Updated for 2022!

It’s been forever since I last wrote about the haunted places of Bend, and because it’s Halloween (and inspired by last weekend’s Haunted Heritage Walk by the Historical Museum) it’s high time to tell some ghost stories again!

Deschutes Historical Museum

The Deschutes Historical Museum is located in the Reid School building, which was built in 1914 and was Bend’s first modern school building. During construction, contractor George Brosterhous fell from the third floor and died; people now believe his ghost haunts the building. George has been known to move or take objects, and footsteps may have been heard walking around the third floor after-hours, when the building is otherwise empty. There has possibly even been a misty apparition.

There is apparently another ghost, possibly that of a little girl. From the website Otherworld Travels:

Less is known of the young girl that haunts the museum. She is described as a 10 year old wearing clothing from the 1910s-1920s. It is possible she was a pupil at the school and could have died during the influenza outbreak of 1918. She’s been heard giggling and running through the museum and enjoys hiding documents from staff.

Read more about Otherworld Travels Reid School investigation.

McCann House on Congress

Take a stroll down Congress Avenue downtown and you cannot miss this stately white manor. Thomas McCann, the first general manager for the Shevlin-Hixon mill, had it built as a mansion in 1915. Legend has it several families living there over the years have died or suffered some other tragedy, though the only definitive story (if “definitive” can be used with ghost stories!) comes from the book Ghost Stories of Oregon:

When Sharron Comeau moved in 60 years later, she says the spirits were there to greet her and her family.

Sharron believes the ghost was the mother of a former owner. The woman apparently died in one of the upstairs bedrooms. Although Sharron sensed a presence in the home, it was her daughter Mary who saw the apparition. Mary slept in the bedroom that had been the woman’s. It wasn’t long after moving in that Mary told her family there was something odd in one corner of the room. They discovered it was the corner where the woman’s bed had been.

The ghost, a misty blue-gray shape of a woman with dark hair, appeared often and would pace in front of the bedroom window wringing her hands. She would even sit on Mary’s bed and talk to the teenager.

O’Kane Building

This historic building at the heart of downtown Bend has had a long and varied history. Hugh O’Kane, one of the most colorful businessmen of the time, built it in 1916. (I believe it was the third such building of his, the previous two having burned down.) People have reported seeing “ghostly smoke, weird lights, footsteps, and voices,” and on occasion a ghostly voice has been heard shouting out orders in the restaurant. (Which restaurant? There have been a number over the years.) Furthermore, it’s said that the ghost of an old man haunts the basement.

Downing Hotel Building

The Downing Building was built in 1920 and despite being “the finest building in town and held a 24-hour restaurant, a taxi stand, a clothing store and a hotel,” there was a much seedier reputation attached: that of a brothel. (Seven is located there now, and it’s been host to a number of restaurants and bars over the years.) From an article in The Source five years ago:

Take a walk down the alley between Bond and Wall Streets, behind the Downing Hotel (featuring the Superior Café, later known as The Grove, now Seven) then gaze at the rear-upstairs of the buildings on the Bond side. Above and behind Seven and New York City Sub Shop were at least 20 “cozy rooms” or “cribs.” During renovations along this rear stretch of buildings a few years ago, narrow rooms side-by-side and each no bigger than a closet were “rediscovered,” purposely designed to use space efficiently (a single mattress) and maximize clients, thus profits.

Haunted? Ten years ago in the now-defunct “Bend Living” magazine had an article about haunted Bend that mentioned the former brothel—possibly haunted by the ghost of a woman (I’m guessing a former prostitute).

Lara House

This used to be a bed and breakfast but that business permanently closed at the end of 2020. (The Facebook page is here as of 2022, but may not last forever.)

This craftsman-styled home was originally built in 1910 across from what is now Drake Park. Reports of whispering noises and objects being moved amp up the creep factor, and I’ve heard stories of seeing what appears to be a woman through the window of the top floor—when it’s supposed to be empty.

Old Sparrow Bakery on Scott Street (Old Ironworks building)

Note: The Sparrow Bakery closed its Scott Street location in 2021, which is this building in the picture. The building now houses Café des Chutes, but I’ll still refer to it as the Sparrow Bakery for this post.

A comment on the original 2006 “haunted Bend” post on this blog mentioned the Sparrow: “I went to The Sparrow Bakery on Scott Street the other day and the new owners told me a ghost lives in the “dish room,” which is actually a large, walk-in vault. The building was the old payroll office for Bend Iron Works.” And as reported on the Haunted Places website:

Staff [workers] report hearing loud crashes coming from the rear of the store, but upon investigating, find nothing has been moved. The doors open and close by themselves, and a worker swore she heard ghostly laughter coming from the back room.

McMenamins Old St. Francis School

Though many of the historic McMenamins locations are reputed to be haunted, I’ve not heard anything specific about our local. The Source however reports, “Guests at the hotel have reported hearing children running and laughing upstairs, in the one story building.”

Old Mt. View Hospital

I’ve never quite been able to figure out where this was, though the claim is that it’s now an apartment building next to Drake Park. Bend’s first hospital was built in 1913 and is one possible candidate; named Lumberman’s Hospital, it was originally used expressly for the millworkers. This was built at 930 Broadway, noted as “now Brooks Street” in Pioneer Spirits of Bend. Of course, hospitals have all sorts of haunted history, and at this former one floor creaks and ghostly footprints have been reported.

Happy Halloween!

Sources:

• Shadowlands Haunted Place Index for Oregon
• Haunted Places in Bend, Oregon
• Ghost Stories of Oregon
• The Source Weekly (here and here)
• Pioneer Spirits of Bend
• Otherworld Travels: Reid School
• Bend Magazine: Where to Find the Real Haunted Houses of Bend