Haunted Places in Polk County, Nebraska

Columbus Hy-Vee

Columbus, Nebraska

The ghost that haunts the Columbus Hy-Vee is nicknamed Scooter. He is said to make screeching sounds near the produce and dairy sections and has appeared to employees at around 2 a.m.

St. Patrick's Cemetery - Glowing Graveyard

Columbus, Nebraska

The cemetery, a.k.a. the Glowing Graveyard, is the center of several local ghost stories. For one, the headstones, as you may guess, are said to glow at night by the light of a full moon. Skeptics say this is because of the reflective limestone in the headstones. Another local legend ...

Platte Center Creek

Platte Center, Nebraska

The hauntings here are said to be caused by three men who, in the early 1900s, were buried alive when a cave they dug into the creek bed collapsed. Apparitions of all three men are said to show up at night, digging by lantern light. After working a few minutes, ...

Witch's Grave

Aurora, Nebraska

The ancient, isolated grave in the Aurora city cemetery, the "witch’s grave," has a mossy tombstone and a protruding marker, said to be a warning to deter others from witchcraft. So the story goes, the "witch" was eccentric, which was enough for the townsfolk to label her a witch and ...

Concordia University - David Hall

Seward, Nebraska

The David Dorm is rumored to be haunted by Native Americans whose 1700s bones were found when the dorm was built in the 1970s. Residents say electronic appliances and showers turn on by themselves.

Skyway Drive-In

Schuyler, Nebraska

At the Skyway Drive-In, folks say black phantom dogs with a missing eye and a missing leg roam the grounds. Witnesses maintain that f you look away from them, they disappear.

Clarkson Historical Opera House

Clarkson, Nebraska

Local residents and employees have reported hearing ghostly laughter and seeing apparitions in period clothing wandering around the building. (Submitted by Callum Swift)

Gilbert Cemetery

Friend, Nebraska

The Gilberts, an 1890s pioneer family, are said to haunt this cemetery. Folks have reported that tombstones may move and unexplained noises can be heard on the site.

Doane College Library

Crete, Nebraska

The college library is believed to be haunted by a woman in a white dress who appears in the basement or in front of a window during the full moon.

Temple Theatre

Lincoln, Nebraska

This theater at the University of Nebraska, founded in 1869, is the centerpiece for some oft-told campus tales. In the 1940s, a student was said to have fallen to his death from the overhead rigging during a production of MacBeth, and now his apparition is said to appear during Shakespeare ...

Nebraska State Capitol

Lincoln, Nebraska

The Nebraska State Capitol was built over 10 years (1922-1932), and is still the home of Nebraska's government. It is said to be haunted by an apparition of someone falling, along with screaming and crying. It is thought to be either a man who had a heart attack and fell ...

Richmond House

Lincoln, Nebraska

In the 1920s there was a triple murder suicide involving the husband, Bill, his wife Venus, her lover and their baby. Bill killed Venus by shotgun... he then laid on the railroad tracks near the home and was killed by a train. The baby was never found... In a corner ...

Lake Street Lake - Rudge Memorial Park

Lincoln, Nebraska

Formerly dairy farm, and then a skating rink, the park is said to be haunted by a little boy killed long ago by a gang of bullies. Apparitions have been reported to occur in winter near the creek.

Robber's Cave - Van Dorn Park

Lincoln, Nebraska

Robber's Cave, in southwest Lincoln near the intersection of 10th and High streets, was called Pahuk Bluff by the Pawnee Indians who came here to contact Tirawa, the god of all things. The cave was later a stop on the Underground Railroad and, in 1876, a hideout for Jesse James. ...

Old Captain's Studio

Lincoln, Nebraska

This historic building was formerly the residence of a retired sea captain, who owned a studio on the upper floor. Tenants of a law firm now located on the premises have reported seeing his apparition on several occasions over the years. (Submitted by Callum Swift)

Antelope Park

Lincoln, Nebraska

Near Antelope Park's memorial, behind the caretaker's house, is a field. Witnesses report that many apparitions have been seen in this field, walking across it and into the woods.

The Hotel Cafe and Saloon

Scribner, Nebraska

The 1901 Hotel Cafe and Saloon, now operating as a restaurant, is believed to be haunted by victims of murders or suicides thought to have occurred in the building. On the second and third floors, witnesses have seen shadow figures, heard unexplained voices and felt cold spots.

Barnard Park

Fremont, Nebraska

Barnard Park was once a cemetery, and it is rumored that when the city moved the bodies and turned it into a park, some of the bodies were missed. Several apparitions are said to roam here late at night, most notably a woman who was following the Mormon Trail and ...

Hastings College

Hastings, Nebraska

The ghost of a music professor is said to show up in the music hall as an apparition or an orb. He also is said to turn lights on and off. Also, the Altman Hall is said to be haunted by namesake Clara Altman, who is said to act as ...

Bega Cemetery

Stanton, Nebraska

Haunted Bridge

Polk County, Nebraska

The 1885 story of the haunted bridge begins with Tom Jones and his widowed sister Elizabeth Taylor, who were fighting with their neighbors over their cattle getting into their neighbors' crops. Tom and Elizabeth felt unsafe over the turmoil and bought a shotgun. Soon after, some men were cutting trees ...

TrailBlazers - Old Montgomery Ward Building

Fairbury, Nebraska

Formerly TrailBlazers restaurant and before that a Montgomery Ward department store, this office building is believed to be haunted due to reports that objects move about on their own here.

Ghost Bridge of Logan Creek

Pender, Nebraska

Local legend tells of an early-1900s train that was held up by vigilantes chasing down a hired hand who murdered the family that employed him. The train bridge used to cross the Logan Creek, and from this former trestle, the man was hanged. Residents say sometimes a ghost bridge appears ...

Wayne State College - Neihardt Hall

Wayne, Nebraska

Neihardt Hall is said to be haunted by Cora, a young woman who committed suicide in the basement. Also, the ghost of a girl who was electrocuted while playing with a ball near bare electrical wires is said to haunt the tunnels between the dorms.