Exploring Some of the Most Haunted Historic Places In Wisconsin

Oct 30, 2024

We’re rounding out our month-long celebration of the Halloween Season with a selection of some unique and spine-tingling haunted places to check out if you’re in Wisconsin. Our neighbors up north have a plethora of destinations for ghost hunting enthusiasts and aspiring paranormal investigators. From thrills, chills, and bumps in the night there’s no shortage of legendary lore about these fine hotels, restaurants, and stunning cemeteries. Pack the car with your best ghouls and goblins and let’s try our hand at being the crew from Scooby Doo!

Fork in the Road Mukwonago, WI has quite the storied history of tragic events including a death on site and several fires, the former establishment was known as The Dillenbeck House Hotel, now Fork in the Road. Visitors to this establishment have reported seeing foggy apparitions out back, ghostly footsteps in the halls, echoes of pool cues hitting pool balls and rolling across the floor, and disembodied voices whispering throughout the building. Saff report mysteriously opened cupboard and interior doors, cash registers opening on their own, glasses rattling and falling off racks, and unnerving experiences in the basement storage. The dining room and bar areas are purported to have lights which flicker and dim on their own. Want to learn more? Stop by and experience it for yourself.

Kemper Hall in Kenosha, WI is a former mansion turned former boarding school turned public community recreation center, and one of the most haunted destinations in Wisconsin! Visitors and locals report capturing unnatural shapes and forms in photos, and seen shadowy figures in the hallways and lurking along the walls. Local lore also states that the grounds are haunted by a former nun who fell down the observatory staircase, as well as a student who fell to her death after jumping from the rooftop. Many visitors report hearing creaking footsteps behind them and echoing through the halls, and disappearing apparitions and reflections of frightening faces in mirrors. Most ghosts seem innocuous, but at least one mysterious figure seems to have more vengeful intents, so travel safely!

Dartford Cemetery in Green Lake, WI has a beautiful garden-like appearance, but don’t be fooled by the innocent exterior. Beneath the friendly facade, there are several specters and ghastly ghosts wandering these hallowed grounds, known for being one of the most haunted cemeteries in the state! There’s Chief Highknocker, a Winnebago Native American chief who passed in 1911 by drowning; several soldiers of the civil war era; sickly children who suffered of illness before their passing; a woman who just wants to socialize with a rousing game of ring-around-the-rosie, and more.

Brumder Mansion Bed and Breakfast in Milwaukee, WI was built by George Brumder Senior for his son, George Junior, but George Sr tragically died before it could be finished; later the mansion was sold to Sam and Ed Pick, who worked for the infamous Al Capone. Decades later, the mansion is now a Bed and Breakfast, where guests have reported frightening experiences for almost 100 years! Most famously, the mansion is home to a specter named Suzanne who loves to frequent the Gold Suite, and another holdover lady ghost from the speakeasy days flits around the lobby. If that wasn’t enough to startle you, other guests have reported experiencing disturbing nightmares, apparitions floating in the halls and in and out of rooms, and more.

Karsten Hotel in Kewaunee, WI
This inn is rife with mists, orbs, cold spots, hot spots, phantom aromas, and other strange things afoot; so many, in fact, that the current owners have decided to fully embrace the paranormal experience and lean into it! The hotel has been in operation since 1912 and has become the permanent home for former housekeeper Agatha (stay in room 310 and introduce yourself), as well as former owners William Karsten Senior and Billy Karsten, Jr. Visitors and staff report that Agatha can be a little temperamental when it comes to male guests in the hotel, and strongly dislikes workmen who come for repairs, but perhaps if you’re polite she might spare you her shenanigans (workers report she has moved tools, opened and close doors, and turned lights on and off without warning.)

The Union Hotel & Restaurant in De Pere, WI is known for being the longest continually running hotel in the state, and with that longevity in operations comes a history of hauntings and apparition sightings. Guests and staff have reported ghostly bartenders serving customers, spirits getting their jollies by flickering the lights on and off as they please, mysterious shadowy figures in the basement storage, and even the haunting sounds of a crooner from days gone by singing sweet melodies. Don’t believe the hype? You’ll just have to stop by for a sip and a meal and see for yourselves!