Haunted Places Archives - Lost In Michigan

The Hippie Trees at the Haunted Asylum

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places .

Hidden deep in the woods is a magical place with colorfully painted trees. I am not sure where the line between art and graffiti is but I know when I visited the Hippie Trees it sure felt like art with its spellbinding array of colors and I was expecting to see H R Pufnstuf jump out of the woods.

The Hippie Trees can be found in the woods behind the old state hospital in Traverse City that has been renovated into shops, offices, and apartments. It is now known as The Village At Grand Travers Commons. The commons own the property behind the old hospital, but there is a sign stating that its labyrinth of hiking trails is open to the public if they are respectful of the property. The Hippie Trees are near the middle of the property. There is parking behind the water tower with a map posted. Or you could hike from the historic Barns Park south of the commons near Silver Lake Road.

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The Haunted Ghost Town of Iva

Posted on July 31, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Ghost towns, Haunted Places .

I found out about the old town of Iva north of Hemlock, in Richland Township, on the corner of Iva and Dice roads and I had to take a trip to see it since I don’t live far away. (Click HERE, if you wanna know where I live). I was expecting to find a few houses, but when I got there, I found this beautiful old building that looked like it used to be a general store. According to records, the post office in Iva opened December 7th 1894 with John F. Shovan as its first postmaster. The post office closed in October of 1904. I could not find any other information about the town, but I can only assume it was another lumbering town that existed until the trees were gone, and then the lumberjacks moved away becoming a farming community. I would think some of the residence of Iva who died are buried in the cemetery on Dice Road.

The general store was featured in a documentary by Haunted Saginaw HERE

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The Haunted Marquette Lighthouse

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places, Lighthouses .

The big red Lighthouse that proudly stands at the entrance to the harbor was built in 1865. It is now maintained by the Marquette Maritime Museum which also gives tours of the historic lighthouse. On different occasions, tour guides and visitors have seen a ghost of a little girl wearing a 1910s style dress. Sometimes she is seen staring out of the window over Lake Superior or on the catwalk around the Lantern. She seems to like showing her spirit to women and other children.

There was no reported death of a little girl at the lighthouse, however, there was a young daughter of a keeper who was badly injured when she fell on the rocks at the shoreline. Interestingly it happened shortly after the turn of the century. I don’t know if the lighthouse is haunted, but strangely a lot of lighthouse keepers have resigned their duties abruptly while serving at the big red lighthouse. Be sure to check it out next time you are in Marquette.

If you love lighthouses I hope you will take a look at my new Lighthouse book HERE

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Michigan’s Haunted Mouth Cemetery

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery, Haunted Places .

Near the mouth of the White River not far from Montague is an old cemetery. The cemetery’s name comes from the fact that it is near the mouth of the river. The oldest known burial in the cemetery dates back to 1851, but there are unmarked graves that date back even further. It’s said that an Indian village existed at the mouth of the river a long time ago. An attack by an enemy tribe killed off most of the villagers and some of their remains lay buried in the old cemetery.

People have claimed to hear footsteps following them around the cemetery and when they turn around to see who it would be there is nobody there. Others say that strange mists and screams come from the surrounding woods. It is an old cemetery and one of the most famous residents is William Robinson. the former White River lighthouse keeper who is said to haunt the old lighthouse not far from the cemetery. you can read my post about it HERE

There is also an urban legend about a young man who sat in a chair that existed in the old cemetery. It was exactly one year after he sat in the chair that he died in a car accident. It was said that many people came to the cemetery to sit in the infamous chair but it has been removed.

When I visited nothing strange happened. It was a little overgrown, but a beautiful old cemetery. I did notice a rather unique looking headstone in the back with face masks of the husband and wife to mark their final resting place.

If you visit, please be respectful so that it will remain open to visitors.

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Walker Tavern Murder Room

Posted on October 9, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places, Murders .

The historic walker tavern was built in 1832 on what is now the corner of US-12 am M-50 in southern Michigan. It was a popular stagecoach stop and later a tourist attraction for people traveling by automobile. In 1922 the tavern was sold to Fredrick Hewitt and he was known to embellish stories to attract motorists traveling through the area. Upstairs he claimed that a wealthy cattleman was murdered in one of the rooms. During the night he disappeared and a large bloodstain remained on the floor. Hewitt decorated the room with western artifacts and allowed tourists to see the room. No paper documents confirmed the death but it is an interesting story of one of Michigan’s oldest taverns.

The tavern is now a museum and is part of Cambridge Junction State Historic Park.

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The Ghost in the Dompierre House

Posted on July 23, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places, upper peninsula .

