Built in 1910, this massive home was once a boarding house and later a coffee house. Sarff says employees are warned to bring their cell phones when they enter the basement. This is a cool shot of an abandoned house off Highway 151 in Sun Prairie. . Legend has it that Charles Pfister, the original owner, haunts this 19th-century hotel. 3. It eventually was turned into a facility to house mentally ill individuals, and purportedly sits atop an American Indian burial ground. The paranormal activity here has been attributed to Captain Frederick Pabst who many visitors have encountered there over the years. 2. It was bartender Matty Gonzales who saw the ghost in February 2010. The sister passed through the doorway connecting Rosary and Loretto halls, but when the tenant followed, she found the doors, as they always were, still locked. Sunset Playhouse is believed to be haunted by local actor Lester L. Schultz, nicknamed Pinky, who died of a heart attack as he left the stage in 1968. Eliza has not been told about ghosts in the building, but since she began playing in the basement, shes picked up an old-fashioned vocabulary, scoundrel and villain included. In 1962, Cardinal Stritch outgrew the building and moved to its current location, and St. Marys took over the space. This abandoned house is in Langlade County, Wisconsin. He was a former Marine who had been with the playhouse since 1960. From alien pancakes to a UFO base inside a glacial formation, Wisconsin has always been a hotspot for extraterrestrial activity. It was designed by Milwaukee architect Henry Koch, who also drew City Hall, The Pfister Hotel, Turner Hall and many other familiar buildings. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Some of the best haunted places to visit due to accessibility and experience include Shakers Cigar Bar, Milwaukee Public Museum, the USS Cobia submarine in Manitowoc, Taliesin in Spring Green, Sanatorium Hill and Bascom Hill in Madison, the Peshtigo Fire Museum, and Holy Hill. The Hotel Chequamegon is a historic haunted hotel in Northern Wisconsin with a reputation for strange sounds, voices, and the ghost of a man in a top hat. Interested parties can schedule a visit to the campus on the Concordia University Wisconsin website, cuw.edu. "If we hear footsteps and no one is coming or a door opens or closes with no explanation, we just say, 'Oh, that's Pinky,'" said Laura Feltes, then box office manager at Sunset, in a 2004 interview. Her gravestone may drip blood, but was she really an axe-murdering witch? Given the history of bloodshed, tragedy, and murder it's of little wonder. Brandenburg has embraced the buildings shady history. The USS Cobia haunted submarine is permanently moored at the Manitowoc Maritime Museum, where tour guides have had ghostly encounters with a crewman killed in WWII. Wisconsin has numerous haunted hotels and B&Bs. The Brewhouse Inn & Suites. Current Issue, Advertise Numerous guests are so creeped out, they are happy to forfeit the extravagance on the off . Discover Sanctuary Woods in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin: The preserved remains of the former Milwaukee County Hospital for the Insane are hidden in the wooded grounds of County Park. Milwaukee is regarded by many as the undoubted haunted hotspot in all Wisconsin, with a crazy high concentration of ghosts reported here. Brumder Mansion in Milwaukee, WI. Sometimes, her little boots are seen underneath the door. He's best known for antagonizing MLB players, who stay at The Pfister while playing in . Archive Rosary Hall and the Clare Wing were added in 1931 and 1935, respectively, to accommodate Saint Clare College, which eventually became Cardinal Stritch College. Bandow and Adam Levin, who also purchased some of the slides, have shared many of these images with us in recent years. A 'haunted place' Jurors arrived on the property at roughly 9:40 a.m. Wednesday and left at about 10:30 a.m. . Thanks to collector Karl Bandow, we have some stunning, and sad (to some of us, at least), vintage Ray Szopieray images of great Milwaukee buildings' dates with the wrecking ball. The historical society can be reached at at 262-569-0740. When Charles Pfister, son of leather-tanning tycoon Guido Pfister, built the hotel in 1893, he was guided by his fathers vision of a Grand Hotel of the West, a palace for the people, says Joe Kurth, the hotels general manager. Copyright 20042023 Yelp Inc. Yelp, , and related marks are registered trademarks of Yelp. . The Avenue. Top Docs A guest who claimed to be a psychic approached Julie with a list from Suzanne, who insisted the basement should be pretty and bright, and retain its hardwood floors. In 2003 the complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. Thankfully, these collectors are eager to share these amazing images of bygone Milwaukee. Address: 2970 Mile View Rd., West Bend. Their bright, colorful creations cover nearly every square inch of the brick walls within reach. A close second is St. Nazianz, location of JFK Prep, where an excommunicated priest and his followers built their own community where they could freely conduct the mystical and heretical works the church condemned them for. Nelsen's Hall & Bitters Club on Washington Island has been around for decades and is full of loyal patrons. There is also a great deal of unexplained activity over at Johnston Hall which is haunted by the ghost of a Jesuit priest believed to have committed suicide in the building. