Is this portrait inside an old Montana Brothel one of a ghost?
Given our rough and tumble history as a state, Montana has no shortage of ghost stories. From Virginia City to Billings, from Fort Peck to Dillon, you will find chilling tales of haunted houses, disembodied voices and even full-on apparitions. But there's one place in Montana that seems to have a more sinister reputation than the others, one with a laundry list of sightings, encounters and just an overall bad vibe. Perhaps it has to do with the sinister origins of the building itself.
Butte's Dumas Brothel was built in 1890 as a house of prostitution and its architecture reflects the trade. The rooms on the main floor are reminiscent of a series of storefronts, each one with its own door and window, for obvious reasons. The upstairs is more luxurious, with bigger rooms and furnishings, but the basement is where the "cribs" are located which are smaller and dirtier. All give off an ominous vibe.
The Dumas was built in the heart of a thriving red-light district that was two full blocks in size. Although the size of the district decreased as the mines closed and the city grew smaller, the Dumas operated openly until 1982. And in the 92 years the Dumas ran, there were many violent crimes and even deaths that took place within her walls. Do these events live on in time? Is the Dumas haunted? Many say yes. Some claim to have photographic evidence. But there is one picture inside the Dumas that may be the most chilling of them all, and it's not even a photograph.
There is an unfinished portrait sitting in one of the old parlor rooms. It is the only work that came out a session where a local artist was working. The face, they say, is the only thing that she could create, and it chilled her enough to leave the building entirely and the portrait still sits in its early stages.
Is it a portrait of one of the victims of the Dumas from beyond the grave? Is it coincidence? Whatever it may be, it's one of the many mysteries that live on in Butte's Dumas Brothel.
Butte's Ghost Signs Part 1
Gallery Credit: Gallery Credit: Tommy O/Townsquare Media
"Ghost Signs" of Uptown Butte Part 2
Gallery Credit: Gallery Credit: Tommy O/Townsquare Media
Food and Restaurants you will only find in Butte, MT Part 2
Gallery Credit: Gallery Credit: Tommy O/Townsquare Media