The story
The Golden North Hotel combines Skagway’s Gold Rush atmosphere with one of Alaska’s better-known hotel legends. The building’s onion-domed corner makes it visually memorable, while stories of “Scary Mary” have turned it into a regular stop in haunted Skagway storytelling. The legend is usually told as the tale of a woman connected to an upstairs room, with later accounts describing a lingering presence, odd sensations, or the feeling that the former hotel still holds traces of its past. The building’s current use and access may differ from its historic hotel identity, so it is best thought of as a Gold Rush landmark with reported ghost lore — something to view or read about through public, legal routes rather than a guaranteed overnight stay.