Amery Haunted Church

East Immanuel Lutheran Church has stood in the countryside near Amery since 1870, when Norwegian settlers established the congregation with 27 members in Wisconsin’s St. Croix Valley. The original congregation later split into East and West Immanuel in 1876, but according to local legend, some of the old congregation may have never really left. Today, the rural church at 207 120th Street is better known as one of Wisconsin’s reportedly haunted churches, with stories centered on a bell that rings when nobody is there and disembodied voices emanating from the empty church.

One of the best-known incidents dates to 1981, when Reverend Elizabeth Robinson reportedly heard the church bell ringing from the parsonage across the road. She went to investigate, only to find the church completely empty. The unexplained ringing has reportedly continued over the years. Parishioners have also described hearing voices and whispered conversations from empty pews, the balcony, and even within the walls. Perhaps the strangest reports come from the basement, where witnesses have heard what sounds like a gathering or potluck dinner taking place in the basement, only to discover that the room is empty. Other accounts associated with the church include unexplained lights, children’s laughter and singing, and objects apparently moving on their own.

Reported Paranormal Activity

• Church bell ringing when the building is empty
• Voices and whispered conversations from empty pews
• Disembodied voices heard in the balcony and inside the walls
• Sounds of a congregation gathering in the basement
• Unseen gatherings in the empty basement
• Children’s laughter and singing heard around the church and cemetery
• Unexplained movement of lights near the steeple
• Objects reportedly moving or reassembling on their own