Wabasha Street Caves
Caves beneath the Twin Cities may be haunted by bootleggers and gangsters of the past
Paranormal Reports at
Wabasha Street Caves
- A woman’s figure is seen around the bar
- Stones and small objects may be moved or tossed around
- Disembodied voices are frequently heard
- Apparitions are seen throughout the caves
- Disembodied footsteps are heard
- Visitors report hearing ghostly whistling in the caves
- Phantom dancers are spotted on the dance floor
Set in Stone:
History of Wabasha Street Caves
There’s no telling what you might find when you explore a cave. One complex of caves in the heart of Minnesota’s Twin Cities has been home to many wild stories over the years.
Since the late 1800s, the Wabasha Street Caves have been home to mushroom growers, illegal speakeasies, metric tons of cheese, and even a dance club.
Today, the Wabasha Street Caves are a popular tourist attraction in St. Paul, allowing visitors to explore the deep cave complex. But through the mazes of corridors and caverns, phantoms of the past may still linger.
Many people at the Wabasha Street Caves have claimed to encounter ghosts and paranormal activity over the years, leading some to consider the caverns the most haunted place in the Twin Cities. Ready for some spooky spelunking?
Timeline of Wabasha Street Caves's History
Swipe or use timeline points to see Wabasha Street Caves through the years
1899
The Wabasha Street Caves first saw use in the mid-1800s. At that time, the rocky areas of central Minnesota made for profitable silica mines, essential to glass production. While initially shallow, natural caves, the Wabasha Street Caves widened and deepened as silica mining went on. By the 1890s, much of the usable material had been removed, leaving long, barren caverns. In 1899, French immigrant Albert Mouchenotte started using the caves to grow mushrooms, finding the cool, damp air to be the perfect environment for fungi.
1933
The Wabasha Street Caves spent a few decades in quiet mushroom operation. But, when Prohibition became the law in 1920, other businesses had to go underground. A speakeasy soon opened inside the caves, and became a highly popular watering hole for secretive Twin Cities drinkers. The space proved so popular that, when Prohibition was repealed, a legitimate club opened in 1933 called the Castle Royale.
1959
The Castle Royale club operated for the remainder of the 1930s. In that time, the club is said to have been quite popular with notorious criminals, like infamous robbers John Dillinger and Ma Barker. Unfortunately, in 1940, the Castle Royale closed its doors after a slump in business. After that, Land O’ Lakes used the cool, humid caves as long-term cheese storage. Land O’ Lakes continued stocking cheese into the caves until 1959.
2004
After Land O’ Lakes moved their cheese warehouse elsewhere, the Wabasha Street Caves sat mostly empty. Mushroom production continued, and a short-lived disco opened in the caves in the 1970s, but many of the caves sat vacant. Urban explorers quickly took to spelunking in the cave systems, sometimes with disastrous consequences. In 2004, three teenagers asphyxiated after getting lost while exploring the caves.
2021
While officials worked to close off the caves following the 2004 deaths, explorations continued with organized tours being offered. Over time, tourist interest snowballed, and the Wabasha Street Caves became a formal Twin Cities tourist attraction. Though they closed in 2020, new owners arrived in 2021 and reopened the caverns for tours…and tourists found more there than just cheese and mushrooms. Some visitors reported that the ghosts of former tenants never left the limestone confines of the Wabasha Street Caves.
Are the Wabasha Street Caves Haunted?
With a history as long and varied as the Wabasha Street Caves, perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that they have collected a few ghosts. Most of the caves’ hauntings likely stem from the speakeasy era in the 1920s and 30s. One oft-retold story tells of a night in 1934, when a group of gangsters stayed late at the club to play cards.
After everyone else had left, it was just this table of card players, a waitress, and one more man with a large suitcase.
The waitress stepped away for only a moment, and that’s when shots rang out. She returned to find the table of card players dead, and the man with the case gone.
The waitress phoned the police, who told her to wait outside while they searched the scene. Only, when the police left, there was no scene. The bodies and all signs of the murders had been scrubbed, possibly by the police themselves. Now, many people say these slain gangsters haunt the caves to this day.
Friendly Phantoms Wander the Caves
Numerous visitors have reportedly seen the table of card playing gangsters appear in the Wabasha Street Caves during tours.
While very little is known about these specters except their supposed origin story, the mysterious men are said to have a soft spot for children who tour the caves.
Children exploring the caverns with families have praised the nice men in suits, who often smile and nod at them.
Additionally, a young boy visiting the caves was purportedly photographed sitting at an empty table. But, when the photo was developed, a group of misty, smiling figures was sitting at the table with him.
Meet the Wabasha Apparitions
Along with the card playing gangster ghosts, Wabasha Street Caves are notorious for their long list of apparitions.
Ghostly figures can be spotted just about anywhere in the public areas of the cave system. Visitors report unknown dark shadows following them around, while others frequently mention a mysterious man in a Panama hat, a woman’s figure lingering near the bar, and several spirits appearing to dance on the dance floor.
Voices Echo Through the Underground
Even when ghosts don’t appear around the caves, visitors might still hear them through lingering disembodied voices. But, given the acoustics of a large cave, it’s rare that these voices are able to be understood. Often, the spirits of the caves purportedly speak quietly and from a distance, leaving their words to be lost to echos.
When the ghosts aren’t trying to talk, they seem to enjoy whistling to pass the time. Ghostly whistling is reported almost as often as the distant voices are. Along with that, some visitors report hearing heavy footsteps exploring dark and empty areas of the caves.
Spirits Cause On-Stage Mischief
Some people say that the ghosts of the Wabasha Street Caves might even toss objects around to make themselves known.
During its time as a music venue in the 1970s, performers often claimed that instruments would be moved around the stage before performances, always with no known cause. Today, small objects will purportedly be moved around the bar, and sometimes musicians on stage still report equipment and instruments shifting around on them. At times, small rocks and pebbles will even be tossed around by unseen forces.
Wabasha Street Caves
& The Ghosts Below Ground
Today, Wabasha Street Caves remains one of the Twin Cities’ most one-of-a-kind tourist attractions. The caves continually offer a wide array of tours, programs, and events, drawing in crowds of locals and visitors throughout the year.
While there are plenty of reasons people might want to explore these caves, the ghost stories remain a major draw. The caves were even named the Most Haunted Place in Minnesota in 2021 by the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Overnight ghost hunts are not currently offered at the Wabasha Street Caves. But, daytime ghost tours are still quite common.
Many reports say the specters who roam the Wabasha Street Caves seem quite content, smiling at visitors and dancing their nights away. Maybe it will always be a nightclub to them. Or maybe, there’s simply no grave quite like a cave.
