These Are 10 Of The Most Iconic Urban Legends In Wisconsin

Who doesn't love a good urban legend? Wisconsin has plenty of fun tales and stories that both haunt and capture the imagination of the state. We are looking at 110 legends that are popular in their area.

Wisconsin Urban Legends

While Wisconsin has countless legends, let's take a look at 10 awesome urban legend.

• Siren Bridge

This one has a lot of support by the locals. With reports giving this usual story,

A long time ago, a family was driving over the Siren Bridge when the car went through the guardrails somehow and into the water below, resulting in everyone in the car drowning. But many motorists who have driven through the area report hearing a child's voice over the radio: "Mommy, help me, I can't get out." It is unknown where the voice originates from, but it does scare the daylights out of passers-by.

• Abominable Snowman

A weird one to start with... I know. Reports say that the first viral story was when two boys and their mother saw and heard this creature in 1998. This story is more of a "Cryptid" that first took off in 1968.

Wisconsin home actually started being seriously talked about in the town of Fremont on October 19, 1968.

• Rhinelander Hodag

This one is actually based in American folklore. It was seen as a fearsome critter resembling a large bull-horned carnivore with a row of thick curved spines down its back.

The hodag was said to be born from the ashes of cremated oxen, as the incarnation of the accumulation of abuse the animals had suffered at the hands of their masters.

The ties to Wisconsin are that a man caught one of these creatures in the 1890s, and more of them roam in Rhinelander.

• Antigo Alien Encounter

Who doesn't love a good story about aliens? Many stories in Wisconsin have ties with aliens, but this one is really fun. Reports say this one had people talking with aliens. Yep, they speak English...

 In 1974, there were numerous supposed sightings of UFOs in Antigo. It's still not totally clear what happened, but one woman apparently interacted with an alien. Mrs. H, who owned a bar and restaurant, was shocked when a funny-looking little man walked into the joint and started talking in very quick English about Medford and the whole world lighting up and left in a flash.

• Boy Scout Lane

This story was based in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a graphic one with a rumored Boy Scout troop being murdered.

One version of the story has the troop leader killing all of the children. In the other account, one of the boys drops a lantern, causing a forest fire that kills all of them. People who have visited the area report feeling being watched, seeing a light, hearing twigs breaking underfoot, or seeing childlike handprints on vehicles.

• The Legend of Haunchyville

In short,  there were once some people of shorter stature who were employed by the circus. They were mistreated and abused by said circus. Reports go on to say,

They managed to kill him and by hanging him in the woods and cutting off his arms and legs. The mutilation would set the tone for their future.

The scary part is these people then went to the woods to set up their own society.

• The University of Wisconsin Mass Murder

This one is a very dark one that goes as follows,

A psychic predicted on a talk show that there would be a mass murder at the university, resulting in 12 students dying. This was right around Halloween, and students freaked out - hardly anyone came out to party. Well, some students didn't take the prediction seriously. The party went well, but in the morning, 12 students were discovered to have been brutally murdered. Yikes.

 

• Phantom Man on Highway 12

This one is similar to many others but has it's own local following, allegedly a man is always hitchhiking.

some people have reported seeing a hitchhiker in a tattered green army jacket. When people pass him and look back in their rearview mirrors, the man is gone.

• Old Baraboo Inn

Who doesn't love a good bar that has some ghosts in it. This story is a long one, and you can see it in full here.

Both famous and infamous, the Old Baraboo Inn is revered as one of the nation’s most haunted locales.

This building dates back to 1864 and has a history of young-looking and elderly-looking ghosts moving and haunting things. Even getting physical at some point in time.

• Gravity Hill

I had a hard time understanding this one at first.

Curious what a gravity hill even is? A gravity hill is a hill with a slightly downward slope, but it seems like it is an uphill slope. This optical illusion is created due to the surrounding land. So it looks like a car left out of gear will actually roll uphill.

This one could be the most true urban legend on the list.

People place their vehicles in neutral right before the yellow 25 MPH sign. When you do this, you will start rolling back up the hill, picking up speed. Make sure if you do this to use extreme caution and place your hazards on.

Which one of these is your favorite?