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the park was the site of a limestone quarry. Those interested in guided walking tours should call ahead at262-646-6500. People also describe feeling unexpected cold spots and a generally unwelcoming feeling in the lighthouse. Abandoned Haunted House Complex has some of the best haunted houses in Wisconsin. The Blue Room is also a bit of a focal point for the buildings paranormal activity. Since its founding date, the property has changed hands quite a few times. She has been reported to play with the hair of women sitting in the back room. Rienzi Cemetery is home to several notable haunted legends, including a gateway to Hell and the Witches Circle of excommunicated nuns. There are three towns vying for the title of "UFO Capital of the World" - Dundee, Elmwood, and Belleville - and a 1934 sighting in Barron, when Coral Lorenzen was just 9 years old . To see more beautiful photos like these, check out Jessica Pfeiffer Photography! The priests, horrified at their mistake, exhumed Pope's grave but found his casket empty. 2000 W. Wisconsin Ave. Milwaukee has long considered to be one of the most haunted cities in Wisconsin. Built by a wealthy man as a present for his son in 1910, then sold to a purported mobster during Prohibition, this home has a number of mischievous spirits that have taken up residence over the years. Legend has it that Charles Pfister, the original owner, haunts this 19th-century hotel. Scordatos 5-year-old daughter, Eliza, has told her mother that she plays in the basement with a man named Jack. There are also reports of him setting off the motion-activated alarms in the museum and causing the elevator to either move on its own or to malfunction completely! Humphrey Hall was a former children's hospital, and one of its unlucky patients haunts the elevators at night in a white hospital gown. Staff report feeling chills move through them, elevator cars that stop on the third floor for no reason, motion sensors that go off mysteriously, and even glimpses of a man in a cape -- an article of clothing that Borhegyi used to wear often. . The U.S. Bank building at 777 E. Wisconsin Ave. remains, 45 years after it was built, the tallest building not only in Milwaukee, but in the state. He has published three non-fiction books in Italy including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. His skin will start crawling even thinking about it, he says. While closing up, he had just taken out the trash and locked the doors. While students roam the halls of Concordia University, 12800 N. Lake Shore Drive,a stubborn spirit may be walking with them. There are no kids here, he says. Directories list it as a soft drink establishment, the standard euphemism for a speakeasy during Prohibition, and as a tavern since then. You'll be unsurprised to hear that an entire square block of buildings including hotels, restaurants and apartments was razed to make way for it. Mary Nohl was known as the Witch of Fox Point, and local legend said the bizarre sculptures inhabiting her yard were created to keep watch for her family who had drowned in Lake Michigan just off the shoreline where the house sits. Not sure if it's on its way to revitalization, or failing. While perhaps a little hokey, Nemetz writes, it is pleasant to think that maybe Captain Frederick Pabst is still watching over his home.. City directories show that from the early 1900s through 1923, the property served as a coal and oil distribution house for the William J. Kramer Oil Co. Next, from what Weiss has learned, the building served as a speakeasy owned by Jack Zagozen, with a brothel, known as the Hotel Frisco, in the upper floors. The campus oldest building, originally known as Loretto Hall, opened in 1904 as an all-girls Catholic boarding school, St. Marys Academy. Out with the old, in with the new, right? According to local legend, a young brewery worker would meet with his sweetheart at the mouth of the caves until one evening when he failed to turn up for the meeting. Staff report seeing an apparition of the woman waiting in her usual spot. Inside, it has high ceilings made of ornately pressed tin, a brass-topped front bar and a stained-glass divider that separates the back-room a Victorian-style seating area, where antique portraits add an air of elegance. Click to reveal The bartender grabbed his coat, set the alarm and left without closing his till for the night. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Once the largest brewer in America, the Pabst Brewery was opened in the mid-1800s and closed its doors over a century and a half later in the mid-1990s. There is also a very disconcerting tale of a ghost in Starz Tower which at one time served as a YMCA. Follow him on Twitter at @ES_Hanley. Wisconsin has a lot of ghosts, but the most haunted town has to be Whitewater. Matt Wild. Brumder is a working bed & breakfast now, so if you'd like to meet one of the ghosts -- like Suzanne, the former housekeeper -- book a night in the Gold Suite. Given the towns macabre and often blood stained history this is not something that is a great surprise! While some of the buildings in the Pittsburgh Plate Glass complex in Walker's Point survive today, this one on Oregon Street, just east of South 1st Street, did not. Though it's dormant at the moment, the Modjeska hosted major vaudeville acts when it was opened in 1910. Linda Mrochinski, operations manager, recounts the story of one tenant who was locking up for the night in Rosary Hall when she heard fabric swishing. What spirits lurk in the abandoned tunnels of the insane asylum? . On any given night, an unclaimed shot of Powers Irish whiskey sits on the bar at Sabbatic in Walkers Point accompanied by a simple note: For the ghost.. There are even old newspaper stories documenting the end of Prohibition you can read while eating your meal. Editors Note: Unfortunately these factories have now been demolished. Weiss has one other story that may explain all the spooks. And on the third floor, a member of the