The Ramsey County Courthouse

Ramsey County Courthouse is an Art Deco building in downtown St. Paul built in 1932. Late night workers are said to have heard displaced laughing, had their tools go missing, and even seen manifestations of a someone hanging from a noose. Some people believe the skyscraper to be haunted the by the spirit of a criminal executed before the building was even erected, William Williams. Williams was convicted of the murder of his lover, Johnny Kelly. He was hung and is the last person to be executed through capital punishment in the state of Minnesota. As a result of being too tall for the gallows, it took 14 minutes for him to die while hanging from the noose.

The Palmer House Hotel

Long considered one of the most haunted locations in Minnesota, the Palmer House Hotel is frequently investigated by the likes of Ghost Adventures and the Darkness Radio crew. It is said a small boy who died while staying at the Palmer House haunts the building, as well as a “lanky man dressed in 1920′s-30′s.” People here a child laughing in the hallway or running up and down the halls, even when no children are actually staying there.

The Fitzgerald Theater

Built in 1910, the Fitzgerald Theater is the oldest theater in Minnesota and where Garrison Keillor’s famous A Prairie Home Companion is performed. Workers in the theater have experienced cold spots and seen ghosts walking around. One ghost is believed to be an old stagehand named “Ben” who moves the current worker’s tools around.

The black angel statue in Oakland Cemetery

The cemetery proper is said to be haunted by the ghost of a long-haired woman. But, there used to be a black angel statue in the yard that was super haunted. Neighborhood kids would dare each other to kiss it’s lips — the rumor was this act meant imminent death. The statue has been removed from the cemetery and is being held in an undisclosed location. It will be returned to it’s home in 100 years.

Grey Cloud Island

Grey Cloud Island is a rural piece of land outside of Cottage Grove, Minnesota. It has the distinction of having the most Native American burial mounds in the country. Paranormal activity here is widely reported and usually consists of visible balls of white or green light roaming the landscape at night. Even more frightening are the tales of people being run off the roads by angry locals in a white or off-white truck who don’t want people investigating or ghost hunting.

The James Gamble House

The home that inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise is said to be haunted by 12-20 ghosts, possibly a result of a prohibition era speakeasy that may have been in the basement.

The Griggs Mansion

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Located on St. Paul’s Summit Ave this home is on the national registry of haunted places. The Pioneer Press once sent reporters to spend the night in the mansion, and they didn’t last the night. The home has several reports of hauntings though it’s reputation may be established (and exaggerated) by a biased party: the head of a controversial publishing company, Llewelyn Publishing, who publishes books about hauntings. If you’re interested, the home is currently on the market for $1.1 million.

Forepaugh’s Restaurant

In the late 1800’s Joseph Forepaugh built a 3-story mansion in the exclusive Irvine district in St. Paul. At one point he impregnated his maid, Molly, when she confronted him about it, he fired her. It is said that she went to the Henry Sibley dining room on the mansion’s third floor and hung herself out the window for all the neighbors to see with the noose wrapped around the chandelier which you can still see from the street. Today, the mansion serves as a restaurant whose employees complain that “Molly” turns lights on and off, breaks glasses, and generally causes mischief in the front of the house.

First Ave

Every important band in the last 40 years has played at First Avenue in Minneapolis. Lucinda Williams was married there. Purple Rain was filmed there. And, if rumor is to believed, a woman once hung herself in the fifth stall of the woman’s bathroom. Some patrons and staff report opening the stall to see the grisly scene recreated before their eyes.

The Soap Factory

The old factory turned art venue has a famously haunted basement, and it’s not a fun, friendly, mischievous spirit. Skilled paranormal investigators have called the presence “demonic.” No one knows for sure where the malevolent spirit came from. There’s a creepy backstory about the actual soap making (which involves lots and lots of animal carcasses) and the factory’s use in making artificial limbs, but no accounts of murders or suicides on the premises. Sound like a cover up? In any case this is one of the easiest locations to visit and get a good scare from. Every October The Soap Factory hosts a haunted basement so scary you have to sign a waiver.