Dec 23, 20229 min read

Shipwrecked Brew Pub and Restaurant Investigation

This blog post was written by Whitney Dankemeyer, one half of Two Halves of a Soul.

The Old Baraboo Inn wasn’t the only Wisconsin bar Al Capone was hiding in back in the day. In fact, aside from his time in Baraboo, WI, one of the former mobster’s other favorite bars was in Egg Harbor, WI, with his appearances dating all the way back to the 1920’s. Although this was 100 years ago, the establishment is still operating as a bar and restaurant called Shipwrecked present day.

Originally built in 1882, this building was first opened as the Kewaunee House and owned by George Barringer. This was the time in history where settlers were coming into town, starting businesses in the area and attracting many sailors and lumberjacks to the Door County Peninsula. In 1898, the bar was purchased by both Fred and Joseph Burdo, who integrated changes with the addition of a dining room and hotel. In 1912, it was renamed the Harbor Inn by new owners John and Phoebe Carmody, who sold the building in 1931, which was then sold once again in 1945 before it became Murphy’s Harbor Inn by Verna and Maurice Moore. Unfortunately, Capone’s favorite bar didn’t keep the same name throughout the years, and Murphy’s was even named Thimbleberry Inn, Blue Iris, and Harbor Point before it was given its current name today, which is the Shipwrecked Brew Pub and Restaurant.

Shipwrecked has had successful operations all the way up until August 20, 2017 when the establishment caught fire. The original 100-year-old building caught an electrical fire that wasn’t noticed by an employee until the alarms had sounded. The building caught the worst of these circumstances, but no one was harmed. Though Shipwrecked was in rough shape, they kept as many original shipwrecked staples as possible, remodeled, and reopened again for business in 2018. Shipwrecked was not ship-sunk.

As far as Al Capone goes, this mobster did a lot more than just visit this old bar while he was alive. This establishment was rumored to be the place Al Capone would actually hide out from federal agents. Back in the day there were tunnels running underneath the bar that Capone would use as an escape route, should anyone ever find him. These tunnels were the same ones used by Chief Tecumseh, the leader of the Ottawa tribe, who would run from other tribes using a quick getaway going underground. Two IRS agents even came to the bar to question Capone once, but they were then never heard from again. This left others to question if they were shown the depths of the tunnels by Capone himself. This isn’t the only mysterious disappearance to occur during Al’s time in Egg Harbor though.

It has been said that Al Capone had an illegitimate son named Jason, who was kept up in the attic of what is known as the new Shipwrecked. Once older, Jason was rumored to have wanted to go to authorities about Capone, but then was found hanging in the same attic days after. It is unknown whether or not Capone was fully responsible, but the timing of events doesn’t necessarily rule in his favor. Another woman, rumored to be one of Al’s many girlfriends, was also seen at this bar with a baby girl who also mysteriously vanished. It is believed Al Capone was behind this occurrence, considering she was overheard bribing him in some way.

The memory of these individuals and their strange disappearances still linger in the area up in the Door Peninsula. While their physical forms are gone, many have witnessed their reappearances after death. Jason, the young boy who was found deceased, was seen lurking around the building and has even been spotted on the roof. A passerby had actually called authorities one day when he noticed a child on top of the building, only to discover there was never a little boy there when the police arrived. It is now said that Jason’s appearances have stopped after the 2017 remodel, but can one be sure?

Phantom baby cries of the infant baby girl can sometimes be heard upstairs as well. It is rumored these are the faint cries of the daughter who disappeared with her mother when she was with Capone in this area.

The other paranormal activity at Shipwrecked is known to be of Verna, who was one of the original owners of this building. In case you’ve already forgotten, Verna owned Murphy’s from 1945-1975. Though Verna has long passed, she’s still keeping the place in tip-top shape as she’s known to still reside at the old Murphy’s Harbor Inn. If anything is out of sorts, Verna is there. If anything is about to go wrong, she usually appears. She may also be heard lurking around the basement some days. While this may be startling to some, all the employees and locals are well aware of her gentle and happy spirit. Verna’s just back in her happy place.

We were curious if we would be able to capture more evidence from Al Capone at Shipwrecked than at the Old Baraboo Inn, as one can never pinpoint which location his spirit is turning up to at which time. We thought this would be a fun way to uncover the mystery of the woman and her child, maybe even get word on whether or not Jason was still hanging out there as well. On December 17, 2022, we drove through Stevens Point and up to the Peninsula midmorning so we could have a look at this bar and restaurant ourselves.

When we got to the restaurant, you could tell the building was renovated without even looking at it. It was a beautiful navy blue and stood out at the end of the block. When we got inside, we were met with high-rise ceilings, wood floors, and the kind gentleman behind the counter in front of us. We decided we weren’t going to carry in any equipment and try to feel out the upstairs (if accessible) instead. Fortunately, when we were asked where we would like to sit, not only were we able to sit upstairs, but we were given the best seat in the entire building: right in front of the window with a view of the harbor and lake.

While we were eating (which didn’t take long because the service was impeccable and our waitress was a goddess), we ran the iOvilus and voice memo on my phone to capture EVPs (if anything should be upstairs with us while we ate). The iOvilus didn’t give us much to go off of, and we didn’t capture any EVPs while sitting upstairs. In fact, we didn’t feel much energy on the upper level of the building at all. We were leaning more towards the rumors that Jason and others had left once the renovations to the building were made.

