Witherell House

The Witherell House in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin is named for Archibald and Adelaide Witherell, who bought the dilapidated property during the Great Depression and may have lived there until sometime in the early 1980s. Abandoned and crumbling after the Witherells’ passing, the house began to earn a sinister reputation. Strange sounds emanated from within its walls, monstrous shadows were seen in the windows. Parents warned their children to stay away from the house because it was “cursed with death.”

Rumors that a man brutally murdered his wife and daughter, and then hanged himself in the barn, have drawn countless trespassers over the years who broke things, started fires, and used Ouija boards and candlelit ceremonies to conjure whatever spirits may still remain. The current owners, descendants of a forensic pathologist who served on the Jeffrey Dahmer case, maintain motion detectors and fire alarms to keep bored teenagers from destroying what remains.

There seems to be no evidence to support the story that a murder happened in the house, but Colonel Elihu Phillips, who built it in 1853, seems to have been cursed from birth.

My connection with the Witherell House began in 1999 with the discovery of an unusual item hidden inside the house. I’ve been researching its fascinating history and lore ever since.

Read more about the Witherell House here:

Fond du Lac Haunted Witherell House Part 1

Fond du Lac Haunted Witherell House Part 2

If you have had an experience with the Witherell House, I would love to hear about it.

Wisconsin Travel Guide