FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chambers Island Lighthouse ranks #5 among Wisconsin's ten most haunted places
A new index ranks places by published accounts, not legend
September 30, 2026
With Halloween approaching, Chambers Island Lighthouse in Door County ranks #5 among Wisconsin's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index. The index ranks 128 Wisconsin sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.
Chambers Island Lighthouse ranks #5. The federal government built the lighthouse in 1868 on a remote island in northern Green Bay; first keeper Lewis Williams served 21 years and raised 11 children there before retiring in 1889. Three separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 1976. In 1976, caretakers assigned to the island reported a door that closed on its own, tools that disappeared and reappeared in unlikely places, and beds that shook on their own; in 1987, a group of nuns visited to pray over the disturbances. A Door County Maritime Museum curator has called the accounts 'historically accurate,' a description that stops short of endorsing a paranormal explanation. Local tradition attributes the activity to Williams.
Statewide, the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee ranks #1 and is also the state's most famous haunted site.
"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:Chambers Island Lighthouse, on Chambers Island in northern Green Bay near Fish Creek, is reachable only by private boat or charter; there is no ferry service.
For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/wisconsin/The fact sheet, with cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/wisconsin/Photo: Chambers Island Lighthouse, on the fact sheet.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