Kettle Falls Ghostly Tales...is it haunted?

The Haunting of Kettle Falls Hotel

Kettle Falls Hotel in northern Minnesota's beautiful Voyageurs National Park is the #1 destination no matter where you enter the park from. A magical mix of history and modern fun on a remote island only accessible by water. The trip to get there is part of the lure and adventure for most people visiting Voyageurs.

Coming to fish, weave through the islands, or just to enjoy a "pinky" (legendary cocktail enjoyed on a hot summer day in the deck or croocked floors of Kettle Falls Hotel). Beyond the trophy walleyes, is the history of the loggers, early gangsters, and some Hollywood legends signed into their guest book. One thing that comes up over and over again is stories of Kettle Falls being "haunted".

I thought I would give you some history on the haunting of Kettle Falls and see if any of YOU MAY HAVE A STORY TO TELL?

Some people believe that the Kettle Falls Hotel is haunted!

Blanche Williams, wife of Charles Williams, first hotel concessionaire, would occasionally hear a party going on in the barroom during the middle of the night.

Knowing the bar was supposed to be closed, Blanche investigated. Each time she would reach the bottom of the lobby stairs the noise from the barroom would stop.

When Blanche unlocked the barroom door, she would find the room empty and quiet.

In 1993, a young couple was operating the hotel. One day, the man got up early in the morning and snowmobiled to Ash River and then drove to International Falls to get supplies for the hotel.

That night, the woman heard a loud party and thought her husband was with friends in the bar. Unhappily she got out of bed and headed down the stairs to the lobby. As in the case with Blanche Williams, the noise stopped as soon as the young woman got to the bottom of the lobby stairs. She continued on to the barroom and when she unlocked the door it was dark, quiet, and empty.

She reported the room to be warm and smelled of beer and stale perfume; as if a party had been going on. She became scared and ran to her room.

Once there she pulled the covers over her head and later said she was foolish because if a ghost was after her, hiding under the covers wouldn’t do much good.

Years later, two hotel employees had rented rooms in the hotel for a night. One room was just above the bar, and the other room was much farther away, down the hall. Each employee repeatedly heard music and noise during the night and assumed it was the other’s radio. Only after weeks of continuous noise at night, did they realize that neither of them had their radios on. They could not explain the origin of the noise.

To really find out if the hotel is haunted, try staying there all alone some night and see what happens.

An untouched world of quiet enchantment

24 February 2022

by Beth Blair link to article: Where stars dance over a haunted hotel

To Mike Williams, a former hotelier and current volunteer guide, Voyageurs National Park wasn’t simply a region to preserve; it was home and had been to his family for generations.

Mike Williams, hotelier and park guide

Venture up to far northern Minnesota to discover an untouched world of quiet enchantment.

On clear evenings, the bright stars dazzle, shimmering and dancing overhead when the Northern Lights grace the skies. In the early 1970s, these long-time secrets were on the cusp of exposure as plans were developing to add this land of lakes – soon to be called Voyageurs National Park – to the growing list of nationally protected areas.

However, to Mike Williams, the land wasn’t simply a region to preserve; it was home and had been to his family for generations.

The Williams family’s claim to fame was owning the Kettle Falls Hotel between Namakan and Rainy lakes, accessible only by boat or seaplane in the warm months and snowmobile when the lakes freeze in winter.

“In 1918, Robert Williams, my grandfather, purchased the five-year-old Kettle Falls for $1,000 and four barrels of whiskey,” Williams said. Those spirits hinted at what he refers to as the “notorious years” long before his time. “[The area] has a fascinating history of bootlegging, lumberjacks and ladies of the night,” explained Williams, whose personal experiences involved at lot less scandal and a lot more fishing, hunting and harrowing travel adventures.

At age 13, Williams boasts having the best teen job: catching fresh fish for the hotel’s diners. His mother’s holler from the kitchen meant it was time for him to run and buy a dollar’s worth of minnows and then cast his fishing line from his boat at the local dam. “Some guests knew, although most did not, that the walleye they were ordering for dinner had not even been caught yet,” he said.

When Williams was a teenager, the local residents were playing verbal tug-of-war over the idea that one day the area might be handed over to the US National Park Service. Some Minnesotans feared that curious tourists would trample their beloved land, while another group of residents insisted the economy could use the boost. “Others argued that people wouldn’t come anyway since they needed boats to access the proposed park,” Williams recalled.

The plan moved forward with encouragement from many supporters, including aviator Charles Lindbergh. The passionate advocate for environmental preservation grew up in central Minnesota, and as he aged, the importance of protecting nature turned into a calling. "I realized that if I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes,” Lindbergh said.

In 1971, President Nixon signed the bill that established Voyageurs as the 36th National Park in 1975. In 1977, the park service bought the hotel, which the family continued to run. Renovated in 1987, the original lodging’s charisma is still present today, including a tilted bar floor that keeps pool players guessing as they make contact with the cue ball.

Today, the Kettle Falls Hotel is a thriving – but well preserved – mystical escape from city life. While Williams’ management days are over, he said he enjoys staying involved as a park volunteer on a 49-passenger tour boat. Similar to his childhood memories, Williams said, “You never know what’s going to be around the next corner.”

A haunted happening?

For decades, both visitors and members of the Williams family have been convinced that the Kettle Falls Hotel was haunted. Even after it was demolished and rebuilt, people have reported echoes of bar shenanigans and festivities travelling down the halls.

Williams tells of an encounter that occurred while a couple was helping run the hotel over the winter months. When Shannon left around 3am by snowmobile to retrieve supplies, his wife Patty was disturbed by a ruckus from the bar. “She was mad at her husband for opting to go the bar to entertain,” said Williams. “So, she went downstairs to the bar to see why Shannon hadn’t left for the supplies yet.” When she arrived, the bar was vacant, but the scent of stale liquor and cigarettes lingered in the air.

DO you have a story about Kettle Falls...I would love to hear about it...join the discussion in the comment section below.

From Kabetogama, it's a beautiful 25 miles boat ride down through Lake Kabetogama, past Ash River entrance, and into Namakan. Namakan is only accessible by water (no landings) and continues east toward Sand Point and Crane Lake. About 1/2 of Namakan is in Canada so navigating the waterways as the lake bends north to Kettle Falls is generally done by someone that has done it before. Many licensed guides will offer tours or trips to Kettle Falls and back...In my opinion this is the BEST way to see the park, as you will travel safe and see more sights the general National Park Tour Boat can. A tour to Kettle Falls will take 3-5 hours round trip, depending on how long you want to spend at the hotel (most people have lunch, dinner, or a cocktail). https://www.kabfishing.com is a good start, book early as fishing trips and boat tours fill fast.

Wade Watson local guide/licensed tours in Voyageurs and owner operator of Voyageurs Adventures and the Kab Inn lodge.