Michigan is one of the most haunted states in America–so we had to make a list of the most haunted places in Michigan to visit. Michigan is no stranger to all things supernatural.
While you might have heard about Michigan Central Station or the grand hotel of Mackinac Island, the spooks in this state go far beyond the more popular paranormal affairs.
Are you brave enough to see what hauntings lie in the Upper Peninsula? The journey is guaranteed to send chills down your spine.
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1. Wayne County Poorhouse and Asylum, Westland, Michigan
30712 Michigan Ave, Westland, MI 48186
As self-proclaimed ghost hunters continue to venture inside this dark and eerie structure, the hauntings pile up. With reports of seemingly empty furniture bearing movement on its own and disembodied voices filling the hallways and rooms of this abandoned institution, you might wonder why anyone would desire to spend even a single night.
It sounds a bit cliche, considering the history that regular asylums hold. You could say just about any abandoned building once inhabited by people with mental ailments is subject to disturbing energy at the very least. So, what makes this asylum nicknamed “Eloise” all the more unearthly?
Eloise once stood as the largest psychiatric hospital built in all of Michigan. In 1931, the D building came to fruition. This structure is the only remaining piece. This building housed over 400 patients with floors designated to separate women and men.
The mistreatment of these patients was not scarce as staff would habitually chain up and abuse anyone who stepped out of line. There is a reason asylums have such a gruesome history.
The bustling souls that drift through the hospital halls are multifarious. Subsequently, visitors should continue to heed warnings.
2. Seven Gables Road, Dansville, Michigan
7 Gables Rd, Ingham Township, MI 48819
Does the phrase “last one over, first to die” ring any bells? Let’s take a walk down Michigan’s most haunted road. Between the endless stories involving witchcraft and discussions on the demise of young children, it comes as no surprise why citizens in the Dansville area are not fond of the lore surrounding this nightmarish path.
Once you ride through an ominous passageway of trees, you’ll reach a dirt road leading to a red gate that many Michigan residents advise against crossing.
This gate serves as a threshold between safety and danger, encouraging newcomers not to traverse the burgundy-painted bars. The infamous rumor explains that anyone who passes over this gate is subject to an overwhelmingly evil presence.
The legend states that a witch inhabited a cottage on this road. Not long after, a group of men trapped her in her own home and burned the house down. Executing this woman left behind an unbreakable curse over the land.
Visitors who dare to step foot on Seven Gables Road should hope not to hear the witch cry out. Hearing her screams lead to death within three days for the last person who makes it back over the gate.
Unfortunately, things don’t just start and end with the witch in the cottage. Twenty-five years after her death, a family built and moved into a home on the land. Things seemed normal until the father inexplicably lost his mind, murdering his wife and children. He then hung them from the house gables before hanging himself from a tree, later fated with the sinister name, “the hanging tree.”
While many try not to buy into these disturbing tales, most Michigan forest dwellers continue to take caution when passing those red metal rods.
3. The Michigan Theatre, Jackson, Michigan
124 N Mechanic St, Jackson, MI 49201
Not to be confused with Detroit’s “Michigan Theater,” the Michigan Theatre of Jackson holds a long and paranormal history in its walls so we had to include it in the most haunted places in Michigan list.
The ghostly encounters are innumerable as visitors note a woman seated in the balcony, a little girl playing in the hallways, and even a woman’s voice caught on electronic voice phenomenon (EVP), saying “it’s cold” in the ladies restroom of the building.
Located in the bathrooms, the mirror placements overlap. This mirror positioning is commonly believed to produce portals into the spirit realm. This action could be the main cause for the spooky activities that occur within the rooms and halls of the Michigan Theatre. Could it even be possible that whoever placed these mirrors deliberately manifested a gateway for ghosts?
4. Detroit Sixth Precinct, Detroit, Michigan
11450 Warwick St, Detroit, MI 48228
Constructed and opened in 1930, this abandoned Detroit police station possesses more negative energy than most residents are aware of. There are stories of people getting killed right on the stairs in front of the building as well as inmates and police alike committing suicide.
The physical jail zone area of the precinct is where many paranormal researchers pick up the most spiritual activity.
The evidence room in the basement is also known to have quite an unpleasant aura, given that it’s the location where four officers took their own lives without explanation.
Following the retirement of this precinct, the city transformed it into a historic tour and ghost hunting experience for the community. Many guests report successful occurrences of phantom interaction.
5. Historic Fort Wayne, Detroit, Michigan
6325 W Jefferson Ave, Detroit, MI 48209
Once acting as a civil war zone, the Historic Fort Wayne was originally a disturbed Indigenous burial ground, now occupying the agitated souls of many soldiers and indigenous people.
Displaying intentionally outdated architecture paired with a melancholy environment, the fort grounds make for excellent ghost tours.
Visitors mention seeing apparitions and the sensation of physical touch from an invisible force. Regardless of personal beliefs, the dark history tied to Historic Fort Wayne leaves tourists feeling uneasy.
6. Henderson Castle, Kalamazoo, Michigan
100 Monroe St, Kalamazoo, MI 49006
Next on the list of most haunted places in Michigan is the Henderson Castle.
Established in 1895 by a businessman and freemason named Frank Henderson, many Kalamazoo-bound travelers will share their sightings of Frank’s ghost as well as a few other ghostly beings. The freemason passed away only four years after building the castle.
Doors slamming by themselves, strange noises and voices echoing through the castle, and the smell of a freshly burning cigar, are just a few of the countless happenings that guests experience.
If you have plans to visit Kalamazoo, consider adding the supernatural Henderson Castle to your itinerary.