group felt someone pressing on their foot. In 1914 the famous architect's home became the stage for a brutal massacre, and some believe the spirits still linger. Period photographs of the building flanked by women who appear to have been the working girls of the brothel are displayed above the bar. In the restroom, she has been heard giggling and knocking on stall doors. Here are the most high-profile places for paranormal activity. The Pabst Mansion was built back in 1892 and has since come to be known as one of the most haunted buildings in Milwaukee. There are a number of different places around campus that are considered to be paranormal hotspots. Shaker's Cigar Bar & Penthouse - Milwaukee . . Contact Erik S. Hanley at (262) 875-9467 or erik.hanley@jrn.com. The best part? Also, I'm not a vandal or squatter, just a photographer. . One witness reported a cold breeze that made her legs immobile. From exhumed graves and axe murdering witches to portals to Hell itself, the legends and spirits of these haunted cemeteries in Wisconsin will never rest. Milwaukee death investigation, 13th and Layton. Address. The cemetery is open to the public, and the Oconomowoc Historical Society has set up self-guided walkingtours. Before Milwaukees street renumbering, the building was at 214-216 Reed St. Built in 1910 by George Brumder of German-language publishing fame, the mansion houses a grand Gothic staircase and arts and crafts-style details. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The bridge at the entrance to the park actually beats the eerie greeting, enter this wild wood and view the haunts of nature. We have posted a number of collections of photographs from among the many that the late Ray Szopieray took during his perambulations around Milwaukee over the decades. The woman is said to have died within a week or so many claims of a broken heart. And grand it is gold leaf frames the walls as far as the eye can see, from the shiny marble staircase to a cherubic mural above the lush main lobby. Some believe Father Oschwald cursed the town upon his death. They have also described seeing strange glowing lights and hearing the sound of disembodied voices. This is one of the most haunted places in Milwaukee. Since its restoration, strange phenomena have convinced some that those men never left it. These days it is a popular music venue and club, but its reputation as one of Milwaukees most haunted buildings precedes it and many the visiting band or musician asks for the full tour including the creepy basement! Once a former Al Capone hideout and brothel, Shaker's Cigar Bar in Milwaukee is famously haunted and several peoplea mix of employees and patrons alikehave reported seeing a little girl in the women's room and various ghosts in the basement, too. Morris Pratt Institute; Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society. But the Pabsts had little time to enjoy it: Captain Pabst died in 1904 and Mrs. Pabst in 1906. 222 E. OLIN AVE., MADISON. Elm Grove, Wisconsin. Known as Second Salem, spiritualists at the Morris Pratt Institute pierced the veil with their experiments in conjuring and speaking with the dead that many believe have left the town deeply haunted to this day. After that, Stamates checked with the previous owner, who said his staff had seen and heard strange things, and that one worker saw an apparition of a man in the basement liquor room. * Racine Campus: 262-554-6699. Haunted Places in Milwaukee, WI. After all, we have numerous historic buildings said to be plagued by lingering spirits of the past, some of which have garnered national media attention. We are the Midwest's Fear Capital! The Havenwood Apartments in Lake Geneva are rumored to be inhabited by the lost souls of the Oakwood Sanitarium that once stood in the exact same place. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side. Wisconsin Foreclosure Homes for Sale. These haunts may have given up the ghost, but they will forever torment the memories of our childhood vacations to the Dells. The largest building is likely to have been the main factory, another was possibly a library filled with bookcases. Legend says the old Evergreen Inn Hotel building in Manitowoc has seen many deaths over the years, and those spirits still wander the halls and their old rooms. 7. and one wonders how he felt seeing what must have been a familiar place disappear in August 1979. . Web Visit website. Do you know of a haunted Wisconsin location that should be included here? Located 30 minutes north of Chicago, IL or 15 minutes south of Milwaukee, WI. Built in 1894, Shakers has a tall, brick facade typical of the Walkers Point neighborhood. But so far thank heavens no ghosts of any politicians have materialized. Haunted houses can get a little old, especially the ones with unrealistic plastic skeletons hanging from the ceiling and performers who are so unenthusiastic that you can barely hear their "boo!" Were happy with that.. Dead and alive bugs everywhere.more, seems unable to get rid of an eyesore and crime attraction in the abandoned mall.more, in the way, and signage is not all that great), and there was a creepy, abandoned building next doormore, trade, paying the higher rent while they showed ours instead of the abandoned unit, they tried tomore, to hear that they started turning the giant eyesore of abandoned buildings into something.more, Hardware StoresBuilding SuppliesPaint Stores$$Riverwest, YOU WOKE UP IN AN ABANDONED CAR NEXT TO THE OLD TOWER AUTOMOTIVE PLANT.more, Shopping CentersShared Office SpacesApartments$$Downtown, So you hear about these malls that are abandoned and failing; this is one of them I think.more, I completed an online application that requested my SS# and income prior to viewing an apartment.