The Ridgeway Ghost is a

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

folklore.

Legend

According to legend, the Ridgeway Ghost is not only a ghost, but a “phantom that could change its appearance at will.” Anecdotes include people claiming to have seen the ghost of a man with a

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

, walking with them or chasing them, domestic animals such as

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

or other farm animals, and various human forms, “including a headless horseman,” and a young or old woman. Regional folklore holds that the Ridgeway Ghost is a combination of two brothers who had the misfortune to be murdered as a result of a bar brawl sometime in the early 1840sNorman, Michael and Beth Scott. Haunted Wisconsin. Trail Books, Black Earth, Wisconsin, 2001. p. 206-207. and was sighted anywhere from the village of Blue Mounds to the town of Dodgeville in

Iowa County, Wisconsin Iowa County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,709. Its county seat and largest city is Dodgeville. When created, it was part of the Michigan Territory. Iowa County is part of the Madiso ...

a 25-mile stretch of old mining road, since the 1840s. Sightings of the “Ridgeway Ghost” supposedly escalate in cycles about every 40 years, starting in the 1850s and occurring more frequently again in the 1890s, the 1930s and the 1970s. According to the tale, Dr. Cutler of Dodgeville was the first to announce seeing the Ridgeway phantom, claiming that it appeared on the pole of his wagon as he was riding home one night past the house of the deceased. A man named John Lewis who claimed that some “

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

agency” was the cause of his ailments is said to have died as a result of seeing the Ridgeway Ghost, as are other unnamed individuals.Curtis, W.A. “Some Wisconsin Ghosts” The New York Times. December 2, 1902. Accessed November 4, 2010. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1902/12/07/117984825.pdf

References

External links

* http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/tp&CISOPTR=39284&CISOSHOW=38839 * https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1902/12/07/117984825.pdf {{Ghosts American ghosts History of Wisconsin Iowa County, Wisconsin

Legend

See also

References

External links