Ten Wisconsin hotels and inns where guests report something they cannot explain, from Milwaukee’s grandest hotel to a circus family’s mansion in Baraboo.
Wisconsin’s haunted hotels are a cross-section of the state’s history: tannery fortunes and Gilded Age art in Milwaukee, a hotelier who spelled his name backward in Fond du Lac, a company boarding house for immigrant workers in Kohler and the mansion of a Ringling brother in Baraboo. Every place on this list takes overnight guests today; we checked current names and status, updated the stories that older guides got wrong, and noted the places we have taken off the list and why. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. For castles, cemeteries and other spooky sites, see our guide to haunted places in Wisconsin.
Address 424 East Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Where to look Guest floors of the original 1893 building, the grand staircase and lobby, the Imperial Ballroom
Reported ghosts Charles Pfister, the founder's son; unseen knockers and footsteps reported by visiting ballplayers
The Pfister opened in 1893 as the “Grand Hotel of the West,” built by tannery owner Guido Pfister and his son Charles for about $1 million. It still holds what it calls the largest hotel collection of Victorian art in the world, and it has been owned by the Marcus family’s company since Ben Marcus bought it in 1962 and added a 23-story guest tower.
It is also the hotel where most visiting Major League Baseball teams stay when they play the Brewers, which is how its ghost stories went national. Players including Bryce Harper, Pablo Sandoval, Michael Young and C.J. Wilson have described moved clothes, radios and iPods switching on, footsteps and scratching in the walls. Guests also tell of an elderly gentleman on the stairs who looks a lot like Charles Pfister.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for a room in the original 1893 building rather than the tower, then take the self-guided art tour of the lobby and mezzanine.
Address 1 North Main Street, Fond du Lac, WI 54935
Where to look Room 717, the seventh floor, the second-floor ballroom
Reported ghosts A man linked to Walter Schroeder; a red-haired woman in a white bathrobe; a ballerina from the seventh floor
Hotel Retlaw opened in 1923 on the corner of Main and Division, an eight-story Neoclassical hotel built for Walter Schroeder, whose first name spelled backward gave it its name. It is on the National Register of Historic Places, hosted guests from Eleanor Roosevelt to John and Jacqueline Kennedy, and reopened in 2019 after a full restoration. It is now part of Wyndham’s Trademark Collection.
Room 717 carries most of the stories: staff and guests describe screaming from the empty room, a door that would not open while something thumped against it, hair pulling, and TVs, lights and faucets switching on and off. Others report a red-haired woman in a white bathrobe who walks into walls, and footsteps and humming in quiet halls.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for the seventh floor when you book and call the hotel directly about Room 717; it is a regular guest room, not a sold package.
Address 2308 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53233
Where to look The fifth floor (the room usually given as 506 or 507), guest room corridors, the Art Deco lobby
Reported ghosts Unnamed presence often linked to Steven Tuomi; beds made and unmade, moved objects
The Ambassador opened in 1928 as one of Milwaukee’s smart Art Deco hotels, a few blocks west of downtown near Marquette University. It slid into decline in the 1980s and became a low-rent residence hotel, then was rescued and restored by developer Rick Wiegand, who brought back the original lobby sconces, plasterwork and bronze elevator doors.
Its dark footnote is Jeffrey Dahmer. In November 1987 Dahmer took Steven Tuomi to a room he had rented at the Ambassador and woke to find him dead. Retellings put the room on the fifth floor. Guests since have described a heavy feeling up there, beds that are made or unmade before housekeeping arrives, items that vanish and turn up elsewhere, and writing on fogged mirrors.
Haunted Rooms tip: The hotel does not market a ‘Dahmer room’, so be respectful: book a historic-wing room and enjoy the restored Art Deco lobby bar.
$$ · $150 to $300Ghost tours or eventsNo petsHaunted Rooms ghost hunts
Address 201 8th Street, Baraboo, WI 53913
Where to look Sally's room, the library, the parlor, Room Six
Reported ghosts Sally Ringling; Alfred Theodore Ringling; Otto Ringling; a maid
Ringling House, the Charles Ringling House at 201 8th Street, was built in 1900 to 1901 for Charles Ringling, one of the five brothers behind the Ringling Bros. circus, which wintered in Baraboo. His brother Henry bought it in 1916, and Ringling descendants owned it for more than a century. Today it is a six-room bed and breakfast where breakfast is served at Henry Ringling’s own dining table. It is a different house from the Al. Ringling Mansion on Broadway. An Otis elevator was added in 1917 to 1918.
Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunts and overnight sleepovers here. Guests and investigators report lights going out when Sally Ringling’s name is said, someone sitting on the end of the bed, voices from empty rooms and furniture moved overnight. Sally’s room, the library linked to Alfred Theodore Ringling and Room Six, where Otto Ringling stayed, are the places people talk about most.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book an Overnight VIP ticket on a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt to investigate the house and then sleep in one of its six rooms.
Where to look Room 209 and its fireplace, older corridors of the original building
Reported ghosts A grieving widow in Room 209; a silent man in worn work clothes
The American Club was built by the Kohler Company in 1918 to house immigrant workers, a Tudor Revival boarding house where newcomers lived while they learned English and worked at the plant. It reopened as a luxury resort hotel in 1981 and is one of the Midwest’s best-known resorts, with spa, golf and dining on the grounds.
The story told most often is about Room 209, where a woman is said to have taken her own life after her husband died in an industrial accident. Guests say they have seen her standing by the fireplace. Another guest described a man in dirty, torn clothes who would not answer when spoken to. We could find no record that confirms the Room 209 death, so treat it as legend.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for Room 209 or a room in the original 1918 building when you book; it is a regular resort room.
Where to look Rooms 201 and 326, bathrooms, older corridors
Reported ghosts Victims of the 1883 Newhall House fire, according to local lore; a hair-pulling presence
This Hilton Garden Inn sits inside the Loyalty Building, a six-story Romanesque Revival granite office block completed in 1886 for Northwestern Mutual and converted into a 127-room hotel in 2012. It was built on the site of the Newhall House, a downtown hotel that burned on January 10, 1883, in one of the deadliest hotel fires in American history, with more than 70 people killed.
Local lore ties the hotel’s stories to those victims. Guests describe odd sounds with no source, bathroom doors that open and close on their own, and something that tugs at the hair of people who are alone in their rooms. Rooms 201 and 326 come up again and again in the accounts.
Haunted Rooms tip: Request Room 201 or 326 by calling the hotel after booking; they are regular rooms and not guaranteed.
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.
Address 3046 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53208
Where to look The suites upstairs, the lobby and stairs, the lower level once used as a speakeasy
Reported ghosts Suzanne, a former housekeeper; a woman from the speakeasy years
Newspaper publisher George Brumder built this brick mansion in 1910 for his eldest son, in a mix of English Arts and Crafts, Victorian and Gothic styles. Local history says later owners ran it as a club and speakeasy during Prohibition. After decades of other uses it was restored as a bed and breakfast with four suites, the Emma, George, Gyneth and Marion, a short drive west of downtown.
Owners and guests describe a housekeeper’s ghost, usually called Suzanne, who seems unwilling to leave, and a younger woman tied to the speakeasy years. Pictures that were fastened to walls drop without breaking, doors open and slam in the night, and the doorbell has played tunes it was never set to play.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book directly with the mansion; ask the innkeepers about the house’s speakeasy years over breakfast.
Address 509 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53203
Where to look Guest room floors of the 1928 tower, quiet corridors at night
Reported ghosts An unseen presence some link to Walter Schroeder
The Hilton Milwaukee opened in 1928 as the Schroeder Hotel, the 25-story Art Deco flagship of Walter Schroeder’s Midwest hotel chain, with 811 rooms and the title of Wisconsin’s tallest hotel. It later became the Sheraton-Schroeder, the Marc Plaza and, from 1995, the Hilton Milwaukee City Center. A $42 million renovation finished in January 2026 gave it the shorter name Hilton Milwaukee, and it was listed on the National Register as the Hotel Schroeder in 2024.
The ghost stories here are guest stories rather than legends. One widely shared review describes a daughter and her mother who felt the hotel was haunted from the moment they arrived: a laptop switching songs by itself, drawers opening and closing, a bathroom light flicking on and off, and Siri answering “Well that’s not very nice” when the mother told the presence to leave. Some people say Walter Schroeder still checks on his finest hotel.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for a high floor in the original tower and take a look at the restored Art Deco lobby before you head up.
