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I was born in 1940 in Minnesota and grew up in the country...dirt roads, swamps, lakes, woods. - Terry Gilliam

Anoka CountyAnoka

Anoka State Hospital [1] - Tunnels leading underground that link the buildings together. Mental patients were knownto try to escape through the tunnels but were caught and murdered, or committed suicide by hanging themselves from thepipes along the ceiling of the tunnels. Spirits have been heard laughing and whispering, and have been known to appear inthe tunnels, which are now closed except to security and maintenance.

Billy's Bar & Grill [1] - It is rumored that this local bar at one time was a whore house. Not to the liking of the owner atthe time she was overpowered by her male employees and was unable to keep the establishment a simple tavern for thetraveling loggers working on the nearby Rum River. She died upstairs in one of the bedrooms not too soon after theuprising. To this day several people (patrons & employees) have noticed tables set in the morning when arriving to work,pictures on the wall moved around, and simple cleaning tasks done when no one had actually done them. The old maidhas also been seen in the bar and restaurant wandering aimlessly.

Cal's Corner The Old River Front Restaurant [1] - The front door mysteriously locks itself at all hours of theday.

Coon Rapids

Tequilaberrys [1] - Glasses have been heard crashing when there was nothing broken, in the bar all the glasses weresitting on the floor. Hearing your name called, you turn around but no-one is there.

Columbia Heights

Pizza Hut [1] - The old baker that used to work there when it was doughnut shop is reported to haunt the property. Hehung himself in the back room. People see him from time to time and sometimes the lights will all of the sudden turn off.Also the faucets will turn on and off by their own accord.

Forest Lake

Carlos Avery State Wildlife Management Area (WMA) [5] - People driving or walking through Carlos Averyat dusk or late at night reporting seeing a phantom truck and/or possibly ghost car driving through the area. Headlightswill be seen through the rushes around a corner but when the person approaches there is nothing there. Taillights are seenwere no road, only swamp exits.

In addition the area in and around Carlos Avery is reported to be the roaming grounds of a creature called the LinwoodWooley Beast. Reports of this creature appear as early as the 1970s and probably earlier. This creature is described as allwhite with the body of a moose, the head of a goat and moves very quickly. It will dart across roads, fields and onoccasion charged cars.

Caution should be observed when driving through Carlos Avery Preserve as it's roads are very low maintenance, someexceedingly sandy or muddy depending on weather, in addition there are many black bears. Some roads are blockedduring hunting season.

Ramsey

Mary Schmidt-Bremer Mansion [1] - Cold spots, an apparition of a woman with brown hair and wearing a longwhite dress, and the sound of someone climbing the stairs when there is no one around have been reported.

Dakota CountyApple Valley

Falcon Ridge Middle School [1] - While being built in the summer of 1995, a construction worker was buried alivein the digging process. He's reportedly been seen late at night walking through the commons, unlocking doors andmoaning. The lights surrounding the school also mysteriously go on and off late at night.

Lake Alimagnet Trails [1] - Sightings of a figure who seems to look like a clown have been reported. The clown doesnot seem to be harmful, but stares at you. The only intent is to scare you away from the wooded trails. Sightings havebeen reported mostly at dusk, just as the sun sets.

Hastings

Treat Me Sweet [1] - Treat me sweet has been haunted for some years now. Treat Me Sweet use to be a restaurantsome time ago. It is haunted by a man. This man used to be the owner of the restaurant. He committed suicide in the backof the kitchen.

Northfield

St. Olaf College - Hilleboe Hall [1] - This hall is said to have had a variety of ghostlike experiences. One is thatwhen there was only one student in the entire dorm during the summer, she heard childlike singing and the piano playingand after going to investigate she found all of the sinks turned on in all of the rooms on her corridor. It is also said thatmysterious child-sized hand prints appear on the outside of third floor windows.

St. Olaf College - Kelsey Theater [1] - It is said that the ghost of Miss Kelsey herself has been seen playing thepiano onstage long after her death and has been heard warning an actor who was rehearsing alone late at night that he wasabout to fall into the orchestra pit.

St. Olaf College - Melby Hall [1] - the oldest on campus, it said that a man and a woman in period clothing from theVictorian era have been seen in halls and rooms as well as the stairway.

