Michigan has a lot of creepy legends. From the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald and it’s haunting song to the real-life deaths on our doorstep, here are five of the wildest tales from our own back yard.
4. Belle Isle
Belle Isle is host to a number of legends. I never knew about them until long after I stopped visiting the Isle as a child. I’d feed the deer in the night after seeing Disney on Ice shows. It was amazing. I’m glad I didn’t hear the stories as a child: they would have freaked me out too much to enjoy my time there.
The most well-known story I’ve found is this: ghosts (either dead kids or dead teens, the legend varies) will push your car if you stop on a certain point where there was either a car or train accident. I’ve heard second hand stories of this working and not, but it’s very similar to other legends attributed to other places. I’m calling bunk. Feel free to stop your car all over the island without fear. Unless another car is coming at you. Then MOVE.
The other legend is ‘The Goddess of Belle Isle’. The daughter of Chief Sleeping Bear (sent away to be protected by snakes. Go fig) haunts the island because of…reasons. There’s little info about this, but plenty of apparitions have been reported, from ladies in white to native American women. Beware next time you go to Belle Isle cracker, or maybe a snake will get you!
3. The Dogman
The Dogman is Michigan's answer to Bigfoot. Reported a hundred years before I was born in Wexford County, Michigan, the creature came back to promience when a novelty song was recorded about it a hundred years later. There's been a few films and such since, but nothing compares to the classic song.
2. Shoe Tree/Oakland County Child Killer
This is a story I heard many times growing up. It was a cautionary tale from my mother. Back in the seventies, the Oakland County Child Killer would abduct and kill kids, then throw their shoes into a tree as a gristly monument. My sister was the right age at the time, and our mother never got over the fact that she ‘almost got abducted.’ From what I can tell (and what my sister has said) nothing happened. I assumed it was a story, nothing more. Until I saw this Wikipedia page. The killer and the killings were sadly real. Though the shoe tree seems to be legendary. I’ve seen similar details in scary stories from all over. The killer was never identified, but the killings attributed to him/her did stop. So there’s that.
1. Edmund Fitzgerald ghost ship
The sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, for any out-of-state readers or any Michiganders below the age of thirty, was a huge tragedy on Lake Superior. For a longer summary, please listen to the following ballad. I’ll wait.
The sinking of the ship is horror enough. However, there are several legends associated with it. Tales of a ghost ship seeking port are chief among them. It was sighted at least once, ten years after its tragic loss. Does this ship still seek port? Why did it sink?
Many unanswered questions, so many years later. This horror is a little too real. I'll go back to the ghoulies and goblins tomorrow.
4. Belle Isle
Belle Isle is host to a number of legends. I never knew about them until long after I stopped visiting the Isle as a child. I’d feed the deer in the night after seeing Disney on Ice shows. It was amazing. I’m glad I didn’t hear the stories as a child: they would have freaked me out too much to enjoy my time there.
The most well-known story I’ve found is this: ghosts (either dead kids or dead teens, the legend varies) will push your car if you stop on a certain point where there was either a car or train accident. I’ve heard second hand stories of this working and not, but it’s very similar to other legends attributed to other places. I’m calling bunk. Feel free to stop your car all over the island without fear. Unless another car is coming at you. Then MOVE.
The other legend is ‘The Goddess of Belle Isle’. The daughter of Chief Sleeping Bear (sent away to be protected by snakes. Go fig) haunts the island because of…reasons. There’s little info about this, but plenty of apparitions have been reported, from ladies in white to native American women. Beware next time you go to Belle Isle cracker, or maybe a snake will get you!
3. The Dogman
The Dogman is Michigan's answer to Bigfoot. Reported a hundred years before I was born in Wexford County, Michigan, the creature came back to promience when a novelty song was recorded about it a hundred years later. There's been a few films and such since, but nothing compares to the classic song.
2. Shoe Tree/Oakland County Child Killer
This is a story I heard many times growing up. It was a cautionary tale from my mother. Back in the seventies, the Oakland County Child Killer would abduct and kill kids, then throw their shoes into a tree as a gristly monument. My sister was the right age at the time, and our mother never got over the fact that she ‘almost got abducted.’ From what I can tell (and what my sister has said) nothing happened. I assumed it was a story, nothing more. Until I saw this Wikipedia page. The killer and the killings were sadly real. Though the shoe tree seems to be legendary. I’ve seen similar details in scary stories from all over. The killer was never identified, but the killings attributed to him/her did stop. So there’s that.
1. Edmund Fitzgerald ghost ship
The sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, for any out-of-state readers or any Michiganders below the age of thirty, was a huge tragedy on Lake Superior. For a longer summary, please listen to the following ballad. I’ll wait.
The sinking of the ship is horror enough. However, there are several legends associated with it. Tales of a ghost ship seeking port are chief among them. It was sighted at least once, ten years after its tragic loss. Does this ship still seek port? Why did it sink?
Many unanswered questions, so many years later. This horror is a little too real. I'll go back to the ghoulies and goblins tomorrow.
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