Ready to hit the road and explore the most haunted towns in Wisconsin? There are many haunted places in Wisconsin, but some places have a higher concentration of ghosts and legends than others. From a community said to be cursed by the heretic priest who founded it, to a university town where experiments to communicate with the dead have left it plagued with spirits and witches, dark legends are alive in the most unlikely of places. Wisconsin’s backroads are paved with bone-chilling stories that refuse to die. Beneath the supper clubs and cheese curds lies a darker landscape shaped by tragic deaths, unsolved mysteries, and lingering spirits.
In small towns scattered across the state, paranormal energy crackles just beneath the surface, drawing in ghost hunters, thrill-seekers, and dark history lovers alike. Some towns are plagued by the inescapable reality of true crimes, or by sinister folklore passed down for generations. Others are haunted by specific locations: old schools where lights flicker without cause, abandoned cemeteries where strange figures loom in the mist, and Victorian mansions where someone or something still paces the halls.
Whether you’re a true believer or a curious skeptic, this list of Wisconsin’s most haunted towns will take you on a tour of the strange, the spooky, and the downright unexplainable. Consider it your map to the macabre.
Baraboo
Baraboo, the hometown of the Ringling Bros. Circus, harbors a shadowy side that belies its cheerful facade. In the 1930s, the town was plagued by ghostly elephants, with one spectral pachyderm allegedly toppling a barn.
On Ringling Road, a tragic tale unfolds of a mother who cast her children into an old well before taking her own life; her apparition is seen hanging near the well, accompanied by the haunting cries of children.
The Old Baraboo Inn, steeped in debaucherous history, remains a hotspot for paranormal activity, with encounters involving the ghosts of a prostitute named Mary, cowboys, children, and former owners. Witnesses report objects moving independently, doors opening and closing, flickering lights, and disembodied voices.
The spirit of Al Ringling is said to linger in his mansion, while a ghostly hitchhiker is frequently spotted along a stretch of Highway 12, vanishing only to reappear further down the road.
Nearby, Devil’s Lake is reputedly home to a horrific tentacled lake monster, and the spirit of a Native American is seen paddling a canoe across its waters.
Kenosha
Kenosha’s storied past is etched with tales of the supernatural. The Kemper Center, a Gothic mansion turned Episcopal girls’ school, is haunted by the apparitions of former nuns who roam its halls. One is said to have fallen down the spiraling staircase of the observatory. Another flung herself to her death into the frigid Lake Michigan waters. In 1996, fiction writer David Schmickel is said to have taken photos of the mansion, and when he developed them, discovered ghosts in its windows.
The Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library is rumored to house a secret burial chamber beneath its foundation, with reports of a female ghost wandering its aisles.
The Rhodes Center for the Arts is home to the “Lavender Lady,” a woman who supposedly appears backstage in the dressing rooms backstage with mysterious scents of flowers and ghostly piano sounds.
Green Ridge Cemetery conceals the unmarked grave of John McCaffary, who’s brutal hanging for the murder of his wife is the reason Wisconsin abolished the death penalty. McCaffary’s spirit may still roam the cemetery. While there, knock on the door of the Jeffery mausoleum to see if the spirit inside will say “hello,” as it’s reputed to do.
Plainfield
Plainfield is a small, rural town with a dark reputation that stretches far beyond its borders thanks to Ed Gein, the real-life grave robber and murderer whose crimes inspired Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs. But beyond the true crime lore, locals and paranormal enthusiasts alike claim the area is steeped in a strange, lingering energy.
Visitors to the site of Gein’s former farmhouse (now just an empty lot on private property since the house burned down in 1958) often report feelings of overwhelming dread, disorientation, and being watched. Some claim to hear phantom screams or the sound of digging in the night. Some ghost hunters believe they’ve made contact with Gein’s spirit there.
Plainfield Cemetery, where Gein is buried among the empty graves he once dug up, is a hotspot for paranormal activity. People report shadowy figures moving among the headstones, sudden cold spots, and an oppressive atmosphere near the disturbed graves.
Nearby Spiritland Cemetery is so-named because a man supposedly communed with the ghost of his deceased wife at her grave. Spirits are said to be restless here because it was one of several local cemeteries visited by Gein to exhume freshly buried women who resembled his mother.
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La Crosse
Tucked along the bluffs of the Mississippi River, La Crosse is a river city with a haunted pulse. Downtown, the Bodega Brew Pub (known as Malin’s Pool & Sample Room in the 1800s) is believed to be haunted by its former owner, Paul Malin, who allegedly died by suicide on the property. Bartenders report glasses moving on their own, cold drafts with no source, and the occasional shadow slipping past the edge of vision.
