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 most harrowing shipwreck narratives we’ve ever heard, the heroic derring-do of a "human squirrel," Samoan kings, “horny-handed sons of toil,” and the origins of Split Rock Lighthouse. You won’t want to miss it.

[Content warning: tragic death, drowning, freezing to death]

minnesotaunknown.com

"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 of shipwrecks that have occurred Lake Superior, the Edmund Fitzgerald maintains such an enduring hold on popular memory and imagination.

A little tip—if you are somehow not already familiar with Gordon Lightfoot's iconic 1976 ballad, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, go and give the song a listen before starting this episode, as we reference the song gratuitously.

[Content warning: tragic death, drowning]

___

You can find detailed show notes for this and all episodes at minnesotaunknown.com/podcast. We’ll post a link there to each episode along with features such as accompanying images, links to more info, and lists of sources cited.

If you have questions, comments, corrections, complaints, or compliments, or would like to suggest a topic for a future episode, please email us at info@minnesotaunknown.com. We’d truly love to hear from you.

___

Podcast Credits:

Minnesota Unknown is produced, hosted, written, and researched by Hannah Norton, Josie Bergmann, and myself, Alex Weston. This episode was edited by me. Our theme song is by Union Shakedown. This episode is copyright 2025 by Minnesota Unknown, LLC. All rights reserved.

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. Paul, which was built in 1870 for businessman Joseph Forepaugh and today houses a fine dining restaurant known as Forepaugh’s. Specifically, we talked about the ghost story popularly associated with the house, which concerns an affair between a maid name Molly and her employer that ended in a double suicide.

As historians we’re not qualified to assess any supernatural claims, but we tried our best to see if the legend of Molly could be confirmed in the historical record. Sadly, we were not able to find any documentation that might confirm this story. What we did find, however, was that a near-identical story had also been circulating about a different Saint Paul mansion: the Chauncey Griggs mansion at 476 Summit Avenue.

Alongside Forepaugh’s, the Griggs mansion is often claimed to be the most haunted home in Minnesota. In this case, the spirits of the ill-fated maid and her employer are not alone. According to some accounts, as many as 13 different ghosts or entities are said to haunt the Griggs mansion.

And so, this week, we’ll be delving into the history of the Chauncey Griggs mansion, to see whether or not the historical record can shed any clues on these fascinating legends.