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Dossier 0399HotelMedium 52

Franklin Hotel

Deadwood, South Dakota709 Main Street1 min readFile amended Directions
Also filed as:

A hotel in Deadwood, South Dakota, Franklin Hotel is filed here for what the record attaches to it. Tourism recounts claims that Harris Franklin appears to check on employees. Its signature presence is Harris Franklin — the figure the file’s accounts keep returning to. The dossier holds 1 reported claim and 1 legend, every one filed as account rather than fact. It still takes guests.

Archive note: 2 aliases on file
Haunting
Status
Operating
Coordinates
44.387, -103.721 · Approximate (city centroid)
County
Lawrence

Is Franklin Hotel haunted?

The record holds 1 claim, 1 legend, 1 named entity — filed as reported, not verified. The heaviest filing is classed local folklore. The archive documents the claim; it takes no position on the ghost.

The record — long form

Franklin is the grand — the '1903' that's the open's year, the 'steam phones' that's the luxury's list. The 'founder watches' is the stayed — the 'Harris' that's the ghost's name, the 'cleaning staff' that's his focus's odd. The 'presidents slept' is the hosted — the 'Roosevelt Taft' that's the register's fame, the 'Babe Ruth' that's the ball's name.

The 'pit pool' is the odd — the 'swimming' that's the basement's past, the 'matched funds' that's the build's deal. The 'spurs heard' is the walked — the 'bootsteps' that's the stairs' sound, the 'nobody there' that's the sight's lack. Franklin is the played — the 'casino now' that's the use's shift, the 'Silverado' that's the owner's name.

The file keeps Franklin: the grand open, the watching founder, the slept presidents, and the walked spurs.

Franklin Hotel is the archive's South Dakota file — the hotel where the founder still inspects the cleaning.

Why this file matters

Franklin Hotel is the archive's South Dakota file — the grand hotel whose founder never left.

A hotel keeps its founder — the file's suggestion being that Franklin's hold is the watched: the 'Harris' that's the ghost's name, the 'cleaning' that's his focus's odd, and the 'spurs' that's the stairs' sound.

The record of claims

Tourism recounts claims that Harris Franklin appears to check on employees. A hotel in Deadwood, South Dakota with more than a century of check-ins gives the reports plenty of rooms to work with. It survives as local folklore, which is to say it survives because people keep telling it. The report is preserved in sources like 'Haunted Deadwood: A Wilder West Experience'. The reports keep the place on every haunted list it qualifies for.

Local folklore

Tourism recounts claims that Harris Franklin appears to check on employees. The hotel keeps the account on its own record — the sort of haunting a building earns one guest at a time. It circulates as local folklore — the kind communities keep rather than verify. The retelling is the record now — the legend metabolized the facts long ago.

Alleged entities

Harris Franklinidentity unresearched

Tourism recounts claims that Harris Franklin appears to check on employees. The Deadwood hotel's reports are the kind old lodgings accumulate — footsteps after hours, presences in rooms, the house working the night shift. The named presence is what turns a haunting into a household. The reports keep the address on the map.

Sources on file

Field notes & open questions

Tourism-supported identity and attributed claims; operator access details require enrichment. Current business and historical footprint must not be conflated.

"Franklin Hotel." HauntHunt dossier 0399, https://haunthunt.com/place/franklin-hotel-deadwood-south-dakota/ (file amended October 2, 2026).

Same signal — haunting

Within ~50 miles

End of file · continue the hunt
Mount Moriah Cemetery
0 mi away
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