A rail town bar with a brothel upstairs. A mob-friendly speakeasy with a basement meant for settling scores. A fire that nearly erased it all—and a renovation that seemed to wake the house. We head to the Old Baraboo Inn in Wisconsin to pull the thread on a history that refuses to fade and the hauntings that line up a little too neatly with the past.
We start with the Inn’s origins and its connection to Chicago via the rail line, then move into the Prohibition years: poker downstairs, liquor flowing, enforcers on duty, and an execution pole that still bears scars. From there, we follow the 1988 blaze, the decade of silence, and BC Farr’s painstaking rebuild that reopened the doors in 2002 and, by many accounts, stirred the spirits. Along the way, we hear about Mary—the saloon dancer—seen twirling by the jukebox, the knock-and-pace presence in the upstairs hall, and a basement entity that shows preference with the walk-in cooler door.
The stories are specific: cigar smoke with no source, a barstool flipping, batteries draining, a sudden cold hand to the leg. We interrogate claims of an EVP from Al Capone and the ethical puzzle of alleged child spirits, asking whether some presences borrow familiar forms to lower our guard. Throughout, we balance history with investigation, weighing what can be verified against what simply fits the building’s lived habits. No grand answers, no experts—just careful curiosity, grounded context, and a willingness to leave space for the unknown.
If you’re drawn to haunted bars, mob history, and the strange ways places remember, this one belongs on your list. Listen, share with a friend who loves ghost stories and true crime, and tell us your take: what lingers at the Old Baraboo Inn? Subscribe for more deep dives and leave a review to help us reach curious minds like yours.
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