John Hirst built this extravagant hotel in 1891, and with over 25 trains a day stopping in the town of Holly where it still stands today it must have been a busy place. It was known as the Hirst Hotel until he sold it to Joseph P. Allen in 1912 who renamed it the Holly Hotel. About a year after Mr. Allen purchased the hotel, a devastating fire destroyed the upper floor.  He rebuilt the hotel with some changes to the roof because of the fire. After decades of guests, Prohibition and the Great Depression, the hotel suffered another fire in 1978 exactly 65 years to the day from the first fire on January 19th. The remains of the hotel faced a date with the wrecking ball but instead, it was painstakingly restored to its 19th-century glory. It has the distinction of being one of the few buildings in Michigan that have been serving food in three different centuries.

Employes and guests to the hotel have said that you smell cigar smoke before seeing apparitions of a man in a top hat. It’s believed to be the ghost of Mr. Hirst who was known to smoke cigars. He is not seen very often, but on many occasions, his laughter can be heard in different locations around the hotel. A former hostess of the hotel, Nora Kane’s spirit can be heard singing along with the smell of her perfume.

I am not sure if you will see a ghost at the old hotel, but it is worth a trip to Holly. It’s a beautiful downtown with old historic buildings, lovely shops, and restaurants.

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The current owners of the Anchor Inn, located near the lake in Houghton Lake, have seen spirits and many unusual things like hearing footsteps when no one else is around, doors mysteriously slamming, and faucets turning off and on by themselves. Many customers have also seen strange things while dining in the historic restaurant.  The building dates back to over a century ago when lumberjacks worked in the forest in central Michigan.  It was built as a hotel, and I can imagine over the years it has had some tragic events happen in its rooms. Local legend has it that Al Capone and the Purple Gang visited the establishment several times. During the prohibition era, the old hotel was also used as a brothel.  Now it’s a restaurant and still welcomes customers to come in and possibly experience a paranormal event while they are there.

I was gonna get some lunch while I was in the neighborhood, but they did not open until 4 pm that day. I guess I will have to go back some other time and try the food. Maybe I will get lucky and one of the resident ghosts will join me.  You can find out more about the historic place on their website HERE

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The old state hospital in Traverse City was built in 1881 and was called the Northern Michigan Asylum.  The hospital was established for the care of the mentally ill, its use expanded during outbreaks of tuberculosis, typhoid, diphtheria, influenza, and polio. It also cared for the elderly, served as a rehab for drug addicts, and was used to train nurses. The hospital closed in the 1990s and in 2000 was purchased by an investment group that has been renovating and repurposing the old buildings. The main building is now used for office space and the lower floor has some of Traverse Cities finest gift shops and restaurants.

Towards the back of the property sit some of the old dilapidated buildings still waiting to be renovated. Among the buildings, I saw this old abandoned house. I am not sure who lived there. Maybe one of the supervisors or doctors. It looked rather spooky sitting up on a hill. Some say the old asylum is one of the most haunted places in Michigan. I am sure Eugenics was practiced at the hospital, and over the years many patients have died in the buildings. One legend says that a priest had hung himself in the old chapel. Workers have said to see strange spirits and ghosts roaming the buildings.  Hiking Trails meander through the woods next to the facility and some say the area surrounding the Hippie Tree is connected to the underworld.

I have visited the old asylum many times to get something to eat and browse its many gift shops. I don’t know if it’s haunted, but it sure is amazing the transformation of the buildings over the past 15 years.

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When I say witch’s ball I am not referring to Professor McGonagall’s keg party with Spud’s MacKenzie doing butter beer shots at Hogwarts. I am talking about a real life marble sphere in Michigan that mysteriously turns on its pedestal.  In the back corner of the Memphis Cemetery, South of Memphis Michigan, is an enormous black marble spere that sits atop a granite pedestal. It marks the grave sites of the Miller family. The monument was placed in the cemetery after Eli Miller passed away in 1903. After the sphere mysteriously rotated it was given the moniker of Witch’s Ball by the locals.

Looking at the photo you notice a circle of rough marble on the 2800 pound sphere. That would have been the base when it was carved, and it was placed facing down. Over the years it has moved upward and no one has been able to explain it. Some say it’s from the freeze-thaw cycles but it highly unlikely. And it’s too heavy for someone to push it around by hand. It remains a mystery as to how it rotated.

Some believe the ball has mystical powers and if you look into it, along with your reflection you will see apparitions and other spirits reflecting back at you. Others have said they have heard strange noises coming from the woods behind the cemetery. When I visited I did not see anything unusual. It was a beautiful cemetery with a plethora of ornate old headstones.

If you visit it please be respectful and follow the cemetery rules.

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If you were to draw lines on a map between Arcadia, Frankfort, and Thompsonville you will create a triangle in the northwest part of the Lower Peninsula. In the middle of the triangle in the southern part of Benzie County, strange things happen on a rural stretch of road.  Where Putney Road meets up to M-22 gravity works backward. if you stop on the hill and put your car in neutral it will roll uphill.

Blaine Christian Church on the corner of Joyfield and Putney Road

The easiest way to find Putney Road is from M-22.  About halfway between Arcadia and Frankfort take County road 602 also known as Joyfield Road to the East. About 2 miles down the road you will come to Blaine Christian Church on the corner of Joyfield and Putney Road. Take a right heading south on Putney Road. when you get to the curve in the road you can turn around and then head back north on Putney and stop when you get to the yellow sign that shows a stop sign ahead. Leave your car running so the steering and brakes work and then put your car in neutral and it will roll up the hill. You can see it in the photo I posted and you can see the road goes up and only the top of the stop sign on Joyfield road is visible. I am not sure how to explain it but it’s the strangest feeling to roll uphill.  If you do it, please be careful. It’s not a busy road, but I think it is Illegal to roll or coast on a public road in Michigan.

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A few years back I was traveling through the beautiful town of Eaton Rapids south of Lansing when I spotted a massive second empire mansion in the center of town. I did not know anything about the old building but there was something about it that resonated with me and I had to take a photo of it. It wasn’t until later I found out that it was a home that was converted into a hospital that served the community for over 40 years before it was converted into apartments.  I also found out it has a tumultuous past with a history of people reporting strange paranormal events like objects moving and strange unexplained sounds. Some of the rumors of ghosts go back to a tragic day in 1919 when Dr. Blanchard mistakenly stepped into an open elevator shaft and fell to his death.

I found out that the old hospital was recently purchased by a couple working on renovating the old building with plans on converting it to a bed and breakfast. you can learn more about the old hospital and follow their journey on the Stimson Hospital facebook page HERE

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John A. Lau immigrated from Germany to Alpena where he and his wife Agnes opened a saloon in the late 1800’s. Lumberjacks and sailors would stop by the saloon in the “Old Town” district of Alpena, I imagine back then it was the “New Town” part of Alpena.  For years the couple ran the saloon, then in 1913, Agnes died.  There is no record of how she died, but rumors have said she died in childbirth some said she had Tuberculosis and there is a myth that she died in a boating accident near Saginaw.  Regardless of how she died, it is believed her spirit still resides in the old historic saloon. A woman’s ghost wearing a Victorian style dress has been seen climbing the stairs. Workers in the bar said she has been known to tip over trays and playing pranks in the cellar by moving objects around or dropping things on the floor. If you’re in Alpena, and you want a place to get a drink stop by the historic John A. Lau Saloon and you may see a spirit while your drinking you’re spirits.

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