For those who truly love to be terrified, Deer Lodge is the best Halloween town in Montana. Home of the Old Montana Prison, here you can spend the night at the prison while hunting for ghosts. It’s a truly spooktacular event for those who dare!
Deer Lodge is located in western Montana. Just about a thirty-minute drive from Butte, and an hour’s drive from Missoula and Helena, this city is an awesome place to visit during Halloween.
Deer Lodge is best known as being home to the Montana State Prison. The current campus is 3.5 miles west of the city, but the former prison site can be found at the south end of Main Street and is now the Old Montana Prison Museum.
The old prison was built in 1871 and until Montana became a certified state in 1889, it was known as the Montana Territorial Prison. There were frequent escape attempts during the prison’s history, but with sandstone walls surrounding the building at 24 feet high and 4 feet below ground, getting out was difficult.
Prison life was incredibly harsh. The prison was severely overcrowded, the facilities were inadequate, and government funding was limited. The old prison was closed in 1979 and is now officially a museum.
What makes Deer Lodge special at Halloween time are some of the events held at the prison. For people who absolutely love ghost hunts, you will love the Halloween overnight ghost tours here.
Brave visitors are permitted entry into the prison from 9:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. Paranormal investigation equipment is provided, so visitors can see if any of the old inmates or murdered prison guards still haunt the building.