Minnesota Hauntings: Ghost Stories from the Land of 10,000 Lakes

by Ryan Jacobson

What college is “Minnesota’s most legendary haunted place”? Where did a ghost reportedly murder two victims? How has a haunted hutch predicted several people’s deaths? This incomparable collection by Minnesota author Ryan Jacobson features only the state’s scariest, most surprising ghost stories. From the author's own ghostly encounter to a family terrorized by a fiendish toy, the book's 21 tales are reportedly true! Best of all, they were written with a campfire in mind, so they're perfect for sharing aloud. Or read it alone... if you dare!

Genres: Ghosts, Nonfiction, Horror

112 pages, Paperback

First published August 9, 2010

Reviews

[Ariel]

Just your average cheesy spook stories. The writing made most the stories feel false and cheesy instead of creating suspense and believability.

[Jeff Taylor]

Another entertaining October read… 👻 🎃 🧙

[Jasmine Banasik]

I got this book along with a very similar book about spooky areas of Minnesota and after reading the other one... I was not excited to start this one. The other one felt largely unnecessary. Even as someone who firmly believes in ghosts, I kept scoffing at how obviously mundane all the stories were. So, I thought this one would be the same. At least it would be a quick read.
I was therefore pleasantly surprised when I really enjoyed almost all of the stories. While I could still debunk some if I put on my skeptics glasses (One of them is about a porch light turning on and then the person moreorless just comes up with a story to back it up), I still felt there were compelling and even a little bit creepy. Even as I point out that the porch light story probably wasn't anything, I nevertheless enjoyed it. The writing is nice, trying to suck the reader in rather than reporting what happened.
It's not anything amazing, but if you're looking for a short collection of creepy stories to bide your time, this one is more than satisfactory. You just might have to suspend your disbelief a little. But that's half the fun.

The biggest downside is that despite this being advertised as being Minnesota Hauntings, because of the nature of most ghost stories being able to happen anywhere, there isn't much that feels very Minnesotan. It's not like we have a loon haunting a cabin or anything like that. That would've been wild.

[Rachel G]

Read for PopSugar 2020 book challenge "A book recommended by your favourite blog, vlog, podcast or online book club". A quick read about rumored haunted sites in MN.

This was a quick, fun read that wasn't scary at all. Each vignette included a bit of background on the haunting and told the ghost stories in a straight-forward, personal story kind of way. You could tell the author had good conversations with the people he wrote about.

My 3 sentence synopsis: This was a well researched and organized book about Minnesota's most famous ghost stories. It wasn't scary, but was a bit spooky at times. Each story is about 3 pages long, making this the perfect bathroom book!

[Chris]

This book of short ghost stories from Minnesota was better than the last book of short ghost stories from Minnesota I read, so there's that. Different authors, though.
These were a little more narrative in style, but they also seemed a lot more outlandish. Some were pretty creepy, but some included such intense things happening that they just weren't believable. Like the My Size Doll that moved everywhere in the house, including appearing in bed with someone. Some of the stories were kind of boring.

[Emmie]

This weekend I was in Two Harbors, MN and got this book. It’s a quick and easy read, with fun moments of going, “I know that place!” (My favorite was the amount of times the Asylum for the Dangerously Insane in St Peter was brought up— I went to Undergrad in St Peter 😂It’s now a mental hospital and my sophomore year, one of the patients was on the run…this has nothing to do with the book but it was important for me to share— speaking as no one reads my reviews) I was hoping for more of the history side of the hauntings where this one was more stories.
3 out of 5 ⭐️

[Amber Miller]

Spooky quick reads. Some seem far fetched or seem like it's only a little bit of information; but some send a chill down your spine. A few caused goosebumps if one thinks about the "what ifs..." and I can't wait to read more from my home state.

[Griffin Wold]

A short and quick read. Interesting to get some of the lore, but some were written much better than others. I think it would have been much better if the author stuck with only the stories he actually believed. Not as scary as I was hoping.

[Samantha Mix]

Fascinating and local ghost stories. Loved it!

[Rachel Fuller]

Good series of short stories for a quick afternoon read.

[Ang]

Fun little ghost stories. Some of them are even kinda scary.

[Pam Fossen]

Very short stories about various ghost stories throughout Minnesota.

[Monica Hyde]

Very intriguing and some of these tales are super close!

[Christy Thorson]

Very short, easy to read stories. Probably good for younger readers. There were a few stories that I had not heard of before.

[H J Hauer]

I typically dont like short story books but I actually really enjoyed this one :) definitely recommend

[Annette Meier]

Soooo much fun to read these short stories about ghosts, spooky happenings and other unexplainable phenomena happening in my home state. A nice respite from murder mysteries and historical romance.

[Leslie Callahan]

Nice short historical stories that leads into why that area would be haunted.

[CJ Guerrero]

A very simple read. Interesting.

[Ann Mekala]

This wasn’t particularly well written but some of the stories were quite spooky!

[Kris Heywood]

Was a very quick read for me. I enjoyed it as I’m from Minnesota. Case scenarios were very bizarre! I’d freak out if these encounters happened to me!

[Meghan]

It's a cute little book. The prose is straightforward. And the stories are charmingly spooky.

[Brandon]

I liked the book be cause it was talking about haunting s in mn my home state and inforing me about what is out here in my state and what people have encountered in there homes or farms and it should be recomended to the people who think they have paranormal activities in there homes and mabe they can relate to what is inside there place.

[Sara]

Fun, light read with local ties. Just right for a mellow evening.

[Poet Truth]

It was ok, not really what I was in search for.