St. Olaf College - Thorson Hall [1] - There have been sightings of the "Red Hat Boy" believed to possibly be theghost of a student who died, not on campus, but while he attended St. Olaf and lived in that dorm. What is believed to bethe boy's dog has also been seen with him and roaming around campus by itself. He also appears in a certain room, onethat is assumed was his.

Vang Lutheran Church [1] - Strange voices have been heard in this 170 year old church. In the late 1930's a blurryapparition was seen crossing the church to the basement steps. No-one has been able to identify members of the ghostlycongregation.

Hennepin CountyChanhassen

Chanhassen Dinner Theater [1] - This theater was built over the site of a house that burnt down with a woman stillinside. She is said to haunt the new structure. There is another ghost here of an actor who was hit by a car when she wasbicycling home from work. Her spirit has been spotted backstage.

Minneapolis

Minneapolis City Hall [1] - The 5th floor of the Minneapolis City Hall is haunted by several ghosts. One of the ghostsis that of John Moshik who was hung in the Chapel Courtroom in March 1898. He was convicted of murdering anotherman during a robbery that netted him $14. As the noose was put over his head the guards tightened the noose and boundhis hands and legs securely. They swung the trap door, the noose slipped from his neck to under his chin. It took severalminutes for the guards to realize that the noose did not set correctly and he began to choke on his own vomit. The guardsreleased him and then reset the noose tightly around his neck. They once again hung him and it took about 3 minutes forhim to die. Upon examination of the noose after the execution, it was found that the noose was not properly made. Hisghost has been seen by the Minneapolis Police Detention Center roaming along the area where they house inmates. Hehas also been seen on the 5th floor by maintenance workers. People also report an icy cold breeze down the hallway of the5th floor.

First Ave. Night Club [1] - The First Avenue nightclub is one of the most well known haunted spots in the TwinCities. Before it was a nightclub, First Avenue was the site of the old Greyhound bus depot, where the homeless wouldspend many nights sleeping on the benches, a few of which are still used in the bar. Before that it was a livestock stablewhere sheep and cattle were slaughtered and before that it was a school playground. Some have even said that it was builton holy ground. But ask any of the staff who work there and they will say that it is haunted. One of the legends is that ayoung woman either committed suicide or died from a drug overdose in the bus station, on one of the benches that stillresides in the bar.

A woman in a green army jacket, long blonde hair, bell bottom jeans and bare feet walked out of the entry, smiled at thetwo staff, walked into the main room and then vanished before their eyes. One staff member recalls her encounter with aghost. "I opened the door to the stall in the woman's restroom and saw a woman hanging up there. She was wearing agreen army jacket, and had long hair. It wasn't anything gory but she was just hanging there with her neck to one side. Ithought that someone had just hung themselves. I then looked back, and there was nothing there."

Others report flying ash trays, changes in the air temperature and depth perception, a laughing gangster emerging from thewall, unearthly sounds in the DJ's headset, ghostly manifestations and the sounds of baa-ing sheep in the basement. Anafter hours séance revealed 257 channeled dead children claiming that "there is a bad thing in the club"

Could this all be the product of a bunch of people with overactive imaginations who had one too many late nights or toomuch to drink? If not who is the girl in the army jacket?

This club is open to the public with a cover charge to get in. Who knows you might even see some of the long lost partygoers!

Minneapolis Institute of the Arts [1] - Areas of extreme 'cold spots', especially in the Connecticut Room, (a 1700'sstyle room).

Lakewood Cemetery - Coming soon...

St. Louis Park

Aizman House - Orbs have been sighted on several occasions in the living room and basement after 10:30. Halloweentrick-or-treaters have run out after having a tour of the basement, and it's "friends". The orbs and the apparition of a manwith only eyes and a mouth, dressed in a gray sweater with his white collar showing and blue jeans, are believed to bevictims of "Kid Can" and his gang.

Plymouth

Holy Name Cemetery [1] - Holy Name Cemetery is located on the corner of Holy Name Drive and a county road. It'sacross the street from a brick church. Reports of misty headlights pulling in and vanishing before your eyes. Witnesseshave heard voices, footsteps, when it was horribly windy while calm outside the cemetery, and have seen a whiteapparition.

