Michigan

A collection of chilling tales from the most haunted places in Western Michigan.

Western Michigan is home to some of the state's most picturesque places - and also some of its most chilling tales. Ghost story researcher and enthusiast Amberrose Hammond exposes the mysterious and spirit-ridden world of many beloved Michigan destinations as she skillfully weaves narratives of a world unseen by most. From the lingering spirit forever working in the Grand Theatre and the band of melon-headed children prowling the Saugatuck State Park to the lights of the Lake Forest Cemetery staircase waiting to reveal one's place in the afterlife, these tales are sure to give pause to anyone daring enough to experience these hauntingly beautiful spots...after dark.

Ottawa and Pottawatomi Indians called Muskegon home at least 200 years before Jean Baptiste Recollect opened his trading post in 1836. Michigan's abundant forests created the logging industry.

Lumber mills flourished as the Muskegon River and Lake Michigan provided easy transport. The city was called the Lumber Queen, and it was said that Muskegon lumber built Chicago. The lumber barons' influence is still felt. Charles Hackley's name graces a major street, park, library, and hospital, and the local hockey team is called the Lumberjacks. Shipping followed, with Brunswick, Sealed Power, and Continental Motors among the industrial heavyweights. Residents have also appreciated cultural pursuits. The famed Actors' Colony, founded by the Keaton family, is where Buster honed his vaudeville skills before hitting the big time. Max Gruber's Oddities of the Jungle act featured an elephant that rode a tricycle and bowled. Former area residents include M*A*S*H star Harry Morgan, astronaut David Leetsma, two Miss Americas, singers Iggy Pop and Wayne Static, and sports greats Earl Morrall, Bobby Grich, and Nate McLouth. Snowboarding began here but was called "snurfing" (snow surfing).

Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state, with more than 120 dotting its expansive Great Lakes shoreline. Many of these lighthouses lay claim to haunted happenings.

Former keepers like Captain Townshend at Seul Choix Point and prankster John Herman at Waugoshance Shoal maintain their watch long after death. At White River Light Station in Whitehall, Sarah Robinson still keeps a clean and tidy house, and a mysterious young girl at the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse seeks out other companions. Countless spirits remain between Whitefish Point and Point Iroquois in an area well known for its many tragic shipwrecks. Join author and Promote Michigan founder Dianna Stampfler as she recounts the tales from Michigan's ghostly beacons.

This collection of over 200 images chronicles the life and times of this once fledgling township established in 1843, to its incorporation as a city in 1951, and on to its present day prosperity.

During the late 19th century, a small group of Frenchmen from the fort at Detroit settled north along the shore of Lake St. Clair at the mouth of the Milk River. Originally known as L'anse Creuse, this tiny settlement soon grew into a bustling farming community. Historian Arthur M. Woodford has compiled maps, photographs, and drawings to tell the story of this ""Village on the Lake."" Here the reader will find views of Lake St. Clair, the Milk River, and the many 19th century families and farms that fostered the growth of the area. Included are the stories of the infamous Blossom Heath Inn, Jefferson Beach Amusement Park, the grand Masonic Country Club, and the Interurban railway. Following World War Two, St. Clair Shores grew as part of the population boom of southeastern Michigan, and this once quiet village is now a modern suburban community of over 66,ooo residents.

Join author Michael W. R. Davis as he retraces the history of what went on behind the scenes of testing automotive tracks in Detroit, Michigan.

The catastrophic failure of a new but unproven copper-cooled Chevrolet in 1923 led the General Motors Corporation to buy back the 100 cars it had sold to the public and recall another 400 in company and dealer hands. As a result, in 1924 General Motors started building the industry's first scientific proving ground to test new vehicle designs before they were released for production and sale. Before this, all automakers tested new cars haphazardly on public roads and within limited engineering laboratories. Better known by the public as test tracks, the proving grounds became a source of curiosity for decades about the secrets they might hold. Detroit Area Test Tracks goes behind the test track walls to show how the facilities evolved and what typically takes place inside.

Beginning as a group of delinquents committing petty crimes, they became Detroit's infamous Purple Gang, of one of the most notorious organized crime groups of the 20th century.

The photographs in this fascinating collection chronologically follow the evolution of the Purples from their days as a juvenile street gang through their rise to power and eventual self-destruction. Detroit had a gold rush atmosphere and a thriving black market during the 1920s that attracted gangsters and unsavory characters from all over the country. The gang's reputation for hijacking and terror spread far, and they became associates with Al Capone, their location a perfect midway point to smuggle Canadian whisky across the border and down into Chicago. Their reputation was such that they were even suspected by the FBI for being involved with the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. Using rare police department mug shots and group photographs, the book transports readers through the dark side of Prohibition-era Detroit history.

