5 of the most haunted cemeteries in Wisconsin
Paranormal enthusiasts believe spirits can haunt any number of places, including cemeteries. Here are 5 of the most haunted cemeteries in Wisconsin.
With spooky season around the corner, many of us are gravitating toward scarier content, like horror movies, television shows, and books. I’ve had a lifelong interest in the macabre, so in addition to those standard mediums, I like to spend time learning about potentially haunted places as well. Not everyone reading this is going to be a paranormal enthusiast or a supernatural believer, and that’s okay. We’re all entitled to our own beliefs, but sometimes it’s just interesting to discover local legends and folklore.
Oftentimes, certain locations are considered “haunted” due to mysterious things happening in that area. For the five cemeteries on this list, those unexplained occurrences include graves reportedly dripping blood, ghostly figures, and flashing lights. The idea of something being haunted usually comes with negative feelings, and understandably so. Numerous stories exist, both fictional and otherwise, about restless spirits being dangerous or violent. And while hauntings certainly can be scary, some ghosts stick around because they want to stay close to their loved ones, or they feel like they have unfinished business in the world of the living.
It’s this idea that lends perspective on why strange occurrences happen at cemeteries. Some people believe that spirits want to remain close to their Earthly bodies, and so they hang about their final resting place. Regardless of whether you buy into this idea or you simply want to learn more about local history, we’re going to dive into a few of the most haunted cemeteries in Wisconsin and shed some light on who may be lingering in these spots—and why.
1. Walnut Grove/Glenbeulah Cemetery, Glenbeulah
Walnut Grove Cemetery in Glenbeulah, also commonly known as Glenbeulah Cemetery, is considered by many to be the most haunted cemetery in Wisconsin. Another location on this list also gets that nod, so who gets the crown really depends on your perspective and which stories you believe. The Glenbeulah Cemetery was featured on an episode of “Unsolved Mysteries,” though, which may lend it some additional street cred.
Common rumors surrounding potential hauntings in Walnut Grove include people reportedly seeing the apparition of a man wandering between the graves shortly after midnight, along with tombstones glowing in the dark. Near one gravestone, others have allegedly seen a pair of shoes mysteriously appear and then suddenly vanish. Wisconsin Frights also reports that one of the graves marks that of an infant, Grace Baumann, who passed away in 1943, just five days after she was born. Visitors leave stuffed animals and toys at her grave, though it’s unclear whether her spirit has lingered on or if this is just a meaningful tribute.
2. Dartford Cemetery, Green Lake
Green Lake’s Dartford Cemetery is one of the oldest in the state and rivals Glenbeulah for being dubbed “the most haunted.” According to Q98.5, Dartford tends to be a hotbed for paranormal encounters, especially around one particular spot. There’s a crypt with a crack in its roof, and any visitor who has sat on it claims to have been pushed off by a ghost. Which feels like an appropriate response from the ghost, honestly, since those people really should be respectful of the crypt, and all other graves and structures inside Dartford, too.
In addition to strange tales from the crypt, this cemetery has a prominent air of mystery for one other reason. It’s the final resting place of Chief Highknocker, a Winnebago Chief who drowned in 1911. People have reported seeing an apparition in full ceremonial dress near Chief Highknocker’s grave, and others claim that mysterious scratches and changes in his epitaph can appear on the stone itself.
3. Forest Hill Cemetery, Wisconsin Rapids
Now, I have a pretty strong constitution when it comes to all things kooky and spooky, but the stories about Forest Hill Cemetery in Wisconsin Rapids even creeped me out. Apparently, babies have been heard crying here, as have young voices calling out to visitors…by name. I don’t know about you, but if I heard a disembodied voice calling my name while I was walking through a cemetery, I would probably decide it was time to head home for the day.
There’s also a mausoleum on the grounds, which reportedly makes things fall over, and some believe that it causes machines in the area to fail. I couldn’t find any proof of this happening, so it may just be a local legend that has grown through word-of-mouth retellings.
4. Oak Hill Cemetery, Janesville
Janesville’s Oak Hill Cemetery is supposedly haunted by a ghostly woman in white who may or may not also cause white lights to flicker on the grounds. Non-believers say that people are actually just seeing a lifelike statue and white lights used as markers to brighten the cemetery, which is a plausible explanation. However, the apparition has been seen in different spots around Oak Hill, which may debunk the statue and lights theory. You know, given that statues can’t move.
5. Riverside Cemetery, Appleton
The final haunted cemetery on this list is actually tied to a Wisconsin urban legend. Kate Blood has been called both a witch and an axe murderer. She has been accused of murdering her husband and her children before dying by suicide, though historical records have debunked this theory. Blood’s husband, George M. Miller, lived for 42 years after her death and actually remarried. Despite the fact that Blood has achieved folkloric legend through false narratives, she remains the primary source of alleged hauntings in Appleton’s Riverside Cemetery.
Only In Wisconsin reports that on full moons, her grave apparently drips blood (though that’s a little on the nose, if you ask me) and that Blood’s final resting place is warmer than other areas of the cemetery. Some people have claimed to see apparitions there as well. It’s important to note that many of the stories about Blood are exaggerated. She died of tuberculosis in 1874 at the age of 23, leaving behind a two-year-old daughter. She was highly regarded as a kind, selfless, happy woman. It appears as though she has only taken on this terrifying legend due to her last name.
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