Ramsey CountyRoseville

Roselawn Cemetery - This beautiful and peaceful cemetery was built at the beginning of the 20th Century and covers160 acres. Among the reputed ghosts that haunt this is known as “Smiling Jack.” Click here to see some of the photoswe've taken there.

St. Paul

College of Visual Arts [1] - Many occurrences happen, especially in the darkroom. The spirit playfully moves objectsaround and changes the time on the timer. It is said that a wealthy man (a carpenter whose studio was in the darkroom)lived there and was cheating on his wife with the maid. After refusing to leave his wife the maid hung herself on the mainstairwell banister. The late night janitors experience sounds, lights turn on and off nightly and they hear children. Oneemployee saw the man in his flannel.

Fish Island - Coming soon...

The Fitzgerald Theater [1] - Another of Minnesota's haunted theaters is the Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul.If every good theater is supposed to have a ghost.... the staff at this theater would be happy to donate their resident spiritto another theater who doesn't have their own. The haunting began in 1985 when the theater underwent some renovations.The removal of a false ceiling revealed that the theater had an additional balcony that no-one knew about and it alsouncovered a note to an old stagehand named Ben. It is this former stagehand who is believed to be the ghost that hauntsthe place... but who he really is remains a mystery.

Once the renovations started, so did the strange events. People in the theater began to experience inexplicable cold spotsand started getting glimpses of a dark figure walking around. Puzzled stage set workers started discovering that their toolswere moved around or missing and, strangely, an antique bottle of muscatel, which was always empty, started appearingmysteriously in unlikely places. Many believe that the construction on the building has awakened the dormant spirit of anold stagehand. While "Ben", as the staff have nicknamed him, is not usually harmful or dangerous, one incident has staffmembers wishing that perhaps he would move on to the next world.

Two theater workers were walking in a work area backstage. There were no lights, so they were guided by flashlightsonly. Suddenly, a large chunk of ceiling plaster fell to the stage between them, narrowly missing both of their heads. Theyquickly directed their flashlights upward and saw a hazy figure moving in the catwalks, about 60 feet above. The figureabruptly vanished. What makes this experience especially strange is that the ceiling in the theater is not made fromplaster.... no one has any idea where the chunk of material may have come from. Theater workers also say that Ben is notalone in the building. While she has never been seen, there is also a ghost here named "Veronica" who is believed to be anactress who died many years ago. She makes her presence known by singing... which many staff members have heardechoing in the auditorium at night.

The Fitzgerald Theater is located in downtown St. Paul.

Forepaugh's Restaurant [1] - Forepaugh's Restaurant is located in an old Victorian mansion named after themansions' original owner, Joseph Forepaugh. Mr. Forepaugh was into the dry goods business, so when his fortune wasmade, he bought this beautiful mansion. He also decided to hire himself some servants to accompany his new foundwealth. Well, Mr. Forepaugh became rather fond of one of his servants in particular. Her name was Molly, and the two ofthem soon began to have a steamy love affair together. However, things got rather ugly after Mrs. Forepaugh caught thetwo together in the midst of their lovemaking. She insisted Mr. Forepaugh break off the affair, and so he did. This did notsettle well with Molly, who was now pregnant with Mr. Forepaugh's child. She became so distraught over the situationthat she went to the third floor, tied a noose around herself and a light fixture, then threw herself out of the window. Mr.Forepaugh was so devastated over her death that he went into a deep depression and eventually shot himself at the nearbyrailroad tracks. It is said that Mr. Forepaugh and Molly now haunt the mansion. People have claimed to see Molly nearthe area where she hanged herself. Mr. Forepaugh, on the other hand, has been seen by employees and customers in thedining room area. They say that a nice looking guy just walks through the dining room as if he owns the place.

Fort Snelling - Coming soon...

Gamble House - Located on Summit Ave. this house was built for lumber baron, James Gamble by George Wirth. According to the book St. Paul's Historic Summit Avenue F. Scott Fitzgerald's "This Side of Paradise" is about the house,in which resided a Zelda Sayre, a woman he was dating at the time and would later marry.[2] [3]Click here to see photostaken during one of our investigations.

Gibbs Farm - Coming soon...

