LOCATION:

The Historic Karsten Inn can be found in just one block east of Hwy 42, one block from the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan.

Address: 122 Ellis Street, Kewaunee, Wisconsin, 54216.

DESCRIPTION:

The Historic Karsten Inn is a three story, 23 room luxury 1912 brick hotel, which blends the best of the past with the best of today! An elegant lobby, friendly atmosphere, beautiful woodwork and antiques, plus great traditional service help the guest step back into the past. These themed, comfortable and airy rooms offer King, Queen, and Double bed accommodations, with 15 of these rooms offering a private Jacuzzi.

HISTORY:

Since 1858, it was proven that a large hotel in this spot could be profitable. In 1836, the city Kewaunee was chosen to be the site of a trading post, because of it's natural harbor. By 1858, Kewaunee was a booming port town for lumber and commerce, where as many as 20 schooners and steamers arriving each day, for both commercial enterprises and carrying passengers / settlers as well, making the need for a large hotel evident. So in 1858 Charles Brandes built a wooden structure called The Steamboat House to accommodate visitors. Edward Decker bought the hotel in 1864 and sold it to John Erichsen in 1865, who changed the name to The Erichson Hotel. John Erichsen enjoyed running this hotel until he died in 1911. William Karsten then bought the hotel in 1911, which burned down in Feb. of 1912. Luckily, no one died in the fire.

William Karsten rebuilt a luxurious, three story brick hotel with a basement during 1912 for $55,000!!! This 55 room hotel was renamed The Hotel Karsten, offering 52 rooms for their many guests, opening up once again on February 14, 1913. The dining room could feed 90 people at once. The bar had its own entrance and was located in the ground floor basement.

William Karsten at this point in his life was a retired Sea Captain who had made his money establishing Pabst Brewing Company in Kewaunee. He was the mayor of Kewaunee, and was quite a heavy fellow, a whopping 375 pounds! All through his life he was blessed with excellent health, never catching any of the diseases which plagued sailing vessels and turn of the century towns. Even with this weight, he lived until he was 78, and died of a heart attack in his favorite suite of rooms, on January 4, 1940.

Always a gregarious fellow, despite his weight and arthritis problems, William Karsten's personality changed when the love of his life, his wife Catherine, died in 1928. He was lonely and not real happy, but found pleasure in looking at the view of Kewaunee Harbor and Lake Michigan from his second floor suite (205-210), sharing his memories with guests while sitting in his favorite chair in a fancy lobby, and most of all, enjoying the company of his very special grandson.

When William Karsten Sr. retired, his son, William Karsten Jr. ran the Hotel Karsten, up until his own death in 1964. Because William Karsten Jr. spent so much time at the hotel, his young son, Billy Karsten 111 spent every minute he could with his adoring grandpa, William Karsten Sr. The two of them were kindred spirits. Oddly three weeks after William Karsten Sr. died, young Billy became ill and died of complications of an upper respiratory sickness at the age of 5.

When William Karsten Jr. died in 1964, The Hotel Karsten closed and the building stood idle for two years. In 1966, new owners, Charles and John Schmitt gave the aging building a much needed "facelift." They sold the hotel to Tom Gottheardt and five other investors in 1984. Tom Gottheardt and friends sunk the money into remodeling and bringing up to code the basement, the first and second floors before reopening the Hotel Karsten.

Owners Doug and Toni Charles bought the Hotel Karsten in 1991, and restored the 1913 decor. In 1996, Dave and Therese Jacek bought the Hotel in 1996, completed the renovations which both restored the hotel to its original splendor and adding "ammenities" like private bathrooms and Jacuzzis, pleasing to current clientele, creating a more luxurious hotel steeped in beauty and history. It reopened once again with a new name, The Historic Karsten Inn.

MANIFESTATIONS:

Three known spirits make the Historic Karsten Inn their home. They became active after the first facelift of the Hotel Karsten in 1966. The entities of Agatha the housekeeper, William Karsten Sr and young Billy Karsten 111 have made their presences known to the living. Two of the entities, William Karsten Sr and young Billy Karsten 111 are friendly and gentle, while the third entity, Agatha shows a variety of emotions and behaviors, ranging from being helpful to being mischievous, to showing disapproval to being a little nasty, but never evil.

Agatha - Her history is a sad one. In 1921, young Agatha was raped by a drunk neighbor near her father's farm. She had a child as a result of the sexual assault which her parents raised. They needed more money, so Agatha went to work. She became a housekeeper who worked at Hotel Karsten, from 1925-1937. It is said she fell in love with William Karsten Sr., who didn't love her back. She was given a room on the third floor, 310. Some claim that she hung herself in 1937, but the truth is that she left the Hotel Karsten to take care of her ailing father. She then stayed and lived out her years on the family farm.

It is not surprising that Agatha is the most active entity.

* Apports, such as old-fashioned gray hair pins are found by staff.

* Her apparition has been seen and heard sweeping the halls endlessly.

* While cleaning a mirror, a staff member saw a woman in a 1930's maid uniform standing behind him, with her hair up in the customary bun of the time.

* Room 310 - An unexplainable cold spot is felt in her old room, 310, and in the southwest corner where the maids quarters were located. One guest became cold while sitting in the bed in room 310, and was treated to a misty form floating through the room, into the wall. An example of Agatha getting some chuckles at the expense of the living!

* She can be helpful. One Christmas, an employee was standing on a stool to get down the boxes from a third floor storage closet. She would take each box down to the first floor lobby. After taking two of the three boxes down from the shelf, and transporting them down, she returned to get the third box, which she had left high on the shelf. Imagine her surprise when she found the box had moved itself down to the floor of the closet!

* Agatha shows her displeasure with the living when they do things which she disapproves of.. She pushed an employee in the back so hard that this employee fell down the stairs.

She also dislikes men in general, and hates workmen and drinking. Imagine how annoyed she was when workmen came to work on the Hotel! During the 1984 renovations, workmen were treated to the full treatment: Tools were moved and turned off without any help from the living. Open doors closed by themselves, lights had a mind of their own and they experienced annoying cold spots.

* Agatha likes to tease the staff by knocking over the sugar bowls and salt shakers, and likes to turn the heat on the burners up!

William Karsten Sr - A gentile spirit, who on occasion gets annoyed or has a mini temper tantrum, stays to remember good times, in a place he loves.

* An unpleasant odor is sometimes noticed on the second floor, which drifts through the building on occasion.

* When annoyed, he likes to move the furniture around in his room. When upset, a sour smell is in the air.

* Women on the second floor feel a male presence staring at them, but when they turn around, no one visible is seen.

* Cold spots are sometimes felt in his old suite.

* His apparition likes to sit in the bar and drink a beer on occasion, as one guest discovered.

Billy Karsten 111 - A sweet-natured entity, aged 5 years old, with all the energy of an active boy, even in this state of existence.

* His favorite activity is running down the hall to his Grandpa's rooms. People have heard the running footsteps.

* Children have reported playing with a young boy, on the second floor, who strongly resembles the boy pictured in Billy Karsten 111's portrait.

Still Haunted?

Yes Indeed!

Guests are encouraged to write in a diary the experiences they have with the ghosts who exist here.

A Green Bay psychic, Rita Anne Freeman was the first to describe who was haunting the place, confirming what the owners and staff already knew; They were sharing the place with some long-time unseen residents.

Wisconsin Ghost Investigations team in 2002 certified that The Historic Karsten Inn is haunted.

Sources Include: KarstenInn.com * theshadowlands.net * ghosttraveller.com * unexplainedresearch.com