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Podcast Episode Overview
Ghostly holiday parties, dancing desert lights, and a low‑tide cave with a mind of its own. Ready to let curiosity win for one spooky night?
In this episode, we cover:
- Halloween traditions in and around the parks!
- El Tovar at Grand Canyon and the friendly specter of Fred Harvey
- Big Bend by night, unexplained lights, and why it can feel like the loneliest park in the lower 48
- Acadia’s Devil’s Oven sea cave, low tide, and why the NPS wants you to give it space
Your task for today: We hope we’ve convinced you that there’s a lot more to our national parks than meets the eye! Head over to the @DirtInMyShoes Facebook or Instagram pages and let us know what you think. What’s your favorite spooky story from a national park?
Planning your own spooky adventures?
- Dirt In My Shoes National Parks Itineraries: https://shop.dirtinmyshoes.com/
- Master Reservation List: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/list/
- National Park Checklist: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/national-parks-checklist/
- Trip Packing List: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/pack/
Haunted National Park Stories
Halloween is one of our favorite times of year to talk about the national parks, especially when we can dive into stories that are spooky, mysterious, and just a little bit otherworldly.
This is Volume 3 of our Haunted National Parks series, and if you haven’t listened to Volume 1 and Volume 2 yet, we definitely recommend checking them out after this episode! Whether you believe in the supernatural or not, these stories have a way of sparking curiosity and making you think twice the next time you hear a rustle in the trees or feel a sudden chill in the lodge hallway.
Our first story takes us to the Grand Canyon and the historic El Tovar Hotel. Whitney, a hotel manager, starts noticing strange guest interactions that all seem to point back to one man – a gentleman in period dress who greets people at the front entrance, tells them about a holiday party, and even shows up in photos that come out completely blank. As she tries to piece together what’s happening, all signs point to Fred Harvey, the hospitality pioneer who helped design El Tovar but died before it opened. He’s not a scary ghost, just a helpful one, but his presence definitely leaves a mark.
From there, we head to Big Bend National Park in Texas. A father-son road trip to photograph sunsets and stars turns eerie when they find themselves completely alone on the trail at Rio Grande Village. At first, the silence is peaceful, until it becomes absolute. The wildlife goes quiet, the air stills, and then lights start dancing in the sky. What happens next is intense and hard to explain, with their vehicle shutting down, a strange encounter on the road, and a narrow escape. Whether it’s connected to the nearby Marfa Lights or something else entirely, Big Bend has a reputation for being one of the loneliest—and most mystifying—parks in the lower 48.
Our last story takes place in Acadia National Park, at a hidden sea cave once called the Devil’s Oven. This cave is only accessible at low tide, and for good reason. It’s dangerous! But that doesn’t stop a group of teenagers from trying to lower a phone into the cave to see what they can record. What starts out as an innocent Halloween adventure quickly turns serious when one of them decides to go down into the cave himself. As the tide rises and strange drumming fills the air, the group is forced to pull him back up in a desperate race against time, and whatever else might be in the cave with him.
All three stories are based on real locations and real reports from park visitors and employees. While we can’t confirm what’s fact and what’s fiction, we can say this: the national parks are full of stories, and sometimes the wildest ones happen after dark!
Links mentioned in this podcast episode:
- Haunted Stories Vol. 1 Podcast Episode
- Haunted Stories Vol. 2 Podcast Episode
- Shenandoah National Park Official Website
- Halloween at Jellystone Park
- Grand Canyon National Park Official Website
- El Tovar Hotel
- Fred Harvey history along the Santa Fe and Route 66 corridor
- Big Bend National Park Official Website
- Marfa Lights
- Acadia National Park Official Website
- Devil’s Oven Cave
- Tidepooling in Acadia
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Connect with Ash and John
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Hello Ash,
My wife Cathy and I are looking to visit the Tetons next year and are wondering when the best time to go would be without the big summer crowds, and when we should start with the reservation process. We would like it still warm enough to be outside.
We would be looking for rv camping and boon docking is no problem but would prefer a nice campground with space between the sites so we’re not listening to someone’s conversation and looking directly into their campsite.
We have been. To Yellowstone several times but have never spent much time in the Tetons. So we would enjoy kayaking, hiking and relaxing.
Any help you could provide would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeff & Cathy Hall.
Check out my extensive guide to Grand Teton here: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/grand-teton-national-park/ You’ll find an article about what to expect each month, and another for all the campgrounds. There is also one about the best things to do in the park. And, sign up for the Master Reservation List to get all the important dates for reservations! https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/#free