Haunted Omaha: Spooky Spots for a Chilling Halloween (2024)

  1. Explore the dark side with Midwest Paranormal History Tours.
  2. Meet the spirits at Joslyn Castle.
  3. Gaze into the eyes of the Black Angel.
  4. Sit alone in the dark at Museum of Shadows.
  5. Discover what’s still pacing the cells at Squirrel Cage Jail.

Explore the dark side with Midwest Paranormal History Tours.

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Haunted Omaha: Spooky Spots for a Chilling Halloween (1)Jamie Nestroyl, founder of Midwest Paranormal History Tours, has built a quiet following with her themed storytelling tours, where she blends local lore and shadowy legends using her encyclopedic knowledge of ghosts, monsters and aliens. The tours are designed to unnerve guests without help from jump scares. The spooky stillness of a cemetery, the ominous quiet of an historical building – each tour stop is carefully chosen for its atmosphere.

On a recent October evening at dusk, Nestroyl led a small group of thrill-seekers into the darkening woods. They wound through a root-laden path, their flashlights flickering across the sandy path. An owl hooted in the distance, and the chill wind scattered brittle leaves. “We’ll stop here,” said Nestroyl. With a soft click, the flashlights went dark, plunging the group into anticipation.

Adding to the excitement, participants don’t know the location until after they purchase a ticket to tours such as Cemetery Ghost Tour and Under the Bridge. Nestroyl conjures a slow-burn dread as she draws her audience deeper into the unknown.

Meet the spirits at Joslyn Castle.

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Haunted Omaha: Spooky Spots for a Chilling Halloween (2)Joslyn Castle, a Scottish baronial mansion built in 1903 and steeped in history, has long been home to unexplained occurrences, dating back to its days as the headquarters for Omaha Public Schools’ administrative offices. Employees reported disembodied voices, mysterious music, and footsteps in empty corridors.

More recently, a bride-to-be encountered an ethereal woman in white descending the main staircase, only to vanish at the bottom. Other strange incidents have unnerved the staff: a rental coordinator felt a tug on her hair while alone, and sounds have reportedly emanated from the Music Room. One docent, photographing the stairs, later discovered an apparition of a woman in blue in the image – though no one had been present when the photo was taken.

Paranormal investigators have explored the Castle, capturing moving hangers, ghostly voices, and more. Whether it’s shadows of history or something supernatural, Joslyn Castle’s enduring mystique invites visitors to decide for themselves

Gaze into the eyes of the Black Angel.

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Haunted Omaha: Spooky Spots for a Chilling Halloween (3)In 1916, Ruth Anne Dodge, wife of railroad baron Grenville M. Dodge, lay on her deathbed, visited by a recurring vision of an angel offering a mysterious cup. At first, she refused to drink, but later accepted – and soon after, died. To honor their mother’s premonition, Dodge’s daughters commissioned famed sculptor Daniel Chester French, who would later create the Lincoln Memorial, to craft the angel.

For a model, French turned to his familiar muse, Audrey Munson, whose beauty had become the face of American sculpture. Munson’s life, however, would ultimately carry its own tragic weight. After a man obsessed with her killed his wife, hoping to be with her, the scandal ruined her career. Munson was later embroiled in a morals charge and, after a failed suicide attempt, was committed to a mental institution, where she lingered for decades alone and died in obscurity.

Today, visitors to Fairview Cemetery in Council Bluffs can reflect on Ruth Anne Dodge’s vision and Munson’s haunting legacy. The towering bronze angel, holding a cup like the one Dodge accepted, stands as a reminder of two intertwined tragedies: a death foreseen and a life undone.

Sit alone in the dark at Museum of Shadows.

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Haunted Omaha: Spooky Spots for a Chilling Halloween (4)In the heart of downtown Omaha, there’s a museum that’s not your typical cultural institution. Museum of Shadows, known as the “world’s most haunted museum,” is home to over 3,000 items, each with its own spine-tingling story, donated from around the world.

It’s a place that’s not for the faint of heart. Visitors have reported hearing unsettling sounds – disembodied children’s laughter, inexplicable growls – and feeling unsettling physical sensations that hint at an otherworldly presence. Every now and then, an apparition may flicker into view.

For the brave, there’s the option to join a ghost hunt. Equipped with high-end paranormal gear, guests can explore the museum for two hours. The experience peaks with a challenge famous among thrill-seekers: 10 minutes alone in the dark, surrounded by the museum’s haunted collection. A quiet sit, or not so quiet sit, depending on whether the specters show themselves.

Discover what’s still pacing the cells at Squirrel Cage Jail.

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Haunted Omaha: Spooky Spots for a Chilling Halloween (5)The Squirrel Cage Jail in Council Bluffs, across the river from Omaha, stands as an unsettling monument to 19th-century innovation. Built in 1885, its rotating, three-story structure – where pie-shaped cells revolved within a central cage – was once hailed as an architectural marvel. Jailers would turn the cells like a grim carousel until the opening aligned with the door, releasing its occupant.

But this peculiar design may have trapped more than just bodies. Now a museum, the jail is said to be Council Bluffs’ most haunted site. Paranormal investigators have captured strange sounds and shadowy figures, while staff and volunteers report hearing phantom footsteps and voices.

Visitors can feel the eerie weight of the past on seasonal flashlight tours, offered every Friday and Saturday through October. Guides recount chilling tales of solitary confinement, gruesome incidents involving prisoners’ arms caught in the rotating cells, and the story of a serial killer once held here, who went on to claim 44 more victims after his release – until he was captured once again.

Haunted Omaha: Spooky Spots for a Chilling Halloween (2024)
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