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Picture used with permission of artist, Linda Godfrey, copyright 2006. |
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The intersection near the location of the best-known Beast sightings has become a bit of a tourist attraction. It appears that the "Bray Road" street signs had been removed upon inspection in summer 2008. (photo taken in 2006) |
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"For those who haven't read the book, the story first came to light around the beginning of the last decade; that something big, hairy and wolfish roams the country roads and woods of Walworth, Jefferson and Racine Counties. The first witnesses to come forward publicly saw the creature on or near Bray Road, a few miles outside of Elkhorn, Wisconsin, and so it became tagged, 'The Beast of Bray Road.' I happened to be the reporter who broke the story while working as staff writer and artist for a Delavan-based newspaper, The Week, and the beast has followed me ever since. Not bodily (I hope) but in terms of media and in people's undying interest in the stories."
- section from Linda Godfrey's CNB Scene ("see and be seen") website
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East of Highway 12 in Elkhorn is Bray Road,
scene of the most famous manwolf sightings. The intersection with Hospital Road, 2½ miles east of Highway 12, has been the focal point of many photo opportunities (sans the creature, of course). But the majority of incidents have taken place across a wider area of southeastern Wisconsin, encompassing Williams Bay, East Troy, La Grange, Delavan, Whitewater, New Munster, Jefferson and beyond.
Listen to Linda on her radio show "Uncanny Radio" -- Download the podcasts from uncannyradio.blogspot.com
"The strange, the unfathomable, and the downright uncanny -- you'll find them all on UncannyRadio with Manwolf and Linda. UncannyRadio covers all aspects of the strange -- from UFOs to unicorns, werewolves to weird places, to the just plain eccentric people who live among us. Hosted by award-winning authors Linda Godfrey and Stephen D. Sullivan, Uncanny Radio brings you the latest creature reports, a consumer's guide to paranormal and sci-fi TV and movies, and conversations with fascinating and unusual people. Based in America's Strangest Town, Burlington, Wisconsin, but covering the galaxy."
- section from uncannyradio.com
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Beast of Bray Road (2009 segment from Fox News' Hannity TV show)
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double-click to enlarge video
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Official Site (Linda Godfrey's site)
www.beastofbrayroad.com
CNB Scene (Linda Godfrey's site)
www.cnb-scene.com
Weird Wisconsin
www.weird-wisconsin.com or archived (here)
Weird Wisconsin
(Richard Hendrick's site)
1. www.weird-wi.com
2. www.weird-wi.com
Weird U.S.
www.weirdus.com
Prairie Ghosts
1. www.prairieghosts.com 2. www.prairieghosts.com
Cryptamundo
www.cryptomundo.com
Wormwood Chronicles
www.wormwoodchronicles.com
American Monsters
(interview with Linda Godfrey)
www.americanmonsters.com
Journal Sentinel Online
article "An American werewolf, and it's in . . . Elkhorn?" or (here)
The Journal Times
article "Werewolves of Elkhorn" or (here)
Eagle Herald
article "Tales from Wisconsin's Darkside: New book shows how weird Wisconsin really is"
Nick Redfern's Monster USA blog
monsterusa.blogspot.com or (here)
book: "The Beast of Bray Road" by Linda S. Godfrey Prairie Oak Press (2003)
buy it at buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "Hunting the American Werewolf" by Linda S. Godfrey Trails Media Group (2006) buy it at buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "Weird Wisconsin" by Linda S. Godfrey & Richard D. Hendricks Barnes & Noble Books (2005) pages 110 - 113 buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "Weird U.S." by Mark Sceurman & Mark Moran
Barnes & Noble Books (2004) pages 122 - 123 buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "The W-Files" by Jay Rath
Trails Books (1997) pages 11 - 16 buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "Oddball Wisconsin" by Jerome Pohlen Chicago Review Press, Inc. (2001)
pages 209 - 210 buy it at buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "Strange Wisconsin" by Linda S. Godfrey
Trails Books (2007)
pages 17, 26 buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book "The Haunted Northwoods" by Tom Hollatz & Seal Dwyer
North Star Press (2000) pages 67 - 68
buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "Ghostly Tales of Wisconsin" by Ryan Jacobson
Adventure Publications, Inc. (2009)
pages 58 - 63
buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
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"Noticed strange short yet very thin beings standing around my bed... Fear ate me alive. I could feel myself begin to lift off of my bed, and leave my room. I could hear no noise, I couldn't scream or anything either."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report
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UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com |
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Bigfoot Races Across Road (1964)
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bigfoot |
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location: Delavan |
"After turning onto Highway 89 from Highway 14, his headlights picked up an animal running across the road, from one field to another, on two legs. It was dark colored and weighed between 400 and 500 pounds."
