Friends spent a few days earlier this week exploring the area around Red Wing Minnesota, and recommend the St. James Hotel, where they stayed. Good to know. In the recent past, we’ve done more exploring just to the east of the Mississippi River in Wisconsin, north of LaCrosse, Wi. in towns we really enjoyed including Alma, Stockholm and Pepin. Maybe it’s time to do a little more exploring on the Minnesota side.
When I googled the St James, the word “haunted” came up – apparently the place has a reputation for housing ghosts! More below from a 2008 story I found:
Ghosts linger in Southern Minnesota
Heather Edwards
staff writer
Armed with a copy of Christopher Larsen’s “Ghosts of Southeastern Minnesota,” I headed south to catch the last of the autumn colors and get into the Halloween spirit.
There are many supposedly haunted spots in Minnesota, and the southern part of the state is no exception. I decided to check out some of the ghostly spots; on the morning of my day trip, the skies were appropriately spooky, with fog enveloping the car as we drove down Highway 61.
My first stop was the St. James Hotel, 406 Main St. in Red Wing. According to “Ghosts of Southeastern Minnesota,” the hotel was built in 1875 on the remains of an Indian burial ground and has a long history of ghostly occurrences. For example, a new employee once walked into her office and found a note, written in childlike script, that read, “Who are you?” Later, she would find another note that read, “I know who you are.”
Was this a trick played by a fellow employee? Possibly. But the employee who found the notes kept sensitive information inside her office, and so the office was always locked. She was only one of a few employees who had a key.
In addition, chefs working in the hotel’s basement have seen faces – no bodies, just faces – staring at them. Housekeepers have seen something move in a nearby room, but when they investigate, nothing is there.
Guests have been affected by the strange happenings as well. In fact, several guests have left in the middle of the night because the blinds on their windows were flapping on their own accord.
TakeBetsywithyou 