This Popular South Dakota Tourist Spot Makes ‘Most Haunted’ List

America's National Parks are a real treat, but depending on where you're enjoying the great outdoors at one of the 429 scenic spots around the country, there may be some tricks thrown in there as well, even if it isn't Halloween.

The Travel has been going over all of the reported paranormal encounters at some of the most popular destinations in the National Parks system, chronicling everything from visits from dead presidents, and tales of mysterious falling objects, to the unexplained vanishing of boaters and hikers.

Olga Subach via Unsplash

One of South Dakota's two National Parks has landed on the spooky list.

According to The Travel, Badlands National Park is the third most haunted park in America.

They claim the area, which Native Americans dubbed 'bad land', is rife with ghost sightings and strange noises.

'Towering structures like Dog Watch Butte have a particularly bad reputation, with hikers reporting ghostly sightings and blood-curdling screams along the trails. The Native Americans believed their ancestors still resided in the area, protecting the land from all who dared enter, including their own descendants.'

Along with Dog Watch Butte, the site also points to Stronghold Table as the site of numerous paranormal encounters. The area is located near Cuny and Galigo Tables. It was the site of the last known Ghost Dance. There are no roads to the site and it is accessible only by foot.

Get our free mobile app

MOST HAUNTED NATIONAL PARKS IN AMERICA (The Travel)

Everglades National Park, Florida: Murder Victims, Lost Boaters
Big Bend National Park, Texas: Native American Apparitions, Falling Objects
Badlands National Park, South Dakota: Native American Apparitions, Murder Victims
Yosemite National Park, California: Ghost of John F. Kennedy, Deceased Hikers
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina/Tennessee: The Lost Father, Floating Orbs

Haunted Locations and Scary Legends Around Sioux Falls

Halloween is steeped in scary traditions. Trick-or-Treating, frightening costumes, local actors in "haunted" houses, and the pitch-black darkness of area corn mazes.

However, if we set out to find the real haunted areas what would we find? Over the last 30 years that I have lived in Sioux Falls, a few locations still gain attention as being haunted.

And yes, a handful of thrill-seeking people will show up on our favorite eerie night for what could be a viral video moment or experience a misty phantom first-hand.

Let's take a little tour of the more famous hauntings around Sioux Falls. Turn on the lights and cue the Cowardly Lion: "I do believe in spooks, I do believe in spooks..."

Gallery Credit: Danny V

BOO: These are the scariest haunted roads in America

Brace yourself for the next turn. Way.com breaks down the most haunted roadways in America.

Gallery Credit: Stacker

LOOK: 25 reportedly haunted places across America

Stacker has assembled 25 haunted places across America—from hotels and theaters to murder scenes and cemeteries—based on reported ghost sightings and haunted histories.

Gallery Credit: Stacker

Filed Under: Badlands National Park, South Dakota, Travel

Categories: Articles, News, Newsletter KYBB, South Dakota