The Witches of Whitewater
*NOTE: I just fixed the link to the movie preview. Our YouTube link was bad for an undetermined period of time. It is now working.
I just found this movie preview on YouTube thanks to an outside commenter, Kileen, who is a Whitewater native and former resident of Wells East. It appears the movie’s writers combined several items of Whitewater folklore (which were mentioned in our Halloween 2007 post) and fact and smashed them together to make a movie script.
The University of Wisconsin Whitewater was never a school for the occult, but there was the Morris Pratt institute in town, which was across the street from the old Red Owl (now the post office).
Hyer Hall was partially burned down during anti-war protests.
There is a legend of a book in the school’s possession, that when someone reads it, they die.
…many of these items can be found in the Halloween 2007 posting.
January 10th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
this was posted on the youtube comments…
imagenfilms (1 day ago)
This is a SPEC trailer for the actual film which has yet to shoot, as it is in pre-production. The actual film will be shot almost entirely on location in WI. Rest assured a great deal of research has been done on ACTUAL events, and although fiction will be mixed in, the final movie will be a fantastic psychological thriller/horror film.
January 11th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Sorry folks. The only thing remotely true about this movie is the partial burned building. Come on people. I’ve even done historical research on the town and theres nothing strange about it. It’s just a small boring town with a University. I have never heard anything about witches. And the only books on campus are ones that you’d wish you’d die before having to finish reading them.
January 11th, 2008 at 11:53 am
@Rock,
You are right on. If you read the post more thoroughly, you will see a link to a story where we covered a lot of the urban legends about Whitewater in this post…
http://uwwlca.com/2007/10/31/creepy-whitewater/
And you are right about the burned building (Hyer Hall during the war protests).
Thanks for commenting!
January 12th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Uhh no. You are wrong. I live in Whitewater and all this stuff if true. About the witches and everything. Doesnt sound realistic i know, but believe it because it IS true. Kay. Thanks. :].
January 21st, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I am a sophomore currently at UW-Whitewater and from the first day of my freshman year here I’ve heard the urban legends of witches and demons in this town. Lots of crazy stuff has gone on in this town including the burial site below the Wells Towers, and Whitewater is the Second Salem. I can tell you first hand that I have experienced many odd behaviors and events like windows that get closed but then are open moments later, doors that close on their own, and doors that open on their own even if their locked sometimes. “The book” exists (it is currently kept under lock and key by the dean in the university library) and it is a fact that at least six people that have read the book have gone mentally insane or have commited suicided… or was it really suicide?
January 28th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Also if you rent any witchcraft books from the public library in Whitewater, you are have to sign a waiver saying the library is not resposible for anything that happens to you after you read the books or if you use the books for witchcraft in any way
February 19th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Can someone please send me more facts on this. I live in WI but have never heard of this any thing is helpful thanks
February 21st, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I have lived my whole life only a few blocks from UW-Whitewater. There has always been stories about witches. The three cemeteries in town make a perfect triangle. There are also underground tunnels in town. I’ve actully been in them when I was a kid. I don’t believe most of the stories, but there is some facts to what they say.
February 24th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
I am doing a group presentation on this haunted history of whitewater and after doing some research have read about alot of the same things posted here. However, much to my dissapointment. My speech teacher (J. Fassl), told me that the “book” everyone is talking about is just a book about whitewater written by one of the historical society members. I wish I could remeber the name of it, but ill post it if I remember
February 25th, 2008 at 11:35 am
@Chris,
Thank you for your comment.
If you can find out the name of the book, that would be great, please share it with us.
March 4th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Stories from your grandpa do not count as “straight facts.” All of this is just a bunch of stupid hearsay spread by drunk college students. Anyone wanna actually go through the microfilm archives at the public and university libraries and actually attempt to verify any of this? Documentation of these “weird stories”? Ghost sightings? You know, like actual research? Because then I might actually consider some of this, legend or not.
Yeah, I thought not. Well I guess we’ll just take as fact anything that someone’s grandpa or exgirlfriend’s former roommate’s brother said about something he heard about a library (though he’s probably never been in one.)