7. Michigan Bell Telephone Building, Grand Rapids, Michigan
114 Division Ave N, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503
Constructed in 1924 on the grounds of a crime scene dating back to 1910, the Michigan Bell Telephone Building (also known as the AT&T building) contains a deeply upsetting backstory.
A railroad worker named Warren Randall, tragically lost his leg in a train accident, causing him to become ill-tempered and insecure. Consequently, Randall murdered his wife, Virginia Randall, before taking a razor to his own throat.
Visitors share their experiences of hearing a womanly voice, pleading and crying. The thumping of a wooden peg leg can also be heard through the halls.
8. South Manitou Island, Leland, Michigan
Lake Michigan, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Recognized as the most haunted island in Michigan, the history of South Manitou is both frightening and intriguing. Although not proven, the harrowing story of a ship holding passengers diagnosed with cholera, landed on Manitou.
The sailors proceeded to bury all the sickly passengers, including those who were still alive, in one massive grave. The island’s lighthouse is also noted to be haunted by its late keepers.
Last but certainly not least, South Manitou is home to two different cemeteries where visitors often hear disembodied voices throughout the graveyards.
9. The Whitney, Detroit, Michigan
4421 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48201
This mansion turned restaurant has a history of transforming skeptics into believers. The illustrious home belonged to David Whitney Jr. who was once a lumber baron and the wealthiest man in all of Detroit.
To this very day, many think that the spirits of David Whitney and his family roam and haunt all three floors of the mansion. David’s eldest daughter, Grace, is said to enjoy cups of tea at a table in the carriage house.
During two interactions that occurred separately and several years apart, a non-existent, female restroom attendant is witnessed conversing with two different guests by the ladies’ room on the third floor.
In as recent as late 2021, a staff member closing up for the night heard one of the pianos playing despite being the only person left in the entire mansion.
10. Doherty Hotel, Clare, Michigan
604 N McEwan St, Clare, MI 48617
Next on the list of most haunted places in Michigan is the infamous Doherty Hotel.
Frequently used as a meeting spot for the mafia and various other gangs, the Doherty Hotel was a speakeasy during the era of prohibition. The building was also notorious for gambling and adult pleasure.
In 1938 an oil tycoon, Jack Livingston, shot and killed Isaiah Leebove and shot his attorney. This murder happened right in the tap room of the hotel.
The hotel was often occupied by the Purple Gang, a criminal mob of predominantly Jewish gangsters that operated in Detroit during the 1920s. Isaiah Leebove is said to haunt the hotel since 1938 after being killed in the bar.
Likewise, Helen Doherty, the grandmother to the Doherty family is also commonly spotted lingering throughout the hotel by guests.
11. Michigan State Prison, Jackson, Michigan
4000 Cooper St, Jackson, MI 49201
After its first mass break in 1840, the original Michigan State Prison was destined for nothing but violence, malevolence, and misfortune.
Ten inmates managed to take over two guards, escaping to the other side of the prison walls. An ultimately failed mission sets the stage for decades of supernatural occurrences on the principal prison grounds.
A prison riddled with riots and delinquency, it’s understandable that the restless souls of former prisoners would continue to wander the area.
Ghost hunters frequently film and scavenge for any signs of supernatural activity. Some of them report with the right equipment, you can contact the spirits of prisoners and they may share with you their reasons for being convicted.
Unlike most seemingly haunted and abandoned buildings, a former prison ground is not one to tread on lightly. If spirits do traipse the land, many of them could potentially be malicious.
12. Stimson Hospital, Eaton Rapids, Michigan
101 W Plain St, Eaton Rapids, MI 48827
Dr. Charles Stimson and Dr. Francis Blanchard bought a structure originally built in 1870, converting it into the Stimson Hospital in 1918. Just one year later, Dr. Blanchard endured an unfortunate fall to his death down the elevator shaft.
His disheveled ghost is said to still inhabit the hospital, making any visitor in his path experience the anger and frustration he feels in the afterlife from premature death. Dr. Stimson as well as another founder named Dr. Harriet Chapman also died within the unsettled hospital.
The stories vary as guests enter the inauspicious medical facility. One visitor even claimed to receive a bite mark on their cheek while passing through the hospital’s morgue.
13. Findlay Cemetery, Ada, Michigan
2 Mile Rd NE, Ada, MI 49301
The Findlay Cemetery is one of two homes for the infamous “Ada Witch.” Many say the burial grounds of her, her husband, and her lover are all located within this cemetery that her spirit still meanders in the present.
Visitors say they can hear footsteps in the woods or even feel phantom taps on their shoulders.
If you drive down the Ada roads, you might see a woman with a long blue dress and blonde hair, waving her arms up in an attempt to receive help. This uncanny young lady is repeatedly regarded as the “Ada Witch.”
14. Seidman Park, Ada, Michigan
8155 Conservation St NE, Ada, MI 49301
Continuing the lore of the “Ada Witch,” there’s a larger debate on whether or not this woman living in Ada during the 1800s was even a witch at all. As the legend goes, she was not-so-sneakily having an affair in Seidman Park.
After her husband followed her out one night, he immediately murdered his cheating wife before proceeding to fight her lover. The two men battled and equally received enough fatal wounds to die within that same park just moments later.
Ada residents claim that if you travel to Seidman Park late at night, you will see the apparitions of all three.
At one point, the story pointed to the “Ada Witch” being identified as a woman named S.M. This led to the desecration of her grave despite the rumor ultimately transpiring as false.
The town has since restored her gravesite but the paranormal activities at Seidman Park and Findlay Cemetery have not dulled one bit.
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