it’s said to be the faithless lover caller; the howls of a disloyal sweetheart. His spirit destined to wander around the shore looking for his maiden.

Another legend is that of one of the first Indian bands to camp near the lake.  They tried to use the water for drinking and cooking, but found it to be bitter. Nothing in the area explained why the water would be bitter, so they believed its bitterness to be due to the presence of an evil spirit.

That night, terrifying sounds echoed around them and suddenly the lake was infested by great hordes of sea gulls.  Throughout the night they soared and cried and swarmed.  At dawn the gulls disbanded and disappeared. 

But the worst was yet to come. After breakfast the champion swimmer among the tribe ran to the lake’s edge, gave a happy whoop and plunged into the water. As the others watched he turned and opened his mouth as if to scream, his eyes widened in horror and he was sucked below the surface.  They circled the lake, not daring to enter the water, but after a time when all was lost, they grabbed their belongings and fled the lake in terror.

Local ranchers and early pioneers reported a monster appearing the mist and rising above the waters.  Smetty, because every water monster needs a truly terrifying name, is a legendary creature thought to dwell in the subterranean caverns of Lake DeSmet. These caverns are speculated to be a faraway outlet from the Pacific Ocean.

Those who have seen Smetty report a monster 30 to 40 feet long with bony ridges along the back. His head is said to resemble that of a horse and rises from the water in a swimming motion.  Others report a large alligator like creature and still others compare Smetty to the legendary Nessie of Loch Ness fame. 

One rancher, whose home was near the lake, rose early and went into the fields. He heard a strange noise coming from the lake and turned to see a huge sea serpent rise from the lake. It stayed only a second and then disappeared.  His description of Smetty approached more of a dinosaur than any other. 

Does a monster lurk under the waters of the lake? And does a Crow warrior still wail for his lost love? Well, guess you’ll just have to pitch a tent by the lake and find out for yourself.  (I’d bring a fishing pole with ya cause chances are better of catchin’ a trout)  

Just in time to join the other ghost stories in the area is the release of THE BALLAD OF ANNIE SULLIVAN. I had such fun bringing this ghost story to life. I fell in love with Hank and Annie and hope readers will, too.  

Hank Renner enjoys summers and early autumns when he can escape his large family and spend time alone at the cow camp in the Bighorn Mountains. That is, until he starts seeing a beautiful woman with flaming red hair and brown eyes, who disappears as quick as the Wyoming sunshine. Questioning his sanity, Hank begins a search that just might lead him to his heart.

Annie Sullivan wants only one thing more than revenge for a rape and murder that occurred ten years ago…Hank Renner. Haunting the mountain, she’s kept watch over the handsome cowboy. But this year she did something she’s never done before, something that could change everything. She’s let the man see her—and exposed her soul.

Two lonely souls search for the truth that could solve a murder and a love that could resurrect their hearts.

BUY AMAZON 

BUY BARNES & NOBLE 

Kirsten Lynn writes stories based on the people and history of the West, more specifically those who live and love in Wyoming and Montana. Using her MA in Naval History, Kirsten, weaves her love of the West and the military together in many of her stories, merging these two halves of her heart. When she's not roping, riding and rabble-rousing with the cowboys and cowgirls who reside in her endless imagination, Kirsten works as a professional historian.