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Urban Legends in America: Part 2, Some From Alaska

Motherlode Lodge

Originally built as the Little Susitna Roadhouse in 1942 to serve the traffic traveling to the Independence Mine and between Palmer and Willow, the Motherlode Lodge was rebuilt in 1968, borough property records show. It was later expanded in 1983 to include 14 guest rooms, dining and meeting rooms, and even a day lodge. Since its’ opening, there had been hundreds of reported strange sightings, ranging from figures being seen behind people in mirrors, a cloud black apparition wandering the grounds, even noises have been heard and curtains mysteriously opened and closed in the night. In 2015, it burned to the ground, having been under repairs and renovations due to vandalism. It was not being used for quite some time.

Urban Legends in America: Part 2, Some From Alaska

The Historic Anchorage Hotel

In an effort to curb rampant crime in Anchorage in the early 1920s, the town’s newly formed city council officially created a police department in December 1920. The council then sifted through many applications, and settled on John “Jack” Sturgus as its first chief of police. He was killed near the Historic Anchorage Hotel in downtown Anchorage. People have spotted his specter of the haunting the halls of the hotel searching for his murderer. Other guests have reported seeing the apparition of a young girl walking the second floor hall. The televisions in room 217 and 215 turn on and off on their own. Faucets in the rooms’ sink and tub run on their own, despite regular checks by plumbers.

There also the spirit of the woman who hung herself while still wearing her wedding dress. It is believed she was heartbroken when her groom failed to show up on their wedding day. Guests have also reported seeing pictures fly off walls and various faces and figures appearing in the hotel’s halls. Hotel employees are bothered by these ghosts so regularly that they have to keep a diary to log all the activity.

Urban Legends in America: Part 2, Some From Alaska

Igloo City Hotel

Igloo City in Cantwell, Alaska, is the strangest kind of tourist attraction. First, it’s in a remote region of one of the most remote states in the United States. But second, and more surprisingly, it’s an attraction that never even opened for business. Intended to one day serve as a hotel, Igloo City in Cantwell, Alaska, was never completed. This was one man's dream but the original builder got old and had to sell. The new owner kept the gas station/store going and was working on plans to finish it and bring it up to code (windows are to small). The whole place was powered by a generator on site. When fuel prices went over $4 a gallon the tourist traffic dropped which meant less business for the gas station/store. They had to close because it was too expensive to run the generator with no business. They haven't torn it down because they would still like to finish the project.

The four-story concrete structure can be seen by airplanes at 30,000 feet as it is so large. But the interior was never finished. We know this because the igloo is no longer padlocked as it once was - with so many parts starting to fall apart, it’s impossible to keep curious passersby from wandering in to explore - and many have made their way inside.

As if the hotel wasn't already creepy enough there have been reports of a woman in white standing at the windows of this abandoned hotel and lights being flicked on and off, late at night.

Urban Legends in America: Part 2, Some From Alaska

Tonsina River Lodge

The Tonsina River Lodge is a rambling, shambling, gravel-covered spread, with weather beaten buildings. The historic hotel is an orange, three story Army barracks with a red tin roof. It once was a brothel. The lodge is at the end of an airplane runway. The lodge sits in the foothills of several towering, snow-capped mountain ranges, next to a stream. In 2006, the flooding from the stream took out the two-lane concrete bridge that crosses the stream. The ghost here is called “Charlie,” and he’s been seen for years and years by both staff and visitors alike. Though most seem to agree he’s a playful sort, no one can really seem to agree on the story behind “Charlie”. Some say he was shot by the police and died in room #18. Others say he hanged himself there after being rejected by a loved one. Still others say he died peacefully (again, in room #18) and loved the place so much he just refused to leave in the afterlife.

Urban Legends in America: Part 2, Some From Alaska

Inlet Tower Hotel and Suites

Built in 1953 and last renovated in 2005, this fourteen story hotel is located seven blocks from the downtown area, half mile from the train station.

If you ever stay at the Inlet Tower Hotel and Suites in Anchorage be sure to keep an eye out for a man walking off of the elevator and through the main entrance that looks like a ghost. Reports of this male apparition and the ghost of a little girl roaming the hallways laughing have also been made by many visitors. One particular visitor, an elderly lady stayed at room 313.She claims that at 2:30 a.m. a gentleman asked her to wake up as he needed to talk to her. He left an impression on the bed. His insisted that he needed her advice. She asked him to leave and he went.

Urban Legends in America: Part 2, Some From Alaska
Urban Legends in America: Part 2, Some From Alaska
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