There’s a supposedly haunted hotel in Salt Lake City where guests claim to hear the footsteps, cries, and screams of children. Whether it’s urban legend or a truly haunted place, one thing is for sure: there was a real tragedy here in 1978, and it was absolutely horrific.
The story starts with a religious cult.
krisanapong detraphiphat/Moment Collection via Getty Images Charles Bruce Longo, a member and returned missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was excommunicated, along with several of his friends in 1969. He believed he was God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, and so did his followers. He took the name Immanuel David, and his followers called themselves Family of David.
On July 31st, after finding out that the FBI was about to indict him for wire fraud, Immanuel David drove his truck into a canyon, hooked a hose up to the tail pipe, and committed suicide by carbon-monoxide poisoning.
gyro/iStock via Getty Images One of Immanuel’s followers had already been convicted for wire fraud after bilking innocent citizens out of money by claiming that his daughter was sick in the hospital and needed money for treatment.
Immanuel, Rachel, and their seven children, ranging in age from 5 to 15, had been living on the 11th floor of the International Dunes Hotel for more than a year.
Robert Cutts/flickr The children were home-schooled from their hotel suite, which reportedly cost $90 per day. The police estimated that the family had paid around $30,000 to live at the International Dunes, and they were reportedly eating takeout meals from fancy Salt Lake City restaurants every evening. The hotel has changed ownership several times, and for a long time was a Shilo Inn before becoming a Holiday Inn Express in 2015.
On August 3, Rachel took her children out onto the balcony. One by one, she threw them over the edge.
stha nath cula rngreuxng/EyeEm via Getty Images The smallest children were simply picked up and thrown over; some of the others clung to the balcony railing until she pried them off. The oldest children jumped willingly, followed by Rachel herself. Horrified bystanders below were helpless to do anything other than watch.
Rachel and six of her children died. The 15-year-old daughter, also named Rachel, survived the fall, though she was seriously injured.
Suzie Mellot Smith/Find A Grave The family was buried at the Taylorsville Memorial Park Cemetery.
Soon after the murder/suicides, guests at the hotel began reporting paranormal activity.
flight000/Tripadvisor
Some were awakened by the cries and screams of children, or by a woman wailing.
Chayapon Bootboonneam/EyeEm via Getty Images
Other guests claim to have seen the children themselves, running up and down the hallways on the 11th floor.
Gionata Emanuele Bazzoli/EyeEm via Getty Images Ghost hunters claim that spirits often haunt the places where they died, unable to move on because of the violent or tragic circumstances of their deaths. The children who were thrown or jumped to their deaths most certainly suffered horrific deaths.
Though the hotel has changed hands and has been renovated several times since 1978, the story of the tragedy that happened here is still well-known.
T.K. Andrews/Google Whether or not the hotel is haunted is anyone’s guess. Rachel David, the surviving member of the family, was interviews when she was in her late 30s. She still believes that her father is God and that he’ll return to Earth someday.
Have you ever seen or heard anything strange at this hotel?
krisanapong detraphiphat/Moment Collection via Getty Images
Charles Bruce Longo, a member and returned missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was excommunicated, along with several of his friends in 1969. He believed he was God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, and so did his followers. He took the name Immanuel David, and his followers called themselves Family of David.
gyro/iStock via Getty Images
One of Immanuel’s followers had already been convicted for wire fraud after bilking innocent citizens out of money by claiming that his daughter was sick in the hospital and needed money for treatment.
Robert Cutts/flickr
The children were home-schooled from their hotel suite, which reportedly cost $90 per day. The police estimated that the family had paid around $30,000 to live at the International Dunes, and they were reportedly eating takeout meals from fancy Salt Lake City restaurants every evening. The hotel has changed ownership several times, and for a long time was a Shilo Inn before becoming a Holiday Inn Express in 2015.
stha nath cula rngreuxng/EyeEm via Getty Images
The smallest children were simply picked up and thrown over; some of the others clung to the balcony railing until she pried them off. The oldest children jumped willingly, followed by Rachel herself. Horrified bystanders below were helpless to do anything other than watch.
Suzie Mellot Smith/Find A Grave
The family was buried at the Taylorsville Memorial Park Cemetery.
flight000/Tripadvisor
Chayapon Bootboonneam/EyeEm via Getty Images
Gionata Emanuele Bazzoli/EyeEm via Getty Images
Ghost hunters claim that spirits often haunt the places where they died, unable to move on because of the violent or tragic circumstances of their deaths. The children who were thrown or jumped to their deaths most certainly suffered horrific deaths.
T.K. Andrews/Google
Whether or not the hotel is haunted is anyone’s guess. Rachel David, the surviving member of the family, was interviews when she was in her late 30s. She still believes that her father is God and that he’ll return to Earth someday.
There are several sites in Utah said to be haunted by the ghosts of children. The site of the Mountain Meadow Massacre is one such place, the cemetery at Grafton ghost town is another.
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Address: 206 S W Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101, USA
