Is the Dumas Brothel in Butte, Montana, haunted by something darker than a ghost? Built in 1890 and operated until 1982, the historic house at 45 East Mercury Street survived nearly a century of Butte’s red-light district. It contains small basement rooms, remnants of underground passages, and the memories of women who worked in a difficult and sometimes violent trade. In more recent years, visitors and investigators have described voices, shadow figures, unusual electromagnetic-field readings and disturbing physical encounters.
For LiveSciFi, those reports became personal during filming of The Demon Files: The Devil’s Due. Tim Wood’s investigative team reported multiple physical attacks on investigators, EVP-like voices and unexplained-seeming EMF activity. The team interpreted the combined evidence as validation of a demonic presence affecting the property and its owner, David Prince. Bishop James Cloud performed a blessing of the property in an effort to help Prince. These are the team’s firsthand reports and interpretation; neither an EVP nor an EMF reading, on its own, conclusively identifies a supernatural entity. Readers can watch the original footage below.
What makes the Dumas especially unsettling is the collision of documented history and modern experiences: the real underground tunnels, the reportedly haunted former madam’s room, violence associated with the district, and later tragedies involving the building’s owners. This investigation guide separates what is known from what remains open to interpretation—including whether those deaths were connected to a dark presence at all.
LiveSciFi original paranormal investigation
Watch The Demon Files: The Devil’s Due — Exorcism in Butte
The full investigation follows owner David Prince’s concerns, reported activity involving investigators, audio and equipment experiments, and the final spiritual intervention by Bishop Cloud. Selecting the thumbnail opens the matching LiveSciFi episode page—not YouTube.
Dumas Brothel at a Glance: Address, Haunted History and Visitor Information
| Historic names | Dumas Brothel; Dumas Hotel |
|---|---|
| Address | 45 East Mercury Street, Butte, MT 59701 |
| GPS | 46.011494, -112.533886 (approximate building map pin) |
| Built | 1890 by brothers Joseph and Arthur Nadeau |
| Operating years | 1890–1982, about 92 years |
| Original use | Parlor-house brothel and basement cribs |
| Underground features | Historic basement passages and former service-tunnel connections |
| LiveSciFi episodes | The Demon Files: The Devil’s Due; original 2021 and 2022 investigations |
| Reported activity | Possible EVPs, EMF spikes, touching and physical-attack reports, dark impressions and shadow observations |
| Site today | Historic museum with tours or investigations by arrangement; check current access |
Map: Find the Dumas Brothel on Google Maps. See the official Dumas Brothel website for visitor and event details; the building’s heating and seasonal schedule can affect access.
History of the Dumas Brothel: Butte’s 1890 Red-Light District
1890: Joseph and Arthur Nadeau build the Dumas Hotel
As mining expanded through Butte, thousands of men arrived for work in copper and silver production. French-Canadian brothers Joseph and Arthur Nadeau built the Dumas in 1890 expressly for the sex trade, naming it for Joseph’s wife, Delia Dumas Nadeau, who appeared in ownership records. Historian Ellen Baumler notes that Delia’s level of direct involvement in the business is not established. Unlike a house later converted into an attraction, this was a purpose-built commercial property with a parlor, multiple upstairs rooms and basement facilities.
Its interior layout reflected the different economic classes of customers: relatively comfortable rooms for wealthier patrons, smaller rooms for others, and eventually cramped basement spaces. Architectural survivals help historians reconstruct a world often reduced to sensational stories. Montana Historical Society: Ellen Baumler’s study of prostitution in Butte.
Venus Alley, exploitation and violence in Old Butte
The surrounding district included Pleasant Alley, later known as Venus Alley, a lane of small rooms and rear entrances serving the trade. Women working in Butte’s brothels had limited protection from exploitation, harassment and assault. Prostitution was illegal but widely tolerated, while officials collected fines and periodically enforced closures. The cramped underground cribs offered little privacy or daylight. These conditions were part of the building’s violent social history, even where individual assault allegations cannot be tied to a confirmed incident inside a particular room.