Because we didn’t feel much energy inside, we decided to conduct the Estes Method outside of the building. Per usual, Swan had the headphones on, and Nicole and I asked all the questions. It was in the very moment Swan started sweeping that a “Hello” had come through, and we quickly discovered this first spirit as Verna.

When speaking with Verna, she told us that she came back because she had so many memories here. However, she was there for a good time and not a long time during our session, because the only other thing she wanted to tell us was “Easy” twice. When we asked if she meant it was easy to talk to us, she said “Yeah.”

The next person that came through was Al Capone, and that was because we asked for him next. We knew it was him the minute he responded, “They’re coming.” Even in death, Al is still hiding from the cops.

We decided not to waste any time with Al, so we jumped right in by asking him if he would tell us more about Jason. He was immediately offended because he responded with the words “Stay” and “Back.” Defensive much?

Further into that same conversation, I had asked Al what he did to Jason. Instead of saying anything to Swan in the headphones, he decided to set off the temperature gauge. Not only that, but instead of different pitches, this beep was a long draw, mocking the sound of a flat line. We considered this Al telling us that he is entirely responsible for Jason's passing.

That wasn’t the only rumor surrounding Jason, so we also asked Capone if Jason was still here or if he left during the renovation. The response was “No,” so we assumed that it was him responding to the first question being asked. Jason’s spirit was no longer hanging around the Brew Pub and Restaurant.

Having discovered Jason was no longer residing in the building, we asked if the woman and baby were still around. Creepily, Al responded, “She’s sleeping,” and then set off the temperature gauge that went back and forth between three different pitches. He proceeded with “Her," so we asked, “Are you referring to your wife Mae or the other woman?” And while we didn’t get a response from Al, Swan paused the session to tell us that she was seeing a blond woman in her head with a blanket over her face. Digging into some research following the investigation, I came across an article on chicagomag.com that states:

“Three years into their marriage, Mae Capone was fed up with her 21-year-old husband's philandering. She bleached her hair the same blond as that of his current mistress—a 15-year-old girl—to wordlessly embarrass him in front of his family.”

While he could be referring to his wife Mae, could he also be referring to the other woman who was seen here? He seemed to have a particular thing for blonds.

Shortly thereafter, Al said, “I did it,” and when we asked if that was his confession, he set off the temperature gauge again. We took that as a yes. This led us to believe he was reverting back to the woman and her baby, and that the blond woman Swan was seeing and hearing could’ve been the residual energy of her time on this property.

Throughout the entire Estes session, Swan kept hearing this woman talking in the background as if she were talking in a whisper. Swan couldn’t make out the words, and she later explained to us that it was almost like listening to someone talking through a wall: loud enough to hear, but not prominent enough to make out what’s being said. At this point in our session, Swan said she was hearing the woman again, but this time, she was hearing her console a child. This was compelling for us to experience.

We went back to grilling Al by asking him what he did to this woman. He responded with half a word, so we asked him to speak up and say it. It was then he responded “Hurt.”

Although Al was giving us the bad news, we still thanked him for talking to us. We also mentioned that we have been trying to have a conversation like this with him for a while. That was when Swan said she heard a woman whisper “Unfortunately.”

We couldn’t help but laugh and then apologize. Al clearly didn’t have a good reputation at this point, and this woman has seemed to have had it out for him this entire time. We knew why, but she further confirmed it again by saying, “He hit me!”

Of course, we couldn’t conclude whether or not what we were hearing was Verna or if it was the woman whom he injured. And if it was the woman he injured, was she actually still there? Or were we still hearing loops of a residual haunting playing over?

Regardless, we went on to tell the woman that Al got his karma, after all. And although we are unaware if it’s Verna or the woman, her response was “Wait” and “Good.”

There really weren’t any other questions we had, and we were unable to get the woman to tell us her name (again supporting the residual energy perspective), so we decided to conclude the session. We told them we were going to give Swan her body back (to which they said “Cool”) and we thanked them for coming forward and answering our questions.

When it comes to how we view the hauntings of Shipwrecked, the only spirit there full-time is Verna. She’s active, intelligent, and really loves where she is. She’s communicative and has a very friendly energy. We believe the reason we didn't encounter her inside the building was because she is rumored to always turn up when things go wrong. Because we had such a great experience, there was no need for Verna to straighten things out.

When it comes to Al, we believe he was there with us and answering questions in addition to the residual energy Swan was picking up on in the background; however, we don’t think this is the only place Al hangs out. He clearly spends a percentage of his time at the Old Baraboo Inn, so if he’s also hanging out in the Door Peninsula, there’s no doubt he’s transporting himself to and from other locations aside from those.

Jason is no longer residing in the upper level of the Brew Pub and Restaurant. And that’s okay! May Jason have found his peace.

We believe the woman and her child are a residual energy playing over and over, and if you turn up at the right time, you may hear her, feel her, or see her on property. Her being stuck in this residual loop, though, means she’s not a spirit that communicates, despite the chances one may have at seeing her.

Overall, there is a lot of history at Shipwrecked, and there are a few residing spirits present day. Although not as active as it may once have been, this is an incredible establishment to check out if you should ever be in the Egg Harbor area. Aside from great service, authentic food, and fabulous views, it tells an incredible story.