Ghostly Happenings in Michigan

Ghostly Apparition of Helen “Grandma” Doherty and Other Paranormal Activity

Situated in Clare, the historic Doherty Hotel was built in 1924. It was the home of former Senator Alfred James Doherty, a friend of automobile magnate Henry Ford. For almost 100 years, the Doherty family has owned and operated this mid-Michigan hotel.

During the Prohibition Era, the Doherty was a speakeasy and meeting place for the mafia and a favorite hangout of Detroit’s infamous Purple Gang. The Purple Gang was a notorious organized crime gang terrorizing Michigan and the Detroit area during the 1920s and the 1930s. One of the most notorious murders occurred at the Doherty in 1938 when Isaiah Leebove, former Purple Gang attorney, was shot dead by his cousin and business partner Jack Livingston.

Guests have reported hearing unexplained knocking and ghostly apparitions locking and unlocking door. Whoever these might be, it is apparent that the family matriarch, Helen “Grandma” Doherty, chose to oversee the hotel business.

Ghostly Apparitions and Unexplained Phenomena

Henderson Castle is located in southwest Michigan and is one of the most haunted places in West Michigan. Today it operates as a bed-and-breakfast. The castle sits atop West Main Hill, overlooking downtown Kalamazoo. The castle was built by businessman Frank Henderson and his wife, Mary. This ornate 25-room Queen Anne-style house has a ballroom and an elevator to reach the third floor.

Guests have reported seeing objects moving by themselves and heard and felt unexplained phenomena. Among the ghostly apparitions here are Frank, Mary, a Spanish-American War veteran who served with the Hendersons' son; a strange little girl; and a dog. You can hear strange noises and disembodied voices.

Scary Spooky Stories

Situated in Marquette, the Landmark Inn is an elegant hotel near Lake Superior dating back almost 100 years, and it is haunted. The Landmark and its stories have attracted ghost hunters and paranormal investigators.

Among the scary stories is one of a man who killed his girlfriend in a jealous rage while the inn was still under construction. He took her body to the basement and buried her there.

Another ghostly tale revolves around the sixth floor and the “Lilac Room." A ship worker fell in love with the local librarian and conducted their love affair in the Lilac Room, where the man was staying. They planned a wedding after the man returned from his last voyage. Unfortunately the ship he was on was caught in a storm and sank to the bottom of Lake Superior. The man never reached the shore, and the librarian mourned him in the Lilac Room until she died of a broken heart.

Paranormal activity includes a workman working on construction in the 1930s hearing weeping and whispering from a female who was probably the murdered girlfriend attempting to get someone to find her body. On the sixth floor the ghostly apparition of the brokenhearted librarian has been seen pacing and weeping.

Haunted by Three Ghosts

Opening in 1911, the Terrace Inn in Petoskey in the historic Bay View Area is a 38-room Victorian resort. It has been the site of two deaths.

Two workers died when a beam fell on them during construction. However, there has been a death in the inn as well. Staying in Room 211 Elizabeth Abbey Sweet was pregnant and fell, miscarried, and died.

The three ghosts at the inn are a lady in white wandering the rooms and halls, a man in a tweed suit overlooking the balcony at the front of the inn, and a child in the basement.

Ghostly Apparitions

The Whitney in Detroit is a mansion that has been turned into a restaurant. It was once the home of lumber baron David Whitney Jr. and the wealthiest man in all of Detroit.

The ghosts of David Whitney and his family have not left the mansion and roam all about making themselves at home. His eldest daughter, Grace enjoys cups of tea at a table in the carriage house.

Other paranormal activity includes a non-existent female restroom attendant having a conversation with two different guests in the ladies' room on the third floor and closing up the restaurant; one night a staff member heard pianos playing in the empty mansion.