Griggs Mansion [1] - The most reported haunted house in St. Paul is located on Summit Ave. in St. Paul. This 24-roommansion was built in 1883 by Chauncey W. Griggs. The house changed hands like a hot potato. It has been a privateresidence, apartment and an art school. Haunting have been reported since 1915 when a young maid upset over a loveaffair hung herself near the 4th floor landing. People have felt her presence ever since. Visitors to the house have reporteduneasy an uneasy feeling near the top landing while climbing the staircase.

Other apparitions that have been reported within this house are Charles Wade - a gardener who has been seen in thelibrary reading books on gardening, Amy - a teenage girl who died young, has been reported playing the piano in thehouse - it is not know if there is a connection between her and the house - and a thin man in a black suit that has beenspotted popping in and out of the rooms both day and night. Footsteps have been heard in empty staircases, doors openand close by themselves, rasping coughs come from behind closed doors on empty rooms and heavy drapes swing for noreason. A college student staying in a basement apartment woke up to see a floating head of a child above him.

In February 1969 two reporters for the Pioneer Press arranged to spend the night in the house. They decided to stay on thetop floor in the skylight room, where most of the activity have been reported. Within a short time, they began to feeluneasy. With no sign of danger in the room, they had no explanation to the uneasiness that they felt. Throughout the nightthey experienced several paranormal events and at 4:00am they packed up and left the house. Both reporters have said"We all agreed on one thing. There is no prize on earth that could get us to spend a single night in that great stone housethat seems to speak in sounds we can't explain or understand."

Hamm House [1] - The current owners of the William Hamm house, of Hamm's Brewery fame, have had a connectionwith the old mansion that has dated back more than twenty years. Even before they bought the place, they had a strangeattraction to it. Could spirits from the past have been seeking someone to restore the place? Karin and Rich DuPaul are thecurrent owners of the house and they are convinced that the place is haunted. They believe that the house itself, rightdown to the very wood and stone of the place, contains a spirit that somehow influences what happens there.

They did not exactly fall in love with the place at first sight either. The mansion was a dilapidated ruin when they firstlooked at it and they knew it would take a monumental effort to restore it. But something about the house attracted themand they couldn't get it out of their minds. After finally deciding to buy the place, they realized that there was somethingstrange about the place. One night they were still in their former home and both Karin and Rich got the terrifying feelingthat they should go to the Hamm mansion.... they couldn't explain it, it just an urgent need to go there. When they arrived,they found that the water pipes had burst and water was dripping everywhere. Their coming to house averted a veryexpensive disaster. On another night, after moving in, Rich was shaken awake by something. He felt the urge to go downto the basement and was shocked to find several cardboard boxes that had been stacked next to the chimney weresmoldering. The furnace had not been working and they had been using the fireplace for heat. Do the strange eventsbother the DuPauls? Not according to them, in fact, they believe that the living and the dead can easily co-habituate... youjust get used to one another, they say.

The Hamm Mansion is a private residence on North Greenbrier Street in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Indian Mounds Park New [4] - There are no recorded or rumored events, however people with active psychic abilitiesdo report making contact with various entities, not all of whom are Native American. During several trips to the park ourinvestigators did get some interesting results. While there are no tombstones we associate with cemeteries this is a burialsite of historical importance and should be treated with respect. For more information check out the City of St. Paul's website.

Landmark Center - Coming soon...

Marian Center (Old Mounds Park Hospital) [1] - The Marian Center in St. Paul is a nursing home located in whatwas once the old Mounds Park Hospital. It was closed as a hospital sometime in the 70's and reopened as a nursing homein the late 80's/early 90's. The story is that an off duty policeman who was working as a security guard was shot and killedas he was getting off the elevator in the basement, which is where the morgue was located. There are four elevators in thebuilding, but if you get on that particular elevator, no matter what direction it is going or what floor you push, it will gostraight to the basement, open, and then close again before going to where it's directed. The employee break room is in thebasement but is rarely used, as you have to walk past the old morgue to get to it and there are strange noises there at night.There was also a tunnel from the basement leading to the old nurse's dormitory, which was once used for storage. Themaintenance men disliked using it because they reported hearing strange noise and lights flickering off and on. Theproperty sits across the street from a group of Indian burial mounds.

