Haunted Minnesota: City Hall's Brutal Last Hanging

John Moshik's 1898 hanging was brutal enough to make it Minneapolis City Hall's last one. 

According to Haunted Rooms, Moshik was sentenced to death after murdering a man over $14. He was hanged...but took three minutes to die. 

Prairie Ghosts says his spirit haunts the fifth floor. Moshik was convicted in the Chapel Courtroom, which earned a reputation for being jinxed and was eventually removed from the floor plan during a remodel in the 1950s. Several other courtrooms were built into the area. 

Cold winds, an apparition of John Moshik, odd movements, and shadows are reported on the fifth floor to this day. 

The site where Moshik was hanged is also said to still be haunted. Both the fourth and fifth floors, occupied by inmates of the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center. The hanging location is at the top of an old iron spiral staircase in the south tower - the abandoned "death row." This area had a number of small cells that were suspended from the ceiling by iron bars. The cells have since been removed, but according to Prairie Ghosts, the bars still remain. The gallows were built in the attic next to the death room above what is now the laundry and staff dining room. 

Moshik is rumored to show himself in only his undergarments to some of the prisoners on the fifth floor in the middle of the night. Deputies have reported numerous inmate complaints that match this description, but have never seen anything over video monitors. 

Photo: Getty Images/Petiallieva