I was roaming around the town of Michigamme in the Upper Peninsula and I saw a sign for the Dompierre House. It is an old log cabin that sits on the Michigamme Historical Society property. I walked up to the house and took a few pics then looked in the upper left window and my heart literally skipped a beat. I thought I saw a ghost but then realized it was a mannequin standing in front of the window. The historical society was closed when I was there so when I got back home I looked up some info on the old house and I am thinking it is probably haunted after what I had learned.

The original builder of the house was the Michigamme Mining Company and was one of the first structures in town. It has two entry doors because it was most likely a duplex when it was built. In 1896, Napoleon Beauvais purchased the home from the Mining Company. He and his wife, Julia Cadair Beauvias, moved in. Unfortunately, in 1903, Beauvais’ son from his first marriage attacked Julia and then killed himself. Julia was able to summon help before she died herself. The home remained vacant until 1916 when Eusebe Dompierre purchased the home for his daughter and her family for $200 which would be about $4560 today. The home remained in the Dompierre family until it was moved to its present location and restored in 2000.

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The Great White Castle of the North

Posted on April 21, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places, upper peninsula .

Standing near Little Bay De Noc in Escanaba is a place known as The Great White Castle. No, I am not talking about fast food place where you get the little hamburgers, I am referring to the magnificent House Of Ludington hotel. It easy to find some historical information about it since there is a Michigan Historic Marker next to it that reads:

In 1864, E. Gaynor built the Gaynor House hotel, which he renamed the Ludington House in 1871 after lumberman Nelson Ludington. In the late 1800s proprietor John Christie enlarged the hotel and renamed the establishment the New Ludington Hotel. An advertisement in the 1893 Michigan Gazetteer and Business Directory read, “New Ludington Hotel – The Largest and Only hotel in the city having Baths, Steam Heat and Electric Call Bells – $2.00 per day.” The hotel exemplifies Queen Anne resort architecture, popular in the 1880s and 1890s.

An old postcard of the hotel, year unknown but looking at the cars I would say sometime in the 60’s

As with any large old structure, there are rumors of ghosts the reside in the historic building. they say they are friendly and like to play with the elevator controls and some people have claimed to see them in the hallways. I don’t know about spirits roaming around but I can imagine over the years many travelers, tourists, and business professionals staying at the hotel enjoying ” Pure Michigan”.

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Michigan’s Haunted Castle

Posted on April 17, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places, Houses .

Henderson Castle sits on a hill overlooking Kalamazoo. The massive stone mansion was completed in 1895. It was built for local businessman Frank Henderson and his wife Mary. Sadly Frank died shortly after moving into the house. He could only enjoy his beautiful home for about five years. Mary lived in the house until her death in 1908. Both of them are buried in the cemetery across the street from their former house.

The home changed owners a few times but now it is owned by Master Chef Francois Moyet who runs the stone mansion as an inn allowing guests to experience this historic home and his french cooking. Hospitality may not be the only thing you experience. According to paranormal experts, the home is haunted by the ghosts of Frank and Mary. They loved their home so much that it is believed that their spirits are spending eternity together in their Kalamazoo home.

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The Iron Bars

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places, Parks .

I see a lot of interesting things at local parks around Michigan. From historic monuments to old locomotives but the park in Boyne Falls has some old jail cells on dislplay. They go back to the lumbering days when they needed to incarcerate rowdy lumberjacks. It is rather strange to see them in a park but they are an interesting piece of history. I know I would not want to be inside when those iron bars slam shut and the lock is put on them.

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The Haunted Sage Library

Posted on February 26, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places, Library .

Near the Historic Midland Street district in Bay City is the magnificent brick Sage Library. A green Michigan historical marker stands in front of it giving a little history of the building.

Henry W. Sage (1814-1897) founded the village of Wenona (later West Bay City) in 1863. A merchant and philanthropist, he was also a founder of the Sage, McGraw & Company sawmill. In 1881 he donated property, building funds and $10,000 for books to West Bay City for its first public library. The structure was built in 1882-1883 at a cost of nearly $50,000. Charles Babcock of Cornell University designed the French Chateauesque-style building, and the local architectural firm of Pratt & Koeppe superintended the construction. The library was dedicated on January 16, 1884, in a ceremony presided over by Cornell’s Moses Coit Tyler. Michigan Supreme Court judges, congressmen and state officials attended. Offering continuous public library service since 1884, the library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

What the sign does not tell, is that the historic building is rumored to be haunted. According to the book Haunted Bay City, Michigan the library has had some strange occurrences over the years. Librarians have sometimes heard loud heavy footsteps behind them as they work. After turning around no one is there. When closing up at night all the books are neatly organized and in the morning sometimes a few books are found strewn about as if a storm or something, or someone has moved them in a disorderly manner. Most disturbing is people have seen a little girl in a white dress on the third floor. Legend has it she died over a century ago by contracting smallpox from a book she borrowed from the library.

I am not sure if any of the ghost sightings are true but it is a beautiful old library with a lot of history.

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