Three Milwaukee landmarks rank among Wisconsin's ten most haunted places

With Halloween approaching, three Milwaukee landmarks rank among Wisconsin's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index, including the Pfister Hotel at #1. The index ranks 128 Wisconsin sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

The Pfister Hotel ranks #1, and its 11 separate published accounts are the most of any Wisconsin site, the earliest dated to 2001. Guido Pfister, a leather manufacturer, planned it before his death in 1889, and his son Charles completed it in 1893. Because visiting baseball teams stay there, many accounts come from players: one pitcher posted in 2018 that he had been touched at night. A local author calls Charles Pfister, who died in 1927, the building's "spokes-ghost," while a local investigator interviewed by the Marquette Wire reads the players' accounts as pranks between teammates.

The Milwaukee Public Museum on West Wells Street ranks #9. One firsthand published account, retold in six later publications, describes activity there. Staff describe a caped figure glimpsed on the third floor near the Middle American exhibits, associated with Stephan F. de Borhegyi, the Hungarian-born scholar who directed the museum from 1959 until his death in 1969, and an elevator that opens there empty.

Also in the top ten: the Pabst Theater, opened in 1895 for Captain Frederick Pabst (#10).

The Pfister is also Wisconsin'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:The Pfister Hotel, 424 E. Wisconsin Ave., is a working hotel; rooms are for overnight guests.Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells St., is open daily during posted hours.Pabst Theater, 144 E. Wells St., hosts ticketed performances.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/wisconsin/The fact sheet, with Milwaukee numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/wisconsin/Photos: the museum and the Pabst Theater, on the fact sheet.Venue contact: thepfisterhotel.com and mpm.edu and pabsttheatergroup.comA 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

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