With so many places that you can go ghost hunting, the options might be overwhelming. To help you narrow down your choices, you should find the most haunted places in your area. And where are the most haunted places in Minnesota?
Many places in Minnesota are claimed to be haunted, but the most haunted places are Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Both of these cities have multiple haunted buildings, and many, many ghosts to make any ghost hunting experience successful.
Saint Paul
Saint Paul – the state capital of Minnesota, and one-half of the “Twin Cities”, and the most haunted place in Minnesota.
Believe it or not, the following locations are only some of the haunted places in Saint Paul. If you’re looking for results while ghost hunting, or just want the experience of being in the presence of ghosts, check out these places.
Schmidt Brewery
Jacob Schmidt settled in Saint Paul in 1884 and started making beer. Nine years later in 1893, he was detained by police for allegedly shooting pigeon hunters that were docked in the river behind his brewery. During the late 1890s, Schmidt Brewery was started, and a year later it was burned down.
During the prohibition in 1934, the son of the owners was kidnapped. Not just by anybody, but by the infamous Ma Barker Gang. He was then held ransom for $200,000.
Despite the interesting history of the building, the hauntings here are from brewery workers who died on the job. There was an explosion in 1896 that killed two workers.
An elevator shaft then fell killing another worker in 1902. Two years later, another man died from smoke inhalation. It was this man’s job to light the gas lamps in the brewery, and he worked himself to death.
These horrendous deaths have made Schmidt Brewery a great place for ghost hunting. In fact, a famous ghost hunter, Adrian Lee, once visited the brewery and used this place as inspiration for his book. He says this place still sends a chill down his spine.
Mounds Theatre
As I’ve recently discovered, ghosts are a sucker for theatrics. And what better place to perform these crazy bouts of paranormal playfulness than on a stage.
Mounds Theatre has two main ghosts of interest. The first is Red. She’s known for her foul language and throwing objects at women. Red stays mostly in the projector room, so she’s fairly easy to avoid.
The other ghost that Mounds Theatre is known for is a little girl wearing a pink dress bouncing a ball on stage. Pretty innocent, but a child’s laughter is the last thing you expect to hear when you’re out hunting ghosts.
Employees and ghost hunters have had other experiences with ghosts. Jackie Day, one of the people involved in re-opening Mounds Theatre says she was grabbed one night while working alone. Ghost hunters who have checked out the basement have left with claw marks on their backs.
Saint Paul City Hall
Saint Paul City Hall is the location for the last execution in all of Minnesota and is said to be haunted by William Williams.
This man was executed for murdering a teen and his mother in Saint Paul, but his execution didn’t go as planned.
The first attempt of his execution failed because the rope used to hang him was too long. William instead hit the ground. To remedy this, the sheriff and deputies had to hold the rope themselves.
Many people have claimed to see a reenactment of William’s execution in the cafeteria where he drops from the ceiling while people eat their lunches.
Others believe that the veil between the physical world and the spirit world is thinnest at Saint Paul City Hall. Ghosts have been seen standing around looking very confused before turning around and disappearing back into their realm.
Landmark Center
The Landmark Center is supposedly haunted by one big, mean, scary ghost.
The ghost in question is the ghost of a gangster who took their own life to avoid doing time in prison. Their crime? Kidnapping.
For the most part, this ghost is fairly harmless but has startled many women in the lady’s restrooms. He’s also appeared out of nowhere to sit on desks dressed in a full suit.
Wabasha Street Caves
The Wabasha Street Caves used to be a speakeasy where infamous gang members would often visit. John Dillinger and Ma Barker were some of the most famous visitors.
The caves are now haunted by three ghosts who used to be gangsters. It is said that the three men were murdered and buried in a back room under the cement floors.
There have been several ghost sightings here. Men in 1920s attire are frequently seen wandering. There’s a ghost of a woman who is believed to be Nina Clifford who appears wearing women’s gowns from the 20s.
The most friendly ghost that has been encountered is the bartender. He has been known to refill empty drinks!
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is the other half of the Twin Cities of Minnesota. It is also the most populated city.
It’s no surprise that the twin city of a very haunted area is also haunted. If you’re ever in the Saint Paul area doing some ghost hunting, be sure to spare some time and head to some of these Minneapolis locations.
Soap Factory
Remember that ghost hunter from earlier? Adrian Lee spent 4 years investigating the Soap Factory. He says it is the most paranormal-dense environment he has ever been in, and some entities might be bordering on demonic.
During his investigation, Adrian found many disturbing discoveries. They were in a new kind of darkness that was so overpowering that it drowned out some of their equipment. In fact, some of the crew members that were with Adrian were attacked in this darkness.
If this doesn’t sound like a reason to stay away from the Soap Factory, you might have enjoyed the Halloween Haunted Basement event put on by the gallery. If you were extra brave, you could have volunteered to be an act in the production.
Unfortunately, the event was moved to the Rosedale Center in 2019.
Minneapolis City Hall
Minneapolis is haunted by another victim of a poorly executed execution. In 1898, Jon Moshik was hung for murdering a man over $14. This man’s execution didn’t go as planned either, and it took Moshik three minutes to die.
This angry ghost likes to haunt the courtroom, the mayor’s office, and the site of his hanging. He has mood swings though. Some days he will readjust picture frames on the walls, and other days he has made judges and attorneys extremely sick!
Washington Street Bridge
Washington Street Bridge was constructed in the late 1960s and is haunted by many ghosts.
Many people have used this bridge to take their own lives, including professor John Berryman.
Students who use this bridge to cross between the East and West Bank campuses at the University of Minnesota often hear footsteps on the bridge, even when they are alone. They’ve also said that they feel like someone is watching them from the shadows.
First Avenue Theatre
First Avenue Theatre is haunted by two very different ghosts.
The first ghost is a woman who took her life in a bathroom stall by hanging herself. She will often show unlucky theatre patrons an apparition of herself hanging from the ceiling.
The second ghost at First Avenue Theatre is a spirit that the staff have named Slippy. Slippy makes a balloon appear out of nowhere and floats it up and down staircases by itself. While this might not sound so bad while you’re sitting somewhere familiar during the day, at night time this is terrifying.
First Avenue Night Club
The First Avenue Night Club used to be a bus station. A woman once kissed her soldier goodbye at this bus station before he was sent off to war.
When she heard of his death, she returned to the bus station and took her own life in the bathroom. Instead of ending up with her sweetheart, she now haunts the night club, showing people a reenactment of her death.
Wrapping It Up
If you want to make the most out of a ghost hunting experience, visit the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Saint Paul and Minneapolis are the two most haunted places within Minnesota and will offer you the most experience with as little traveling as possible.
Now, the only problem is how are you going to narrow down which buildings to see?
