St. Louis County holds two of Minnesota's ten most haunted places

With Halloween approaching, two St. Louis County places, including Duluth's SS William A. Irvin at #1, rank among Minnesota's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index. The index ranks 98 Minnesota sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

The SS William A. Irvin ranks #1, and its eight separate published accounts are the most of any Minnesota site. The 610-foot ore carrier worked the Great Lakes ore trade from 1938 until 1978, becoming a museum ship in 1986; sailor William Wuori died in a boiler explosion in 1964, and investigators have reported a male presence in the engine room linked to him. Museum staff describe a small apparition in the cargo holds.

Hibbing High School Auditorium ranks #7. The 1,800-seat auditorium, modeled on New York's Capitol Theatre, opened in 1924 and later hosted a young Bob Dylan's rock and roll dances. Two separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 1942. Local accounts say original stage manager William Ratican still occupies seat J-47, captured in a 2000 Polaroid photograph and since found moved with no one in it. An independent researcher's blog concludes the photographs were likely staged to scare students.

Statewide, Palmer House Hotel in Sauk Centre, the state's most famous haunted site, ranks #10.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound. The ranking shows each site's documented record.

Visiting:SS William A. Irvin, 350 Harbor Dr., Duluth, is a museum ship with self-guided daytime tours and 18-and-older evening paranormal investigations.Hibbing High School Auditorium, 800 E. 21st St., Hibbing, is a working school auditorium open for public performances and occasional tours.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/minnesota/The fact sheet, with Duluth numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/minnesota/Photo: the Hibbing High School Auditorium, on the fact sheet.Venue contact: canalpark.com (SS William A. Irvin) and isd701.org (Hibbing High School)A short version follows.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

###