Wisconsin’s Most Haunted Landmarks

We all know the Pfister Hotel and its legendary haunted history, but Wisconsin is filled with other spooky landmarks outside of Milwaukee. Here are five places where you can get your paranormal fix while in the Dairy State. 

1. Octagon House - Fond du Lac, WI 

The 1856 Octagon House has a history as a safe house for the Underground Railroad and a rum-running haven during Prohibition. The house includes nine secret passageways and The History Channel named it one of the most haunted houses in the state. Many people have reported ghostly children laughing inside and a spectral shape of a young boy in the front yard. Not only the homeowner, but visitors of the haunted house have reported feeling the touch of cold hands as they move through the house and have seen doors in the home open and close by themselves.

2. Mary of Elk Lake Dam - Elk Lake, WI 

This ghost story is rooted in tragedy. In 1974, the body of Mary Shlais was found in the rural Elk Lake area. At the time, the police believed the young woman was hitchhiking from Minneapolis to Chicago when she was picked up by her killer. A man had been seen pushing a body out of a car, but that led nowhere. The case remains open and cold to this day. The lack of closure may explain Mary’s restless spirit. Many lake-goers have reported seeing disappearing shapes and shadows, mysterious lights, and spectral noises and apparitions. 

3. Bloody Bride Bridge - Stevens Point, WI 

Folklore has it that many years ago, a young woman was killed in a car accident on the Highway 66 Bridge over the Plover River on her wedding night. There have been numerous reports of a woman wearing a bloody wedding dress standing on the bridge and sitting in the backseat of passing cars. Spooky! Local legend tells of a police officer who reportedly hit a woman, but saw no one when he got out to help her. 

4. Siren Bridge - Siren, WI

While the first haunted bridge was developed through legends and folklore, this case is sadly true. On March 3, 1985, Richard, Rose, and their daughter JoDee Kringle all drowned when their car hit the ice on the bridge and overturned into the marshy river. Locals have reported that when they drive over the bridge, their car's radio cuts out and instead they hear the voice of a young girl yelling, "Help me, mommy, I can't get out!"

5. Plainfield Cemetery - Plainfield, WI

In a morbid twist of fate, Ed Gein is buried in the same cemetery where in the 50s, he dug up the bodies of women who reminded him of his dead mother. This location is creepy enough for its unfortunate history, as well as the fact that Gein is buried there, but there are of course, claims that the cemetery is haunted. The restless soul of one of his victims is said to roam the cemetery grounds late at night.