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WCCO Viewer's Choice For Best Haunted Landmark In MN

SAUK CENTRE, Minn. (WCCO) – This Friday, little ghosts and goblins will ring your door bell looking for a trick or treat.

But if it's real scares you're looking for, there's one place in Minnesota that is the best.

This isn't the kind of place that will make you jump with fright, but it may make your skin crawl.

This week, your votes took us to central Minnesota to find a real haunting at the Palmer House Hotel.

Some places get under your skin in ways you can't explain.

For Kelley Freese, that's what the Palmer House Hotel in Sauk Centre has done to her.

"I don't think anyone can own something like this. It owns you," Kelley Freese, owner of the Palmer House Hotel, said.

"She is a living, breathing entity. You just have to listen to her," Freese said.

And if you pay close enough attention, you may encounter an unexpected amenity: supernatural guests.

"I really kind of think a lot of them is just people that just pop in to visit," Freese said.

Before it became known as a haunted landmark, the Palmer House was a happening hangout from the day it opened in 1901.

Freese thinks those who loved it so much, keep coming back more than 120 years later.

To connect with the ghosts, we brought out the big guns: psychic, "ghost buster" and healer Echo Bodine.

Our first encounter happened the moment our camera rolled.

"A lot of people have sat there for a long, long, long time. It's like there's this whole puff of smoke," Bodine said while pointing and at old couch.

From the hallways to the guest rooms and the basement, Bodine encountered nearly 40 different ghosts, as she called them.

According to Bodine, they were all friendly.

You'd think a haunting would scare people away, but it's the opposite at the Palmer.

"I get phone calls and emails from people saying, 'Kelley, I need my Palmer House fix,'" Freese said. "They fall in love with it."

These ghosts aren't mad. They're taken care of.

"I just figure, it's their home first. I'm the one who's temporary. As long as we can coexist, I would never ask them to leave. I believe that's their business. And we get along just fine," Freese said.

If you're interested in visiting the Palmer House Hotel, they give tours every Friday and Saturday night, all year long. You can stay there, too.

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