Salt Lake City is the capital of Utah. It is the most populous municipality in the area and has a lot of mountains and desert lakes. It also has unusual rock formations and amazing snow.

Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. (Link: https://www.skicity.com/plan-your-trip/neighborhoods/salt-lake-city/downtown/)

Another tourist spot that people look forward to visiting is the Alfred McCune Home. It is reportedly haunted by the spirit of a girl.

The stairs leading up to the Alfred McCune Home. (Link: https://cityhomecollective.com/community/blog/place-worship-mccune-mansion)

The History Of Alfred McCune Home

The Alfred McCune Home is a mansion located on Capitol Hill in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was built by Alfred W. McCune, who was born in Calcutta, India. His family transferred to Utah later.

He became successful after he contracted to build portions of the Utah Southern Railroad. Because of his success, he had many businesses in different parts of Utah and even in Montana, British Columbia, and South America. He even ran for the Senate in 1899 but did not get majority of the votes. He once again tried to be part of the Senate but was defeated by Thomas Kearns.

An undated photo of Alfred McCune. (Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_W._McCune)

By 1900, he built the Alfred McCune Home together with his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth, who later became his wife.  Alfred wanted his home to be extravagant so it could testify to his wealth and success. He even paid for a two-year tour of the United States and Europe for his architect S.C. Dallas so the latter could see more of the designs and techniques of different homes. When Dallas came back, they chose to go with a Gothic revival plan fused with East Asian designs. The Alfred McCune Home actually looked a lot like the home he and his wife saw while they were driving in New York City.

An old photo of the Alfred McCune Home. (Link: https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/UT-01-035-0040)

As for the interior and the decoration of the home, Alfred asked for mahogany to be shipped from San Domingo, white-grained mahogany from South Africa, red roof from the Netherlands, oak from England, and even a mirror wall from Germany. The fireplaces were made of Nubian marble and the exterior was built with red Utah sandstone.

One of the fire places at the Alfred McCune Home. (Link: https://www.pinterest.ph/mccunemansion/mccune-mansion-photos/)

The home was finally completed in 1901. Alfred spent a total of a million dollars to finish the home. The home has 21 rooms and is three floors high.

The McCunes lived in the Alfred McCune Home until 1920. They then moved to Los Angeles and donated the home to their church. The home was supposedly to be used as the official residence for their church president but the president during that time, Heber J. Grant, did not like to live there so they decided to turn the home into a Music School. It was known as the McCune School of Music until 1957. By 1973, the church sold the home to Salt Lake City residents who wanted to turn the home into a cultural center.

Later, the Alfred McCune Home became the home of the Virginia Tanner Modern Dance School where ballroom lessons were held. Later, it became privately-owned and has been frequently used as a wedding reception and a place for other events.

One of the rooms at the Alfred McCune Home. (Link: https://www.pinterest.ph/mccunemansion/mccune-mansion-photos/)

During the Salt Lake City Tornado, the Alfred McCune Home suffered from damages. Philip McCarthey then bought the building and restored it. The restoration was completed in November of 2001.

Today, people can visit the Alfred McCune Home but they have to call in two weeks before the tour to get a reservation.

The Ghosts At The Alfred McCune Home

There are reportedly a lot of entities that live here but there are two prominent ones.

The first ever manifestation took place when the Alfred McCune Home was transformed into the music school. Accordingly, organ music and other types of music were heard coming from the mansion when no one else was there.

Others claimed that they heard voices throughout the mansion although it was empty. Some have also seen the doors opening and closing without anyone doing it. Doors, which were locked, were later found to be unlocked and vice versa.

During the time the McCarthey family was in the mansion, they were celebrating an extended family Christmas. The lights of the ballroom reportedly turned on many times even if none of them turned it on. Later, they electrician came and told them that there was a light switch to the ballroom located two floors down. None of the McCarthey family knew about that so it was impossible that one of them played with the lights during their stay.

The ballroom at the Alfred McCune Home. (Link: https://www.pinterest.ph/mccunemansion/mccune-mansion-photos/)

Another apparition appeared before a member of the McCarthey family. According to the son of Philip, he saw a man in a black cape and watched that entity disappear. The same man is said to be appear to other visitors whenever they are alone in a room. This entity is believed to be of Alfred.

The other entity that is frequently seen at the Alfred McCune Home is that of a girl believed to be around 10 years old. She reportedly resembles the portrait of a girl that still hangs on the wall of the mansion to this day. The little girl could be seen wearing a gown and walks into and out of the mirror that hangs on the West wall of the first floor of the Alfred McCune Home. She reportedly sometimes leave her foot prints around several rooms and could be seen in many weddings and receptions that take place in the Alfred McCune Home. She also is said to be playful because she reorganizes the items that are prearranged before an event. Her reorganization is very obvious because she allegedly does it in unique ways.

Two people who went to visit the Alfred McCune Home wrote in their blog that when they went to the mansion even without going inside, they felt cold spots around it. Also, they saw that the spirits who reside there often play with the lights.

A former dance class student of Virginia Tanner also shared her experience. She revealed, “I remember the room where we changed into our huge flannel nightgowns was always very cold. I was on the top floor in a very small space. My friend Tamra and I were getting ready to change into our street clothes when a girl walked into the room and they just disappeared. There was a filmy shadowy cast in the room. We were scared and left wearing our night gowns. We told our moms, but I don’t think we ever said anything to Virginia. I’ve lost track of my friend, but I will never forget that experience.”