HELENA — Spooky season is right around the corner, and the Haunted Helena Trolley Tour is making a return for those who dare.
The tour started in the late 1990s and ran until historian and author Ellen Baumler, who guided the tours, passed away in December of 2023. She was, and is still, well known in the Helena community.
“I have one or two of her books,” passenger Janna Cawlfield said. “She was so well-versed in all the hauntings around here.”
“The Haunted Helena tour was kind of her baby,” Last Chance Trolley owner Lani Schlater said. “Ellen Baumler, they called her the queen of Halloween, was her nickname.”
Schlater and her husband purchased the trolley and reached out to the Foundation for Montana History to find a guide to help bring back Ellen’s legacy.
“We would see Ellen every day, so in kind of a nod to her and out of respect for her, we were like, wow, what a cool thing that my husband and I got to purchase the trolley, and we could bring back the tour to honor our neighbor,” Schlater said.
In addition to honoring Ellen, the Last Chance Trolley's return was also due to a high demand for another tour, the Ghost Gulch Pub Trolley Tour.
“You get to go to some neat places that have been around Helena forever and ever, and find out about the spooky story behind what's going on in the house, so it's really fun,” Cawlfield said.
The two tours function under different ownership, with two separate trolleys taking different routes. Both trolleys work in partnership with the nonprofit Foundation for Montana History, with program director Zachary Coe guiding the tours. Many of the stories told on the tours come right from Ellen's work.
Additionally, 50% of the proceeds from each of the tours goes back into preserving historical sites seen on the tour in Helena and others across Montana.
“Montana has such a thriving tourism and heritage tourism business and core that it's really cool to have some small contribution to that that then gets to go back into saving buildings and stories,” Coe said.
Tickets are disappearing fast, so be sure to get yours before it’s too late. More information about how to support the foundation for Montana history can be found here.