Michigan has two beautiful peninsulas that are connected by stories, legends, and mysteries. What Purple Gang member still hangs out in Clare? What spirits lurk at Henry Ford's Greenfield Village?

This book is the perfect glove compartment companion for exploring those paranormal parts of the Mitten State. From the notoriously haunted remote lighthouses like Seul Choix in the Upper Peninsula to Eloise, one of the most famous psychiatric asylums in America, to the legend of Lover's Leap on Mackinac Island, here is a guide to all that and more.

Jon Milan and Gail Offen are writers and good listeners who love to retell the stories they hear traveling through Michigan. This is their fifth Arcadia book.

A Vehicle City Success Story

The history of Flint's food culture has always been largely overshadowed by the stories of its industries. But the origins and rapid expansion of the number of Macedonian Coney shops in Flint paralleled the explosive growth of the city's automotive industry throughout the twentieth century. Born of an immigrant escaping the war-torn Balkans in the early 1900s who combined his idea for one dish with the skills of butchering and meatpacking experts from Wisconsin and Germany, the simple Flint Coney became an institution among the city's autoworkers, tradespeople, and families. Mainstays such as Flint Original Coney Island, Angelo's, and Atlas were frequented by regular patrons for decades, with others such as Capitol and Starlite carrying on those traditions today.

Genesee County native Dave Liske explores these global origins and the cultural history of the Flint Coney.

This chronicle of ghastly frights from the Motor City is not for the faint of heart.

Founded on the legend of the Nain Rouge, Detroit has haunted hotspots aplenty, each with its own blood-curdling tale. Music from pianos that play by themselves and crying apparitions echo throughout The Whitney mansion. Beginning at the time of its construction, the Leland Hotel has been the site of an unusually high number of murders, suicides, and freak accidents. It has even been described as Detroit's portal to Hell. Various shadowy figures have been spotted darting throughout the former Detroit Police 6th Precinct building, including a mysterious boy.

Join Michigan-based author and paranormal investigator Nicole Beauchamp as she leads you down some of Detroit's darkest corridors and into its tragic past.

Often overshadowed by its larger neighbors, Monroe County offers a rich tapestry of history for those willing to look.

French-Canadian settlers left behind legends of monsters, ghosts, and witches. In war time, the community answered the call to arms with more soldiers per capita than any other county in the nation and proved a suitable hometown to take refuge between gun shots from none other than George Armstrong Custer. Like most communities, its sordid past reveals crimes and tragedies--including body snatching. More recently, a partial nuclear meltdown brought the city to the brink of disaster, but Monroe not only survived but now thrives.

Join local author Shawna Lynn Mazur for a trip through little-known and forgotten parts of Monroe County's past.

Enigmatic mediums, murders, monsters, and more are all part of Michigan's mysterious and sometimes supernatural history.

The will of Detroit's first millionaire, Eber B. Ward, was hotly contested because he took the financial advice of spirits. Marian Spore Bush, Bay City's first female dentist, moved to New York City, where she became a psychic wonder--and a secret philanthropist. Old witchcraft superstitions drove a Mount Morris family insane and caused another man to murder his godmother in Trenton.

Researcher Amberrose Hammond brings to light strange and unusual tales from Michigan's colorful and exciting past.

A haunted history of one of Western Michigan's oldest cities

Once a booming lumber town, Muskegon today harbors not just ghosts of long-gone industry but maybe actual ghosts, too. An apparition in Victorian clothing walks past Hackley Library patrons and disappears into a wall. Some believe him to be none other than philanthropist and lumber baron Charles Hackley. In the Hume House, the ghost of a young woman gloomily peers down at visitors from an upstairs window. Visitors to the museum on LST 393 often see a shadowy figure or hear someone walking behind them as they walk through the hallways, but when they turned around to look, no one's there.

Join author Marie Helena Cisneros delves into thirteen spine-tingling supernatural tales from Muskegon's past.

Author and award-winning historian Russell M. Magnaghi delves into the delectable food history of the Upper Peninsula.

Michigan's Upper Peninsula is a veritable cornucopia of delicious dishes. Over the centuries, the shared food knowledge and passion Native Americans and immigrant of all kinds produced the region's iconic foods and beloved restaurants. Mackinac Island remains the epicenter for fine food. Here one can dine on freshly caught trout and whitefish at the Grand Hotel before tracking down the island's celebrated fudge for dessert. Afield of the island, visitors and residents alike can attend a Friday night fish fry virtually anywhere in the area, savor a juicy "Big C'? burger at one of the many Clyde's Drive-In locations, or just have a refreshing glass of beer at Tahquamenon Brew Pub in aptly-named Paradise.