The Palmer House Hotel is a historic and supposedly haunted hotel in Sauk Centre, MN. The town in Sinclair Lewis’s novel Main Street is inspired by Sauk Centre, and the Palmer Hotel is featured in the book as the Minniemashie House.
From 2016–2018, I volunteered as the books editor for the Riveter, a now-folded magazine based in Minneapolis that focused on longform journalism by women. I am a huge fan of all things spooky—despite being a nonbeliever in the paranormal—and in addition to managing, editing, and writing book reviews for the Riveter, I pitched and wrote an article featuring two of the women in the Twin Cities Paranormal Society. Much to my delight, they invited me to tag along on an investigation of the Palmer Hotel!
The overnight was a celebration for the whole team, not to help a client. Having investigated there before, the team knew they were likely to have a fun night of paranormal activity. The Palmer Hotel—at least, when I was there¬—is a quirky, historic hotel that leans heavily on its haunted nature and its connection to Sinclair Lewis (who, if I recall correctly, is not one of the resident ghosts). The lobby has old and eclectic furniture, and a simple bar and restaurant provided classic pub fare.
The investigation started very late, not for atmospheric reasons, but to ensure a minimal amount of outside noise and light from things like people walking outside and traffic. (The team had rented out the small hotel, so additional guests would not be a problem.) Video cameras were set up in active areas and EMF readers were set. I recall dividing into groups and then we went through areas with supposedly the most activity. It was a lot of sitting in the dark hoping to hear something—if anyone accidentally made a noise, you had to note that you did so out loud so there wouldn’t be any confusion listening to the tapes later.
In the basement, flashlights—the type you twist to turn on and off—were placed away from the group, lightly twisted to just before they would turn on. We asked the spirits to use the flashlights to answer questions by turning them on and off. There is a non-paranormal explanation behind this common ghost-hunting technique, but it was still pretty spooky when the light would blink on or off on its own, timed perfectly with our questions.
At 3:00 or 4:00 am, the investigation as over¬—and I retreat to my own hotel room, which was, of course, also supposedly haunted. After initially assuring me all of the Palmer Hotel are harmless, my interviewees on the team opted not to tell me what the haunting in my specific room is supposed to be because it might freak me out. I look it up online (of course) and apparently the ghost lights to pull people’s legs while they’re sleeping. Despite not believing in ghosts, I decided to take the investigators’ advice after all, before going to sleep, and requested—out loud—that if any spirits were in my room, to please not disturb me.
As someone who loves everything spooky and horror—ranging from Goosebumps to folklore to Giallo films to literary analyses of Gothic literature—this was a really fun and truly unique experience. As far as ghost hunters go, the Twin Cities Paranormal Society is legit, and it’s not common for them to invite people to their investigations, so it was a really special opportunity!