Accounts of robbery, fighting and occasional shootings in the broader red-light district should not be transformed into unsupported claims of multiple murders at this exact address. The record of real hardship is more substantial than the claim that every room holds a victim. The Montana Women’s History Project explains the lives, labor and policing of the women working in Butte.
Closure in 1982 and preservation as a museum
By the late twentieth century, the district around the Dumas had shrunk. The building nevertheless survived through a succession of madams, including Elinor Knott, Bonita Farren and Ruby Garrett. Garrett’s federal tax-evasion conviction and related legal pressure preceded the brothel’s closure in 1982. It had operated for approximately 92 years, making it one of the country’s longest-running documented brothels. Later owners sought to preserve the building and present its history as a museum, despite deterioration, water damage and substantial repair costs. The Dumas Brothel’s history and Veronica Leigh Sales’s architectural-preservation research provide additional background.
Underground Tunnel Beneath the Dumas Brothel: Where Did It Lead?
The basement cribs and underground passages are real, not invented ghost stories. The Dumas developed below-street-level rooms reached through stairways and former openings. Part of Butte’s downtown tunnel system grew around an early district heating infrastructure and concealed passages between commercial buildings. The Dumas’s own history describes underground connections used for discreet access, and the basement was later sealed off during the 1940s. The existence of a tunnel does not prove that every story about miners coming directly from the shafts—or about secret occult ceremonies—is true.
Basement repairs, filled-in openings and old debris complicate efforts to reconstruct precisely which passage led where at different dates. The building’s current appearance must be compared with historical plans, rather than assuming all hidden voids served the same purpose.
LiveSciFi returned to these questions on camera: 23:01 — The blocked underground tunnel is discussed during the 2022 basement walkthrough. The scene preserves the investigators’ observations while leaving the route and original use open to historical verification. The official site’s basement history describes the sealed rooms and passages.
Were Dumas Brothel Owners’ Deaths Connected to a Dark Presence?
The Dumas’s reputation sometimes links tragedy after tragedy to an oppressive spiritual influence. Historical research confirms several deaths among people associated with the building, but it does not establish that a supernatural force caused any of them. The distinction is particularly important when discussing real families.
Elinor Knott: A 1955 death and the suitcase apparition
Elinor (also spelled Elinore) Knott, a madam at the Dumas, died in her rooms on February 7, 1955. The story that she packed a suitcase to leave Butte with a married lover has been retold as a suicide, a suspected murder and a supernatural tragedy. A genealogy research page citing her death certificate identifies coronary occlusion as the recorded cause of death and describes conflicting reports circulating afterward. It is therefore misleading to present either the suicide or murder version as conclusively established.
Visitors reportedly see a woman holding a suitcase in the hall near the former madam’s quarters. Some identify her as Knott, but that identity is an interpretation. Elinor Knott’s historical record and reported cause of death.
Bonita Farren: A later madam’s death
Bonita Farren succeeded Knott and operated the Dumas until her death around 1971, according to the property’s official historical account. Other accounts date her death to the end of the 1960s. Several historical retellings describe cancer as the cause. A story that her husband John died after a fall at the Dumas also circulates, but a verified contemporary medical or accident report was not located in the sources reviewed for this article. None of these accounts supplies evidence that a dark entity caused the deaths.
Ruby Garrett: The last madam
Ruby Garrett ran the brothel until its closure and died on March 17, 2012, at age 94, in a Butte nursing home. Her life included documented episodes of domestic violence, a high-profile shooting case, and imprisonment for tax evasion. Accounts of her legal history differ in the details of the shooting’s outcome, so this article does not turn those accounts into an unsupported murder story at the Dumas. Her death has not been shown to be connected with a haunting. Contemporary reporting on Ruby Garrett’s death.
Michael Piche: Former owner who died unexpectedly in 2018
Michael Piche and Travis Eskelsen purchased the Dumas from former custodian Rudy Giecek in 2012, undertaking an ambitious but difficult restoration. The building had roof and wall damage and overdue taxes. A preservation historian, writing in July 2018, explicitly reported Piche’s unexpected death earlier that year, which disrupted plans to save the building. The source does not identify a supernatural cause or provide the medical details necessary to characterize the death as a murder. Montana’s Historic Landscapes, July 1, 2018; 2012 purchase reporting.
