Haunted hotel guide · Green Bay, Wisconsin
The Haunted Astor House, Green Bay: Dr. Bellin in the Parlor
A five-room Victorian bed and breakfast in Green Bay’s Astor Historic District, three miles from Lambeau Field, with one quiet ghost story: the doctor who founded Bellin Hospital, still seen in the parlor at dawn.
The Astor House Bed and Breakfast is at 637 South Monroe Avenue, in a leafy neighborhood of Victorian and early twentieth-century houses on the east side of the Fox River. It is an adults-only inn with five themed rooms, gas fireplaces and whirlpool tubs, a three-course breakfast and an easy drive to Lambeau Field, which makes it one of the most popular places to stay in Green Bay on a Packers weekend.
It also has a gentle ghost story. The 1888 house was once the home of Dr. Julius Bellin, the physician who founded what became Bellin Hospital, and guests and staff have said for years that he still appears in the parlor in the early morning. It is a small story compared with the big city hotels, but it is a sweet one, and it puts the Astor House among the most charming haunted hotels in Wisconsin.
Astor House at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 637 South Monroe Avenue, Green Bay, WI 54301
- Built 1888, in the Astor Historic District (listed on the National Register in 1980); a bed and breakfast since 1994
- Most haunted spots The parlor, in the early morning
- Best-known ghosts Dr. Julius Bellin, founder of the Deaconess Sanitarium that became Bellin Hospital
- Booking the haunted room The ghost is in a shared room, the parlor, so any room will do. Ask for breakfast in the parlor rather than in your suite.
- Good to know Adults only (21 and over). No pets except service animals. Two-night minimum on Packers home game weekends.
The ghosts of Astor House Bed & Breakfast
Dr. Julius Bellin in the parlor
The Astor House has one ghost, and he keeps doctor’s hours. Guests and staff have described seeing Dr. Julius Bellin in the parlor in the early morning, as if he were checking on the house before the day begins. In most accounts he is simply there and then gone, a calm figure who does not seem to notice the living.
It is easy to see why the story attaches to him. Dr. Bellin was a well-known Green Bay physician who founded a hospital in a house he owned in 1908 and went on caring for the city for twenty more years. A man like that, the story suggests, would still be up early.
What the owner says
There are no slamming doors or screams in the stories told about the Astor House. Owner Linda Steber told UpNorthNews in 2024 that guests and staff have reported apparitions, disembodied voices and electronic devices switching on by themselves, and that the owners have priests bless the home regularly, especially after unusual reports. She described it as “a peaceful home with a storied history.”
The inn’s own website does not mention ghosts, so this is a stay for people who enjoy a historic house with a story, not for anyone hoping for a staged haunting.
The Titanic mix-up
Older versions of the story, including the earlier version of our own Wisconsin guide, said the house was built by John Jacob Astor, the millionaire who died on the Titanic in 1912. That is not right. The neighborhood is named for his great-grandfather, the fur trader John Jacob Astor, who founded the town of Astor on this spot in 1835, long before the house was built. Neither Astor lived here, and neither is said to haunt it.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- The parlor: Where Dr. Bellin is seen, and where breakfast can be served if you would rather not eat in your room. Come down early.
- London: A Victorian-style king room inspired by nineteenth-century London, with a gas fireplace and soaking tub. The room that best suits the house’s age.
- Hong Kong Retreat: The largest room, on the third floor, with a queen bed, futon and jetted tub.
- Marseilles Garden, Vienna Balconies and Laredo: The other three themed rooms, the last two reached by a private rear entrance.
History of Astor House Bed & Breakfast
In 1835 the fur trader John Jacob Astor, then the richest man in America, founded the town of Astor beside the Fox River. The town became part of Green Bay, and the Astor name stayed with the neighborhood. Today the Astor Historic District, roughly bounded by Mason Street, Webster Avenue, Grignon Street and the river, is a residential area of Victorian and early twentieth-century houses associated with Green Bay’s leading families. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Dr. Julius Bellin was one of those leading citizens. In 1908 he opened the Deaconess Sanitarium in a house he owned in Green Bay. It became the Wisconsin Deaconess Sanitarium in 1915 and moved into its first purpose-built hospital in 1916. In 1925 its board renamed it Bellin Memorial Hospital in his honor, reportedly over his objections, and he died in 1928. The hospital grew into today’s Bellin Health, and Bellin College carries the name too.
The house on South Monroe Avenue was built in 1888, and Travel Wisconsin notes that it was once the residence of Dr. Bellin, “one of Northeast Wisconsin’s most notable surgeons.” It has operated as the Astor House Bed and Breakfast since 1994, with five rooms decorated around places such as London, Provence, Hong Kong and Vienna, each with a private bath and most with a gas fireplace and double whirlpool tub. It is one of the best-known small inns in Green Bay, popular with couples and with Packers fans on game weekends.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Come down early. The Bellin sightings are almost all in the parlor around dawn.
- Ask to have your breakfast in the parlor rather than in your room; the inn will serve it either way.
- Book well ahead for Packers home games and the EAA AirVenture week, when a two-night minimum applies and rates are paid in full and non-refundable.
- The inn is for adults 21 and over only, with no exceptions, and pets are not allowed except service animals.
- Walk the Astor Historic District in daylight to see the other Victorian houses of Green Bay’s old elite.
Want to investigate, not just sleep?
Sleeping in a haunted hotel is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through the building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and lets you explore on your own during free roam.
- Ringling House Ghost Hunt & Sleepover, Baraboo: Our own Wisconsin ghost hunt in Charles Ringling’s 1901 mansion, with Overnight VIP rooms and breakfast.
More haunted hotels nearby
- Hotel Retlaw, Fond du Lac: Room 717 and Walter Schroeder’s 1923 hotel
- The Pfister Hotel, Milwaukee: The 1893 hotel big league ballplayers talk about
- The Landmark Inn, Marquette, Michigan: A famously haunted Upper Peninsula hotel, a scenic drive north
- Haunted hotels in Wisconsin
Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Astor House in Green Bay haunted?
It has a gentle ghost story. Guests and staff say Dr. Julius Bellin, founder of what became Bellin Hospital and a former resident of the house, appears in the parlor in the early morning. The owner has also told local press about apparitions, voices and electronics turning on by themselves. None of it can be proven.
Did John Jacob Astor build the Astor House?
No. The house sits in the Astor Historic District, named for the fur trader John Jacob Astor, who founded the town of Astor here in 1835. The John Jacob Astor who died on the Titanic was his great-grandson and had nothing to do with the house.
Who was Dr. Julius Bellin?
A Green Bay physician who opened the Deaconess Sanitarium in 1908. It was renamed Bellin Memorial Hospital in his honor in 1925, and he died in 1928. It is now Bellin Health.
Are children allowed at the Astor House?
No. The inn is for adults 21 and over only, with no exceptions.
How far is the Astor House from Lambeau Field?
About three miles, which is why it books up early for Packers home games, when a two-night minimum applies.
How old is the Astor House?
The house was built in 1888 and has been a bed and breakfast since 1994.
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.
- Astor House Bed and Breakfast
- Travel Wisconsin: Astor House Bed & Breakfast
- UpNorthNews: Book a stay at one of Wisconsin's 9 most haunted hotels (2024)
- Paulina on the Road: Most haunted hotels in Wisconsin
- Wikipedia: National Register of Historic Places listings in Brown County, Wisconsin
- Wikipedia: Bellin Health
- Astor House: Policies
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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