- section from The W-Files report |
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The W-Files
www.w-files.com
book: "The W-Files" by Jay Rath
Trails Books (1997)
pages 7 - 8 buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "Weird Wisconsin" by Linda S. Godfrey & Richard D. Hendricks Barnes & Noble Books (2005) pages 120 - 121 buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
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The 1888 Black Point mansion, privately owned, and its four-story tower has been the site of ghost sightings going back to a tragic boating accident in a 1885 storm. Full story in the book "Weird Wisconsin".
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off the southern shore of Lake Geneva
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Lake Geneva Official Site (no mention of ghosts) www.lakegenevawi.com
Wisconsin Paranormal Investigation Team (WIX) www.hauntedwi.com
book: "Weird Wisconsin" by Linda S. Godfrey & Richard D. Hendricks Barnes & Noble Books (2005) pages 228 - 230 buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
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Strange Object Over Highway D (1999)
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UFO |
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location: Honey Creek |
"The object was flying straight and true with no wiggling, wavering, shaking, etc. at about 65 mph when first seen. It appeared to have heat waves coming off the front and sides of it. It did not appear to be spinning."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report
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UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com |
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Snakelike Monster in Lake Geneva
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lake monster |
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location: Lake Geneva |
"On July 22, 1892, as two boys trolled for bass near the south shore of Lake Geneva, they were startled to see the head of an extraordinary serpentlike creature as it rose out of the water 20 to 30 yards away. It opened its huge mouth, revealing several rows of sharp, hooked teeth, and focused its fierce eyes on the terrified onlookers. It began swimming toward them, and the boys, literally paralyzed with fear, were unable to move."
- section from the Skygaze website |
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The W-Files
www.w-files.com
Weird Wisconsin
www.weird-wi.com
Skygaze
www.skygaze.com
Wisconsin's Monsters of the Deep
www.atthecreation.com
book: "Strange Wisconsin" by Linda S. Godfrey
Trails Books (2007)
pages 56 - 57 buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "The W-Files" by Jay Rath
Trails Books (1997) page 30 buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
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Phantom Train of Peck Station Road private property
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haunted |
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location: Elkhorn |
A phantom train has been heard in area that has been devoid of locomotive tracks for many years. The old Peck's Station depot is now a private home.
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Take Highway 12 north from Elkhorn for 2 miles. Turn right (east) onto County Road ES. After about 2 miles, turn left (north) onto Peck Station Road.
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Unexplained Research
www.unexplainedresearch.com
Wisconsin Paranormal Investigation Team (WIX) www.hauntedwi.com
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"I got up to check out the electrical system, and noticed a huge pulsating red-orange glow to the northeast appearing to be just beyond the tree line near the lake. However, no sound could be heard only the strange pulsating, flickering red-orange glow."
- section from UFO Wisconsin 11-28-97 report
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UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com |
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Cavalry Cemetery, burial place of Mary Worth |
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Starin Park water tower photo courtesy of Lambda Chi Alpha Alumni website |
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"Whitewater has been referred to as the "Second Salem.” I can attest that some areas of town just really give me the creeps. The problem is this, there is reputed to be documentation of one kind of another telling about the weird things in town."
"The other witch hotspot is the water tower in Starin Park, known colloquially as Witches Tower. One Halloween, students placed calls to the police after seeing a group of people clad in robes performing a ceremony by candlelight next to the tower. The tower is locked up and surrounded by barbed wire, but rumors still persist that it is a meeting place for witches."
- sections from Weird Wisconsin website
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"Calvary Cemetery, high on a hill above the campus, is rumored to be particularly dangerous, with gates that close on unwitting freshmen dumb enough to have sneaked in at night. According to campus wisdom, an axe murderous, Mary Worth, is buried there, and every Halloween she sallies forth from her grave to vent her rage on new victims."