Michelle Nicole Piche: Michael’s sister died in 2020
Michelle Nicole Piche, Michael’s sister, died on December 30, 2020, in Butte, according to the family’s published obituary. The obituary expressly lists her brother Michael as having died before her. Some people have interpreted the deaths within the family as part of the disturbing pattern associated with the Dumas. That theory is not a documented finding. The family’s obituary does not disclose a cause of death, provide evidence of foul play, or connect Michelle’s death to events at the brothel. Her life should be remembered as more than a detail in a ghost story. Duggan Dolan Mortuary: Michelle Nicole Piche.
David and Charlee Prince: A new chapter in 2018
Following Piche’s death and mounting tax problems, David and Charlee Prince purchased the Dumas at a county tax auction in October 2018. They set out to stabilize and restore the site, operate tours and allow paranormal investigators into the historic rooms. David’s reports of a threatening presence and experiences at the property became a focus of LiveSciFi’s Demon Files investigation. KXLF’s October 4, 2018 ownership report.
What Did The Demon Files Capture at the Dumas Brothel?
The investigation featured Tim Wood, Bishop James Cloud, Scott Di Lalla, Lillian Alquist and Kristin Manning at David Prince’s property. Prince was seeking help with activity he and others believed was threatening and potentially demonic. During filming, multiple members of the team reported physical attacks; investigators also documented what they interpreted as EVP voices and unusual EMF fluctuations. The investigators said the combination of events confirmed to them that a demonic presence was involved.
These distinctions matter: the video is a first-party record of what the crew reported and interpreted. EMF meters detect electromagnetic fields, which can fluctuate due to wiring, appliances, radio-frequency interference and moving sensors; they do not measure demons. Voice-like sounds on recordings also require careful comparison with ambient noise and nearby speakers. The documentary nevertheless preserves the experiences and the team’s reasoning, allowing viewers to hear and evaluate the material rather than accept a one-line claim.
Demon Files evidence moments: watch the original scene
- 1:09 — A new dark haunting: introduces David Prince’s concerns and the case.
- 3:33 — Demonic encounters: the team describes the frightening experiences under investigation.
- 12:08 — Searching for demonic activity: an extended on-location investigation sequence.
- 36:02 — Kristin Manning’s psychic walkthrough: firsthand impressions interpreted within the investigation.
- 51:07 — The experiment involving Moloch: an experiment focused on a proposed demonic identity; the name is a hypothesis rather than independently verified contact.
- 55:40 — Bishop James Cloud and the spiritual intervention: the religious perspective and preparation for the blessing.
- 1:01:37 — The exorcism and blessing sequence: Bishop Cloud’s effort to help David Prince and address the presence the investigators believed was there.
Why Bishop Cloud’s blessing mattered: The team regarded the EVP, EMF and physical encounters as consistent with a darker, oppressive presence, not simply a benign apparition from the building’s past. Bishop Cloud’s religious intervention was intended to protect and assist Prince and to confront what the group believed was affecting the property. Whether the activity had a supernatural cause and whether it stopped because of the blessing would require independent, before-and-after evidence that the episode’s chapter list cannot establish.
More Original Dumas Brothel Evidence: Live Ghost Hunts and EVP Sessions
Beyond the television documentary, LiveSciFi has archived longer investigations with timestamps and original discussion context. These provide opportunities to examine the recordings, environmental conditions, and the investigators’ changing interpretations. The two companion investigations are especially useful because they describe ambiguous sounds and sometimes consider ordinary explanations.
October 9, 2021: Overnight investigation with EVPs, scratches and basement reports
Watch the full overnight Dumas Brothel investigation. Selected original chapter moments:
- 13:38 — First recorder playback and 18:12 — Room-number response playback: the team reviews possible EVPs.
- 19:02 — Scratch report and a meter change: a physical sensation and equipment observation.
- 44:27 — The basement exploration : team moves into the lower rooms.
- 1:08:30 — Bone-like material examined: objects are inspected, with animal remains considered; no crime or human remains are established.
- 1:50:22 — Physical touch report and alternative source: a brushing sensation and a possible string explanation.
