MN's Haunted Greyhound Bus Museum

Our theoretical trip across Haunted America is drawing nearer to a close.  Today's stop is Hibbing, Minnesota at the Greyhound Bus Museum.

Photo from the Greyhound Bus Museum's website

Since 1999, the Greyhound Bus museum has been located in its own facility at 1201 Greyhound Blvd.  And, since 1999, the museum, which features over 17 historical Greyhound buses and various photos, videos, and memorabilia showcasing the history of bus transportation in America, has been haunted.

Various phenomena have been reported by staff members, and several different paranormal investigation groups have collected compelling evidence and experienced first-hand accounts of the museum's otherworldly inhabitants.  Tools will go missing, only to show up neatly stacked elsewhere sometime later.  Strange noises are heard and shadows are seen darting in between buses and even ON the "Nine Bus."  For display purposes, the bus windows are set in the closed position, while the doors remain open for visitors to explore the insides.  However, staff who are there by themselves will report that many of the buses' doors will be found closed on their own, and their windows in the down position.  The Scenic Cruiser 4501 is especially prone to its windows being lowered and raised by spectral hands.

And then, there's the little girl.  Witnesses have seen the apparition of a little girl between the ages of eight and ten years old.  She is most active around 5a.m. and it is noted that even local police officers have witnessed the child.  The little girl has also been known to interact with paranormal investigators via EVP.

So why would a newer building built specifically for the museum be so haunted?  There are definitely different theories.  It's possible that whatever is haunting the building has a direct tie to the buses or some other piece of memorabilia.  That is something we see a lot with museum investigations and even investigations of locations with many antiques.  John Zaffis, the Haunted Collector, has even carved out quite an interesting living dealing with haunted artifacts, so the idea is definitely one that is not new to paranormal research.

However, The Minnesota Paranormal Study Group (MPSG) did a couple of investigations here back in 2009 and posted some rather compelling historical research about the LOCATION where the building now sits.

Adjacent to the museum is Hibbing's oldest cemetery, Hibbing Park Cemetery, (sometimes called Maple Hill to distinguish it from North Hibbing Cemetery) which saw its first burial probably around October of 1919 according to its website.  Many, including Glen Katzenberger (listed as assistant director of the museum during its 2009 investigation by MPSG), believe that the hauntings stem from the connection with the cemetery.  But...there could be OTHER explanations as well. *Note* I've had a few people tell me that the cemetery in question IS the North Hibbing Cemetery. I've also had a few people tell me that it isn't the North Hibbing, lol. I don't plan on traveling to Minnesota any time soon to confirm or deny, so please just be advised that to the best of my knowledge, its one or the other, lol.

Photo by Lisa McLean, Find-a-Grave

Also according to MPSG's research, the land where the museum sits was once a quarantine camp for a 1918 outbreak of yellow fever.  It was theorized that the close proximity to the Hibbing Park Cemetery was ideal so that bodies could be easily disposed of from the camp.  Although the first official burial didn't happen until 1919, we do know that the land for the cemetery was acquired as early as 1917 so we can't officially rule anything out.  In addition, the fill dirt for the construction was taken from Rhood Hospital.  Is it possible that the little girl ghost and any of the others are associated with the quarantine camp, or even the dirt from the former hospital?  Those theories also hold some merit in ghost lore theory, but there's one more scenario that needs to be addressed...and that is the issue of completely natural causes!

In 1920, the town of Hibbing was actually moved when the Oliver Mining Company found an abundance of iron ore under the town.  The original Hibbing is located just north of the building, and right beside it is the Hull Rust Mahohning Mine.  With that much iron ore and mining operations located so close by, is it possible that the windows and doors moving could be attributed to ground vibrations?  Could the apparitions and darting shadows be nothing more than the effects of infrasound or a disturbance in electromagnetic fields?  I think that's also quite a possibility!

*Hungry for more Hibbing haunts?  Check out the famous Hibbing High School Phantom*