9 creepy facts about Wisconsin that textbooks leave out
It’s not all about dairy and beer—there are some downright creepy facts about Wisconsin that most textbooks fail to mention.
Students in Wisconsin learn a lot about the state and its history while in school, like how the dairy-loving state is the birthplace of the ice cream sundae, or how Door County has more shoreline than any other county in the country, with more than 250 miles along both Lake Michigan and Green Bay. But there are also plenty of pretty creepy facts about the state that aren’t easily found in textbooks.
Whether in Wisconsin’s past, such as the real reason the state is nicknamed the Badger State, or more recent news, like a Wisconsin island that was shut down because of a mouse infestation, there are plenty of creepy facts about Wisconsin that you won’t be reading about anytime soon.
From reported alien abductions to irradiated forests and shootings caused by dreams, here are some of the creepiest facts about Wisconsin that you won’t find in a textbook.
1. It’s named the Badger state because of people who lived in underground tunnels
Wisconsin has a lot of nicknames—many inspired by the state’s impressive dairy industry—from the Dairy State, to the Cheese State, and even historically, the Copper State. But its most famous, and its official nickname, is the Badger State. While some may think that it’s named for the American badger, which can be found throughout the state, the name actually derives from the state’s lead mining past.
In the mid-1800s, lead miners moved to southwestern Wisconsin to find opportunity in the mineral-rich area, but many of them didn’t end up building homes there. Instead, they lived underground in their mines and were mockingly called badgers, as the nocturnal animals live in underground burrows. Despite the fact that it was first used as an insult for miners, the nickname has caught on, with the Badger State becoming the state’s official nickname, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison using the badger as its mascot.
2. Rosemary Kennedy spent most of her life in Wisconsin after lobotomy
While many Kennedy family members have lived out their lives in the public eye, Rosemary Kennedy, the sister of President John F. Kennedy, spent the vast majority of her life at St. Coletta, an institution for individuals with developmental disabilities, in Jefferson, Wisc.
The institution itself, which dates back to 1904, isn’t creepy, but the circumstances that led to Kennedy being housed there certainly are. As a child, Kennedy displayed developmental disabilities, and according to an article written by her sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, she became irritable and difficult as an adult. As a result of these issues, her father, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., decided to have a lobotomy procedure performed on Rosemary Kennedy in 1941, when she was 23 years old. The procedure left Kennedy permanently incapacitated, and she could not walk or speak.
In 1949, Kennedy was moved to St. Coletta, where she lived the rest of her life. Kennedy died in 2005, at the age of 86, at the Fort Atkinson Memorial Hospital, in Fort Atkinson, Wisc. She is buried alongside her parents at Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Mass.
3. Sputnik IV crash-landed in Manitowoc
When a spacecraft goes up into the sky, it’s always expected to come back down, but maybe not necessarily by crash-landing in Wisconsin cities. That’s what shockingly and eerily happened in Manitowoc in 1962, when a 20-pound piece of Sputnik 4, the first test flight of the Soviet Vostok programme, crash landed.
The spacecraft first launched on May 15, 1960, and four days afterward, the spacecraft’s descent module separated from the rocket. More than two years later, on Sept. 5, 1962, part of the module reentered the atmosphere and landed in Wisconsin. Today, the crash is commemorated in the city through a metal ring placed on the impact site and a historical marker that was placed on the adjacent sidewalk.
The creepiest part of the crash? While the spacecraft was officially unmanned, containing just a mannequin, two amateur radio operators claimed to have intercepted transmissions from Sputnik 4, in which they can hear calls for SOS and sounds of labored breathing.
4. Theodore Roosevelt was shot while campaigning in Milwaukee because of a dream
In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt, who had already served two terms as President of the United States, began campaigning for a third term. During a campaign stop at Milwaukee’s Gilpatrick Hotel, the former president survived an assassination attempt after being shot by saloonkeeper John Schrank. The bullet lodged in Roosevelt’s chest, after passing through a folded 50-page copy of a speech, which he proceeded to give after being shot. The bullet remained in Roosevelt’s chest for the rest of his life.
Shootings, while terrifying, aren’t necessarily creepy, but the reasoning behind Schrank’s attempted assassination is. The saloonkeeper reportedly had a dream the day after President William McKinley died from a gunshot wound he received in an assassination attempt, in which McKinley’s body rose from his casket and told Schrank to avenge his death. In the dream, McKinley accused Roosevelt of his assassination. When Roosevelt announced his intention to run for a third presidential term in 1912, Schrank found meaning in his previous dream and felt compelled to prevent Roosevelt from becoming president.
