While all of our states here in the United States have very haunted pasts, Minnesota has a strange one. While most states when being researched are found in the open, Minnesota had many haunted areas that were hidden from the untrained eye. While it may be known for its twin cities, its incredible winter sports, or its world famous Mayo Clinic, there are quiet paranormal investigations going on all over the state to discover the validity of supposed hauntings. From all those hundreds of places that have been investigated we have pulled five of the most haunted hot spots of the state of Minnesota.
5) Old Mounds Park Hospital, St. Paul: The Haunted Morgue
What used to be Old Mounds Park Hospital that closed in the 1970s has now reopened as The Marian Center, a nursing home. Back when the the building was a hospital, a security officer stepped out of the elevator into the basement on his way to the morgue and was shot, murdered. This elevator is said to be extremely haunted. No matter what floor one pushes, the elevator will always go down to the basement, open and close, and then proceed to the floor that coordinates with the button pushed. The employee lounge in the basement is said to house a wide variety of strange noises that are so strange that the employee brake room is no longer used. The tunnel that runs from the basement to the nurse’s dormitory is barely ever used, because of the strange noises and the electricity shutting on and off. Could the haunting be due to both the murder and the presence of an Indian burial ground across the street? No one will ever know for sure.
4) Forepaugh’s Restaurant, St. Paul: A Steamy Love Affair
You look skeptical. After all, it is just a restaurant right? Actually no, there is more to it than just a restaurant. The restaurant itself is named after the original owner of the Victorian mansion where this restaurant is located. The haunting is all about the owner Joseph Forepaugh. Forepaugh was a wealthy dry goods man who was able to spend some of his money on some good servants for the household. Unfortunately he fell in love with Molly and they started quite the little love affair. All went well until Mrs. Forepaugh discovered them in the act. Mr. Forepaugh immediately quit the affair although the jilted and very pregnant Molly didn’t agree. Molly went to the third floor, slipped a noose around her neck from a nearby lighting fixture and threw herself out the third story window. Mr. Forepaugh eventually went to the railroad tracks and shot himself from deep depression. Both Molly and Mr. Joseph Forepaugh are said to haunt the mansion. Molly’s spot of interest is the place from which she threw herself out the window. Mr. Forepaugh seems to be haunting the actual dining room. They have been reported making strange noises, and their apparitions have been seen constantly.
3) The Jenson House, Albert Lea: The Southwest Bedroom
Almost immediately after the construction of this house by the owner James Jenson in 1893, a strange apparition was seen in the southwest bedroom. He reported the feeling of someone watching him when he looked over his shoulder. It wasn’t just him though. The whole household was terrified of that room and it stayed empty for the fifty-three years they lived there. The farmhouse is located on a hill, where a log cabin that was built in 1862 used to be. There are stories, but nothing extremely substantial, about Jenson’s grandmother dying there. This could be a reason for the haunting if it is true. In 1964 Dick and Anita Borland moved into the house with their nine children and begun the renovations of the very deteriorated farmhouse. When the first arrived at the house they were cleaning up the yard and when they looked up they saw the ghost of woman in the southwest bedroom window. The girls reported seeing a tall, thin woman in a flowery apron on in the upstairs hallway. She then said “Help me! Help me!” The children ran and told their mother who did not believe it until she saw the ghost for herself in the southwest bedroom. There is a bonus ghost on the bottom floor. She is described as a sweet elderly lady and has been seen in the pantry many times.
2) The Lakeview Cemetery, Buhl: The Visual Spirits
This is an exciting place for apparitions, strange noises, and odors not of this world. The Northern Minnesota Paranormal Investigators (among many investigators) have confirmed these strange occurrences. Burials in this cemetery begun in 1913. The nearby Shaw Hospital was said to use the Potter Field (next to the main cemetery) as a burial spot for the patients that died there. What is different about this cemetery is that many of the supernatural occurrences have been recorded on tape. In 2003 a man recorded things swaying violently although there was no wind, EVP recordings have taped many a restless spirit, and a man dressed in 1920s clothing has been recorded and watched walking among the gravestones. The ability to catch these apparitions on tape have made this a very popular paranormal investigation spot.
1) The Griggs Mansion, St. Paul: Fear Lives Here
Chauncey W. Griggs was a wholesale grocery tycoon who built this mansion in 1883. It is very strange that he would build this house with such a creepy and gloomy atmosphere inside. Everything from high ceilings, twenty-four cavern like rooms, and woodwork decor makes it a very daunting house. This place has shared many owners, but they all seem to vanish after a year or two with no explanation. One ghost is a young maid who is seen on the fourth floor. She hung herself in 1915 after suffering from a failed love affair. Charles Wade a former gardener and caretaker has been seen repeatedly in the library. Footsteps march up and down the steps, doors open and close by themselves, voices are heard everywhere, light bulbs shatter, lights turn on and off, and objects move of their own occur by some pretty reliable witnesses. St. Pioneer Press has spent the night at the house left in the early hours of morning with absolute sure minds that the place was haunted. They were skeptics before they came to the house. Many owners and even the art school that resided there have described very similar experiences. This place is the most notorious haunted house in all of Minnesota.
Please remember when investigating to be respectful of all private property and to get permission before trying your hunting. Otherwise, have a good time, enjoy, and send me all your experiences.
Thank you to the 'yahoo contributor' and her sources: http://www.prairiegho
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