Haunted St. Paul (MN)

Haunted America

by Chad Lewis

From the phantom pig at the Minnesota State Fair to the ghostly gangsters of the Wabasha Street Caves, St. Paul bristles with haunted history. Let the spectral usher of the Mounds Theatre show you to your seat as Chad Lewis reveals why the bits of St. Paul's past that insist on intruding on the present deserve to have their stories told. By the time the lights come back on, you will be convinced that sometimes the strangest things have happened in the dorm room upstairs...or the table next to you at your favorite restaurant...or even in your own backyard.

Genres: Ghosts, Paranormal, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 27, 2010

About the author

For nearly two decades Chad Lewis has traveled the back roads of the world in search of the strange and unusual. From tracking vampires in Transylvania and searching for the elusive monster of Loch Ness to trailing the dangerous Tata Duende through remote villages of Belize and searching for ghosts in Ireland’s haunted castles, Chad has scoured the earth in search of the paranormal.

With a Masters Degree in Psychology, Chad has authored over 15 books on the supernatural, and extensively lectures on his fascinating findings.

The more bizarre the legend, the more likely you’ll find Chad there.

Reviews

[Linda]

While some of these stories did have a creep factor that I liked, they too often ended with Is it haunted or not? we'll never know... or some such noncommital line. It was disappointing to see that happen again and again. Also, the photos were all of simple empty rooms - here's the hallway, here's the bed. When he actually *discusse* photos of orbs and such - why couldn't he use those? I think there was too much tantalizing here, never mind all the typos. Nice idea, poor execution.

[Jack Metzdorf · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw this book at the store and thought it was going to be so cool to read some haunting stories about the city in which I've lived my whole life, but this book was not it. First of all, there were so many grammatical errors that it was scarier than most of the stories in the book. Also, each "story" seemed to end with the same question, "is this place really haunted? We'll never know, but feel free to check it out for yourself..."

All in all, it read like a high school student "research" paper that probably got a C.

[Amy D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not for the paranormal purist. It is, however, perfect for a person who is interested in some quirky history of St. Paul.

I'm not a paranormal purist. In fact, this is the first book I've read in this field, so I can't exactly speak for paranormal purists. However, because this book is filled with stories that start with "the rumor of this building is ... " I'm guessing it may not be ideal for someone looking for more than once reference to EMF meters, night-vision recorders and thermoscans. They are interesting stories about the history of the place, but certainly do not cover extensive research investigating paranormal activity. In fact, the author essentially dismisses some of the stories. So if you're looking for a book where the author claims to have spotted paranormal activity and explains detailed evidence, this isn't for you.

Another potential downside: There are also some typos, which may turn people off. I was able to easily ignore them.

If you're interested in short, odd stories of many famous St. Paul landmarks, it may be up your alley. For me, it was a very entertaining read the week prior to Halloween during the year of COVID (so there are not many other Halloween festivities). I look forward to thinking about these historical stories when I pass by the Lexington Restaurant, Landmark Center, Hamline University, Fitzgerald Theatre, and more. And whether or not I truly believe in ghosts haunting these establishments did not affect my enjoyment of the book.

This bit from the end sums it up well (no spoiler): "St. Paul is one weird place whose endless mysteries are just waiting to be discovered. No one on his deathbed ever said that he wished his life was less adventurous and exciting. Visit these places for yourself, and I guarantee that you will see some bizarre things, meet some odd people and hopefully along the way you might just discover that maybe you are a little stranger than you gave yourself credit for."

[Dee Eisel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in my "light reading" series, Haunted St. Paul was another of my waiting-room reads. Like many true "ghost story from X location" books, it gives locations people can visit in its given location and do ghost hunting, or possibly experience ghostly encounters.

It also gives the history of the place and why it might be expected to be haunted. This one is unusual in that it doesn't give a reason or says there is no known reason for a few of the locations it details, and that it gives one which is not open to the public. Still, there are quite a few fun places we can visit, and many of them are fun to see for their own reasons! The caves, for one, are now on my list of locations in St. Paul that I just have to see.

It's shorter than I'd like, but that's common to many of these books. Four of five stars.

[Roxy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! I love ghost stories. Now time to visit some haunted places in St.Paul!

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chad Lewis, a paranormal researcher, explores the haunted/ghost history of St. Paul MN. From the State Capitol to the State Fair (a phantom pig in the agriculture barn) to restaurants like the Lexington and Forepaugh's, to the Fitzgerald Theater, the author examines the ghostly happenings of St. Paul. For those of us familiar w this beautiful city, the book is an interesting historical read.

[Michelle Romano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this story about history and spirits! It talks about various places in St. Paul that have haunted histories. The author certainly did his research! It lists fascinating facts about ghosts in all parts of this great city! For those who love this kind of thing and live in St Paul or want to visit, this book is for you!

[Jacqueline Bussjaeger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve liked Chad Lewis’ other books, such as the

[Madeline McCrae · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went in expecting a collection of ghost stories about Saint Paul mixed with some history. Instead, the author had maybe a few lines total talking about ghost stories or history of Saint Paul, without much evidence or details. He spent most of the book disjointly describing his “research” instead.

[Sammi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like either a 5th grader or a bad AI wrote this book. 2 stars for St. Paul having cool history.

[Jes · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a great deal of redundancy and in need of an editor for the simple grammatical errors. The included photos in the book were not good. It had potential, but sadly came up short.

[Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read, this slickly produced little book makes a good introduction to the allegedly haunted locales of St. Paul, Minnesota, one of my favorite cities. Chad Lewis has exhaustively researched the landmarks he includes in "Haunted St. Paul," beginning with their histories and then moving on to the ghostly and paranormal activity associated with them. This background provides a nice base for Lewis' slightly breathless descriptions of legends and stories of the city's ghosts, drawn from his own explorations as well as those of other ghost hunters and writers (sadly, however, there is no bibliography included). Like many "real" accounts of paranormal events, the stories themselves are not really that interesting (things being moved while people's backs were turned, "eerie feelings") but Lewis does a good job emphasizing the mysterious in these everyday locales, most of which are open for the public to visit. As he points out, part of the "adventure" of haunted locations is making the trip to "see for yourself," and he certainly provides inspiration for some fun stops, especially for locals who have yet to have visited many of these cool places. A nice local travel guide for the weeks going into Halloween, I think.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting in that I learned the history of many businesses. Not that I agree with what was reported, it was a nice break to reading heavy books. My favorite stories, were Forepaw Restaurant, Hamline University and the Wabasha Street Caves.

[Kayla Montgomery · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love a good ghost story but theses were not well detailed. More like a collection of small town tales from the old town cafe. I guess I simply wanted, expected more. No recommendation.