Haunted Hotels: The Pfister Hotel, Milwaukee

With its imposing façade and ornate interiors, Milwaukee’s Pfister Hotel has a history of spooky goings on and is arguably one of the USA’s most haunted hotels. Situated at 424 East Wisconsin Avenue in the city’s centre, the hotel is known for its luxurious settings and close proximity to Lake Michigan. Its a popular destinations for visitors to the city and has welcomed many VIPs including presidents, princes and stars from the worlds of entertainment and sports as guests. It seems it is also a popular place for the spirits of the dead too…

Amongst the spooky events that have been tied to the Pfister are appearance of the hotel’s long dead founder Charles Pfister. The figure of a portly gentleman has been spotted at various locations at the hotel including overlooking the hotel lobby. It’s thought he continues to look after the well being of his guests as was his main mission when he had the hotel built.

There have also been reports of electrical disturbances with toys and appliances going haywire at the building. Lights moving through rooms have also been reported. Reports of footsteps inside locked rooms, and disembodied voices heard, and mention of the ghost of a bride who died by falling down an elevator shaft are also frequent.

The hotel is often used by visiting Baseball teams as their place to stay, but more and more its reputation for spooky goings on is putting players off staying there, and has been blamed for the poor performance of players against Milwaukee (link). In this video Chris Johnson and the Braves’ announcers discuss why several players choose not to stay at the reportedly haunted hotel:

More recently, Anaheim Angels first baseman Ji-Man Choi has claimed to have felt a ghost at the hotel, but he’s so used to spooky encounters that it doesn’t bother him.

Choi, a rookie out of South Korea, didn’t know about the hotel’s history. But he said he felt a spirit in his bed during the team’s first night there, and it wasn’t the first time. “I’ve seen ghosts plenty of times,” Choi said through his interpreter, Jae Park. The first time, Choi said, was shortly after back surgery in 2011. He felt a spirit on his chest that awoke him, and then he felt the bed slump. “I was scared at first,” Choi said, “so I didn’t want to open my eyes. I dealt with that a lot more times after that.”

You can read more about Choi’s experiences here. But it’s not just baseball players that have their nights sleep spoilt at the hotel. Entertainment star Joey Lawrence has had his experiences at the hotel too:

And so have others…

So, have you stayed at the Pfister? Did you experience anything strange on your visit? If you did, we’d love to hear about your experiences. Leave a comment below and tell us what happened to you at this most haunted hotel.