When does the Halloween season begin? Is it when Starbucks has pumpkin spice lattes on tap? No matter when the spooky season officially begins, it’s time to visit some creepy places. The Pew Research Center reports that about 18% of Americans say they’ve seen ghosts, and 29% “felt in touch with someone who has died.” Here are some of the most haunted places in Michigan to visit this fall.
The Whitney
Historic David Whitney House is home to The Whitney, one of the most ritzy-ist restaurants in Detroit. The mansion reflects the economic might of old Detroit. Lumber baron David Whitney Jr. built the mansion in 1894. Since 1894, it has been many things, including a tuberculosis ward. Rumor has it that David Whitney Jr.’s ghost still haunts the grounds. There have been so many sightings that the current owners have opened the Ghostbar. If you’re into the paranormal and need a cocktail, this is the place for you.
The Masonic Temple is haunted
The Detroit Masonic Temple is just 1.5 miles south of the Whitney. It is one of the most haunted places in Detroit. It opened at its current location on Temple Avenue in 1926. This new, much larger Temple included a public theater, where shows like The Romantics, John Mellencamp, and Duke Ellington played. In 2013, the Temple was facing foreclosure. However, Detroit native Jack White put up cash to cover most of the taxes required to keep the doors open for visitors and ghosts.
The Masonic Temple’s most famous ghost is its architect, George D. Mason. The architect lost all his money financing the construction. His wife left him and jumped from the building’s roof. He has been seen at the bottom of the stairs, and even after locking the door to the roof, it always somehow becomes unlocked. Several guests who have been to the Temple and the building’s night patrolmen are said to have seen his ghost. The Temple has various cold spots; many people feel they are being watched in the building.
The Henry
Ten miles southwest of the Masonic Temple is the Henry. Before it became The Henry, the hotel was a Ritz-Carlton. As the Ritz, the hotel had considerable paranormal activity. Guests at the hotel claim that doors would open and close on their own and lights would switch on and off without the assistance of a living person. The French doors in room 418 reportedly opened on their own.
Furthermore, once the French doors were secured, they would jiggle without anyone touching them. The lights in that room would also reportedly turn off and on without assistance. Some people claim that the paranormal activity stopped after the hotel’s name change, but others still believe it is one of the most haunted places in Michigan.
Eloise
Eloise Hospital, also known as Eloise Asylum, is located in Westland, Michigan, 8 miles southwest of the Henry. Eloise is haunted. The site opened in 1839 as the Wayne County Poorhouse. The former psychiatric hospital is home to numerous spirits. Paranormal investigators have reported seeing apparitions, hearing unexplained noises, and experiencing other eerie phenomena. Jeff Adkins, the Detroit Paranormal Expeditions lead investigator, claims his group found paranormal activity in the wards on the second, third, and fifth floors. Adkins described an incident where a walker mysteriously appeared in the middle of the hallway after he cleaned up the hallway. “… The walker was in the middle of the walkway … We had to move it, and we had just walked through there.”
Today, Eloise Asylum offers haunted attractions and paranormal investigations during Halloween.
Thirty miles east of Eloise is the Michigan State University (MSU) campus. Many MSU buildings are haunted. One of the most widespread legends on campus is the haunting of Mary Mayo Hall. It was named after Mary Anne Mayo, a strong advocate for women’s education. The hall has a long history of ghostly legends. Some of the reported paranormal activities include:
- A piano that plays itself.
- Mysterious flickering lights.
- Apparitions of a woman believed to be Mary Mayo.
- Satanic rituals and a young woman hanging herself have left the fourth floor “Red Room” sealed off.
- A portrait of the building’s namesake hangs on the first floor, and its eyes reportedly follow visitors through the room.
- Unexplained lights and figures in the windows of the fourth floor are seen from time to time.
Haunted Holmes Hall
Another haunted MSU site is Holmes Hall. The paranormal activity in this building, including poltergeist activity with the elevators, is one of the most famous legends. The five haunts of Holmes Hall are:
- On the 6th floor of the west building, a shadowy enters an elevator; after a couple of seconds, the door immediately opens, and the elevator is empty.
- Around 3 a.m., some have seen TWO figures waiting for a sixth-floor elevator. These figures get into the elevator, but it doesn’t move. Witnesses look into the elevator and see it’s empty.
- Sometimes appliances and lights mysteriously turn on & off by themselves.
- Some students have reported the shadowy shape of a male walking through their room during the night.
- Doors and windows fly open and slam shut.
The Valley Camp haunted freighter
Finally, 300 miles to the north is the retired freighter, SS Valley Camp. The ship is now a museum in Sault Ste Marie and features exhibits on Great Lakes shipping and shipwrecks. Among the displays are two lifeboats from the doomed SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in 1975 in Lake Superior with no survivors. The two lifeboats are among the few remnants ever recovered from the freighter. Over the years, visitors and paranormal enthusiasts have reported an overwhelming sense of dread that subsides when they leave the Fitzgerald display. Visitors to the ship also have reported eerie experiences, including:
- Apparitions and shadow figures.
- Disembodied voices and footsteps.
- Other unexplained paranormal phenomena.
The museum offers haunted ship tours during the final weekend of October, which are particularly popular among those interested in the supernatural.
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Ready to test your courage? Plan your visit to one of these haunted destinations today. These spooky locations, from grand mansions to historic asylums, offer a unique and thrilling experience. Whether you believe in the paranormal or enjoy a good scare, Michigan’s haunted places will surely leave a lasting impression.
Don’t miss out on this unforgettable fall experience!
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Ralph Bach has been in IT for a while and has blogged from the Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that has caught my attention since 2005. You can follow me on Facebook or Mastodon. Email the Bach Seat here.
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