- section from the book "Weird Wisconsin" |
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UW-Whitewater Campus
800 W Main St.
Whitewater, WI 53190
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Weird Wisconsin
www.weird-wisconsin.com
"Whitewater - the Second Salem"
usersites.horrorfind.com
Halloween Urban Legends (Bloody Mary)
download-goodies.tripod.com
Royal Purple: Legends of Paranormal
1. article "Legends of paranormal" or (here)
2. article "Whitewater's haunted history" or (here)
3. article "New movie may be released about city's haunted past" or (here)
YouTube
trailer:
Wisconsinology
wisconsinology.blogspot.com
Morris Pratt Institute
(now in Milwaukee, began in Whitewater)
www.morrispratt.org
book: "Weird Wisconsin" by Linda S. Godfrey & Richard D. Hendricks Barnes & Noble Books (2005) pages 40 - 41 buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "Strange Wisconsin" by Linda S. Godfrey
Trails Books (2007)
pages 162 -163 buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "Weird U.S." by Mark Sceurman & Mark Moran
Barnes & Noble Books (2004) page 35 buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "Ghosts of Madison, Wisconsin" by Sherry Strub
Schiffer Publishing, Ltd (2008)
pages 162 - 164 buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
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University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Wells Hall
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ghost |
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location: Whitewater |
"Speaking of witches, there are two spots on campus that have been claimed as the meeting grounds for these practitioners of magic. The field where Wells Hall, a dormitory, now stands, was once a major meeting place for witch covens. Rumors claim that an altar exists somewhere underneath Wells Hall, around which a number of bodies are buried upright."
- section from Weird Wisconsin website |
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This location of reputed witch activity is talked about thoroughly in the resources for the "Second Salem" listing above.
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471 North Prairie Street
Whitewater, WI 53190
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UW Whitewater Official Site
(no mention of ghost)
east tower / west tower
Wisconsin Paranormal Investigation Team (WIX) www.hauntedwi.com
book: "Ghosts of Madison, Wisconsin" by Sherry Strub
Schiffer Publishing, Ltd (2008)
pages 162 - 164 buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
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University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Fricker Hall
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ghost |
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location: Whitewater |
"Fricker Hall - a ghost of a student is seen walking in the basement on certain nights."
- section from The Shadowlands website
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1022 West Starin Road Whitewater, WI 53190
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UW Whitewater Official Site
(no mention of ghost)
www.uww.edu
Unexplained Research
www.unexplainedresearch.com
The Shadowlands
www.theshadowlands.net
Wisconsin Paranormal Investigation Team (WIX) www.hauntedwi.com
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University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Delta Zeta Sorority House
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haunted |
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location: Whitewater |
"Witnesses who have lived there have heard a presence creaking as walking down the large front staircase."
- section from The Shadowlands website
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604 W Main St.
Whitewater, WI 53190
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UW Whitewater Official Site
(no mention of ghost)
orgs.uww.edu/deltazeta/
The Shadowlands
www.theshadowlands.net
Wisconsin Paranormal Investigation Team (WIX) www.hauntedwi.com
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University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Greenhill Center of the Arts
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haunted |
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location: Whitewater |
"Lots of strange occurrences after hours reported. Those I have heard have included hammering in the metals lab when no one is present within, reappearing ghosts, and chairs moving across the room by themselves."
- section from The Shadowlands website
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(southwest corner of campus along North Prince Street)
Whitewater, WI 53190
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UW Whitewater Official Site
(no mention of ghost) www.uww.edu
Unexplained Research
www.unexplainedresearch.com
The Shadowlands
www.theshadowlands.net
Wisconsin Paranormal Investigation Team (WIX) www.hauntedwi.com
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University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Clem Hall
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haunted |
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location: Whitewater |
"Clem hall - you can hear people running in the halls and look and no one is there. you hear a bathroom stall door slam at night and no one is in the room with you. people hear talking and laughing in the hall and no one in site. a figure is seen around homecoming week."
- section from The Shadowlands website
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1012 West Starin Road
Whitewater, WI 53190
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UW Whitewater Official Site
(no mention of ghost)
www.uww.edu
The Shadowlands
www.theshadowlands.net
Wisconsin Paranormal Investigation Team (WIX) www.hauntedwi.com
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University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Knilans Hall
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ghost |
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location: Whitewater |
"Supposedly haunted by a librarian who died there years ago. A student, was walking with her hands full when two doors, that require a key to unlock, opened by themselves. When she passed through the doors the elevator doors were also being held open by an unseen person."