- 1:58:02 — EVP playback interpreted as ‘it was me’: listeners can assess whether that phrase is audible.
What Were the Bones Found on the Dumas Brothel’s Ground and Basement Level?
During a LiveSciFi investigation, Tim Wood and Scott Di Lalla discovered and examined bone-like fragments in debris on the lower floor of the historic Dumas Brothel. The discovery initially raised questions because of the property’s disturbing history and stories of violence. During the filmed basement investigation, the team examined several pieces alongside wood, fabric, pottery and other fill. They explicitly considered whether the material could be from animals rather than people.
The outcome was far less sinister than speculation suggested: according to LiveSciFi’s account of the follow-up, the samples were evaluated by the University of Montana and identified as chicken bones. That is the identification reported by the investigating team; a laboratory report has not been provided for independent verification in this article. The material should not be portrayed as human remains, evidence of murder, or evidence of a demonic sacrifice.
Watch the original discovery and examination: 1:08:30 — bone-like material discovered near the basement wall, 1:10:28 — a larger fragment examined, 1:12:55 — animal-bone explanation considered, and 1:21:12 — investigators discuss whom to notify. These links document what was seen and discussed during filming; the subsequent chicken-bone identification comes from the team’s reported follow-up.
September 3, 2022: Words, EVP playback and the blocked tunnel
Watch the complete 2022 Dumas Brothel investigation. The team explores basement and upstairs spaces with recorders, a word device and SLS equipment.
- 4:33 — First EVP recorder session; 9:31 — A possible ‘go away’ playback: audio interpretations discussed in context.
- 23:01 — Investigators discuss the blocked underground tunnel.
- 34:57 — Word-device output and chest discomfort reported.
- 50:41 — Questions concerning the dark presence.
- 59:34 — Long EVP playback sequence: an opportunity to compare interpretations with what was captured.
Is It True? Fact-Checking the Dumas Brothel’s Darkest Legends
The Dumas is genuinely historic, and investigators genuinely reported intense experiences. That does not mean every tragic event associated with it is supernatural. The following evidence classifications distinguish the records from the team’s interpretations.
| Claim | What the evidence supports |
|---|---|
| It was built as a brothel in 1890 and operated until 1982. | Documented history. Supported by state historical research and records of the operating business. |
| Underground tunnels connected the basement with old Butte routes. | Documented. Former passages, cribs and sealed openings are real, although every rumored tunnel route is not verified. |
| The building was a center of violent crime and exploitation. | Historically grounded context. Working conditions, robberies and violence in Butte’s red-light district are recorded; individual murder claims must be sourced separately. |
| Human remains were discovered at the Dumas Brothel. | No human remains established. Tim Wood and Scott Di Lalla documented a bone discovery in the lower level. According to LiveSciFi, follow-up examination by the University of Montana identified the material as chicken bones. The laboratory documentation has not been independently reviewed for this article. |
| Elinor Knott was murdered or killed by a demon. | Not established. Death in 1955 is documented; coronary occlusion is recorded on the reported death certificate. Murder and demonic explanations are unverified. |
| Michael Piche and his sister Michelle died after their family’s connection with the building. | Documented deaths. Michael died unexpectedly in 2018; Michelle died in 2020. The evidence does not establish a causal link to the Dumas. |
| LiveSciFi filmed physical attacks and interpreted EVP and EMF evidence as demonic. | Firsthand investigative reports and recording. The team interpreted the events as confirmation of a demonic presence; the underlying mechanism is not independently established. |
| Bishop James Cloud blessed the building for David Prince. | Described by the original investigating team. The recorded spiritual intervention is part of The Demon Files; its supernatural effectiveness is a matter of belief. |
LiveSciFi’s perspective: the combination of unsettling EVP interpretations, equipment readings and reported assaults during filming led the team to conclude that something dark was present. Readers are encouraged to examine the original footage and consider alternative explanations. The building’s history does not require a demon to account for its tragedies, while the team’s sense of danger deserves accurate documentation as firsthand experience.
