Traverse City Record-Eagle

Life

Related Photos

  • Jan-Michael Stump, Illustration by Pat Putney

    BENZONIA HAUNTED WALKING TOUR

  • images_sizedimage_293094637
October 18, 2008

Local Haunts: Where to go to get your fill of chills this fall

By VANESSA McCRAY

TRAVERSE CITY -- History and mystery collide this time of year, with ghosts and ghouls haunting old places.

Friday in Benzonia, a half dozen or so sites will be featured in the "Haunts of Benzie County Tour." At each residence, a ghost representing a local, historical character will tell his story.

"Folk lore and ghost stories and legends are something that I think are easily lost, especially nowadays. It seems like these are pieces of history that aren't necessarily easily passed down. Everyone loves a good ghost story," said Blake Compton, a volunteer at the Benzie Area Historical Museum.

Compton helped organize the tour and dug up some legends by traveling from Frankfort to Beulah and around Benzie County. He spoke to people at businesses, sat down in restaurants and found spooky stories ripe for the retelling, and researching.

"We did look through old books, old death records. (We) went through a lot of the local libraries to try to figure out if some of these murders actually happened. A lot of them were hard to prove. A lot of the people actually did exist."

One particularly gruesome yarn concerned a certain Frankfort area farmer. The story, like all good ghost stories, begins with "once upon a time" and ends with murder. The farmer set large lanterns out on the beach to lure and plunder ships.

"Once the ships would shipwreck, if there was anybody left alive, he would kill them... and leave his corn crib stuffed with bodies," Compton said.

Or so the story goes. Compton said they discovered the man actually did exist, but failed to unearth police records indicating the treacherous tale is true.

Museum Director Louis Yock said featured phantoms on the walking tour include a pirate ghost, a "working girl and her boyfriend" and a "famous poisoning." Specters at each stop will tell their story and share clues about an overall mystery woven throughout the tour. It starts at 6:30 p.m. at the museum, and participants should call the museum at (231) 882-5539 before hand.

Authors Kat Tedsen and Bev Rydel said curiosity and love of history are reasons why ghost stories grab attention. Their book "Haunted Travels of Michigan" recounts ghost hunting investigations they observed.

"One of the big attractions for many vacationers, for example, is history...," Rydel said. "Then the paranormal has really grown in popularity as technology has gotten better, and it makes it easier to collect evidence."

Bowers Harbor Inn on the Old Mission Peninsula is among the sites they visited. Tedsen "had a personal experience" while researching the famous haunting of the old building's first owner Genevive. Tedsen was in Genevive's bedroom when she saw peculiar flashing lights. The authors did "months of research" on the inn's supernatural history.

"Sometimes the truth is more fascinating than the urban legends," Tedsen said.

Sandy Arno Lyons of Berkley wrote the book "Michigan's Most Haunted, A Ghostly Guide to the Great Lakes State," which includes strange events at the Terrace Inn in the summer community of Bay View and at Petoskey's Perry Hotel.

"I wanted to get with people who had first-hand experiences," Arno Lyons said. "It's always an older establishment. Generally these things happen in the oldest parts of the building."

The author will sign book copies at Horizon Books in Traverse City from 6:30-8:00 p.m. on Friday.

Other area historical spots are capitalizing on the spooky season with special events. The Grand Traverse Lighthouse's haunted house continues today from noon to 4 p.m. with a frightening basement and decorated keepers' rooms. The lighthouse is located in the Leelanau State Park. Entrance requires ticket purchase plus a park permit.

And, in Manistee, the historic S.S. City of Milwaukee is transformed into a ghost ship, open to visitors on Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 1. For ticket prices, times and other information, visit www.carferry.com.

Text Only