- section from The Shadowlands website
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411 North Prairie Street
Whitewater, WI 53190
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UW Whitewater Official Site
(no mention of ghost)
www.uww.edu
The Shadowlands
www.theshadowlands.net
Wisconsin Paranormal Investigation Team (WIX) www.hauntedwi.com
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University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Halverson Log Cabin
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ghost |
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location: Whitewater |
"School officials deny reports the cabin is haunted, yet stories continue to circulate about a young ghost who can be seen looking out a window."
- section from "Ghosts of Madison, Wisconsin"
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near Hyer Hall
800 West Main Street
Whitewater, WI 53190
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book: "Ghosts of Madison, Wisconsin" by Sherry Strub
Schiffer Publishing, Ltd (2008)
pages 162 - 164 buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com |
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Delavan UFO Sightings
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UFO |
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location: Delavan |
"I looked right up from under it and it looked like an orange type of circle in the middle of the UFO. I followed it as long as I could. It kept going the same speed."
- section from UFO Wisconsin 11-09-05 report
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UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com |
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"After he died, George Johnson came to live with me. Prior to this interlude in my life, I’d never had any reason not to believe in ghosts, but I’d never had a compelling reason to believe in them either. But even though I never actually saw George in his spirit state, I knew he was there."
- section from Weird Wisconsin report |
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Weird Wisconsin
www.weird-wi.com |
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Multiple Orange Objects Observed (2000)
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UFO |
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location: Walworth |
"They retained this formation as they flew from the south west to the north east at incredible speeds."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report
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UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com |
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Walworth Elementary School
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ghost |
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location: Walworth |
"It is said a janitor that fell down the steps to the boiler room haunts the school. He doesn't harm anyone, but doesn't know how to leave the school."
- section from The Shadowlands website |
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Well, Fritz, if you would've cleaned up near the exits once in a while, you'd know the way out.
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121 Beloit Street
Walworth, WI 53184
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Unexplained Research
www.unexplainedresearch.com
Wisconsin Paranormal Investigation Team (WIX) www.hauntedwi.com
The Shadowlands
www.theshadowlands.net
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Mysterious Lights Seen Over Highway 12 (2000)
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UFO |
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location: La Grange |
"The weirdest thing about this whole event was that, when the lights appeared to approach the oncoming cars, they stopped alternating and BECAME AIRBORNE, lifting off over a tree line to the left...they were headed in a northeast direction."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report
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UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com |
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Multiple Fast-Maneuvering Craft Observed (2003)
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UFO |
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location: La Grange / Elkhorn |
"Two of the objects looked as though they were heading towards each other. They were so close, we thought they might explode in the sky. It appeared as though they went thru each other, it was unreal. We couldn't believe our eyes."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report
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UFO Wisconsin
1. www.ufowisconsin.com
2. www.ufowisconsin.com |
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"The Ghostly Ballroom"
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haunted |
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location: Delavan |
"I was dragged across the room to the front door. I could make out a cloudy outline in front of me (it was in front of me and pushing me backward), but I could not make a sound...In my hallway was a sight I will never forget my whole life. I saw a ballroom from the late 1800s or early 1900s with people dancing."
- section from Ghost Village website
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Ghost Village
www.ghostvillage.com |
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"Downtown Ghost in Culture Shock"
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ghost |
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location: Delavan |
In her book "Strange Wisconsin", author Linda Godfrey shares the tale of a confused spirit in a Delevan store.
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book: "Strange Wisconsin" by Linda S. Godfrey
Trails Books (2007)
page 18 buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com |
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"Cobblestone Inn"
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haunted |
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location: East Troy |
Now the Golden Dragon Restaurant, this unique 1849 cobblestone building has had its share of paranormal activity reported. Owner Samuel Brady enjoyed a few years of running a successful hotel out of the building he had constructed himself. He and his wife headed off for a visit to England, never to return. Over the last century-and-a-half, the building has had several owners, but it was during the 1990s that stories of the paranormal sort began to intensify. The building was being renovated at this time. Strange events that have occurred here have led people to believe the Sam Brady and his wife may have returned to their inn after all.
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2088 Church St.
