Haunted places in Michigan

When you think of haunted places in Michigan, the tiny, artsy tourist town of Saugatuck might not be at the front of your mind. With its picturesque waterfront and propensity for fine al fresco dining, this tourist destination might fool you into thinking this isn’t where spirits tend to linger. With a rich history as a frontier and logging town, a dark, historical undercurrent runs through Saugatuck just as surely as through the Kalamazoo River. Whether touring a historic haunted mansion or exploring the dunes hoping to spot a rumored spirit, Saugatuck makes for the perfect setting for eerie fun once the sun sets. And that’s not all, while we can’t promise ghosts here at our luxury Michigan bed & breakfast, we do have our own fun stories to tell.

The Haunted History of Saugatuck

The great, unanswerable question is what entices spirits to stay on this side of the veil, rejecting whatever it is that awaits them on the other side. We can speculate about terror and trauma, about the kind of event that would lead a spirit to attach itself to a place.

If that is the way of things, Saugatuck with its rich and varied history is just that kind of place. From shipwrecks to logging accidents and the wild goings-on at a Roaring ‘20s dance hall popular with goons from Al Capone’s gang, Saugatuck has just the kind of history that makes for an alluring possibility.

It is a place where history intertwines with spooky possibilities.  It is a place where, in an old chapel built by an eccentric millionaire inventor, it’s fun to entertain a ghostly yarn.  Saugatuck is a perfect place to allow ourselves the peculiar thrill of being chilled, frightened or even scared.

How far back does Saugatuck’s potentially haunted history go? Almost to the very roots of European settlement in the area. In November of 1842 – a fierce winter storm blew up – and sank the Milwaukie near Saugatuck at the mouth of the river. It is considered one of the earliest shipwrecks on the Great Lake’s Wester Michigan shore.  The crew was incensed at the captain’s decision-making as they loaded 1,300 barrels of flour to set sail for Buffalo despite Lake Michigan’s reputation for severe weather in mid-November. Six of the 13 crew members managed to make it ashore, though they were half dead and mostly frozen by the time they made it to the lighthouse. Whether they went down with the ship or survived the harrowing journey to shore, it seems the kind of event that would prompt a man’s soul imprint on a location and return in death one way or another.

Of course, Saugatuck’s ghostly history runs much deeper than various maritime disasters on nearby waters, a thriving timber town, the region once supplied much of the wood used to rebuild Chicago after the Great Fire of 1871. In fact, not far from modern day Saugatuck – in the sandy dunes on the Lake – is the scattered remains of what was once a booming lumber town known as Singapore. At one point, it appeared Singapore was destined to become one of the grand cities of Western Michigan. However, the nearby forests could not keep up with demand and the lumber mills moved and the parts of Singapore that weren’t torn down – or moved along the icy river to Saugatuck – were taken back by the dunes.

Could there be, among the sands of what used to be a bustling waterfront, a spirit attached to the lumber boom town that didn’t survive? There are stranger ghost stories that are frequently told.

Saugatuck’s famous ghosts, legends and … melon heads?

No story about haunted Saugatuck is complete without a mention of Felt Mansion, a former luxurious summer home of an inventor and his not-long-for-this-world wife. Located on the dunes between Holland and Saugatuck, the 12,000-square-foot mansion features three floors, 25 rooms, and a ballroom. Dorr Felt, a Wisconsin native who moved to Chicago and made his fortune with the Comptometer – an early adding machine – fell in love with the coast of Western Michigan. He and his wife Agnes – and their four children – built a massive summer estate with a thousand-acre farm, a beach house, and a petting zoo. In 1925, construction began on the Felt Mansion, which he called Agnes’ house. The family moved into the mansion in 1928, but Agnes didn’t get to enjoy her house for very long. She died six weeks after moving in, and Dorr followed about a year and a half later. The house stayed in the family for another 20 years before it became Saint Augustine Seminary, a Catholic prep school for young men.

Today the estate is available for self-guided tours, events, and weddings, and hosts special events. But it appears the original inhabitants haven’t completely abandoned the home. There have been reports – over the years – of a ghostly presence. There have been sightings in the library, the ballroom and in Agnes’ old bedroom. There is a thought that Agnes has lingered to enjoy in death the house that Dorr built for her, but she missed in life.

