Dumas Brothel
Butte, Montana
In mid-March, Umbria was contacted by a woman named
Teri Goodson regarding the restoration of the Dumas
Brothel in Butte, Montana. The property was a brothel
from its construction in 1890 until its lockdown in
1982. It was recently purchased by the International Sex Worker
Foundation for Art, Culture, and Education to be used
as their international museum and cultural center. The
restoration begins this summer and will most likely
continue each summer through 2002. Teri's first e-mail
reads in part:
"Rudy Guicek, the museum curator, has spent many
hours there. He has some very interesting photographs
and strange experiences to share. He's convinced the
Dumas has at least one spirit. A married couple he
knows once spent the night there on the same floor
where a madam was reputedly murdered. During the night,
the man and his wife woke up and saw an unknown woman
staring at them. Then the strange woman vanished
without a trace. When I visited the Dumas with a
friend, we both had unusual things happen. I
experienced a very strong scent in an unused room which
was completely unattributed to any natural phenomena.
My friend sat on a bed in one of the rooms and felt
that something had pushed him up and off the bed.
I also tried to talk to one spirit, perhaps the "madam,"
and reassure it that we would try to find someone
who had the expertise to help it. I seemed to sense a
personality in the room with me which was quiet as if it was
listening, and I don't think it was my imagination."
We will be in Butte this summer to investigate the Dumas
and possibly give a lecture on ghost-hunting, as well as
participating in the restoration of this historic
building.
For more information on the restoration and ISWFACE,
please visit their webpage at iswface.org.
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