Spooky Season Reads

What disturbing secrets surround the cold, deep waters of Lake Michigan?

Sudden violent storms and rocky shoals have claimed the lives of countless mortals foolish enough to brave the treacherous surf of Lake Michigan. But is there another, unnatural force at work? A force that spirited away a ship's captain from a locked cabin without a trace? A force that caused a perfectly airworthy jet to fly into the waves, taking all its passengers to a watery death? Perhaps these tragedies are linked to numerous UFO sightings over the lake. Or perhaps a clue might be found in the prehistoric Stonehenge-like structures discovered deep beneath the crystalline blue surface.

Historian and storyteller Gayle Soucek will explore the mysteries behind the area known as the Lake Michigan Triangle.

Bucolic Door County has a rich haunted history of spooky shipwrecks, bizarre tales and ghost stories.

Because Door County received its name from Death's Door, the perilous strait with more freshwater shipwrecks than anywhere else in the world, it should be no surprise that the idyllic county has plenty of ghostly history. In the company of storyteller Gayle Soucek, meet lighthouse keepers whose sense of duty extends beyond the grave. Catch a glimpse of the phantom ship Le Griffon, never seen for more than a moment since it sailed through a crack in the ice in 1679. And it is not just the waters of Door County that carry the freight of haunted tales--Country Road T has its share of spooks, bizarre beasts have caused disturbances in the woods and there are whispered rumors that infamous gangster Al Capone added to the county's stock of ghosts through a handful of brutal murders, including an ex-girlfriend and two unacknowledged children.

A great read for those interested in Wisconsin history as well as those who like a great campfire story, Wisconsin Legends & Lore explores a rich diversity of stories from around the state.

Wisconsin is a land rich with stories. It was the “mother of all circuses,” a place of buried treasure and home to eerie ghosts and monsters. Native American legends, tall tales told at lumberjack camps and taverns, ghost lore and modern urban legends all form the wonderful mythology of the Dairy State. Many know of Rhinelander’s famous Hodag, the Beast of Bray Road in Elkhorn, Milwaukee’s haunted Pfister Hotel and the Ridgeway Ghost. But few have heard obscure tales like the Christmas Tree Ghost Ship of Two Rivers, the Goatman of Richfield’s Hogsback Road and the legend of the Witch’s Tower of Whitewater.

Author Tea Krulos, an expert in all things strange and unusual, digs up Wisconsin favorites and arcane lore.

Like so many cities bordering Lake Michigan, Racine has a long and storied history. Some of that history is stranger than fiction.

The Live Towerview neighborhood, brimming with stories of the city's earliest burial sites, is a hotbed of ghostly activity. Former asylums like the ambitious Taylor Home Orphan Asylum and the infamous Racine County Insane Asylum are filled with chilling tales of the unexplained. The local Masonic Temple houses the restless souls of some of the city's earliest residents. So do Chances Food & Spirits and Ivanhoe, two of the most haunted taverns in southeastern Wisconsin. Historian Rory Graves uncovers some of Racine's most notorious haunts.

Historian Rory Graves uncovers some of Racine's most notorious haunts.

Welcome to the spooky shores of Door County!

Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms. Did you know that Door County is the home to a ghost cow and a ghost dog? Or that a ghostly high school basketball team can be heard celebrating on frozen Lake Michigan in the winter? Can you believe that a phantom ship has been sailing around the peninsula— since 1679? Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see Door County, and have you sleeping with the light on!

Ghost stories from Circus City have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

The haunted history of Baraboo comes to life—even when the main players are dead. Visit the Old Baraboo Inn to catch a glimpse of the spirits who checked in but never checked out. Or take a drive down the infamous Highway 12, but keep your eye out for the road’s very own spectral hitchhiker. Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.

