Location: Vilas County, Wisconsin
Tucked deep in the woods of Vilas County, Wisconsin, the ruins of Summerwind Mansion — once called Lamont Mansion — are now a ghostly skeleton of what was meant to be a lakeside dream home. But for those who dare to wander near the remains, the decaying foundation still breathes with whispers from another world.
Originally built in the early 20th century and later purchased in the 1960s by Arnold and Ginger Hinshaw, Summerwind was meant to be a family retreat. But it quickly became a house of horrors. The Hinshaws reported bizarre activity almost immediately: unexplained noises, doors opening and closing on their own, eerie shadows flitting down the halls. Arnold began behaving erratically, sometimes playing the organ late into the night in a trance-like state. Ginger claimed she saw a ghostly man in the basement, dressed in period clothing, standing silently before vanishing.
Eventually, the family fled. Arnold ended up in a mental institution. Ginger returned to her parents' home, and the house stood empty once again.
But the tale doesn’t stop there. Years later, Ginger’s father, Raymond Bober, a self-proclaimed spiritual researcher, moved in and declared that the mansion was haunted by the spirit of Jonathan Carver, an 18th-century British explorer. Bober claimed Carver’s ghost was angry because his land grant — supposedly buried on the property — had been ignored and desecrated. He even wrote a book about his experiences titled The Carver Effect, insisting that supernatural forces prevented any renovation or sale of the house.
Others who visited over the years reported windows that changed size, rooms that shifted shape, and a general sense of malevolence that left them sick, shaken, or panicked. No attempts to renovate or live in the home ever lasted.
Then, in 1988, lightning struck the property and the mansion burned to the ground. Only the basement and stone foundation remain — but that hasn’t stopped people from visiting. Paranormal investigators, thrill-seekers, and skeptics alike report continued activity: whispers in the trees, disembodied voices, cold spots, malfunctioning equipment, and a lingering feeling of dread.
Some say Summerwind Mansion doesn’t want to be found, that the land itself has a will. GPS systems glitch. Maps become unreliable. Directions lead nowhere.
Whether you believe in ghosts or not, Summerwind’s story is one of the strangest and most chilling in all of Wisconsin. And with the house gone, only one question remains: Was it the spirits… or the land itself… that refused to let anyone stay?