Just down the street, Del’s Bar has its own eerie reputation, with reports of disembodied giggling and phantom footsteps echoing through empty hallways. At the historic Rivoli Theatre, strange occurrences (particularly in the women’s restroom) have unnerved staff for decades.
Even the UW–La Crosse campus isn’t immune: students in Coate Hall whisper about mysterious messages appearing in foggy bathroom mirrors and ghostly presences in the dorm rooms.
The Warehouse, one of the Midwest’s longest-running all-ages music venues, is said to be haunted by a young girl’s spirit, often glimpsed near doors that open and shut on their own.
And looming in local legend is the Old Holmboe Residence, where screams and glowing lights have been reported for more than a century after Nicolai Holmboe was found hanged in 1904.
Burlington
At first glance, Burlington is just another picturesque Wisconsin town—but it harbors a strange and spooky undercurrent. Locals whisper about the “Burlington Vortex,” a swirling center of unexplained energy researched extensively by paranormal author Mary Sutherland. Some believe this energy is responsible for the town’s numerous ghostly encounters.
At the historic Malt House Theater, a mysterious “Lady in Blue” is said to appear during performances, drifting silently through the auditorium in a flowing dress. Just outside of town, Rooker Cemetery (nicknamed Dead Man’s Hill) has a reputation for shadowy figures, eerie sensations, and an overwhelming feeling of being watched. Sutherland says a large rock there was used by Native Americans for human sacrifices.
Travelers on Academy Road sometimes glimpse the ghost of a Confederate soldier, wandering as though lost in time.
And near the old fish hatchery, there are chilling reports of the White Beast of Burlington: a spectral, animal-like creature that vanishes without a trace. Whether it’s the vortex, the spirits, or something else entirely, Burlington seems to sit at the crossroads of the unexplained.
Fond du Lac
On the edge of Lake Winnebago, or the “foot of the lake,” Fond du Lac conceals a dark side. Before it was torn down in 2025, the decaying Witherell House was a magnet for urban legends, with stories of screams echoing from the abandoned house, as well as apparitions and monstrous shadows seen in the windows.
Down the road, Rienzi Cemetery was once the home of a family who communed with the dead there. Today, the cemetery is said to be home to a portal to Hell in the receiving vault, as well as a mass grave of nuns from the nearby St. Mary’s Springs catholic school who were said to have been caught doing witchcraft.
The historic Octagon House, with its strange architecture and secret passageways, is believed to house spirits of its former residents. Downtown, the elegant Hotel Retlaw has a ghostly reputation all its own. TV channels changing, objects being knocked over, and other mysterious phenomena is attributed to the ghost of hotelier Walter Schroeder, who built it. Walter also owned—and was said to haunt—the historic Retlaw Theatre down the street before it was torn down.
The Galloway House and Village is comprised of historic buildings moved there from around the county, and some believe they brought their ghosts with them. But even the Galloway House itself, the former home of Fond du Lac’s early influential Galloway family, is reputed to have the ghostly laughter of children playing and running around the house.
Outside of town, Witch Road is a gnarled, tree-lined path along said to be haunted by the ghost of a reclusive old woman. Travelers report glowing orbs, unexplained cold spots, and sightings of a pale young girl watching silently from the woods.
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Caryville
The unincorporated community of Caryville may be small, but it’s enveloped in a tapestry of dark history and haunted legends. Sand Hill Cemetery is notorious for sightings of spectral children, hellhounds, and a demon named “Blackie.”
The Spring Brook Lutheran Church and Schoolhouse are said to be haunted by the spirits of a boy named David, who succumbed to polio in 1957, and a priest who hanged himself in the church’s belfry.
Nearby, the Meridean Boat Landing is haunted by the spirit of a steamboat cook named Mary Dean, whose grave was swept away by the Chippewa River; she is rumored to drag unsuspecting boaters into the depths.
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva became a summer retreat for Chicago’s wealthy residents after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 (which coincided with the much worse Peshtigo Fire here in Wisconsin) and is still a popular resort town today. It’s also known as the birthplace of Dungeons & Dragons, as it’s the hometown of the game’s creator, Gary Gygax. As a child, Gygax roamed the abandoned corridors of the Oakwood Sanitarium. Today, an apartment complex stands in that very spot and is said to be haunted by the spectral patients who never left.
The Baker House, a grand Victorian mansion built in 1885, is said to be haunted by the mysterious “Handlebar Mustache Ghost,” as well as a translucent woman in period clothing who has been captured on security cameras gliding through rooms and vanishing into walls. Guests have also reported sightings of a young boy appearing in photographs, despite no children being present at the time.
