Overview
Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin lies at the foot of Lake Winnebago in the northeastern area of the state of Wisconsin. Founded in 1852, the area is a prime piece of vacation area for visitors to go and enjoy Lake Winnebago. However one of the oldest storied hotels in Fond Du Lac is also the most haunted, and that’s the Retlaw Plaza.
Is the Retlaw Plaza Hotel Haunted?
Constructed in 1878, the eight-story Retlaw was originally a product of the Schroeder Hotel Company and it was made with all the most expensive and lavish furnishings at the time by Walter Schroeder himself. Throughout the many decades, the Retlaw was sold and resold, changing many names in the lengthy process including the more modern hotel brands of Clarion and Ramada. Despite all the changes, the Retlaw never lots its draw and in 1984 actually became listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But despite all of the accomplishments and longevity, there has been documented paranormal activity cited here.
Retlaw’s Haunted Room 717
The most haunted room in the entire building is #717. Loud banging sounds on the door of the room, drastically cold temperatures, the door mysteriously closes and locks, lights going on and off, scratching sounds, minor assaults to guests, and cries for help from the voice of an unseen woman. Only rarely has a spirit been seen in the room, and she is described as pale with red hair and a sad expression to her face. One of the most prevailing theories is that a younger woman had committed suicide by jumping out of the window from room #717. Another similar story, has her being murdered by an unknown aggressor. Either scenario is deeply troubling as it is paranormally clear that her spirit has not left the room area.
Retlaw’s Haunted Ballroom
Another paranormal hotspot within the Retlaw is the ballroom. The curved ballroom is lavish with a singular chandelier that hangs overhead. This same chandelier also has been seen swaying by an unseen force by hotel staff. Along with this, an unusually high number of glowing orbs has been seen floating throughout the ballroom at different hours. Recently, a paranormal group conducted an investigation of the haunted claims of the Retlaw Plaza.
During a particular EVP (electronic voice phenomena) session conducted in the ballroom, the name of “Walter” kept being repeated by an unseen spirit. Is this spirit that of Walter Schroeder, the same man who originally built the Retlaw? The only conclusion that could be drawn is that he was particularly fond of this hotel when he was alive and appears just as dedicated about its presence all these decades later. Today the Retlaw is undergoing extensive remodeling to better serve all the guests looking to enjoy Fond Du Lac and nearby Lake Winnebago.
About ten years ago my girlfriend at the time and I stayed here in the infamous 717 room I think. We read some yelp reviews that contained some haunting details and booked the room based on them. The hotel at the time was still the Hyatt and after exploring around for a couple of hours we realized we were the only people staying at the hotel cautiously checking behind the scene areas that only staff knew about.
Although it was creepy roaming around this big hotel being the only two guests nothing happened… For those first five hours. We returned to our room surrendering to the idea that this is all made up, fun being together but a disappointing time. After sleeping for about an hour around 1 AM we heard footsteps and whistling coming from the hallway outside our room. I thought it was one of the two counter people making the rounds and maybe messing with us to fulfill our spooky adventure. I flew open the door and there was no one there. Whistling noises and walking stopped upon the door opening. Shut the door, confused at first, and went back to bed.
Again the sound of footsteps going down the hallway continued. At two AM my girlfriend woke me up in terror. She said a full-blown apparition of a silently screaming man came from the wall blew past the bed and went out the window. She was horrified. I was skeptical thinking she was trying to make our little adventure more fruitful than it already has been. She fell asleep as did I after about twenty minutes. I awoke to my legs being kicked. I thought it was her but when I kicked my legs in response there was nothing but air. I thought what the heck and looked at my girlfriend to see if she was moving around but she was sleeping still. Suddenly the blanket covering her pulled down to her waist without her moving. I thought oh my god, and from the hallway, the whistling continued.
I woke her up and told her about what happened. We smelt the stale cigarettes like grandma was watching us in a lawn chair sitting next to the bed smoking. The next few hours were sleepless for me. In the morning we were the only people enjoying the complimentary breakfast. I asked the employee watching the buffet if this place was haunted. The very friendly lady unloaded a lot of stories, in fact, the staff at the time attempted to log every paranormal encounter but it became to the point that paranormal was normal and they stopped. Sheet trays flying off the stack of them above the freezer in the catering kitchen during a convention… Children having conversations with ghost children in the first-floor suite… Just a couple stories I remember. Been meaning to go back to this place and am happy it is still there. And if you’re in Fon Du Lac go to the Army Surplus store!
We are staying in room 724
My son woke up with scratches and bruises. The bruises could be from jujitsu (but he doesn’t recall) but the scratches across his chest no. Very strange as the scratches are clearly fingernails