Visiting the Dumas Brothel in Butte, Montana
Find the historic building at 45 East Mercury Street, Butte, Montana 59701; approximate GPS 46.011494, -112.533886. Open the map pin. The Dumas is an operating historic venue, not an abandoned structure. Tours, seasonal access and private paranormal investigations may be offered by the owners, but availability should be verified in advance through the official Dumas Brothel site.
Some areas contain steep or narrow stairs, old basement rooms and historic fixtures. Respect barriers and tour rules; do not attempt to enter sealed tunnels or disturbing spaces without the operator’s authorization. A visit is also an opportunity to learn about the women who worked there, rather than treating their lives as props for a ghost story.
Dumas Brothel: Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Dumas Brothel really haunted?
Visitors and LiveSciFi investigators report voices, shadow observations, unusual sensations, possible EVPs and EMF fluctuations. In The Demon Files, the team concluded the activity was demonic. Those accounts are documented as reports and interpretations, but a supernatural explanation has not been independently established.
Who owned the Dumas before David Prince?
Michael Piche and Travis Eskelsen bought the building in 2012 from Rudy Giecek. Piche died in early 2018, and David and Charlee Prince bought the property at auction in October 2018.
Did Michael Piche’s sister also die?
Yes. His sister Michelle Nicole Piche died on December 30, 2020. Her published obituary does not give a cause or connect her death with the Dumas. Claims of a paranormal link are speculation.
Was there a tunnel below the Dumas Brothel?
Yes. Historic basement passages and enclosed rooms formed part of Butte’s former red-light and business district infrastructure. Some routes were later sealed or filled. The precise destinations of every rumored tunnel have not been documented.
Were human bones found at the Dumas Brothel?
LiveSciFi investigators found bone-like pieces in lower-level debris, but the team reports that follow-up identification by the University of Montana determined the material was chicken bones, not human remains. The original basement discovery is on camera; no university laboratory report has been independently reviewed here.
Did a bishop perform an exorcism or blessing there?
During LiveSciFi’s The Demon Files: The Devil’s Due, Bishop James Cloud performed a spiritual intervention intended to help owner David Prince after reports of threatening activity. The relevant sequence begins at 1:01:37 in the episode.
Where can I watch the original Dumas Brothel evidence?
Watch The Demon Files Dumas investigation, the 2021 overnight recording, and the 2022 investigation, all through LiveSciFi’s episode archive.
More Haunted Locations and Related LiveSciFi Investigations
Browse the LiveSciFi Haunted Locations database for documented histories, reported activity, original investigation footage and GPS information. Readers interested in reported dark presences can also explore our Old Washoe Club investigation and psychic sketches or Welles House history and the 51-episode archive.
Sources: Historic Records, Family Documentation and Original Footage
- LiveSciFi field-team follow-up: reported University of Montana chicken-bone identification (laboratory document not provided for independent verification).
- Montana Historical Society — Ellen Baumler, Devil’s Perch: Prostitution from Suite to Cellar in Butte, Montana.
- Montana Women’s History — Red-Light Women of Wide-Open Butte.
- Dumas Brothel — Official history of the building and basement.
- Veronica Leigh Sales — The Last House on the Block, graduate preservation study.
- Silver Bow genealogy records — Elinore Knott, archival death information.
- The Spokesman-Review, March 20, 2012 — Ruby Garrett obituary report.
- The Spokesman-Review, July 9, 2012 — Michael Piche and Travis Eskelsen purchase.
- Montana’s Historic Landscapes, July 1, 2018 — Michael Piche’s unexpected death.
- Duggan Dolan Mortuary — Michelle Nicole Piche obituary, December 2020.
- KXLF, October 4, 2018 — David and Charlee Prince purchase.
- LiveSciFi — The Demon Files: The Devil’s Due, Exorcism in Butte.
- LiveSciFi — Dumas Brothel Overnight: EVP Playback, Dowsing and Basement Questions.
- LiveSciFi — Dumas Brothel Investigation: EVP Playback, Word Device and SLS Reports.
Editorial note: Historical deaths and crime stories are distinguished from paranormal interpretations. The LiveSciFi team described its experiences and religious intervention firsthand; the recordings do not scientifically verify a demonic entity. Three original LiveSciFi photographs are included, including the exterior and the bone-discovery investigation scene.