Michigan history is steeped in mystery. These are a few of the Great Lakes State's most legendary tales.
Most Haunted Sites
Bruce Mansion of Brown City has a truly bewitching backstory. The place looks like something straight out of a horror flick.
A fire decimated the city in 1881, but incredibly the Victorian-style estate wouldn't suffer any damage.
Then a series of unexplained deaths would occur. Visitors claim the home has been possessed ever since.
Numerous stories exist of paranormal activity on Mackinac Island. Mackinac has a grisly past.
From wayward spirits haunting the 1814 Battle of Mackinac Island fields to shadowy specters at Mission Point and ghouls inhabiting the Grand Hotel – they are everywhere.
Detroit’s Masonic Temple is known as one of Michigan’s most hair-raising haunts.
The world’s largest temple of its kind has 16 floors and over 1,000 rooms — a number of them never got finished.
The Neo-Gothic structure in Cass Corridor keeps a slew of secrets. Many believe late architect George Mason’s ghost even lurks in the shadows.
Others insist a second apparition also dwells on the premises.
Old Presque Isle Lighthouse was active in the mid 1800s, helping steer ships to and from Presque Isle Harbor.
Mythology says that the last lightkeeper’s specter still resides inside.
The lighthouse was out of service after he passed, but oddly the light began to illuminate every night at sunset and extinguish at dawn – with no explanation.
The Ghost of Elias Friske at Hell’s Bridge is a Rockford legend that has endured through the years.
In Kent County folklore, Friske was a reputed child killer who terrorized the town.
They say you can feel Friske’s evil spirit at the Cedar Creek crossing.
Traverse City State Hospital is a creepy haunt found on the grounds of The Village at Grand Traverse Commons.
“I do believe paranormal activity does take place there,” tells Traverse City Tour Company’s Desirae Dine.
Michigan’s Great Mysteries
The Lake Michigan Triangle has mystified Michiganders for centuries.
The triangle links Benton Harbor to Ludington and Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
Countless calamities have been connected to that region. Among them are missing persons, plane crashes and shipwrecks.
Speaking of which, the Great Lakes’ oldest shipwreck dates way back to 1679.
Famed French sailboat Le Griffon supposedly sunk about 350 years ago in northern Lake Michigan, west of Summer Island.
Le Griffon was the first full-sized sailing ship on the upper Lakes as a seven-cannon, 45-ton barque. René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle conceived of Le Griffon in his quest to find the Northwest Passage to China and Japan.
La Salle sailed across Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan through uncharted waters. On a return trip from Green Bay, Wisconsin, it vanished with the entire six-man crew and a load of furs.
Legend of the Singing Sand is a local tale from Bete Gris Beach near the tip of Keweenaw Peninsula.
The pure white sand of the bay “sings” when you press down with the palm of your hand, or “barks” when struck.
That sound is said to be the voice of a Native American maiden who lost her lover to the Great Lakes and still calls to him from the shore.
Mishipeshu – The Great Lynx is a mythical Ojibwe water creature, known as the underwater panther (or ‘the Great Lynx’). Mishipeshu dwells in the depths of Lake Superior.
Another U.P. mystery can be seen a few miles south in Bruce Crossing.
The Paulding Light is a phenomenon that’s left people puzzled for decades.
Is it a natural occurrence or something from out of this world?
The Disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa has been a source of public fascination for nearly half a century.
Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa went missing from the former Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Township on July 30, 1975.
Hoffa was allegedly there to meet with Detroit Capo Anthony “Tony Jack” Giacalone as well as high-ranking East Coast Union official and reputed Genovese Crime Family Capo Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano.
Hoffa’s whereabouts may be the state’s single biggest mystery.
A mystical Witch’s Ball is the talk of The Thumb. The 2,800-pound ball made of black marble was originally set as a family monument.
The Macomb County oddity strangely spins on its own. The massive sphere draws curious crowds to an old Memphis graveyard.
These stories will surely make you wonder.