Minnesota Offers Glimpses into the Paranormal

Explore Minnesota's Alyssa Hayes joined me on WJON this week.  Some examples for people to explore include S.S. William A. Irvin / Duluth Haunted Ship, Palmer House Hotel, Sauk Centre, Crazie Annie’s Bridge, Henderson, and the  Rochester ghost trolley tours.  More details below from Alyssa Hayes from Explore Minnesota.

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Northern MN

• S.S. William A. Irvin / Duluth Haunted Ship: The historic William A. Irvin spent 40 years ferrying iron ore and coal across the Great Lakes; today the ship moonlights as a museum. After a restoration in 2018 and 2019, returned to Canal Park and reopened for daily tours. Through Oct. 31, it transforms into the wildly popular Duluth Haunted Ship, where visitors can explore the boat at night.

Central MN

• Palmer House Hotel, Sauk Centre: as seen on Ghost Hunters and Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures, the hotel ranks among the state’s spookiest places, including rooms 17 and 22. Take paranormal tours of the hotel and stop by the bar, where guests report a ghostly bartender moving the glassware and bottles. The legend has been strong for more than a century: Hometown boy, Sinclair Lewis referred to the hotel as the ‘Minniemashie House’ in his 1920 novel, Main Street.

Southern MN

• Crazie Annie’s Bridge, Henderson: Locals say the seemingly ordinary bridge at 270th Street is haunted by Crazy Annie, a World War I widow who drowned her three children nearby before hanging herself from a tree. Visitors have heard screams, seen faces floating in the dark, figures in the woods, and found handprints on their vehicles. Henderson is less than one hour south of the Twin Cities and near Belle Plaine. You might want to recover at an apple orchard on your way back home!
• Rochester ghost trolley tours: Join a ghost host guide aboard the “Trolley of Doom” for an evening ride through Rochester’s darker sides. The tour explores city’s horrid past — with tales of grave-robbing, unsolved murder, mystery and mayhem as you see many of the city’s most haunted, most tragic, and sacred sites, from hotels, historic buildings, a park, cemeteries, bridges, former state hospital sites and more. Other ghost walking tours cross the state include:

• American Ghost Walks-- same company hosts tours in Paul, Minneapolis and Stillwater.
• Ghosts of Anoka walking tours (in addition to Anoka Halloween festivities all month long).

Learn more about the state’s spooky spots at exploreminnesota.com, live chat with a travel expert or call 888-VISITMN. Send us a sign by sharing your scary sites using our popular travel hashtag #OnlyinMN.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Alyssa it's available below.