These are real buildings with real histories, open to the public as a museum, a restaurant, a hotel, a concert hall or a tour stop. The ghost stories attached to them are legends, and we tell them that way. The fires, crimes and accidents are history, and we tell those straight.
Use the front door. Every place on this page has posted hours, a ticket or a reservation. Don't go poking around anyone's property after hours, and don't go looking for ghosts on private land, rail bridges or in closed buildings. Trespassing is still trespassing in October.
Want to go with a guide? The bookable versions are on the ghost tours page.
Twin Cities metro
Wabasha Street Caves
St. Paul
Sandstone caves that have been a silica mine, a mushroom farm and, during Prohibition, a nightclub and casino with gangsters in the crowd. The caves' guides tell of a 1930s gangland shooting there; we found no record that confirms it. The legend says the men who died are still in the caves. Heads up: the old wabashastreetcaves.com address now redirects to unrelated websites. The real site is wabashacaves.com.
- 2026 dates
- Historic Cave Tour year-round. Lost Souls Cave Tour in October 2026: Wednesdays at 7 pm, Saturdays at 5 pm, Sundays at 1 and 2:30 pm, plus extra tours Sat Oct 24 (5 and 6:30 pm) and Wed Oct 28 (7 and 8:30 pm). Ghosts & Graves bus tour Fri Oct 16 and Fri Oct 23 at 7 pm. Swing dancing on Thursdays.
- Price
- Lost Souls $15 (about 1 hour). Historic Cave Tour $15 (45–60 minutes). St. Paul Gangster bus tour $40. Ghosts & Graves: price shown only in the booking checkout.
- Ages & intensity
- Lost Souls: no one under 10, and the caves say it isn't meant to be frightening. Historic Cave Tour: all ages, 6 and up recommended.
Official site: wabashacaves.com Checked 2026-10-19
The old federal courthouse and post office at 75 W 5th St downtown, opened in 1902, where gangster-era cases went to trial in the 1930s. The lore includes a man some women say they saw in a second-floor restroom, who then wasn't there. Once a year, actors bring back the Barker gang and friends for a Gangster Ghost Tour.
- 2026 dates
- Gangster Ghost Tour: Wed Oct 28, 2026. Tours leave every 15 minutes from 6:00 pm; the last one leaves at 8:30 pm. About 75 minutes. Check in at the Market Street entrance about 20 minutes early; late arrivals can't be held.
- Price
- $11.55, advance tickets required (on sale since Oct 1).
- Ages & intensity
- The ticket page says the tour is suitable for ages 12 and up.
Official site: landmarkcenter.org Checked 2026-10-19
An 1870 mansion in Irvine Park built for businessman Joseph Forepaugh, and a restaurant again: it closed in 2019 and reopened in summer 2024 after a renovation. The story goes that Joseph had an affair with a young maid named Molly, and that she took her own life on the third floor after it came out. Historians call the affair unproven. Joseph's own suicide in 1892 is on record. Staff over the years have told of lights coming on after closing and glasses rattling, and the restaurant's own site claims a resident spirit named Molly (the events page adds one named George).
- 2026 dates
- Restaurant open Tuesday–Saturday, 3:30–10:30 pm; closed Sunday and Monday. Ghost Dinner, Tue Oct 27: a four-course dinner with one drink, three seatings from 6 pm, booked on Resy for parties of 2 to 6; the restaurant calls availability extremely limited.
- Price
- Regular restaurant prices. Ghost Dinner: the menu page shows $166.66 but doesn't say whether that's per person, so check when you book.
- Ages & intensity
- Not applicable; it's a restaurant. The St. Paul ghost walk on our ghost tours page meets at a second Forepaugh's mansion on Summit Avenue.
Official site: forepaughs.com Ghost Dinner Checked 2026-10-19
Before it was the club Prince made famous, the building opened in 1937 as a Greyhound bus depot. The best-known story: a young woman took her own life in a depot restroom after the soldier she loved didn't come home from World War II, and staff say she still turns up in a women's restroom stall. Some claim to have seen her in a green army jacket, dancing with other spirits that have no legs. Nobody has documents for any of it. The way to visit is to buy a ticket to a show, or to book a private venue tour for a group of 10 to 25.
- 2026 dates
- Regular concert calendar through October 2026, including Halloween shows. No ghost tours, but its private venue tours (groups of 10–25, about 45 minutes, booked ahead) run year-round and may include a few ghost stories.
- Price
- Per show. No ghost tour is offered.
- Ages & intensity
- Per show. It's a concert venue, not a ghost attraction.
Official site: first-avenue.com Venue tours Checked 2026-10-19
Washburn A Mill ruins and Mill City Museum
Minneapolis
On May 2, 1878, flour dust inside the Washburn A Mill exploded and leveled it. Eighteen people died: 14 in the mill and 4 more in the fire that followed. The mill was rebuilt in 1880, and the Minnesota Historical Society opened Mill City Museum inside the ruins in 2003. Ghost-story writers say victims of the explosion haunt the riverfront ruins. That part is folklore. The disaster is not, and the museum tells it straight, with no ghost or Halloween programming.
