Read up about the most haunted places in Wisconsin, the state’s weird history, the strange creatures roaming the woods and waters, bizarre alien encounters, legends, folklore and more! If you want to read about disturbing run-ins with the Goatman in the Kettle Moraine, or harrowing roadside brushes with the wendigo, these are our top haunted Wisconsin book picks for ghost stories, mysteries, and the unexplained in the Badger state.
Haunted Wisconsin
The original Haunted Wisconsin book tells the ghost stories of Wisconsin as gathered from personal interviews with credible eyewitnesses, on-site explorations, historical archives, newspaper reports, and other sources. From Wisconsin’s early settlement days to modern times, read about the beautiful ghost of National Avenue in Milwaukee, the ghost horse that was a harbinger of impending death in the pioneer days of Wisconsin Dells, the famous Ridgeway Ghost, the Ghost Island of the Chippewa Flowage, and more.
Haunted Wisconsin: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Badger State
In the newly updated 2nd edition of Haunted Wisconsin, Linda Godfrey presents even more Wisconsin ghost stories, from witches in the Wisconsin Dells to spirits in the State Capitol, encounters with Kenosha’s headless nun, the Mothman of La Crosse, Rocky the Rock Lake Monster, pancake-peddling aliens, the ghost of gangster John Dillinger, explorations of Aztalan’s ancient mounds, the ghostly bars and taverns of Madison and Milwaukee, Summerwind Mansion, Haunchyville, and the creepy town of Caryville, one of the most haunted places in America.
Weird Wisconsin: Your Travel Guide to Wisconsin’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets
There’s a lot more to the Badger State than badgers; it’s also filled to the brim with weirdness. Visit Burlington’s Spinning Top Museum and recoil at the worm shower of Palmyra. Take a look at Highway 13’s Reptile Man, see the World’s Largest Six Pack, then get spooked over the haunted bridges of Stevens Point. From Madison’s Loony Lawyer to the Wily Wizard of Waukesha, this indispensable guide takes you on a journey you’ll never forget.
Goatman: Flesh or Folklore?
Goatman, a half man, half goat creature, is one of the strangest creatures stalking the woods, roads, and lover’s lanes of the country. Detailing historical accounts as well as modern day eyewitness encounters, paranormal researcher J. Nathan Couch explores the gruesome Wisconsin Goatman legends from the Kettle Moraine and Hogsback Road dating back to the 1800s, as well as similar lore from around the globe.
The Wisconsin Road Guide to Haunted Locations
Planning a haunted Wisconsin road trip? This guide to the most haunted places in Wisconsin by Chad Lewis will lead you to the state’s motorious haunted bars, bed & breakfasts, bridges, campgrounds, cemeteries, churches, fire stations, hotels, lighthouses, mansions, parks, railroad tracks, restaurants, roads, rocks, schoolhouses, stores, theaters, and more. Don’t leave home without it.
Badger Boneyards: The Eternal Rest of the Story
The bodies are buried, but author Dennis McCann exhumes their stories is this fascinating look at what lies six feet under Wisconsin cemeteries. From the ornate tombs of the Milwaukee beer barons, to the Belgian graves paved over with a parking lot, McCann digs up curious and tragic tales, unusual epitaphs, and more from Wisconsin’s burial grounds.
Milwaukee Ghosts and Legends
The overbearing spirit of Frederick Pabst keeps persistent watch over the mansion that shares his name. The remains of the Newhall House Fire, the city’s deadliest disaster, may lie beneath a new building, but those who lost their lives that night refuse to rest in peace. Even the suburbs hold their share of ghoulish secrets, including the furtive dwarves of Haunchyville, the fabled Bray Road Beast and the stubborn spirits lurking in Deacon West’s house. Tour guide and founder of Gothic Milwaukee Anna Lardinois shares the spine-tingling tales of the Beer City’s famous, and not so famous, specters and legends.
Wisconsin Death Trip
First published in 1973, Wisconsin Death Trip is a collection of vintage photographs taken between 1890 and 1910 depicting the fascinating and often bleak life around the turn of the century in the small town of Black River Falls and nearby communities. The book combines these photos with newspaper headlines about things such as famous French opera singer who lived out the end of her days miserable in a Wisconsin swamp, and a woman who traveled around the state throwing rocks through storefront windows for fun.
Odd Wisconsin: Amusing, Perplexing, and Unlikely Stories from Wisconsin’s Past
Wisconsin history is full of weird tales and strange but true stories. Have you heard the one about “the voyageur with a hole in his side?” What about the “pigs beneath the legislature?” No? That’s because these curious fragments have been largely forgotten or overlooked for more prominent moments in the Badger State’s history. That is, until now!
Haunted Baraboo
For decades, ghosts have been known to inhabit some of Baraboo’s most prized historic locations. Buildings and mansions built by the Ringling brothers at the height of their circus empire now harbor apparitions of unidentified children, horse trainers and other circus workers. Residents throughout the Downtown Baraboo Historic District describe disembodied voices, footsteps and items moving on their own. Even historic homes, new homes and roadways have ghosts–a family awakened to find their dining room table set for a party of ten, a little girl realized that her “friend” wasn’t getting any older and a Highway 12 hitchhiker materialized despite the highway being rerouted. Founder of Baraboo Tours Shelley Mordini and tour guide Gwen Herrewig share tales of Baraboo’s more mysterious side.
The W-Files: True Reports of Unexplained Phenomena in Wisconsin
Kangaroos, Bigfoot, lake monsters, UFOs, and wendigo! The W-Files presents some of the most bizarre and outlandish true stories of mysterious and unexplained happenings in Wisconsin.
The Beast of Bray Road: Tailing Wisconsin’s Werewolf
Journalist Linda Godfrey was covering the strange sightings of a werewolf-like creature on Bray Road in Elkhorn, Wisconsin in the early 90s. This book brings together the eye witness accounts, the local lore, and more to present the full story of the Beast of Bray Road.
Haunted Summerwind: A Ghostly History of a Wisconsin Mansion
Buried deep in the Wisconsin Northwoods, the ruined splendor of the Summerwind Mansion bares the bones of its legendary past. Robert Patterson Lamont purchased the property in 1916 as a country retreat where he could entertain such guests as President Warren G. Harding. Unfortunately, the house played host to visitors of an entirely different sort, and Lamont reportedly fled the property after discharging a pistol at a ghoul in the basement pantry. Raymond Bober abandoned his attempt to convert the house into a hotel in the 1970s, describing rooms that changed size and the mysterious presence of an eighteenth-century explorer in his famous book, The Carver Effect. Join Devon Bell for a glimpse through the shattered windows of the most specter-laden spot in the Badger State.
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