Galloping Ghost: Eerie Mascot

Kaukauna, Wisconsin

Sculpted in 1999, the Galloping Ghost is a sheet-wrapped human astride a running horse outside the entrance to Kaukauna High School. The Ghost has been the mascot of Kaukauna High since the 1940s, but in early 2022 some students asked that the statue be removed because it might be mistaken for a "hateful" Klansman. Other students responded that the all-black statue does not in any way resemble a Klansman, and that removing it would inevitably lead to the removal of the Ghost as the team mascot. Opponents said that they had no problem with the Ghost, just with the statue of the Ghost.

A potential deadline for Ghost-removal passed without incident on June 30, 2022. The statue remains, although Kaukauna High has reserved the option to add an explanatory plaque or to shift the Ghost somewhere less visible on the school grounds.