Explore the supernatural history of Circus City

For decades, ghosts have been known to inhabit some of Baraboo's most prized historic locations. Buildings and mansions built by the Ringling Brothers at the height of their circus empire now harbor apparitions of unidentified children, horse trainers, and other circus workers. Residents throughout the Downtown Baraboo Historic District describe disembodied voices, footsteps, and items moving on their own. Even historic homes, new homes, and roadways have ghosts - a family awakening to find their dining room table set for a party of ten, a little girl realizing her "friend'? isn't getting any older, a Highway 12 hitchhiker materializing despite the highway being rerouted.

Founder of Baraboo Tours, Shelley Mordini and tour guide Gwen Herrewig share tales of Baraboo's more mysterious side.

In Portage, the past is present in the strangest ways.

Every night at 8:15 p.m., a homeowner watched a transparent man wearing a stovepipe hat and carrying a suitcase walk through her living room. A child playing with a dowsing rod in her grandmother’s house communicated with the spirit of a boy lingering in the attic. A young lady looking at an old, empty house saw an old woman move a curtain and peek at her, but when she blinked, the curtain and the old woman were gone.

Shelley Mordini, founder of Baraboo Tours and coauthor of Haunted Baraboo, and Sharon Hart Addy share these and other spine-tingling stories from Where the North Begins.

Wisconsin’s capital city is haunted!

From restless spirits roaming the University of Wisconsin to ghostly Confederate soldiers lingering at Camp Randall Stadium, Madison is filled with otherworldly entities. Spirits do not rest in peace at Taliesin, and the tragedies that occurred on the Capitol grounds shed light on the building’s numerous paranormal reports. The city’s outskirts are just as eerie. From the prowling Beast of Bray Road to what is thought to be Wisconsin’s most haunted bar, a spinetingling location is never far away.

Join author Anna Lardinois to discover some of Madison’s most macabre tales.

Ghost stories from Brew City have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

Milwaukee’s haunted history comes to life—even when the main players are dead. Explore the caves below the Miller Brewery to see if they’re really haunted. Listen at the Lake Park Lions Bridge to hear the laughter of ghostly children. Or tiptoe through La Belle Cemetery to see if the spirit of a young girl throws herself into Fowler Lake (she usually does). Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.

What unknown spirits lurk among the living in the Gateway to Wisconsin?

oin Candice Shatkins, a founding member of the Paranormal Investigators of Kenosha, as she uncovers the spooky secrets and unlikely legends of Kenosha County. From a secret burial chamber under a library to Wisconsin's very own Wolfman, a shipwreck on Black Tuesday to the haunted observatory tower of a former seminary and boarding school, Kenosha's ghosts are sure to delight visitors and residents alike in this stirring account of the area's historic haunts.

Ghost stories from Wisconsin's capital city have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

Welcome to the spooky streets of Madison, Wisconsin!

Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms.

Did you know restless spirits roam the campus at the University of Wisconsin? Or that ghostly Confederate soldiers still linger at Camp Randall Stadium? Can you believe the Wisconsin State Capitol is filled with otherworldly entities? 

Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see Madison forever, and have you sleeping with the lights on!

Beneath Milwaukee's calm façade, its ghastly past awaits.

The overbearing spirit of Frederick Pabst keeps persistent watch over the mansion that shares his name. The remains of the Newhall House Fire, the city's deadliest disaster, may lie beneath a new building, but those who lost their lives that night refuse to rest in peace. Even the suburbs hold their share of ghoulish secrets, including the furtive dwarves of Haunchyville, the fabled Bray Road Beast and the stubborn spirits lurking in Deacon West's house. Tour guide and founder of Gothic Milwaukee Anna Lardinois shares the spine-tingling tales of the Beer City's famous, and not so famous, specters and legends.

Green Bay has always been a city with a fierce sense of tradition complemented by a friendly atmosphere. Those qualities seem to attract not only living visitors but also spirits of the dead.

Tour the city's haunted past with Tim Freiss as he follows the trail of the tragic, the inexplicable and the just plain spooky. From the desecration of the father of Wisconsin's burial spot to the winery that was a stop on the Underground Railroad to the nightclub haunted by a bullet-riddled love triangle, Haunted Green Bay stirs up the kind of history that keeps us awake a little bit longer once the lights are out.