5. A forest in Enterprise was studied for radiation effects
During the Cold War, there was a fear of nuclear attacks, and because of that, a desire to understand the effects of radiation. To get a conclusive study, the Atomic Energy Commission and Department of Agriculture needed a pretty large uninhabited area, and settled on Wisconsin’s Northwoods, where they studied the effects of radiation on flora and fauna in the Enterprise Radiation Forest in Oneida County.
The 1,440-acre forest was enclosed by an eight-foot fence topped with barbed wire, with only one research building serving as an access point. Irradiation began in 1972 with gamma radiation potent enough to be lethal at close range. The project was supposed to continue for 20 years, but ended after five months due to funding cuts, and the property was reverted to public forestland, with no long-term effects of radiation reported.
6. Rock Island was closed to tourists because of a mouse infestation
One of the highlights of visiting Door County is getting off the peninsula and checking out some of the nearby islands. Among the most popular are Washington Island and Rock Island, both of which are accessed by crossing Death’s Door Strait. While Washington Island is an easy ferry ride away from the mainland and has plenty of sightseeing opportunities and guided tours, Rock Island requires travelers to be a bit more adventurous.
The island is only accessible through a passenger ferry that leaves from Washington Island, and no cars or bikes are allowed on Rock Island. The entire 912-acre island is a state park, and features rustic, walk-in camping grounds, but the island’s camping season was cut short on the island in 2024, though, because of a severe mouse infestation. Campers reported that mice were “everywhere” on the island, including the lighthouse, toilets, and shelter buildings, with some campers saying mice chewed through their tents.
7. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin was the site of several murders
Today, Taliesin is best known for being the architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio in Spring Green, Wisc., but it was also the site of a murder spree in 1914, which led to the death of Wright’s mistress, Mamah Borthwick, along with six other employees and residents of the famed complex.
Wright designed the studio and home with Borthwick, after leaving his first wife, as well as his home and studio in Oak Park, Ill. The couple moved into the Spring Green home in 1911, but on Aug. 15, 1914, Borthwick was one of seven killed by Taliesin chef and servant Julian Carlton, who attacked Borthwick, her two children, John and Martha Cheney, gardener David Lindblom, draftsman Emil Brodelle, workman Thomas Bunker and Ernest Weston, the son of Wright’s carpenter, with an axe, after setting fire to Taliesin. Carlton died from starvation in jail seven weeks after the attack.
8. Several Wisconsin residents have reported alien encounters
It’s not uncommon to see strange things in the sky, from low-flying planes to shooting stars, but if you’re in Wisconsin, it might just be a UFO. While there has never been confirmation of a UFO flying throughout the state’s skies, many residents have reported seeing one, and some have even reported that they’ve been abducted by them.
In 1976, George Wheeler, a police officer in Elmwood, Wisc., reported that he saw a UFO and was zapped by a blue light that came from it. To commemorate Wheeler’s sighting, as well as the many other sightings reported from the town, Elmwood hosts UFO Days, an annual festival that features a parade, softball tournament, live music, and plenty of aliens. Elmwood isn’t the only spot in the state with reported UFO sightings—Ellison Bay resident Ryan Mueller said he’s seen UFOs at least seven times in Door County.
9. There are 240 known shipwrecks in Door County
The Bermuda Triangle, in the Atlantic Ocean, is unofficially known as the shipwreck capital of the world because of the many shipwrecks and disappearances that have happened in its waters. With more than 300 known shipwrecks in the region, it’s understandable that the area is well-known for the mysterious and disastrous fate of many of the ships that have passed through its waters.
Although it doesn’t have the same lore surrounding it, Door County, a peninsula that juts between Green Bay and Lake Michigan in eastern Wisconsin, has almost as many shipwrecks as the Bermuda Triangle, with at least 240 known shipwrecks. The Death’s Door Strait, which connects the Great Lakes and Green Bay, is known for its dangerous waters, and multiple shipwrecks have happened in the strait, including the Fleetwing in 1888, and the A.P. Nichols, Forest, and J.E. Gilmore shipwrecks in 1892. Visitors to the peninsula can check out some of the shallow water shipwrecks on kayak tours, or some of the deeper ones while scuba diving.
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