Halloween is finally upon us, and what better way to embrace your inner Buzzfeed Unsolved’s Ryan and Shane than to share with you some of the scariest urban legends of Wisconsin? I have lived in Wisconsin my whole life and this state definitely has its fair share of spooky ghost stories. From the story of the Bloody Bridge to a rumor that UWM robbed graves for corpses for science classes, the Dairy State is the perfect place to embrace your inner ghost hunter.
1. Highway 12 Hitchhiker
If you’ve ever been to Wisconsin Dells, you’ve probably passed through the city of Baraboo. On Highway 12 driving through Baraboo, drivers have reported seeing a male hitchhiker in a green Army jacket. Seems innocent enough, right? Well, when people pass by him (because who wants to pick up a hitchhiker?!) he’ll show up again..and again as drivers keep going down the road. No one has ever picked him up before, but who knows what would happen if they actually stopped?
2. Siren Bridge
The story behind this bridge is that during a Halloween blizzard, a family was driving home when their car skidded off the bridge and overturned into the stream below. Everyone was trapped in the car and drowned. Now, people have reported that while driving over the bridge the ghostly voice of a little girl comes over their car radio screaming for her mother. Scariest of all, that accident has been confirmed to have actually happened. Whether or not the girl’s cries for help are real is still debated.
3. Boy Scout Lane
In Stevens Point, there is a long, unpaved stretch of road that runs through the woods. 20 years ago, it’s believed that an entire Boy Scout troop was killed on the road and now their spirits are stuck there. The story varies, with some versions saying their Scout Master murdered them while others say they were simply killed in a bus crash. No matter what the truth is, I wouldn’t want to be stranded on this road late at night.
4. UWM Using Dissected Corpses
Rumors have circulated since the eighties that biology students at UWM dissected corpses from robbed graves for their research. More specifically, the dissections took place in the basement of the Kenilworth Building, and now that place is haunted (rightfully so). While this legend has never been completely confirmed, a professor did admit that one student used skeletal remains from the meat packing companies in Milwaukee for building anatomical structures. Either way, we can all agree anatomy class sucks.
5. Bloody Bride Bridge
This urban legend also takes place in Stevens Point, so if you’ve learned one thing it’s to never go there for your summer vacations. According to locals, a new bride was killed in a car accident on her wedding night on the bridge on Highway 66. Ever since, people have reported seeing a woman in white standing on the side of the road. And once they pass her, she ends up in their backseat looking at them through their rearview mirror. However, no evidence has been found to support that a bride really did die on the bridge. Regardless, this is one of the creepiest tales I’ve ever heard about the haunts of Wisconsin.
Happy Halloween!