A Haunting Walk Through St. Paul: The Twin Cities Ghosts Tour

There’s something different about St. Paul after dark. The quiet streets of Summit Avenue, lined with stately Victorian mansions, hold more than just old bricks and ornate windows - they hold stories. And if you’re curious (or brave) enough, the Twin City Ghosts Tour is one of the best ways to step into that shadowy side of the city.

A Night of History and Hauntings

The tour begins on Summit Avenue, a stretch often praised for its historic beauty. But behind those grand facades lies tragedy, heartbreak, and more than a few restless spirits. The guides aren’t dressed in costumes or putting on a show - they’re storytellers armed with research, local lore and knack for weaving history with the paranormal.

My guides’s name was Emery and she took our group on a paranormal story adventure with only a dimly lit lantern to guide us.

Stops that Stood Out

Forepaugh’s Mansion: Once a lavish home, this spot is remembered for a love affair gone wrong. Joseph Forepaugh came to St. Paul in 1858 and built his success off of his dry goods business and other ventures. The mansion was occupied by Joseph, his wife Mary and their five children. The family hired a maid from Ireland with whom Joseph had an affair with. Eventually, both the maid and Joseph committed suicide at different times. Guests say the ghost of the maid Molly still lingers, flickering lights and playing small tricks.

Chauncey Griggs Mansion: Locals call the Griggs Mansion the most haunted house in St. Paul, and after hearing the stories it’s easy to understand why. Over the years, visitors have reported seeing a misty figure of a maid who ended her life on the fourth-floor landing, her presence often felt as a heavy, unsettling chill in the air. In the library, pages are said to turn on their own, accompanied by the ghostly figure of a former caretaker still tending to the home he once served.

Cochran Park: In the late 19th century, Thomas Cochran’s widow dedicated their land to be a park for children. The park features a statue called Indian Hunter and his dog. Locals that pass by the statue have told stories about look into the statue’s fountain and glimpsed the faces of sickly children who had passed away from communicable diseases at the time such as Tuberculosis.

Nathan Hale Park: Opposite the road from Summit Overlook, Nathan Hale Park is a triangular park dedicated to Nathan Hale, an American Patriot, soldier and spy during the American Revolutionary War. The Hale family believed they were cursed because of the family’s great-great-grandfather, Reverend John Hale, who was an influential Minister associated with the Salem Witch Trials.

Nina Clifford’s Statue: Hailed the 'richest woman of the underworld,' this statue represents Nina Clifford, a success Brothel owner and entrepreneur. She is supposedly still living the posh life and has been said to show up in a corner booth at Forepaugh restaurant dressed from head-to-toe in a 1920's outfit. Her spirit has also been spotted in the Wabasha Street Caves.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Childhood Home: Not exactly haunted, but inspiring in its own right. Standing where one of America’s greatest writers began his journey adds a literary kind of magic to the night.

The Experience

Twin Cities Ghosts Tour provided me with an Electromagentic Field Detector, also known as EMF. This device is used to measure fluctuations in electromagnetic energy, which some believe can indicate paranormal activity.

Whether or not you believe in ghosts, this tour is a window into St. Paul’s layered history. It blends architecture, literature and supernatural in a way that feels both educational and spine-tingling. You leave with not just with goosebumps, but with a new perspective on a city that wears its past proudly - even the darker chapters.

So if you find yourself in St. Paul looking for something beyond the usual sightseeing, take a lantern-lit walk down Summit Avenue. Just don’t be surprised if you catch yourself glancing over your shoulder on the way back to your car.

For those who are looking to experience the St. Paul Ghost Tour themselves, more information can be found here.