During October, the Union Station hosts Paranormal Tours, inviting paranormal investigating groups to conduct ghost tours.
The Ogden Union Station has a rich history, and thousands of people have walked through the doors over the last 147 years. The station has also seen its share of tragedy, including murders, suicides, bodies brought back from war and the 1944 Bagley train incident. Some say that the ghosts of these victims still wander the halls of the Union Station today.
“We go through each section and give the historical background, and then we will also talk to them about the paranormal experiences that we have had there,” said Nick Berg, a historical researcher, while giving a run-down of the tour.
Allie Jones, historical researcher and paranormal investigator, has uncovered tragic events that have occurred at the station. In 1913, 10-year-old Frances Williams was shipped to the Union Station in luggage after she was killed by her mother. It is believed that she still roams the Union Station.
Other incidents include the station burning down in 1923 and the Browning Theater being transformed into a makeshift morgue to hold the bodies of those that died in the Bagley train wreck of 1944.
Most of the investigators use voice recorders to pick up activity from the tours. They record the tour, and when they play it back later, they are able to pick up electronic voice phenomena. EVPs exhibit voices or sounds that weren’t audible while recording but are detectable when the audio is played back.
Many have had paranormal experiences in the Browning Theater. The PI Team of Utah allegedly has an EVP of a little girl in the theater saying “sit, sit.” They aren’t certain if this is Frances or not as it can be difficult to know exactly who or what researchers are interacting with.
Nick tells about an experience when he got an EVP of a woman screaming while he was with his group in the Browning Theater. Although he couldn’t hear anything while he was on the tour, he could hear a distinct scream on the recording.
Robin Westover, the owner of Haunted Ogden, shared her experiences with a ghost named Sarah in the ballroom. She believes that Sarah is about 18 years old, and the theory is that Sarah died in a car accident on her way to a friend’s wedding at the Union Station. This year, three different people felt Sarah dancing with them after they began to play music and dance in the ballroom.
These are only a few of the ghost stories that are told about the Union Station. The Paranormal Tours will return to Ogden Union Station next October.