May 6th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
This is certainly news to me and I have had family in Whitewater since before WWII! My grandfather was a professor there (Joseph J. Chopp), my grandmother worked there, my mother and aunt graduated from there, my sister went there as well as some other relatives and not until tonight have I heard of any of this. If said book does exist I am the next president of the USA, and that is a job I do NOT want. The pre-trailer is cool but you need an IMDBPro account to access the info so if anyone has an account how about some verification on all this. Don’t expect much filming if any in WW due mainly to its loation and lodging capabilities. I live in the great town of Oshvegas (Oshkosh) and we recently had johnny Depp film part of his new movie Public Enemies (about John Dillenger) here. Getting lodging for everyone was a real challenge adn many of them had to stay in Appleton. Dillenger was never here but that is the way it goes with movies. Films are made in locations that will give the best mix of “authenticity” while also allowing the crew easier working conditions (for lack of a better phrase). That being said I too am stoaked to see the Witches of Whitewater when it comes out and for WWs sake there should certainly be some type of opening night event sponsored by the production company to celebrate.
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:07 pm
All of you people need to do your own research on the witches of whitewater! I was born and raised in ww as well as four generations of my family before me. There were witches that roamed the streets of ww at some point; whether or not they were all dangerous is unknown. We were told so many stories growing up about the three cementries forming at triangle and every house in that triangle was haunted; the mansion on Fremont Street is haunted; the Wells towers; blah blah blah blah blah!!!!!
The few of you, who have been in this town FOREVER and have never heard of the witches, didn’t get out much because everyone knows about the witches!
Believe what you want but it is just a stupid movie!!
August 4th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
i been in whitewater from 1962 to now. i have been in the witches tower when i was a kid. before they put the jail house door to keep people out. there was a wood door with 6 glass panes in it and a padlock on the door when i went into the witches tower. there was 7 steps down to a dirt floor. only 2 lights inside to light up the inside. i try to climb the ladder up the inside but it started to come off the wall so i climbed back down, it was a moon lite night when i went to the tower. i went inside 2 times after that i never went back inside. i been near the tower and took some pictures during the day but after they changed the door theres no way to get in.jp
August 10th, 2008 at 9:28 am
I went to UW-W for 5 years and have heard all the stories. I’ve also seen many strange things. I use to teach a class in the basement of the Old Armory. My girlfriend (now wife) went to use the ladies room and when she opened the door and flipped on the light she caught a brief glimpse of a man hanged in the corner. A month later I watch an apparition walk down a hallway past me. When I told my wife about this she told me about the hanged man she saw and we both described the same person - a middle aged pale skinned male with dark hair, glasses and dressed in a one piece blue work outfit similar to a janitor.
We also had a terrible, terrible ouija board experience that made throw the board away. It had not been the first weird experience with the ouija there but all I can say is that something went terribly wrong.
August 18th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
I have been pulling together what I know about all of the various stories. I am compiling my research here: http://mattrock.net/witches-whitewater
September 18th, 2008 at 8:44 am
I am greatly offended by this. Many people were affected by these “true events.” How can you be so heartless? Many people lost someone close to them. Several bad things have gone on in the past few weeks, and you wanna make a horror film about it? You media people don’t care about anyone!!! Just wait until something like these “true events” happen to you!!!
October 3rd, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Has anyone even mentioned the cult house and the statue in front of it out by natureland park. I’m from ww and i know 2 people who have lived in it and i also spent the night in it ONCE! Look into it, I promise you will find something connected to the witches of whitewater.
November 13th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Rock: I think you have to live in this town full-time to see some of the strange things that go on, especially down town in the oldest houses. I respect your opinion–but the stories of the witches as well as the book are all over the university. And no, the stories are not just told by drunken students.
December 8th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
THese people knocking Whitewater and these stories, need to open up a little and get out a lot. These “stories” you hear yes I’m ashamed to say(as a whitewater native) some surely are made up tall-tales. however if you look deeper into the rich history of not just whitewater but the surrounding areas, you’ll get more of an appreciation to the lifestyles of people that live among us, to this very day like treleven said the cult house by natureland, how about the little log huts IN natureland what about the wildy eccentric life of..you guessed it..Irvin L. Young and his old factory with all the crazy, almost demonic statues off Hwy H in Eagle, What about Paradise Rd in jefferson, Or bald Bluff. in which a dozen or so friend and myself saw what we believed to be death stare us straight in the face. i could go on and on and believe me to this day some of the things we messed with still follow…
December 13th, 2008 at 12:24 am
I have lived in ww my whole life and generations before me have lived there to, and no there have not been any sitings or hearings of witch activities recently, but there always has been something strange about that town. Its for you to decide if you think its true or not.
But dont just assume you know things just by looking stuff up.
it could be false information too.
January 16th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
I have lived in ww for 51 yrs and have never experienced anything even remotely scary. (except for my ex-wife}