- 2026 dates
- Museum open Wednesday–Sunday: 10 am–4 pm Wednesday–Friday, 10 am–5 pm Saturday–Sunday. Millers' Tour (60 minutes): no more October dates; the next are Nov 14, 22 and 28, then Dec 5, 13 and 20, all at 10:30 am. American Ghost Walks' Minneapolis walk: Fridays Oct 16, 23 and 30, plus Sat Oct 31, 7 pm, booked on TripWorks. The company's ghost bus tour shows no dates online through December.
- Price
- Museum: $15 adults; $12 seniors 65+, veterans, military and college students; $8 ages 5–17; free 4 and under (sold on site only). Millers' Tour $20, museum admission included. American Ghost Walks: the 90-minute walk is $30 per person on TripWorks before tax and booking fee (the company's own page lists $34.21 with taxes and fees); the 3-hour ghost bus tour is from $59 per person (stops include Mill City Museum, Saint Anthony Main and the Foshay).
- Ages & intensity
- Museum: all ages. American Ghost Walks: the company's walk page and its TripWorks tickets both say ages 13 and up, but its FAQ says most of its tours are family-friendly, with parental discretion for young kids because of the dark themes. Check with the company before you bring anyone under 13.
Official site: mnhs.org American Ghost Walks Minneapolis Checked 2026-10-19
Stillwater: downtown and the Warden's House
Stillwater
One of the oldest towns in the state, and it has the stories to match: spirits said to linger at a couple of the old downtown inns, bootlegger caves, and the Warden's House Museum, home to the wardens of the territorial and state prison. The easy way in is the Zephyr Theatre's haunted trolley, or the historical society's talk at the Warden's House.
- 2026 dates
- Haunted History Trolley Tour: Oct 9–10, 15–17, 22–24 and 29–30, departures 7:00–9:00 pm every half hour; as of Oct 19 only 12 departures were still bookable (see our ghost tours page). Warden's House talk, Death, Victorians, and Spiritualism: Fri Oct 30, 6–7 pm, 602 Main St N. American Ghost Walks Stillwater, 7 pm on TripWorks: Oct 22, 29, 30 and 31 still had seats on Oct 19, and Oct 23, 24 and 25 were sold out. The company's tour page says 8 pm, so go by your ticket.
- Price
- Trolley $54 per ticket, per the ticket page (its description still shows last year's dates, so confirm at checkout). Warden's House talk: free. Ghost walk: $30 per person on TripWorks before tax and booking fee; the company's own page lists $34.21 with taxes and fees.
- Ages & intensity
- Trolley: the 2026 FAQ recommends ages 10 and up (the ticket page still says 12 and up). Warden's House talk: not published. American Ghost Walks: the company's tour page and its TripWorks tickets both say ages 13 and up, but its FAQ says children are welcome and parents should use discretion. Check with the company before you bring anyone under 13.
Official site: stillwaterzephyrtheatre.org Washington County Historical Society American Ghost Walks Stillwater Checked 2026-10-19
Duluth & North Shore
The Congdon family's estate on Lake Superior, now run by the University of Minnesota Duluth. Its fame comes from a real crime: on June 27, 1977, heiress Elisabeth Congdon and her night nurse, Velma Pietila, were murdered there. Glensheen tells that history plainly and does not market the house as haunted. Some ghost-story books do. Go for the house and the history, and if you want it after dark, book a Lantern Tour.
- 2026 dates
- Self-guided Classic (about 1 hour) and Full (about 1.5 hours) Mansion Tours run daily; from Oct 20 the house is open 10 am–4 pm. Lock & Key tours ended Oct 18. Lantern Tours on Fridays and Saturdays in October, plus Thu Oct 15; as of Oct 19, Oct 23 and 24 were sold out online (see our ghost tours page). I-Spy pumpkin hunt and a Halloween-items display through October.
- Price
- Classic Mansion Tour: $20 adults, $18 seniors 62+ and veterans, $8 ages 5–17, free 4 and under. Full Mansion Tour: $32 adults, $20 youth, free 4 and under. Lantern Tour: $30 adults, $28 seniors 62+ and veterans, $18 ages 5–17, free 4 and under.
- Ages & intensity
- Family-friendly. No age limit published.
Official site: glensheen.org Checked 2026-10-19
SS William A. Irvin
Duluth
A Great Lakes freighter launched in November 1937, in service from 1938 until her final layup in 1978, and now a museum ship in Canal Park. In 1964 a boiler-room accident scalded crewman William Wuori, 59, to death; he is the only person known to have died aboard. Crew and visitors tell of footsteps, shadows and things that move, and ghost-hunt promoters call the presence below decks the Boiler Room Man. That nickname is lore. Wuori was a real man who died at work.
- 2026 dates
- In October the ship is the Duluth Haunted Ship (see our haunted houses page): Oct 2, 3, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30 and 31. Thursdays 6:30–10 pm, Fridays 6:30–10:30 pm, Saturdays 4–10:30 pm.
- Price
- Haunted Ship: General Admission $25 ($20 on discount days Oct 2, 3, 14, 15, 22 and 29), Fast Pass $35 in advance or $40 the day of, VIP $75. College students with ID $10, box office only; active military $10. For groups, call the ship's group sales line, 218-623-1236.
- Ages & intensity
- No child under 12 is admitted without a parent; parental guidance suggested. Strobes. Not handicap accessible.
Official site: duluthhauntedship.com WDIO: is the Irvin really haunted? Checked 2026-10-19