Just down the street, the Maxwell Mansion is a haunted hotel and speakeasy built in 1856 for Dr. Philip Maxwell that harbors numerous spirits, including that of a mischievous spirit named Danny. Believed to be the ghost of a young boy who died of scarlet fever, Danny (or sometimes called Eddie) is known to tug at guests’ clothing and blow whistles to get their attention. Another entity called “The Watcher” just sits and watches guests. The mansion’s speakeasy is said to be where Maxwell conducted unauthorized “female surgeries.”
Perched on the shores of Geneva Lake (known for its lake monster, “Jenny”), the Black Point Estate, a Queen Anne-style mansion, is steeped in eerie tales. Visitors have reported mysterious sightings in the observation tower and stories abound of a priest’s ill-fated voyage associated with the estate.
Outside of town, Kilian’s Catholic Cemetery was once the site of an abandoned church where satanic rituals took place. The church is long gone, but the surrounding graveyard is said to be haunted by the ghost of a priest, with reports of phantom bells ringing, mysterious mists, and eerie footsteps echoing through the grounds.
Whitewater
Nicknamed “Second Salem,” Whitewater is a nexus of witchcraft lore and spectral phenomena. The town’s three cemeteries, forming a near-perfect isosceles triangle, are said to trap supernatural energy within their bounds.
In the late 1800s, Whitewater was a hotspot for the practice of Spiritualism, the belief that mediums can reach beyond the veil to speak to the dead. Morris Pratt built a school dedicated to Spiritualism, known at the time as the “Spook Temple,” which legend says left much of the town haunted.
The Witches Tower in Starin Park, with its inward-pointing iron fence, is believed to contain malevolent forces where witches used to conduct rituals.
The Hamilton House is haunted by the spirits of “Little Boy Posey” and his mother, Sarah, with reports of dolls moving on their own and unexplained humming in the East Garden.
The former Winchester House, now Tincher Realty, was the home of Lucius Winchester, who was said to be cursed by axe-murdering witch Mary Worth. Flickering lights and the apparition of Lucius himself are seen in the windows by passersby.
The UW–Whitewater campus is rife with paranormal activity: the Center of the Arts experiences moving chairs and backstage apparitions; Wells Hall harbors hidden tunnels linked to witchcraft; and Knilans Hall is haunted by a ghostly librarian who opens doors and elevators.
Adding to the town’s eerie reputation is a book in the library’s basement, so cursed that those who read it are said to meet untimely deaths.
St. Nazianz
Founded in 1854 by Father Ambrose Oschwald, a German priest removed from his duties in a church in the Black Woods for mystical and heretical works, St. Nazianz is steeped in eerie legends. Father Oschwald’s death was marked by mysterious pounding noises throughout the town, and his spirit is believed to have cursed the area after a significant land loss.
The abandoned JFK Prep School, once a seminary and later a boys’ school, is a hotspot for paranormal activity, with reports of disembodied voices, unexplained footsteps, and apparitions of former students.
The town’s haunted reputation is further cemented by tales of a stone mausoleum behind JFK Prep that houses the incorrupt corpse Oschwald himself.
A devastating tornado swept through St. Nazianz in 2000. Some believe it was a manifestation of Father Oschwald’s alleged curse on the town following disputes over land and leadership after his death.
Wisconsin Dells
Behind the resorts, waterparks and kitschy weirdness, there’s a darkness in Wisconsin Dells with a haunted history rooted in river lore, Civil War spies, and lingering spirits.
At Spring Grove Cemetery, the infamous Confederate spy Belle Boyd lies buried though some visitors claim her spirit never truly left. She’s often seen drifting through the cemetery grounds, especially on misty nights when the veil feels thinnest.
Downtown, the Showboat Saloon harbors the ghost of a woman named Molly, who lived and died under strange circumstances in the upstairs apartment. Bartenders and patrons alike report flickering lights, phantom footsteps, and the sudden chill of an unseen presence.
While it was still in operation, The Dungeon of Horrors haunted attraction was said to have real ghosts associated with the building’s past as a mortuary.
Along the 800 block of River Road, the former site of the Crandall Hotel, destroyed by fire in 1974, is still said to be haunted. Locals speak of ghostly figures appearing in the street, as though checking in for a stay that ended decades ago.
Employees of Ripley’s Believe It or Not believed the building was haunted the spirit of German serial killer Peter Kurten, whose head hangs on display there.
Even the sandstone bluffs along the Wisconsin River bear spectral scars: the name of 19th-century riverboat pilot Captain Leroy Gates remains etched into the rock at Devil’s Elbow, where some say his spirit watches over the waters he once ruled.
Have you had an experience at any of these locations or know of some stories not included here? Send me a message or share it in the comments below.
This whole dumb article never mentioned Oshkosh? The most haunted city in the state!