Agnes isn’t the only lingering spirit seen in the halls, there have been reports of shadow people – dark figures roaming around the ballroom floor as if enjoying a dance.

Another well-known legend around Saugatuck is the Lady in White at the Saugatuck Dunes. There is a story, many call it folklore, about a lady in white who wanders the dunes where the remains of the lumber town of Singapore are buried in the sands. Who is she is or why she stays are only guesses.

Saugatuck’s reputation as an artist’s haven dates back to the Arts and Crafts Movement that began in the 1880s. This international trend in decorative and fine arts began in Great Britain and spread across the world sparking what would become the Art Nouveau Movement. Founded in 1908 by a pair of artists from the School of Art Institute in Chicago, the Ox-Bow School epitomizes the deep artistic history of Saugatuck. After more than 100 years in operation, the Ox-Bow continues to serve as a haven for creative processes.

Is the Ox-Bow School Haunted? Any place with that long of a history of artists in residence is likely to conjure a ghost story or two, but some of that is obscured by the way Ox-Bow embraces the spooky life. In the past, Ox-Bow has hosted Residence Evil, a two-week, funded residency based on preparation for Ox-Bow goes to Hell, an annual Halloween event featuring frighteningly good art. This year (2024) however the event has been re-branded the more family-friendly as Ox-Bow Goes to Heck and the Residence Evil program is not active. 

What about the melon heads? We can’t forget about these guys.  They are little people with large, bulbous heads said to live in the woods of Western Michigan and attack when least expected. One prominent legend is that these are the spirits of children who suffered from a rare medical condition and lived at a medical facility on the grounds of the Felt Estate. Of course, there’s not a lot of what you’d call hard evidence that such a medical facility existed or that children with bulbous heads were kept there.

Take a tour … if you dare

Your first stop for ghostly tours in the Saugatuck area is – unsurprisingly at the Felt Estate where a variety of spooky Halloween events await. Journey through time and enjoy the Felt Mansion’s rich history intwined with spine-tingling tales from the great beyond. The journey begins in the chapel where those who have personally encountered the ghost of Agnes or the Shadow people share their tales. From there, you’ll explore the estate’s hidden corners by candlelight in a self-guided 90-minute tour of the house, grounds and carriage house. The tours are only available for a short time over Halloween, so get your tickets in advance and maybe you’ll come face-to-face with old Agnes herself.

Halloween in Saugatuck

Of course, there is more to Halloween in Saugatuck than the aforementioned Ghost Tour at the Felt Estate. In fact, the estate is hosting multiple paranormal events for the Day of the Dead. The Felt Estate will host “Unveiling the Unseen: A Paranormal Experience” featuring paranormal investigator Adam Berry and podcaster John Tenny and Jessica Knapick. Berry, who is known for his ability to connect with the great beyond, will host “Real Ghost Stories and Conversations on the Afterlife.” Then, following a meet and greet the trio will lead a VIP paranormal investigation of the mansion and carriage house. General admission tickets are $50 for the presentation and meet and greet, while VIP packages are $150. The event will take place on October 25, 26, and 27, 2024.

Another option is the annual adults Douglas Halloween Parade. The parade is scheduled for Oct. 26 from 10 p.m. to midnight and is located in our sister city of Douglas, just a half mile from the Hotel Saugatuck. With the giant parade mascot – aka the Pumpkin King – this event draws thousands of spectators from around the country. The parade is open to anyone in costume, but groups often march together and perform raucous routines along the route. It is an adults’ only event. You can prepare for the event at the Cavern Tavern at the Ox-Bow, billed as the hottest pre-party in town. Guests can enjoy drinks and “frighteningly alluring art spectacles” from 6 p.m. to 10 before heading over to the parade.

If you’re looking for a scary good time this Halloween, look no further than Saugatuck and our Michigan bed and breakfast.  Whether it’s in one of our main hotel rooms or one of our romantic cottages, our historic B&B offers just the right locale to explore all that the spooky side of Saugatuck has to offer.