Haunted Michigan
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MICHIGAN -- Some people like to be a little frightened around Halloween by watching horror movies, attending events with jump-scares, visiting places rumored to be haunted and sharing tales of paranormal activity.
Those who enjoy a spooky October shiver might be interested to know that there are ghost stories about several places in the Upper Peninsula, and one destination was recently cited as having the most published accounts of supernatural activity in Michigan.
The Landmark Inn in Marquette, which landed at number four on HauntBound.com’s list of the ten most haunted places in the state, had at least six distinct published accounts -- the highest on the roster of 191 places. Stories about spirits in the hotel mostly feature around a figure called “The Librarian,” said to be ghost of a woman from about a century ago waiting at the window for her beloved, a sailor, to return. Legend maintains that the ship was lost at sea and that the spinster librarian died of a broken heart and never left her room on the sixth floor. Room 16 in particular has been the source of stories.
“We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said HauntBound Editor Ben Fineman.
Most of the places that snagged HauntBound’s attention on their top 10 list were downstate -- like the Two Way Inn, Detroit’s oldest bar; the Whitney, a former mansion turned restaurant, also in Detroit; Henderson Castle, a Queen Anne-style bed-and-breakfast in Kalamazoo; and Michigan’s first state prison, located in Jackson and featuring underground tunnels in which phenomena have been reported.
On the famous Mackinac Island located on the Lake Huron side of the straits, a bloody history gives way to the opportunity for countless ghost stories. During the War of 1812, one particular attack from the British led to the “brutal murder” of 75 Native American men, some of whom are said to haunt that site on the north side of the island, sometimes running through the woods to escape their pursuers, according to “Ghosts of the Upper Peninsula” by Jennifer Billock. The forts and the historic downtown of Mackinac Island are also said to harbor lost souls.
Other places in the Upper Peninsula where spooks are said to dwell might not have made Hauntbound’s chart of superlatives, but many murmured tales float through the land.
Up in Copper Country, abandoned mines provide excellent territory for ghostly concepts. At Victoria Mine, about 25 men died underground, and even more children and women died in the town from disease and childbirth complications. Tamarack Mine and Quincy Mine host some stories, too, and haunted tours have been hosted at the latter.
At the former Holy Family Orphanage in Marquette, the sad fate that reportedly befell several children lingers on, say casual ghosthunting students from Northern Michigan University and others.
In Escanaba, the Sand Point Lighthouse is said to be haunted by Mary Terry, the first woman keeper who took over after her husband died. Terry was mysteriously killed in a fire in 1886.
In nearby Gulliver, Seul Choix lighthouse has a slew of spectres that are said to frequent the site; details are recounted by several sources. Other U.P. lighthouses about which ghost stories are told are Eagle Harbor and Big Bay.
In the ghost town of Nahma, many visitors believe that the Nahma Inn -- a hotel and eatery -- is haunted by the ghost of Nell Fleming, who had been involved in a romance with Charlie Good, the founder of the Bay de Noquet Lumber Company, which established the town.
While many maintain that science and empirical evidence don’t support proof of the existence of ghosts, a number of believers disagree. Ghost hunting remains an activity, and the tales spread can be entertaining whether a listener (or reader) thinks they’re fact or fiction.