The Friendly Ghosts of the Irma Hotel

The Irma was never an anonymous hotel that happened to become old.

William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody built it as Cody was developing into a gateway for travelers heading toward Yellowstone National Park. He named the property for his daughter Irma and kept rooms there himself when he returned from touring with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West.

The hotel opened in 1902 and remains on Sheridan Avenue today. According to some believers, tourists and locals aren’t the only ones observing all the fun at the hotel. The Irma Hotel, they say, is home to a couple of friendly ghosts who float through the halls, hang out in a few of the rooms, make mischief in the dining room, and float in and out of a photograph on the dining room wall.

Who are the Friendly Ghosts of Irma Hotel?

The Soldier Said to Haunt Room 35

Room 35 has earned one of the Irma’s spookier reputations.

Guests and employees have reported seeing a figure dressed in a cavalry uniform and carrying a sword. Some accounts identify him as a former Confederate soldier. Stranger still, witnesses have said that only the lower half of the apparition appears.

The room has produced other stories, too. Faucets reportedly turn on and off on their own, belongings have ended up somewhere other than where guests left them, and artwork has been found on the floor under circumstances that aren’t easy to explain.

Maybe Room 35 simply has plumbing issues and particularly adventurous wall art.

Or maybe not.

Irma Cody Garlow And Room 16

Of all the Irma’s reported ghosts, Irma Cody Garlow has the closest connection to the hotel.

Buffalo Bill named the property for his daughter, and guests have reported seeing a woman matching Irma’s description in Room 16, often near a rocking chair.

Irma and her husband, Fred Garlow, were closely tied to the hotel, and Fred managed the property for a time. During the influenza pandemic of 1918, the couple died only days apart. Irma was 35.

Hotel lore has long treated her presence as a friendly one. If the stories are true, it seems the Irma’s namesake still likes to keep an eye on the place.

Ghostly Figure in the Lobby Photo

Some Irma stories don’t involve footsteps, doors, or late-night sightings.

One long-running tale centers on an old photograph displayed inside the hotel. Visitors have reported noticing a shadowy figure associated with the image, turning an otherwise ordinary historic photograph into one of the Irma’s more unusual mysteries.

We won’t tell you what you’re supposed to see.

Take a look and make up your own mind.

Possibly Buffalo Bill Himself

Possibly the least surprising name on the Irma’s ghost list is Buffalo Bill himself.

Employees and visitors have reported seeing a figure believed to be Cody wandering the hotel’s hallways and appearing near the bar. One story even involves the unmistakable jingle of spurs when nobody else was around.

If Buffalo Bill were going to haunt anywhere in Cody, his own hotel seems like a reasonable choice.

Especially if he gets to stay near that bar.

Other Hauntings of the Irma Hotel

Not every strange encounter at the Irma comes with a famous name.

Servers and other employees have reported seeing people seated in dining-room booths, only to find the table empty when they return to take an order or serve the guest.

The hallway near the Colonel Cody Suite has generated its share of stories as well. Guests have reported footsteps moving through the corridor late at night, followed by an empty hallway when they open the door to investigate. Unexplained knocking has also been loud enough to wake people from their sleep.

Paranormal investigators have spent time at the Irma over the years, too, adding another chapter to the hotel’s reputation for unexplained activity.

More Than a Haunted Hotel

The ghost stories are fun. The real reason the Irma holds our attention is that the history underneath them is genuine.

Buffalo Bill built this hotel. His family lived and worked here. The bar, the rooms, and the stories connect directly to the people who helped shape Cody in its earliest years.

And more than a century later, the place is still doing what it was built to do.

You can walk in from Sheridan Avenue, have a meal, see Buffalo Bill’s famous bar, and book a room upstairs. You may hear footsteps after dark. You may sleep straight through the night.

Either way, you’ll have stayed in one of Cody’s most storied buildings.

You don’t need to believe in ghosts to appreciate the Irma Hotel. Its connection to Buffalo Bill and the early days of Cody gives the building enough stories before anything unexplained enters the picture.

Still, more than a century of reported footsteps, apparitions, mysterious noises, and disappearing diners does make an overnight stay a little more interesting.

Learn more about the Irma Hotel and see what you make of the stories yourself.

Then request your Cody Yellowstone travel guide and start planning your trip.

And if you happen to get Room 35, keep track of where you leave your stuff.