U.S. Ghost Adventures St Paul Ghost Tour: Our Honest Review
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OUR HONEST REVIEW OF THE ST PAUL GHOST TOUR WITH US GHOST ADVENTURES
I was really excited when US Ghost Adventures reached out to Dylan and me about a collaboration, offering us two free tickets to the Twin Cities Ghosts Tour in St. Paul in exchange for a blog post review. I went on one of their ghost tours in Washington, D.C., with my mom in 2021 and loved it. However, I grew up in Minnesota, so this opportunity felt extra special!
US Ghost Adventures St Paul Ghost Tour Review: An Overview
In this blog post, Iâll cover all the spooky spots we visited and my overall reflections on the experience. US Ghost Adventures threw in an EMF (electromagnetic field) reader for us, and Iâll get into whether I think itâs worth the add-on or not. Letâs get into it!
Our US Ghost Adventures Saint Paul Ghost Tour Review
When US Ghost Adventures reached out, I checked their website and found out they have operating ghost tours in over 120 cities! Thatâs when I realized Iâd been on the D.C. Ghosts tour with them, and it started to make sense!
I was thrilled to explore St. Paul, listening to the haunted stories of the capitalâs past and learning about this city so close to home in this way. This tour is for history, horror, and dark tourism enthusiasts who want to wander the beautiful streets of Summit Avenue in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Are You Prepared For Your Trip?
Let The Tour Begin!
On a warm Monday evening in July, Dylan and I found ourselves on Saint Paulâs Summit Avenue, the longest stretch of Victorian-style houses, setting the scene for a spooky evening. Our night began outside the Germanic-American Institute, where we found our guide and tour group. The tour would last an hour, and weâd be stopping at six stops along the way.
Before we started, our guide handed us an EMF (electromagnetic field) reader and explained how they worked. Essentially, the reader would, in theory, light up if it detected changes in the electromagnetic field (AKA a spirit or ghost). Youâd be able to tell the intensity of the electromagnetic field by how much the reader lit up.
After we were explained the ways of the EMF reader, the tour began.
Forepaughâs 2nd Mansion
Our first stop was just a few feet away from where the tour began at Forepaughâs 2nd Mansion. A wealthy entrepreneur named Joseph Forepaugh bought this house as his second home, and eventually started having an affair with their maid, Molly. When Josephâs wife found out about the affair, Molly knew that she would lose both her income and her lover.
Faced with the unfortunate situation, she committed suicide by hanging herself from the third-floor chandelier. Later, Joseph also committed suicide, supposedly because he couldnât handle the loss of Molly, but I also hypothesize he mightâve felt a bit ashamed of her lifeâs outcome, too.
Both of their ghosts are said to make appearances in the home. Molly will show up at dinner parties, wandering the hallways, and Joseph has been seen frantically running up the stairs in a frenzied state of mind. Part of me wonders if theyâre lovers in the afterlife, or stuck in a realm neither of them can escape from.
Old Smith âVineâ Mansion
We continued to our second destination: the oldest house on Summit Avenue⌠the Old Smith Mansion. Unfortunately, David Stuart, who had built the house, died the year after building his mansion, leaving his wife, Mary, lost and lonely.
Well, Mary decided to try to call on his spirit, and became involved in all things witchcraft and Ouija boards. Over the course of many years, she spent her entire inheritance trying to bring back his spirit, unintentionally inviting some not-so-nice spirits along with him.
Apparently, she was successful in bringing him back, but not without a price. Itâs rumored that she sold her soul to the devil in order to bring back Stuart, and visitors who have been inside claim theyâve heard vile things from disembodied spirits, instilling fear in everyone who enters.
Cochran Park
Up until this point, I was interested in hearing the spooky stories, but I wanted to hear something that really shook my bones. Wish and you shall receive, because our third stop along the tour was by far the most terrifying: Cochran Park.
In the 19th century, all the neighborhood children gathered to play at Cochran Park. However, disease and pandemics plagued the area, and the children were hit the hardest, often being carriers of these illnesses.
According to our tour guide, an evil spirit or entity was rumored to be in the park, luring children in and promising them a place where they could play forever. This so-called place that was promised? The afterlife.
Visitors have claimed to see sickly children in the reflection of the pond, and one person captured a ghostly white face with a grim smile in the background of a picture taken near the bench, presumably the entity that brought the children to the afterlife. Our tour guide claimed itâs common for people to leave the park with a headache or feeling lightheaded.
Whether you believe these kinds of things or not, our EMF reader actually started to detect something near the pond for the first time. Up until this point, it was dead weight, but I admit I found it eerie that it lit up. The energy in the park did feel off, too!
