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Pilgrims to the Shrine Chapel have been leaving behind their canes, crutches, leg braces, walkers, and wheelchairs after being healed.  After visiting the crutch collection, take time to climb the 178 stairs to admire the view from the observation tower in one of the church's twin spires.

  Holy Hill National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians
1525 Carmel Road
Hubertus, WI  53033
Monastery: (262) 628-1838  /  Gift Store:  (262) 628-4735

hours:
• Church, Shrine and Grounds:  6am – 5pm
• Scenic Tower:  (Sundays)  1:30pm – 4:45pm
(Mon - Sat)  9am – 4:45pm

"The Labyrinth Garden is a 90 ft. inter-active community garden in seven circuits. The grass pathway leads to the center for a pleasing experience of viewing the gardens or quiet contemplation."
- section from the Washington County tourism website

  800 N. Main Street
West Bend, WI  53090
(262) 338-6903 or (262) 335-5080

hours:
( 24/7 )

25 unique fantasy hotel rooms include: Arabian Nights, Captain's Quarters, Gambler, Happy Days Cafe, Medieval Castle, Moon Lander, Pharaoh's Chamber, Teepee, Wild Wild West and more.

Owner Steve Kearns has taken a white 2-seater plane and placed it in the ground so that it appears to have crashed in a nose-dive.

UPDATE:  Upon a visit to the site, the plane is nowhere to be seen from the public roadway.

  on Holy Hill Road at the Six-way Crossroads with Fond du Lac Avenue and Maple Road (across from the Dheinsville Settlement)
Germantown, WI  53022
(262) 628-3170

hours:
April thru November 1st  (Wed - Sun)  1pm – 4pm

"The Wisconsin Automotive Museum is Wisconsin's largest auto museum, featuring an ever-growing display of classic, vintage autos and automotive artifacts, such as “The Kissel”, which was manufactured in Hartford from 1906 to 1931...Other attractions include: An exhibition dedicated to the Nash, which was 1st built in Kenosha in 1916. An all-new display area for the Hudson Essex Terraplane. Over 90 other rare treats, such as Reos, Pierce-Arrows, Pontiacs, Studebakers, Chevrolets and Fords, set off in a striking Art Deco interior."
- section from the Official Site

  147 North Rural Street
Hartford, WI  53027
(262) 673-7999

hours:
• May thru September  (Mon - Sat)  10am – 5pm
(Sundays)  Noon – 5pm
• October thru April  (Wed - Sat)  10am – 5pm
(Sundays)  Noon - 5pm  /  CLOSED HOLIDAYS

"In West Bend, Wisconsin, the Washington County Courthouse has a new mural painted last winter that contains, to my knowledge, the only purposely included cryptid in a courthouse mural in the country, excluding classic griffins, chimeras, etc. The mural, 30 feet wide, was created under the direction of artist Ted Conde. He included the fuzzy creature depicted right (and told me there are several others hidden in the mural as well)..."
- section from Linda Godfrey's blog

  N124 W17781 W Lovers Lane
Germantown, WI  53022
(262) 305-7951 or (262) 251-0463

"Lizard Mound Park was established in 1950. It is named for its most outstanding Indian mound shaped like a gigantic lizard. Lizard Mound County Park consists of 28 fine examples of effigy mounds. It is an unusually beautiful group of mounds, and one is especially impressed with the prominent height and careful construction of each mound. The majority of the mounds rise three to four feet above the surrounding ground level."
- section from the Washington County Official Site

  (1½ north of town on County Road A, ½ mile east of Highway 144 )
West Bend, WI  53090
(414) 225-4445

hours:
April thru November 1

Jogging Lady Ghost
& Cat Lady Ghost
of Jay Road (Seven Bridges Road)

The ghost of a female jogger has been seen along this road, who has been known to appear inside travelers' vehicles.  Also reported is the ghost of the "Cat Lady" (see the book "Weird Wisconsin" for full story).

