AMERICAN HAUNTINGS GHOST HUNTS
NIGHT AT THE OLD BARABOO INN
BARABOO, WISCONSIN
NEXT AVAILABLE DATE: JUne 8, 2024
8:00 PM - 1:00 am
$68 PER PERSON
SOLD OUT!
Join American Hauntings at one of the most haunted locations in Wisconsin! Discover its infamous history of mystery and hauntings, dating back more than a century-and-a-half to its days as a tavern, brothel, and weekend hangout for Chicago mobsters, like Al Capone! You’ve seen it on the Travel Channel — and even the Food Network — but now you can discover if it’s really haunted for yourself! Join us in Wisconsin tourist country and spend a night that’s not for the faint of heart!
The Old Baraboo Inn, located just across the street from a railroad depot that offered easy access to the Windy City, was built as a boarding house back in 1864. As the years passed, it also operated as a honky-tonk bar and a brothel and was known as a favorite dive bar for vacationing gangsters, like Capone, who has a documented history with the tavern. Capone had a summer vacation “hideout” near Couderay, Wisconsin, and it’s believed that he passed through Baraboo during his trips to the North Woods and dropped in at the Old Baraboo Inn.
Baraboo, Wisconsin, is also home to the Circus World Museum, which is devoted to circus-related history. The museum features circus artifacts and exhibits, hosts daily live circus performances throughout the summer — and is highly recommended when visiting!
Also nearby is Devil’s Lake State Park, which has its own haunted history!
The tavern — which may have also been used as a winery and brewery during its history — closed in 1998 due to a disastrous fire. It remained abandoned for the next 14 years and then it was purchased by B.C. Farr in 2002. He began renovations to re-open the tavern and soon discovered that his new building had a violent and unnerving history. He learned through local lore that multiple people had died in the place, including three prostitutes and two former owners.
And he also learned first-hand that it was haunted.
Strange incidents began while the restoration work was being completed. Lights turned on and off, doors opened and closed, tools vanished and turned up in other places. Everything would be put away when the crew left for the night and then rearranged by the time they returned the next morning.
And the strangeness continued after the place opened for business. When the upstairs apartments used to be rented out, the tenants reported hearing loud piano music and people talking and laughing in the middle of the night. Staff members reported dishes and utensils flying off storage racks. Brooms moved across the kitchen by themselves. Glasses on the bar moved around and disappeared.
There have been sightings of a woman in the bar, nicknamed “Mary,” who allegedly bled to death in the early 1900s. She is often seen in the bar area, dancing near the jukebox. Another female spirit appears upstairs, knocking on doors, pacing the hallway, and making a nuisance of herself. One night, she repeatedly called a man’s name and scratched on his door until he fled from the building.
There is also a presence in the basement that will let people know if it likes or dislikes them using the walk-in cooler. A staff member might find themselves locked in and the light turned off, but if the ghost likes you, it might open the door by itself.
Thanks to his own encounters, Farr has come to believe the place is haunted. He has lost both tenants and employees because of the strange events that take place here but doesn’t seem to mind the resident ghosts. He believes they’re happy with the fact that he’s returned the place to its former glory.
But why not find out for yourself just how haunted the Old Baraboo in really is? Our night at the inn will give guests access to all three floors — the main level, the upstairs brothel area, and the eerie basement. It’s going to be a night you don’t want to miss!