A haunted house in Salt Lake City? McCune Mansion

By Steven Symes

Located kitty corner from the LDS Conference Center, McCune Mansion is a structure noticed by many for its breathtaking architectural beauty. Most, however, do not know the name of the building nor anything about its history or the ghostly activities alleged to have occurred inside.

McCune Mansion was built on Capitol Hill in 1901. It was one of the first great mansions built in Utah. Alfred McCune made his fortune in the railroad business, later expanding into other industries domestically as well as internationally. Alfred and his wife Elizabeth fell in love with a house they saw while in New York City, and had a replica built in Utah. The finest materials for the home were imported from all over the world, including red roof tiles from Holland and Russian leather to cover the walls of some rooms. The McCunes moved from the home in 1920 and moved to Los Angeles. They donated the property to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who used it as the McCune School of Music and later as the Brigham Young University Salt Lake City Center. Since then it has been used as a dance studio and today as a venue for wedding receptions and other events. Over the years there have been reports of strange events taking place in the mansion. Common occurrences include cold spots (a possible indication of entities being present), doors that were locked being mysteriously unlocked, doors that have no locking mechanism being “locked” to the point nobody can open them, and lights flickering or turn on and off repeatedly. Some have even reported seeing full-body apparitions in the home, usually of a young girl in the ballroom or a grown man in a black cape in various areas of the home. One of the entities that inhabits the house has a habit of rearranging things. It has been reported that setups for wedding receptions or other events have been rearranged or even moved into another room after the home has been left vacant for several hours or overnight. One owner of the house reported observing on several occasions lights in the house turning on and off as they drove down the street. Ghosts or none, the house is a unique place to host any special event. Location: 200 North Main Street, Salt Lake City Phone: 801-531-8866