"The Legacy of Mary Buth Farm"
private property

UW-Washington County Campus

"Working as a custodian one would hear doors slam and things fall and upon investigating one found nothing, but the talk was that the place was haunted at night. Lights in the library are constantly turning on. Even hearing the switch click. Also reports that witnesses could hear the desks sliding across the floor slamming into the walls and each other."
- section from The Shadowlands website

Kewaskum UFO Sightings

"I stood there and waited for about 30 sec. Then all of a sudden it rose slowly out of our woods."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

Goatman

Mysterious Moving Light  (1991)

"...I heard no noise and realized this light that looked about 50 feet in diameter in an oval like shape was something I could not explain and it was only about 200 yards away."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

West Bend UFO Sightings

"I looked at my neighbors houses and to my surprise because of the volume of the noise, their lights were off. I couldn't see anything (I never thought of looking up because quite frankly I never believed in such things)"
- section from UFO Wisconsin 01-14-03 report

RESTAT Building Ghost

The ghost of a janitor haunts the building.  Read more in the book "Weird Wisconsin".

Falling 'Star'  (2001)

"Then it just fell from the sky at the speed one would expect a falling star over the northern horizon and was gone."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

What the hell?  (2004)

"There was some sort of strange noise and a white portal opened from the center of the craft, and then something gray in pigment emerged to the left edge of the craft, some sort of awkward shape that I had no idea of contemplating what it was."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

Bigfoot (or Bearwolf?) seen near Holy Hill

In November of 2006, a DOT worker picking up animal carcasses along the roadway discovered a strange creature dragging a deer from the bed of his pickup.  Although media reports classified it as a Bigfoot sighting, the witness described a wolf-like head with pointed ears on the body of a large black bear.

"Haunted High School".....

"As we waited, leaning against this large gate, we heard the noise again but this time it seemed to be coming from right behind the door next to us. Instantly, we got quiet and looked at the door in shock. Within a split second after this, the door jolted and flew open toward us."
- section from Ghost Village website

.....and a Not-So-Haunted Elementary School?

Despite reports to the contrary, school officials deny any rumors of ghostly encounters on the premises.  True, part of the building was built over a 19th-century cemetery, but all of the bodies were relocated before construction began. They swear!

West Bend Courthouse

Location & hours listed in the History section below.

Germantown UFO Sightings

"we were on our way when I looked up in the sky and saw a green glowing ball hovering and a red glowing ball right above it. They seemed to be dancing in circles above each other."
- section from UFO Wisconsin 07-03-01 report

Sounds Credible to Me  (2007)

"Well i was out driving, i saw 4 flying saucers go over my vehicle. I followed them and all of the suden (sic) a beam of light struck my van, i drove into the ditch. I grabbed my lightsaber for extra protection, the space crafts landed."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

"Old Holy Angels Building"

"In the old Holy Angels building which is now an apartment complex there has been footsteps heard walking around in the upstairs of one of the apartments and sometimes an old bell will ring (an electrically powered one) even though there is no electricity going to it and no wiring attached to it. If you'd try to pull the hammer back to ding the bell it is very hard to do it manually."
- section from The Shadowlands website

"Previous owner and painter Ray Fox is said to haunt the restaurant after hours. Many of Ray's paintings are on display. A painting near a fireplace shows hunting dogs with ghosts hidden in the picture. Building is partly original log hunting cabin. Basement bar is always cold and eerie."
- section from The Shadowlands website

"Ghosts of America" Haunted Location Reports
(take with a grain of salt)

The reports on this site are presumably fiction, using random Wisconsin place names in the stories listed there.  Even so, you might get a kick out of reading them.

"The Old Courthouse Square Museum consists of the restored 1888 Washington County Courthouse, now housing the local history museum artifacts of the Washington County Historical Society, and the 1886 Jail House and Sheriff’s home."
- section from the Germantown Chamber of Commerce website

  340 South Fifth Avenue
West Bend, WI  53095
(262) 335-4678

hours:
(Wed - Fri)  11am – 5pm
(Saturdays)  9am – 1pm  /  (Sundays)  1pm – 4:30pm

Also listed in the Paranormal section above.

"Park your wheels in Dheinsville and travel back in time. German immigrants of the Hunsruck Mountain region founded this hamlet. Today all 22 of the original structures remain. The Germantown Historical Society now occupies the Christ Church Museum, the shoemaker’s house and the fire hall & barn. Stroll through a one-block area full of ethnic and historic flavor. You’ll step into the original haus of Valentine Wolf Shoemaker, a rare example of German half-timber fachwerk. The Christ church Museum (c.1862) includes changing exhibits of local history & historic cemetery dating back to 1848."
- section from the Visit Washington County website

  on Holy Hill Road at the Six-way Crossroads with Fond du Lac Avenue and Maple Road (across from the Bast Bell Museum)
Germantown, WI  53022
(262) 628-3170

hours:
June thru October 1  (Sundays)  1pm – 4pm