Ghost stories!

Ira Wesley Kitmacher

I mentioned in my last column Thurston County is said to be haunted! I talked about Olympia’s Sylvester Park as the endpoint of the northernmost spur of the Oregon Trail and its accompanying ghost stories.

I have discovered, researched, written and spoken about the area’s many reportedly haunted apartment buildings, former jails, government buildings, hospitals, hotels, houses, restaurants, theaters and others. Here, I will talk about a few of these local haunted legends.  

The town of Bucoda, population 615, is known as Washington’s “Halloween Town,” using its reportedly haunted past to market itself each Halloween as “Boo-coda.” Its former name was Seatco, an Indigenous word meaning either “Devil’s Place” or “Haunted Place.”

Its current name is derived from the names of its three founders: Buckley, Coulter and David.  A 2011 paranormal investigation of the town’s 1939 gymnasium, used as a haunted house during the town’s Halloween events, found ghostly orbs present (balls of light, said to be one form apparitions take).

It also found the ghost of a little girl that interacted with workmen, and the spirit of “Abby the Doll,” said to interact and influence people who visit. The town was the site of an infamous territorial penitentiary, from 1874 to 1888. It was called “Hell on Earth” by its prisoners.

The prison, the Washington’s Territory’s first, had the reputation of being particularly harsh, with brutality, leg irons, poor living conditions, starvation, twelve-hour workdays, tainted food, and denial of access by clergy. Newspapers exposed the mistreatment, with an 1884 Puget Sound Herald investigation finding a mass, unmarked grave for prisoners at Tenino’s Forest Grove Cemetery.

Seatco Territorial Penitentiary was closed and its prisoners transferred to the new Walla Walla Penitentiary. The original Seatco Penitentiary building burned down in 1907, but there is a commemorative stone marking the site. Translucent (semitransparent) spirits wearing prisoner clothing and walking the ground, as well as disembodied voices have been reported near the Skookumchuck River, which is by the former penitentiary.  

Seatco Territorial Prison guards.

Washington State Historical Society

Lacey’s Hawks Prairie section was the site of the J.A. Denn dynamite factory. Denn’s dynamite was used for demolition, logging, mining, and stump clearing. For safety, the factory consisting of eight main buildings on 10 acres was surrounded by barbed wire to keep trespassers out.

On June 27, 1934, the factory suffered two massive explosions, destroying six of the eight buildings. The blasts knocked the clock off the office wall (one of the few buildings not destroyed), stopping at 3:56 p.m. The explosions were heard as far away as Tacoma. The cause of the explosions has never been definitively determined, primarily due to the destruction.

Eleven people died and seven were injured due to the explosions. One of the employees killed was 37-year-old Hazel Eppley, who worked in the cartridge packing plant. Legend has it her poltergeist (a German word meaning “noisy ghost,” thought to be the type of apparition that can hurt the living) has been haunting the area. One of the Travel Channel’s “Dead Files” program’s episodes focuses on the blast and the haunting of Hazel Eppley. Other urban legends describe how the confused spirits of others killed in the blast have been seen wandering the area. 

Courtesy Photo

 I count at least 27 sites in the city of Olympia with associated ghost stories. Several of Olympia’s government-related buildings are said to be haunted. The old state capitol building, currently home to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, was originally built as the Thurston County Courthouse in 1892. Its nickname is “The Castle,” based on its original grand design.

A disastrous Sept. 8, 1928, fire gutted the building and destroyed the 150-foot, eight-sided clock tower (it was said Olympia residents set their clocks using the tower’s eight clocks). The building was again heavily damaged in the disastrous April 13, 1949, 7.1 earthquake that killed eight and injured dozens of people. Legend has it the building is haunted, with the security system triggered repeatedly but no trespassers found. Further, there are reports of disembodied footsteps, voices and movements.

A tourgoer on one of the Olympia history and folklore tours I lead said she had worked in the building and had experienced many of these ghostly happenings, especially in the basement. The current legislative building (domed Capitol building) was completed in 1928. Six workers were horribly killed during its construction. A 2015 paranormal investigation reported disembodied voices, said to repeat the investigators’ names.

Finally, the Governor’s Mansion, completed in 1908, is said to be home to the ghost of a young boy, dressed in an old-fashioned, blue sailor’s uniform, riding an antique tricycle or bouncing a ball down the hallways!      

The old state capitol building.

Washington State Digital Archives

Our area has no shortage of ghost stories! As we approach Halloween, keep an eye open for things not easily explained! 

 Ira Wesley Kitmacher is an Olympia-based historian and author, writing “Haunted Puget Sound,” “Pacific Northwest Legends and Lore” and other published books. He leads tours based on his books. Ira is a speaker at various public venues. He is featured on television, radio, and other media. Ira is a Commissioner on the Thurston County Historic Commission. He is a professor, having taught at Georgetown University and other colleges. Ira is a retired senior federal executive and attorney.