Rescue crews returning after finally reaching the surviving crew of the S.S. Mataafa , November 29th, 1905. This week, the Witch of November has come stealin' again as we bring you the truly EPIC tale of a storm that was remembered for decades by residents of Minnesota’s North Shore as the “Storm of the Century.” An inland cyclone blew across Lake Superior on November 27th, 28th, and 29th of 1905, sinking 29 ships and claiming 36 lives. This episode has everything, from the m

Every Man Knew , by David Conklin, 1995. Credit: Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. "The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead When the skies of November turn gloomy..." -Gordon Lightfoot, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Fifty years ago this week, the iron ore freighter S.S, Edmund Fitzgerald sank beneath the icy waters of Lake Superior, claiming the lives of 29 sailors. In this episode, we recount her harrowing final voyage, and examine why, out of the hundreds

The Chauncey Griggs mansion at 476 Summit Ave, in St. Paul, MN. Photo: Alex Weston. Welcome everyone, to part two of a two-part series on what are alleged to be Minnesota’s most haunted houses. If you haven't listened to last week’s episode , we recommend that you do so, as this one picks up pretty much where that one left off. (Content Warning: suicide, death, and a brief allusion to sexual assault) Now, as a refresher, last week we discussed the Forepaugh mansion in St. Pau

The Forepaugh mansion was built in 1870 for dry goods merchant and shoe manufacturer Joseph Forepaugh and his wife Mary. Today, the mansion is famous for two things: fine dining, and being among the most haunted places in the state. (Content Warning: suicide, death, depression, sexual exploitation) The Forepaugh mansion in 2024. Photo by Alex Weston. Rumors of a haunting started soon after the historic mansion was converted into a restaurant in 1976. Customers and staff alike

From the St. Paul Globe, June 19, 1887, p. 7. Welcome to a very special BONUS episode of Minnesota Unknown! This is a companion piece to our first episode , which covered a bugle-playing chimney sweep named Skunky Norton who was a beloved local celebrity in St. Paul at the turn of the 20th century. You don’t necessarily have to have heard our first episode to understand this one, though we do hope you’ll check it out if you haven’t already. Our original edit of the first epi