“I think School Spirits ripped off your website,” my girlfriend said. I went into the room where she was watching the first couple episodes of the new season, which depicts characters using a website called Weird Wisconsin at weird-wisconsin.com. School Spirits is set in the fictional town of Split River, WI, and this website is supposed to feature Wisconsin paranormal stories.
Of course, the show didn’t rip anything off, but it does share some similarities with Cult of Weird and House of Gein in the use of the vintage typewriter font.
Still, since the premiere of School Spirit season two, viewers have been showing up here looking for the Weird Wisconsin website. And while that site doesn’t exist, I’m happy to inform you that you’ve found your way to Wisconsin Frights, the next best thing—besides the quintessential Weird Wisconsin book, that is.
Split River Doesn’t Exist, But These Creepy Towns Do
The town of Split River, Wisconsin, where the events of School Spirits take place, isn’t real. But there is no shortage of creepy towns and haunted schools. Here are some of my favorites that are worth checking out:
St. Nazianz – JFK Prep and the Incorrupt Priest
Legend says that the small town of St. Nazianz was cursed by its founder Ambrose Oschwald, a German priest who was excommunicated as a heretic and brought his cult of followers to America, where a mystical white heifer lead them to their sacred land. The town was haunted by ghostly pounding on the walls the night Oschwald died. Then, over the course of more than 50 years his body was exhumed and examined several times. Those present said the priest had not decomposed, that he looked as though he was still alive. A large abandoned building on the same grounds as Oschwald’s crypt, a former seminary known as JFK Prep, is said to be haunted by the spirits of the nuns who used to abuse students there.
Caryville – Demon in a Graveyard
Caryville is a small, unincorporated town steeped in eerie legends. Its haunted reputation begins at the Meridean Boat Landing, where the spirit of Mary Dean, a steamboat cook whose grave was washed away in a flood, is said to drag unsuspecting visitors into the Chippewa River. Hellhounds with glowing red eyes are rumored to stalk the surrounding woods, their howls echoing through the night. Nearby, the infamous Sand Hill Cemetery is home to a demon named “Blackie.” The Spring Brook Lutheran Schoolhouse is said to be haunted by the spirit of young boy, as well as a mad priest who hanged himself in the belfry of the church.
Whitewater – Ghosts, Witches, and Lake Monster
Whitewater is a small college town where the world’s only school of spiritualism—the practice of communicating with the dead—opened around the turn of the century. Many believe these practices left the town deeply scarred, with three cemeteries forming a triangle of haunted buildings. Rumors abound of witches conducting rituals in the old water tower and secret tunnels, as well as strange stories of occult rituals to raise a lake monster in Whitewater Lake. At least one of the UW-Whitewater dorms is said to be haunted, and the campus library contains a mysterious book said to drive people mad.
Get Your Weird Wisconsin Fix
Wisconsin Frights is dedicated to all things quirky, mysterious, haunted, unexplained, creepy or otherwise weird Wisconsin. I’ve been researching, writing, and experiencing our great weird state for a long time—an interest that began young when the Unsolved Mysteries episode about the haunted bunk bed in Horicon aired, or when I first learned about Ed Gein. Later, my fateful encounter with the Witherell House solidified it. So if you’re into haunted road trips, local legends, and eerie destinations, you’re in the right place.
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