Minnesota State Capitol [1] - Funny noises come from the second floor and unusual cold air has been felt in the statecapitol. There have also been reports of people being locked in room 217. Some say that room 217 was once a judge'soffice.

Minnesota State Fair - Coming soon...

Mounds Theatre New [6] - Constructed in 1922, this 8,600 square foot Art Deco building was built to seat 700 silentmovie viewers. It closed it's doors in 1967 but not permanetly. The owner George Hardenbergh donated it to the“Portage for Youth” to be restored to theatrical and community center usage. It was during this third remodeling the newtenets started having encounters. Among them a little girl who has played with a red ball on the main stage, an Usher stillin red uniform, and man who haunts the projection booth behind the balcony. If you are interested in a ghost tour, contactthe theatre directly.

Oakland Cemetery [1] - A woman haunts the cemetery and has appeared to many people that have frequented thecemetery over the years. She is a woman in her mid twenties with shoulder length brown hair, blue eyes, Caucasian,approximately 5'5" to 5'7" in height wearing a long white lacey style dress from about the turn of the century.

Palace Theater - Coming soon... Click here to see photos taken during a Halloween tour in 2004.

St. Paul City Hall [1] - Like the City Hall in Minneapolis, the Ramsey County Courthouse in the sister city of St. Paulis also a haunted municipal building. It is even haunted by a criminal who was executed on the site, but there theresemblance ends. Psychics who have investigated the courthouse describe it as almost a "spirit party" because the ghostsso like to visit there.

The Ramsey County Courthouse has been the center of community activity for many years and for nearly all of them, theplace has been rumored to be a place where ghostly activity can be found too. Late night cleaning crews and securityguards are the most frequent witnesses to strange events here and have reported the most encounters. They claim to haveheard laughing in empty rooms and have seen spirits walking up and down the corridors wearing clothing from the 1930'sand 1940's. A ghostly shoeshine man has been seen still plying his trade in the building's lobby. Metal coat hangers oftenstir in empty closets and the tapping of women's high-heeled shoes is commonly reported in deserted hallways.

The only frightening spirit seemed to be that of a man who has been reported hanging from a noose. His is thought to be acriminal who was executed in the courthouse many years ago. A workman named Tim Mahanna was interviewed sometime back by the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He had been one of the workers who helped renovate the building in 1992 and hewas convinced that the place was haunted. Tools and lumber moved about from place to place, things would disappearand then turn up again later and even pipes that had been sitting disconnected for weeks would suddenly have watercoming out of them. "Strange things happened there that have never happened at another job site" he was quoted in thearticle. "I think there are people there who died and never left".

The Ramsey County Courthouse is located near the state capitol building in St. Paul. Check out our group photo on ourMember's page.

St. Paul Hotel [1] - A ghost of a bellboy still tries to make the guests comfortable.

St. Paul Street Caves - Coming soon...

Washington CountyCottage Grove

Cottage Grove Historical Cemetery [1] - Many spirits in this cemetery, one seen in the window of the storageshed. Also smells of perfume in certain areas.

St. Paul Park

Grey Cloud Island [1] - Unimproved roads surrounding the site. There are two interesting haunted locations in thisarea. The first is a small cemetery located about 150 yards off the main highway. On moonlit nights, an indistinct figurecan be seen leaning against a gatepost smoking a cigarette. Another figure that can be seen is a translucent motorcyclistriding silently past late night walkers and drivers.

Stillwater

Lumber Barons (hotel/restaurant) [1] - A Confederate military man passed away in a drunken stupor on thesecond floor S.W. suite. His curious sweaty odor is heavy in the air.

Arcola Trail Bridge [1] - A young wife searches to find her husband along the abandoned railroad tracks of ArcolaTrail in Stillwater, Minnesota. You may find her walking about with her lantern dressed in her white gown late at night.

Stillwater Prison [1] - The living unit that is called B West has a ghost which appears on the 3rd floor. The area calledthe "brake" area between cells 301 and 732 has an inmate that supposedly died while in prison standing in the corner by amop sink. This location was burned to the ground by an arsonist in 2003.

[1] Taken from the Shadowland web site.[2] Ghost Stories of Minnesota by Gina Teel, 2002[3] Wikipedia: This Side of Paradise[4] As of 1-Oct-09[5] As of 1-Nov-09