Screams
Haunted Places
Ghosts don’t take a holiday, so we thought we’d give you a list of some of the great places around the state that are haunted year round. These are real locations where people have experienced paranormal activity.
For more information on local hauntings, including background stories and eyewitness experiences, pick up the book The South Dakota Road Guide to Haunted Locations, by Chad Lewis and Terry Fisk.
Haunted Places in South Dakota:
Mount Marty College
Yankton, SD
The College said to be haunted by many anonymous specters. Paranormal activity reports include showers turning on and off by themselves, water fountains running by themselves, mysterious footsteps, and apparitional shadows.
Northern State University
Aberdeen, SD
Two buildings at this university are rumored to be haunted by separate apparitional spirits. The Jerde Hall dormitory is home to a spectral little girl who has been seen and heard in rooms and hallways. The Johnson Fine Arts Center has an apparition who whistles a tune from the empty men's restroom and occasionally jingles keys or tinkers with the lights. This spectral spirit has been known to play pranks by moving, throwing, or dropping objects as well.
Sioux San Hospital
Rapid City, SD
The hospital has a paranormal report from employees about apparitional sounds of children crying and the supposed sighting of these children on the third floor.
Haunted Places in Nebraska:
Hummel Park
Omaha, NE
Reportedly has had paranormal activity including apparitional Native American drums and wolves howling at night as well as anonymous specters. Another paranormal activity at this site is a mysterious stairway nicknamed the "Morphing Stairs" because there are always more stairs to count going up than going down.
University of Nebraska
Kearney, NE
Jennie M. Conrad Hall no longer functions as a residence hall for students. The building is now home to the Office of Residence Life, the administrative office of campus housing and the Honors Program offices. Third floor of Conrad is supposedly haunted by a ghost.
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Lincoln, NE
Said to be haunted by its early 20th Century music professor, Miss Urania Clara Mills.
Haunted Places in Iowa:
Dunes State Park
Chesterton, IA
Reportedly haunted by a spectral 19th Century woman named Alice Mabel Gray.
French Lick Springs Hotel
French Lick, IA
Said to be haunted by the former owner. His apparition is seen in or near the elevator. There have also been reports of him riding a horse in the ballroom and the halls at nighttime.
Gravity Hill
Mooresville, IA
The hill is said to be haunted by a woman who pushed her car up the hill, but was crushed when the car rolled backwards on her.
Story Inn
Story, IA
Supposedly haunted by a ghost known as "The Blue Lady".
Willard Library
Evansville, IA
Haunted by a ghost known as "The Lady in Gray". Webcams are set up throughout the library to record alleged paranormal activity 24 hours a day; their live streaming broadcasts can be viewed online.
Haunted Places in North Dakota:
The Apple Creek Country Club
Bismark, ND
Said to be haunted by an anonymous former female chef in the kitchen. She tends to vanish quickly without appearing to take any notice of living people.
Chateau de Mores
Medora, ND
Formally the home of duelist Marquis de Mores, and is now a museum in Medora open to the public for tours. Visitors have reported seeing a female apparition and feeling cold spots throughout the historic home, and have witnessed lights turn on and off with by themselves when nobody is around.
University of North Dakota
Grand Forks, ND
John C. West Hall, administrators have seen an apparitional young girl's torso, believed to be that of an anonymous spectral student who froze to death outside the dorm. The ghost is said to tinker with the electricity and TVs in the complex. Also, in Stacher Hall (Technology Department), staff members have sporadically seen an apparitional man's arm has in the doorway of the second-floor graphics darkroom. Investigators have detected a feeling of being watched by spirits and a floral perfume along with small gusts of air in the computer lab.
Liberty Memorial Building
Bismark, ND
According to former employees is said to be haunted by a ghostly presence nicknamed the "Stack Monster". When the building housed the State Historical Society of North Dakota, an archivist reported hearing a voice call him by name. A Historical Society superintendent claims he stepped off the elevator in the basement and thought he saw a man in a white shirt walk into a storage room. Archivists working at night say they were "suddenly overwhelmed with the sensation" and immediately left the building. One employee speculates the "Stack Monster" vacated the building, while an assistant says they observed the heavy entrance doors on the building's south side slowly open and close as if someone was going outside. Employees humorously created an ID badge to invite the "Stack Monster" to "check into newer quarters" at the Heritage Center.
North Dakota State University
Fargo, ND
Ceres Hall is believed to be haunted by a male janitor who hanged himself from a heating pipe during World War II. The basement and the third floor are both believed to be haunted, perhaps by two different entities. And in Minard Hall, once rumored to be the site of a possible double murder, witnesses describe a strange feeling of an unseen presence around them.
Haunted Places in Minnesota:
Greyhound Bus Museum
Hibbing, MN
Said to be haunted by anonymous active spirits. Paranormal investigators have confirmed the residence of ghosts in this museum and employees report bus windows opening and closing on their own. Visitors have reported shadows that appear and disappear as well.
Minneapolis City Hall
Minneapolis, MN
Said to be haunted by John Moshik, who was hanged here for murder in 1898.
*The information from this list of reportedly haunted locations has not been substantiated, the material on this page is intended for entertainment purposes only.