Waukesha, a city with a history steeped in spiritualism, murder, curses, and exorcism, invites you to uncover its hidden secrets on the Waukesha Ghost Tour. This guided walking tour delves into the intriguing legends, real-life stories, and strange history of this enigmatic city, where the past and the paranormal intertwine.
Sample Itinerary:
- Fox River, Water Man and Drownings: On this tour, you stand along the Fox River that runs through most of Illinois. Listen as your guide shares chilling accounts of mysterious drownings that have happened in this river, and the “Water Man” that could be responsible for it.
- St. Paul's Avenue: The Haunted Bridge: Next head to St. Paul Avenue, which runs parallel to this river. It used to be called Highway 59. Here, you will learn of freak car accidents that left people dead, and others scared out of their wits.
- Waukesha County Historical Society and Museum: In July 1918, at the Waukesha County Courthouse, a manhunt was launched to find a corrupt farmhand named Elder Krause. He was wanted after the unusual deaths of the Hille [pronounced Hill-a] family, German immigrants who came to the United States in the 1840s and had a successful farm. Find out more as your guide explains the events that transpired from a WWI bribe to a family’s group suicide to the unfortunate events that plagued anyone who bought the farm after the deaths.
- Rosemary Street, The Neighborhood Witch: This house at 929 Rosemary Street has had a reputation for weirdness since the 1960s. It’s the house that neighborhood kids would whisper to each other that a witch lived here and the legend was that on Halloweens or Friday the 13ths, you could see a glowing skull appear in the yard behind the house.
- Arcadian Avenue, UFO Sightings: With 22 reported sightings in the city of Waukesha since the year 2000, this place may very well be of interest to our little green extraterrestrial friends.
- St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, An Informal Exorcism: It doesn’t have its own exorcist, but it was the church that a scared family came to after having strange experiences in a house they rented in downtown Waukesha. Hear an entertaining story of the Catholic priest who tried to help, and the stubborn ghost who wouldn’t leave his house.
- Waukesha Freeman Building, Mary Todd Lincoln's Séance: The Waukesha Freeman is a newspaper that predates the Civil War. It was established to provide a voice for the Abolitionist movement dedicated to eliminating slavery in the United States. And many of the prominent Abolitionists were also followers of Spiritualism. Your guide takes you to the front of this newspaper’s building to talk about some famous Spiritualism followers.
- Waukesha Civic Theatre, A Haunted Student: After several more stops for entertaining and frightening stories around downtown Waukesha, your tour ends at the Waukesha Civic Theatre. This building was constructed in 1939 as the PIX movie theater and is on the National Register of Historic Places. You’ll also learn its haunted history of a student named Barbara Jean.
- Cutler Park and Waukesha Public Library: Waukesha's Public Library is next to Cutler Park named after one of the founders of the city of Waukesha, Morris Cutler, a character in his own right. Does he haunt the land where his old cabin was built? Or might it be a spirit from the library, built in 1896, still watching over all the old books...
- Dr. David Roberts - The Murderous Veterinarian: Visit the former office of Dr. David Roberts, one of Waukesha's richest veterinarians in the early 1900s. His sordid love triangle resulted in a murder that capitivated the nation at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Discover how it all went down...
Waukesha, a city with a history steeped in spiritualism, murder, curses, and exorcism, invites you to uncover its hidden secrets on the Waukesha Ghost Tour. This guided walking tour delves into the intriguing legends, real-life stories, and strange history of this enigmatic city, where the past and the paranormal intertwine.
Sample Itinerary:
- Fox River, Water Man and Drownings: On this tour, you stand along the Fox River that runs through most of Illinois. Listen as your guide shares chilling accounts of mysterious drownings that have happened in this river, and the “Water Man” that could be responsible for it.
- St. Paul's Avenue: The Haunted Bridge: Next head to St. Paul Avenue, which runs parallel to this river. It used to be called Highway 59. Here, you will learn of freak car accidents that left people dead, and others scared out of their wits.
- Waukesha County Historical Society and Museum: In July 1918, at the Waukesha County Courthouse, a manhunt was launched to find a corrupt farmhand named Elder Krause. He was wanted after the unusual deaths of the Hille [pronounced Hill-a] family, German immigrants who came to the United States in the 1840s and had a successful farm. Find out more as your guide explains the events that transpired from a WWI bribe to a family’s group suicide to the unfortunate events that plagued anyone who bought the farm after the deaths.
- Rosemary Street, The Neighborhood Witch: This house at 929 Rosemary Street has had a reputation for weirdness since the 1960s. It’s the house that neighborhood kids would whisper to each other that a witch lived here and the legend was that on Halloweens or Friday the 13ths, you could see a glowing skull appear in the yard behind the house.
- Arcadian Avenue, UFO Sightings: With 22 reported sightings in the city of Waukesha since the year 2000, this place may very well be of interest to our little green extraterrestrial friends.
- St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, An Informal Exorcism: It doesn’t have its own exorcist, but it was the church that a scared family came to after having strange experiences in a house they rented in downtown Waukesha. Hear an entertaining story of the Catholic priest who tried to help, and the stubborn ghost who wouldn’t leave his house.
- Waukesha Freeman Building, Mary Todd Lincoln's Séance: The Waukesha Freeman is a newspaper that predates the Civil War. It was established to provide a voice for the Abolitionist movement dedicated to eliminating slavery in the United States. And many of the prominent Abolitionists were also followers of Spiritualism. Your guide takes you to the front of this newspaper’s building to talk about some famous Spiritualism followers.
- Waukesha Civic Theatre, A Haunted Student: After several more stops for entertaining and frightening stories around downtown Waukesha, your tour ends at the Waukesha Civic Theatre. This building was constructed in 1939 as the PIX movie theater and is on the National Register of Historic Places. You’ll also learn its haunted history of a student named Barbara Jean.
- Cutler Park and Waukesha Public Library: Waukesha's Public Library is next to Cutler Park named after one of the founders of the city of Waukesha, Morris Cutler, a character in his own right. Does he haunt the land where his old cabin was built? Or might it be a spirit from the library, built in 1896, still watching over all the old books...
- Dr. David Roberts - The Murderous Veterinarian: Visit the former office of Dr. David Roberts, one of Waukesha's richest veterinarians in the early 1900s. His sordid love triangle resulted in a murder that capitivated the nation at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Discover how it all went down...
Unused Experience Vouchers can be returned within 14 days for a full refund to the original purchaser, no questions asked.
If you have any unused Experience Vouchers, you can exchange them for anything else in our marketplace, no matter when. If you choose an experience that's more expensive, you'll need to pay the difference, but if you choose one that costs less, you'll receive a credit towards your next booking.
No refunds are allowed once the experience is booked, but you can reschedule in the case of an emergency, for a date within a year of the original booking. To reschedule, contact the experience provider directly. No-shows mean losing the value of your experience.
Unused Experience Vouchers can be returned within 14 days for a full refund to the original purchaser, no questions asked.
If you have any unused Experience Vouchers, you can exchange them for anything else in our marketplace, no matter when. If you choose an experience that's more expensive, you'll need to pay the difference, but if you choose one that costs less, you'll receive a credit towards your next booking.
No refunds are allowed once the experience is booked, but you can reschedule in the case of an emergency, for a date within a year of the original booking. To reschedule, contact the experience provider directly. No-shows mean losing the value of your experience.
