By Katie Vaughn | Photography by Hillary Schave
Madison is beautifully multifaceted. Walk down moment — kid, college student, parent, professional, concert-goer, architecture buff — a different aspect of the city will reveal itself to you.
If you’re curious about an unseen and lesser-known side, consider a ghost tour.
Mad City Ghost Walks has been uncovering and sharing the strange, spooky and perhaps haunted corners of Madison for the past three years.
Four signature guide-led walking tours delve into either downtown landmarks or the Forest Hill Cemetery. A great first step into Madison’s haunted history is with the Best Damn Ghost Tour, a roughly two-hour, two-mile stroll that begins at the Wisconsin Masonic Center.
On a recent Sunday evening, tour guide Kjersti Beth stood on the steps built by the Freemasons in the 1920s and embarked on an evening that wound through spooky spots and places not commonly known for paranormal activity.
With theatrical flair and a passion for the past, Beth shared stories that combined history, deep research, personal experiences and respect for the victims.
At the Edgewater Hotel, she mentioned famous guests as well as the sea serpent that may be lingering in nearby Lake Mendota. And in the Langdon Street area — which at one point held one of the city’s earliest cemeteries — she wove tales of apparitions and unexplained cold spots, sounds, shadows, footsteps and occurrences witnessed at several fraternities and sororities.
Beth went on to reveal stories of a haunted theater, historic cadaver lab, grave markers hidden in plain sight on Bascom Hill and why you might spot a woman in white climbing the hill in the early morning hours.
She also shared perspectives, scientific theories and insights she’s learned over the years as a paranormal researcher. Why do some apparitions not seem to notice the people around them? What does it feel like when a ghost passes through you? Are spirits ever out for vengeance or violence? Beth will tell you!
The conclusion of the tour detailed a “trickster ghost” often seen at a local historic bar. If you want an even scarier exploration of the city, Beth recommends the Darker Side of Forest Hill Cemetery Tour, intended “only for the bravest souls.”
But through any of Mad City Ghost Walks’ offerings, Beth hopes tourgoers leave with new perspectives and a more expansive understanding of their city.
“They say every city has its ghosts,” she says, “but maybe a ghost is just an unfinished story waiting to be told.”