Address 637 South Monroe Avenue, Green Bay, WI 54301
Where to look The parlor in the early morning
Reported ghosts Dr. Julius Bellin, founder of Bellin Hospital
The Astor House is a five-room Victorian bed and breakfast in Green Bay’s Astor Historic District, a neighborhood listed on the National Register and named for fur trader John Jacob Astor, who founded the town of Astor here in 1835. The 1888 house was once the home of Dr. Julius Bellin, who founded Bellin Hospital and its school of nursing.
Guests and staff say Dr. Bellin has never quite left. He is most often described in the parlor in the early morning, as if checking on the house before the day begins. Older versions of this story said the house was built by the John Jacob Astor who died on the Titanic; that is not right, as the district’s name comes from his great-grandfather.
Haunted Rooms tip: Come down early: the Bellin sightings are almost all in the parlor around dawn.
Address 451 East Grand Avenue, Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494
Where to look The basement, once a gambling room and bar
Reported ghosts A woman said to have been stabbed in the basement
Hotel Mead is Wisconsin Rapids’ big downtown hotel, built by Consolidated Papers in 1950 and 1951 and named for company president George W. Mead. Today it is the town’s only full-service hotel, with 150 rooms, an indoor pool, a conference center, the Grand Ave Tavern and The Whitney restaurant, and live music on its events calendar.
Its ghost story is centered on the basement, home of the 1953 Shanghai Room bar and gambling room. Local lore says a female bartender was stabbed to death there, though no record confirms it. People describe a smell like blood, slamming doors and flickering lights, and staff have reportedly been told not to discuss it.
Haunted Rooms tip: This is a stay for the story, not a staged haunting: the hotel does not discuss its ghosts, so be polite with staff.
Two places from older versions of this guide are best visited for dinner rather than a night’s sleep, because we could not confirm that either still rents rooms.
Union Hotel, De Pere: begun in 1883 and listed on the National Register as the Union House Hotel, it is now a supper club restaurant and bar at 200 North Broadway. Staff and diners tell of a spirit that switches the lights on and off and a ghostly bartender who still likes to serve.
Old Baraboo Inn, Baraboo: an 1864 building with a past as a tavern, brothel, brewery and winery, reopened in 2002 after years closed following a fire. Its best-known ghost is Mary, a saloon dancer said to have bled to death there in the early 1900s. Stay at Ringling House a few blocks away.
Removed from this guide: The Karsten Hotel in Kewaunee (the former Steamboat House, with its stories of William Karsten, young Billy and Agatha) and the Water View Inn in Genoa (formerly the Big River Inn, said to be haunted by a former employee called Kenny) are off the list for now because we could not confirm that either is currently open to overnight guests. The Union Hotel and Old Baraboo Inn moved to the eat-and-drink section above. We also corrected the Astor House story: the house was not built by the John Jacob Astor who died on the Titanic; the Astor neighborhood is named for his great-grandfather, who founded the town of Astor in 1835.
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.
The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. Opened in 1893, it is famous for the Major League players who have described footsteps, moved clothes and electronics switching on in their rooms, and for sightings of founder Charles Pfister.
Which Wisconsin hotel has a haunted room you can request?
Room 717 at Hotel Retlaw in Fond du Lac is the best known. It is a regular guest room, so book a stay and call the hotel to request it. Rooms 201 and 326 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Milwaukee and Room 209 at The American Club are also asked for by number.
Can you do a ghost hunt and stay overnight in Wisconsin?
Yes. Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunts at Ringling House in Baraboo, the 1901 mansion of Charles Ringling, with Overnight VIP tickets that include a private room and breakfast.
Is Hotel Retlaw still open?
Yes. The 1923 hotel, once the Retlaw Plaza and a Ramada Plaza, reopened in 2019 after a full restoration and is part of Wyndham’s Trademark Collection.
Is The American Club in Kohler haunted?
Guests tell of a woman seen by the fireplace in Room 209 and a silent man in worn work clothes. The resort was built in 1918 to house immigrant workers. We found no record of the death behind the Room 209 story, so treat it as legend.
Are there haunted hotels in Green Bay?
The Astor House Bed and Breakfast in the Astor Historic District is said to be visited by Dr. Julius Bellin, a former owner who founded Bellin Hospital.
Sources and how we research
Every hotel in this guide is checked against the hotel’s own website, historic register listings and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as the hotels, guests and local historians tell them; we note where a story can’t be confirmed. Read how we rate haunted hotels.
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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.
Booking links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never affects which hotels we include or how we score them.
