Home to western prairies, deciduous forests, and shimmering lakes, Minnesota is a state of exceptional natural beauty. But behind the picture-postcard views, tales of gruesome murders and vengeful spirits intertwine with Native American folklore, making Minnesota a popular destination for ghost hunters from far and wide. In the following lines, we uncover a few of the macabre and ghoulish tales behind the paranormal activities and haunted houses in Minnesota. 

Warden's House Museum, Stillwater 

Gertrude Wolfer was the daughter of Henry Wolfer, the last resident warden of the 14-bed Warden’s House at Stillwater Prison. Gertrude sadly died of appendicitis following childbirth, and her son went on to live with Henry – his maternal grandfather – in the Warden’s House. Henry and the family moved away from the mansion when the new prison opened in 1914, but his daughter’s restless spirit wasn’t ready to move on. Her ghost has been sighted walking the landings in nineteenth century clothing, while a cradle in the upstairs bedroom rocks back and forth – even though there's no one there to push it...

Griggs Mansion, St. Paul

Chauncey Griggs made his money as a merchant following the end of the American Civil War, and built Griggs Mansion in 1883 on Summit Avenue, St. Paul. The mansion was gutted by fire in the same year that he passed, before being rebuilt by a New York interior design company. The story goes that a lovelorn maid hanged herself on the top floor of the mansion when an affair went badly wrong, and it’s said that her spirit has since been seen as a white mist on the landing where she died.  Read more about it here.

First Avenue, Minneapolis

Originally a Minneapolis bus depot, First Avenue is a nightclub, and the center of paranormal stories dating back to the Second World War. The most famous story tells of a woman waiting at the bus depot for her soldier husband to return from the battlefield. Distraught on finally learning that he hadn’t made it home, she took herself off to the women's restroom and hung herself. Visitors have reported sobbing emanating from the stalls, and sightings of her spirit moving through the hallways in the kind of green army jacket her husband would have once worn. Read more about it here.

St. James Hotel, Red Wing 

Established in 1875, the elegant St. James Hotel has been welcoming visitors to historic Red Wing for over a century. Even today, it still offers all the hallmarks of a fine hotel, including rooftop terrace and on-site spa. But this sleek and stylish property hides a dark secret... It’s built on Native American burial grounds, and guests down the decades have all reported disturbed nights’ sleep, inexplicable cold spots, and ghostly murmurings in the corridors.  Read more about it here.

Palmer House, Sauk Centre, Minnesota

The Sauk Centre House was constructed in 1863 in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, but was destroyed by fire in 1900. Fully re-constructed in the early 20th century, the Palmer House in Sauk Center is today considered among America's most haunted locations, and regularly attracts ghost-hunters from the US and beyond to research its frequent paranormal activities. The hotel’s paranormal stories date all the way back to its reconstruction, and include bones unearthed in the basement which mysteriously went missing, documented suicide, and the little boy who died from flu, whose ghost can sometimes be seen playing with a ball in the hallway. 

Minneapolis City Hall

When Minneapolis City Hall was built in the late nineteenth century, it served as a city hall, a courthouse, and a jail. One of the inmates there was a certain John Moshik, incarcerated for robbery and murder. He tried to escape twice and even attempted to take his own life, but failed on all counts. He was eventually hanged on the 5th floor of the City Hall building, as a crowd of 450 onlookers waited to make sure he was dead, but the hanging didn’t go quite according to plan... On the first go, the noose slipped and Moshik started choking on his own vomit. On the second go his neck held in the noose but didn’t break, and he slowly died through asphyxiation. Since that day, stories have come to light of Moshik’s ghost being seen hanging from the rafters, stomping along the hallways, or angrily demanding that visitors to the 5th floor leave him in peace.  

Landmark Center, St. Paul

Jack Pfeifer started out as a bellhop, but the illicit opportunities presented to him during the Prohibition era proved too hard to ignore... He was caught up in the botched kidnap of local brewing magnate William Hamm, and ended up with a full-life jail term in The Federal Courthouse – today the Landmark Center. The thought of life behind bars was too much for Jack, and he took his own life in his cell with a poison pill. In more recent times, the building is a popular spot for weddings and celebrations, though stories circulate of party-goers seeing a strange figure dressed as a bellhop, wandering around the 3rd floor. 

Glensheen Mansion, Duluth

Elisabeth Congdon was found murdered in her sister’s bedroom in Glensheen Mansion in 1977, killed by suffocation. In the weeks following the murder, jewelry found missing was later seen adorning the neck of Elizabeth's adopted daughter, Marjorie, sparking rumors that she was the killer. But there was never enough evidence for a conviction. In the years that followed, Marjorie’s husband – Roger Caldwell – stood accused. He pled guilty in the hope of a lighter sentence, but he committed suicide in 1988 and the note he left asserted his innocence. Since then, reported sightings include a shadowy figure in the basement, apparitions of two women standing in an upstairs window, and ceiling lights throughout the mansion flickering on and off.

Arcola Trail Bridge, Stillwater

Around a mile north of Stillwater, the Arcola Trail Bridge crosses 200 feet above the swirling St. Croix River. It was built between 1909 and 1911, and although a functioning railroad bridge, it regularly attracted sightseers eager for the finest river views. Stories abound of ill-fated hikers wandering onto the tracks, before leaping into the choppy waters to escape an oncoming locomotive. Paranormal sightings on the bridge include the ‘woman in white’, who bears a lantern aloft in a fruitless search for her missing boyfriend...

St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN

Greg Kneser was the Director of Housing at St. Olaf College, Northfield, in the early 1990s. One day, two sophomore students knocked on his door asking to see the ‘ghost file’. Having never heard of such a thing, Kneser checked in with the Dean of Students Office, and that’s when the paranormal stories starting bubbling to the surface... College tales include apparitions of a figure wearing a red baseball cap standing in the window, students’ stereos skipping for no reason, and two shadowy figures seen playing cards on the floor. Inspired by these mysterious tales, Kneser started his own ghost file, and would share details of the mysterious happenings in the first-year dorms every fall.

If these haunting tales from beyond the grave inspire you to learn more, join us on one of our Minnesota ghost walks. From the historic streets of St. Paul and Minneapolis to the Native American legends of Stillwater, you’ll hear tales and folklore that defy belief and explanation.