Moe Lutheran Church

Moe Lutheran Church in Clear Lake, Wisconsin, is the subject of a particularly grim local haunting legend involving the church and the cemetery across the road. According to the story, 30 parishioners died when an earlier Moe Lutheran Church burned to the ground in the early 1900s, and their angry spirits are said to remain at the church. Apparitions associated with the church and cemetery have reportedly appeared along the nearby road, where they are blamed in local lore for causing accidents. The fire story, however, conflicts with Moe Lutheran’s documented history, which records several earlier church buildings destroyed by storms and says the present church was built after the congregation outgrew its previous building.

An even darker legend centers on the church’s bell tower. The story claims that a woman, distraught after losing her baby, hanged herself in the tower and never left. Her ghost is said to appear swinging from the tower or wandering through the cemetery while carrying the child she lost. Reports of the haunting have circulated for years, although firsthand accounts from people familiar with Moe Lutheran dispute parts of the story, including the claim that anyone died by suicide in the church. Today, Moe Lutheran remains an active rural congregation with roots stretching back to the 1870s, making the contrast between its peaceful history and its macabre reputation especially striking.

Reported Paranormal Activity

• Angry spirits reportedly haunting the church and cemetery
• Apparitions blamed for causing accidents on the road
• Spirits of 30 alleged fire victims said to remain at the church
• Woman reportedly seen swinging from the bell tower
• Woman’s apparition reportedly wandering the cemetery while holding her baby
• Strange lights and unexplained car alarms reported by visitors during a wake