East Troy, WI 53120
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Official Site
www.cobblestoneinns.com
The Shadowlands
www.theshadowlands.net
Wisconsin Paranormal Investigation Team (WIX) www.hauntedwi.com
East Troy Chamber of Commerce
www.easttroywi.org
book: "Strange Wisconsin" by Linda S. Godfrey
Trails Books (2007)
page 23 buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "Haunted Homeland" by Michael Norman
Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC (2006) buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
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The Poison Widow
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notorious crime |
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location: Whitewater |
"Myrtle Schaude had to be one of the most enigmatic murderers ever to walk the face of the Wisconsin earth. Raised a prim, religious country girl, she had what seemed the perfect marriage, perfect husband, perfect home and four lovely children in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Described as a "petite beauty," Myrtle was known for taking food to the sick in her community. Her husband sang in the Methodist choir and was a trustee of his church. They even provided room and board for students from the nearby Whitewater State Normal School, and that proved to be the family's undoing. He was a young veteran of World War I, the student boarder Myrtle fell inexplicably in love with. Tall, tubercular, and not brilliant, Ernst Kufahl was eight years Myrtle's junior. Within the year, his landlord lay dead in his bed of strychnine poisoning. Who poured the poison? A year and a half later, Myrtle's four children narrowly missed being simultaneously poisoned and mangled in a car crash thanks to their love-besotted mother. Myrtle and Kufahl were both put on trial, and each was followed in the national news, described as" sordid and shocking". Based on five years of research, hundreds of court documents including original love letters between Myrtle and Ernst, piles of old newspaper articles, and interviews with people alive at the time, The Poison Widow tells the whole amazing story."
- section from the CNB Scene website
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CNB Scene
1. cnb-scene.com 2. www.cnb-scene.com
book: "The Poison Widow" by Linda S. Godfrey
Big Earth Publishing (2003) buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "Weird Wisconsin" by Linda S. Godfrey & Richard D. Hendricks Barnes & Noble Books (2005) pages 139 - 140 buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "Strange Wisconsin" by Linda S. Godfrey
Trails Books (2007)
pages 163 - 165 buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
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Hitchhiking alien? Perhaps... The story is told in the book "Strange Wisconsin".
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book: "Strange Wisconsin" by Linda S. Godfrey
Trails Books (2007)
page 166 buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com |
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Honey Creek Creatures
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bigfoot |
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unknown
creature |
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location: Honey Creek |
Several strange somethings have been spotted near Honey Creek since the early 1990's. Some sasquatch-like, some giant-dog-like. Read the full stories in Linda Godfrey's books, listed at the right.
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CNB Scene www.cnb-scene.com
book: "Strange Wisconsin" by Linda S. Godfrey
Trails Books (2007)
page 36 buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
book: "Hunting the American Werewolf" by Linda S. Godfrey Trails Media Group (2006)
pages 76 - 79, 131 - 133, 309, 310 buy it at buy it at Barnes & Noble.com
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"The Lady in White"
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ghost |
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location: Pell Lake |
In her book "Strange Wisconsin", author Linda Godfrey shares the tale of a spectral figure seen in a home in the township of Bloomfield.
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book: "Strange Wisconsin" by Linda S. Godfrey
Trails Books (2007)
page 4 buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com |
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"Ghosts of America" Haunted Location Reports
(take with a grain of salt)
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ghosts |
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location: statewide |
The reports on this site are presumably fiction, using random Wisconsin place names in the stories listed there. Even so, you might get a kick out of reading them.
"The ghost of a youthful female dressed in a bloody dress can sometimes be perceived in Birch Grove Park very late at night staring. People who have made out this ghost declare this ghost likes terrifying foolish people who come trying to locate ghosts in Fontana. Regardless of what, it without a doubt is a frightening spirit that you shouldn't go looking for."
- section from Ghosts of America website
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Ghosts of America
www.ghostsofamerica.com |
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St. Killian's Cemetery
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haunted cemetery |
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location: Lake Geneva |
"St. Killians is a graveyard/church. [T]he church was burned down by the lake geneva fire department because it was condemned. they used the church as training for the fire department. there were stories of devil worship going on in the church basement and the stories are TRUE. A group investigated it several times before they put up the no trespassing sign. There are sounds of a bell while you are there but the bell seems to be coming from a house in the distance. While there they report seeing mist around a tombstone that disappeared when they approached. Also repo[r]ted, a shadow that moved across the tombstones and vanished. and there are strange smells it is believed they are coming from the swamp that is behind the cemetery."
- section from The Shadowlands website
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6087 Town Line Road
Lake Geneva, WI 53147
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The Shadowlands
www.theshadowlands.net
Wisconsin Paranormal Investigation Team (WIX) www.hauntedwi.com
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