There are a few truly great moments in our shared lives that deserve to be celebrated. Holidays spent with friends and family, dinner parties with champagne flowing, and of course, weddings. When you decide to spend the rest of your life with someone, the celebration should be that perfect celebration. What happens when you capture the ghost of a little girl in the background of your wedding photos? What if one of the spirits in your perfect wedding venue likes to play pranks and move items while you’re getting ready for the happiest day of your life? This gorgeous mansion turned wedding venue has all of that fun and more, with spirits serving as silent witnesses to your vows.
The McCune Mansion started in opulence and continues that tradition to this day. Built in 1901 for a cost of one million dollars, the mansion was the most expensive home built in Utah. Today that one million would be equivalent to 33 million dollars, making the grand features in this home more than just impressive, it’s grandiose. The construction spared no expense, with roof tiles imported from the Netherlands, Irish marble, French tapestries and 400 year old oak used throughout the home.
The mansion has been the home of many educational institutions since its construction, once being the home for Brigham Young University’s Salt Lake City operations and its music school in the 1950s. In the 1970s, it was the location for the Virginia Tanner Modern Dance School, the ballroom being used for dance practice and the occasional performance.
The ballroom is the most striking room in the mansion, with giant golden mirrors lining the space, giving it an open feeling. The fixtures are made of expensive marble with alcoves throughout the room. It took months of work from skilled craftsmen to achieve the elegant plans for the room. Today, it’s used most often to house weddings, but in the day it was used for Mr. & Mrs. McCune’s elegant parties. Below the stairs is a musician’s well, a room where the musicians could play and not be seen, with the music being heard throughout the house, like an antique bluetooth speaker.
However, the spirits of the home have a way of making themselves known, even when the space is just being rented out for a wedding or Christmas celebration. The spirit of a young girl is said to be seen all over the house, moving objects from where they were left to completely impractical locations. A bride once experienced her veil disappearing from the makeup desk she was getting ready at, and after searching, it was found in a coat closet at the front of the home. Others have reported that the small girl appears in the background of their wedding photos, usually looking away from the camera. She’s also been seen walking through the mirrors in the ballroom, emerging, looking around, and disappearing again.
The other spirit in the home is believed to be the original owner, Mr. Albert McCune. The gentleman of the house is known to appear walking on the second story near the grand staircase but is most known for flickering Christmas lights during the holiday season. Perhaps he enjoys the holidays with christmas parties and other celebrations taking place in his beloved home.
A beautiful and opulent location for any wedding, the McCune Mansion is open for business for a rental fee for any party or celebration the living wish to celebrate there. Just don’t be surprised if some of your guests are more of the ghostly kind.
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Born in Death Valley and raised on the prairie, Deborah is a Wyoming-based paranormal researcher and University of Wyoming graduate. Her interests lie in folklore, history, symbolic interaction and research. She also researches the paranormal academically and is a graduate student studying sociology.