​The ghosts of Trollwood

One of Fargo’s best known areas for paranormal experiences lies in the absolute northern region of the city within one of the many parks that the city is famous for. Through a few stages and gazebos, playground equipment, and the metal nets of a Frisbee golf course occupy the park’s grounds, something more exists beyond the sight of the living, lingering around those who come to spend their leisure time here. For quite some time, the park has been developing a reputation for the “otherworldly”, as strange things have been reported to happen here that the visitors can’t quite explain.

The first known claims of happenings that were otherworldly started while the Trollwood Performing Arts School stood where the park is today in North Fargo. Usually occurring during rehearsals and performances, individuals would spot a mysterious woman dressed in a long, dark blue, 19th century dress; dancing and swaying to the music beneath a willow tree. Most people would disregard the woman, thinking she was part of the performance, only to find themselves completely bewildered when they’d look again and find that she had somehow vanished while they had glanced away.

Though the Performing Arts School moved to its new location just south of Moorhead nearly a decade ago, the strange claims still continue to emerge from visitors of the park. On a number of occasions, visitors have felt as though they were being followed closely by someone while they were passing through. Some have also claimed to have felt the physical sensation of another person touching or tapping them on the shoulder to catch their attention, only to turn and find that there was nobody there at all. The stories only continue to grow stranger as the mention of disembodied voices and other peculiar sounds are heard by people visiting the area.

Evidence within Trollwood Park suggests a deeper and perhaps more haunting story behind the strange happenings. Near the notorious willow tree where the infamous ghostly figure had been spotted dancing lies a large stone marked “County Cemetery #2” that not only contributes to the overall mystery and “creepy factor” of Trollwood, but allows some insight into the history behind the park’s past and its mysterious happenings of today.

In 1895, Cass County bought part of the farm located two miles north of Fargo city limits where the park sits today and constructed a building on the site to serve as a hospital for the poor, the elderly, and those without any family who didn’t have the means to support themselves. The place became known as Cass County Hospital and Poor Farm. It was said that the actual “farm” on the grounds was a place where the poor could work, providing produce and goods to the other residents to earn their stay and health care. Many of the individuals who died here, the lonely, the desperate, the hungry, and the poor, were buried on the property’s grounds and forgotten to time.

In the years to come, the farm would be converted into a nursing home facility, changing its name to Golden Acres Haven but eventually closing its doors in 1973 to be torn down. Now, the area that exists as one of Fargo’s most visited parks is known as the previous site of a “pauper’s cemetery,” where many of the region’s less fortunate or elderly were buried if they weren’t wealthy enough to afford a spot in a public cemetery. In 1985, a motion was made to move those who were buried after issues of neglect and abandonment surfaced about the park. Though a significant effort was made to move near 300 graves to a different location, some of those who were buried still remain within the grounds of the site today. There are still visible spots within the park where people can see the former burial sites, including the stone indicator that reminds the public today of a place where a cemetery once sat.

Today the park lives on through the seasons, gathering people from all over the city to enjoy the beautiful riverside view as they spend their afternoons in the sun. Kids chase each other and play on the playground equipment, young adults play disc golf as a cool breeze sweeps through on a warm summer day, and a mysterious woman in a blue dress dances hypnotically under the shade of a generous willow. As the sun sets upon the quiet park at the end of a beautiful day and all life seems to retreat home as it slowly disappears over the horizon, many unseen presences are still lingering here and some might be emerging in the still darkness.

[Editor’s note: Seng is the host of “Whispers in the Night” podcast--which explores topics of the paranormal and unexplained in the Midwest]