âAs from the house your mother sees
You playing round the garden trees,
So you may see, if you will look
Through the windows of this book,
Another child, far, far away,
And in another garden, play.
But do not think you can at all,
By knocking on the window, call
That child to hear you. He intent
Is all on his play-business bent.
He does not hear, he will not look,
Nor yet be lured out of this book.
For, long ago, the truth to say,
He has grown up and gone away,
And it is but a child of air
That lingers in the garden there.â
â To Any Reader by Robert Louis Stevenson
Madame Clifford Statue
The next destination turned out to be a statue in a random front yard next to the sidewalk of Madame Clifford. Surprisingly, the area was home to one of the largest brothels, owned and operated by Nina Clifford herself, paying off officials to continue her work. It was noted that she took good care of the women she managed, which was a nice touch to the story, I thought!
Nina continued her work as a Madame until dying in 1929, though sheâs still sometimes seen roaming the streets in her 1920s clothing, looking for potential clients. I loved this story because it reminded me of my Grandaunt Le Lenore, who also operated brothels across Minnesota!
Nathan Hale Park
We continued until Nathan Hale Park, which had a statue of none other than Nathan Hale! He was an American patriot, soldier, and spy in the American Revolutionary War for the Continental Army.
While Nathan Hale didnât live in Saint Paul, his family home in Connecticut had a history of hauntings, and many people in the park in Saint Paul either feel a calming, protective presence or like theyâre being watched. This was a quick stop before heading to the last stop before turning around: the Chauncey Griggs Mansion.
Chauncey Griggs Mansion
The Chauncey Griggs Mansion is whispered to be one of the most haunted houses in Saint Paul, and it certainly feels like it from the towering house’s ginormous skylight windows. The mansion is huge with 24 rooms, and has served many purposes throughout the years, like an art school, an apartment complex, and a private residence.
There have been several presences seen, heard, and felt at this residence, including a mistress maid who hung herself from the fourth floor in 1915, a former groundskeeper, a thin man with a suit and tophat, a child, a young woman named Amy, and a Civil War officer. In 1969, the Pioneer Press was invited to spend the night, but the group left when the sounds of many footsteps started charging for their room.
It appears that the mansion was a hotspot for spirits who were hanging around. While this was technically our last stop of the night, our guide told us the story of the spooky situations at the F. Scott Fitzgerald house (yes, that one!) on the way back to our cars.
BONUS: F. Scott Fitzgerald House
How am I a Minnesota native without ever realizing that F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in Saint Paul and actually wrote his manuscript The Great Gatsby right in this house on Summit Avenue!? This newfound knowledge alone made the tour worth it for me!
He lived there from 1921 and 1922 with his wife Zelda. After he died in 1940, people have claimed to have seen a faint green light in the window where he used to live and do his writing. How romantic is that!? This is where the tour ended for us, so we headed back to our car and said our farewells!
Our Thoughts on the Saint Paul Ghosts Tour Overall
Now that weâve covered all the haunted locations and spooky stories that we learned about on this tour, I can give you the full rundown of my honest opinion on the experience!
General Thoughts
As someone who enjoys learning interesting facts about historical figures, I found this to be a really fascinating tour. Part of the experience for me was taking in all the breathtaking mansions along Summit Avenue and admiring the architecture. The tour didnât require too much walking, and the street was fairly flat the entirety of the way.
I was impressed with how much knowledge our tour guide had on all the haunted spots and their respective spooky stories. It was more than I could find online, which I think made the tour very valuable.
The only small hiccup was that we were gently discouraged from recording so others could enjoy the tour, but I donât think the guide was aware of our collaboration with the company (we planned on creating a YouTube video of the experience with voice-overs). No biggie!
Should you get the EMF Reader Add-On?
I want to start by saying that this tour is mainly informative and historical, so if youâre expecting to go into any of the haunted locations, youâre out of luck. Youâll only be looking at these places from a distance, and with that being said, the EMF reader felt a little unnecessary.
However, I did mention that the EMF reader seemed to pick something up (or did it?) at Cochran Park, and that definitely excited me a little bit! Other than that, it felt like a dud and honestly just like extra weight to carry around. However, you never know what you might pick up⌠thatâs the fun of it!
Should you take this Tour?
If youâre like me and love learning interesting facts about historical figures, or you enjoy dark tourism, you DEFINITELY should take this tour! I thought it was a fun way to get to know Saint Paul differently, and it was a really fun date night. I think this is a great ghost tour for Saint Paul and Minnesota natives and for tourists visiting for the first time!