7-Minute Less Taken VIII - Old Seth (Deadwood, SD)

Deep in Deadwood, South Dakota, the Bullock Hotel holds more than just history — it harbors restless spirits. Strange footsteps echo through empty halls, cigar smoke drifts without a source, and Room 211 chills to the bone no matter the season.

A psychic’s mysterious letter hints at a ghostly presence tied to Seth Bullock and his legendary friendship with Theodore Roosevelt.

This isn’t just a haunted hotel story—it’s a haunting legacy that watches and waits.

This is the story of Old Seth.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
This take and contains content that may not be suitable
for all audiences listeners, discretion is advised less they still
whisper about him. On slow nights behind a bar at
the Bullock Hotel, footsteps still echo on the upper floors

(00:27):
when no one's checked in. They say, a pocket of
cigar smoke drifts through the hallways, thick and sweet, like
it's just been puffed. Room to eleven turns ice cold
some nights, no matter how high the thermostat is set,
and the person doing all this, they still whisper about him.

(00:49):
They call him Old Seth before he becomes a ghost.

(01:20):
Story Seth. Bullock is the law. He rides into that
deadwood in eighteen seventy six, and he doesn't flinch when
he sees the chaos. No sheriff, no rules, no justice.
So Bullock steps in. He helps found the first jail. He,
generally speaking, keeps the peace, and somehow he survives at all.

(01:45):
He even makes friends in high places, President Theodore Roosevelt
among them. When the mining town is finally tamed, Bullock
builds a hotel to prove it a real hotel, brick
and iron, something classy. It still stands today. The Bullock

(02:07):
Hotel built in eighteen ninety five, and if the stories
are true, Seth never leaves. In the nineteen nineties, the
hotel is under renovation. For a while things are quiet,
but then comes a letter postmarked from Dorset, England. The

(02:31):
man who sends it claims to be a psychic, Sandy Bullock.
The last name is coincidence, and he's of no relation
to Seth, at least not that he knows. He says
he's never stepped foot in Deadwood, but he then describes
the hotel perfectly, the twin staircases, the feel of the rooms,

(02:53):
the smell of old leather and cigar smoke in the lobby.
He says, a Native American spirit urges him to write
the ghost his name is Seth and he's watching. Local
historian Rena Webb is skeptical, so she asked the psychic

(03:14):
a question only a local would know. Who was Seth
Bullock's closest friend and how are their graves positioned? Surprisingly,
the reply.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Comes quick the Yodora Roosevelt.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
Sandy writes their graves.

Speaker 2 (03:34):
Face one another, the tall trees blocked the view from
his old zones. Still, Teddy and he meet in the
afterlife to Rena, this is impossible to guess up In
Mount Mariah Cemetery, Bullock's grave does face Friendship Tower, a

(03:54):
monument he built for Roosevelt, but over the years the
pines have grown tall between them. For him to know that,
you'd have to see it, but Sandy swears he's never
been there. After renovations wrap up, the hotel reopens and
old Seth comes back. Guests start asking about Room two eleven,

(04:18):
about the cold spots, the way the air changes, and
some swear they see a mist hanging in the room,
like a warm breath in the winter chill. There's stories
of lights flickering, radios clicking in and off, footsteps pacing
when no one else is supposed to be awake. One
guest swears that someone whispered his name from the foot

(04:40):
of the bed. Housekeepers say they found chairs, moved items shifted.
Staffs reported hearing full conversations outside of rooms, only to
find the hallways empty. But no one's ever felt afraid,
not exactly. There's no malice in the air, no sense
of danger, just the presence. It's as if the sheriff

(05:03):
still walks the halls he built proud of them. He
still checks the locks, he still makes sure order is kept.
Some say he's waiting, Others say he's looking for something.
Maybe it's Roosevelt, maybe it's peace. But if you stay
at the Bullock Hotel, especially in room two eleven, you

(05:25):
might just hear him. At least that's the story. And
speaking of stories, if you visit his grave high on
the hill and look toward the Friendship Tower through the trees,
you might even see him watching, or at least feel
him watching. He's still the sheriff, he's still loyal, and

(05:49):
many say he's still there. I'm seeing Humphries. And this
has been the eighth seven minute. Let's take an episode
from season four Holloland follow us before we follow you
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Taken Pod, Let's takenpod dot com for all things less Taken,

(06:09):
merch and more. A quick note on our storytelling.

Speaker 1 (06:13):
While we do our best to stick to the facts,
we sometimes take creative liberties to maintain narrative cohesiveness. And
be sure to come back soon for the next seven
minute less take an episode of July. Until then, thanks
for listening.