Five Haunted Places in Southwest Michigan
Have you ever been to a haunted house? I mean, a real one?!
Dianna Stampfler of Promote Michigan lists five area buildings with tales of strange noises and unexplained, ghostly happenings. How about you? Can you corroborate any real-life ghost stories?!
As legend has it, the Kingman Museum - which houses various science exhibits, natural history museum and the Digistar Planitarium - may have some guests who may not be immediately obvious. Stampfler tells us strange sounds have sometimes been reported in the museum, including the sounds of children inside and doors opening which had been locked and secured.
Stampfler said the National House Inn, built in 1835 and included in the National Register of Historic Places, has a tale of haunt. The inn was originally a stop on the Underground Railroad, and then became a factory, then housed condominiums and eventually became a bed and breakfast, which it remains today. Stampfler said some have reported seeing a ghostly woman wearing red at the inn.
This west Michigan landmark was once the Royal Hotel and Restaurant, when in 1924, Albert Schuler purchased the building and changed the name to Schuler's. Stampfler said the building once housed a hotel on the upper floors above the restaurant. Today, the hotel is closed, but guests of the Schuler family are sometimes invited to stay in the one-time hotel. Stampfler herself said after she settled into her room for the night - and was the only one left in the building - she could hear a man having a good belly laugh out in the hallway. The next morning, she recounted her story to the family. They laughed, she said - telling her the laugh she heard was none other than the ghost of Albert Schuler himself!
Built in 1895, Henderson Castle was the brainstorm of Kalamazoo businessman Frank Henderson, owner of the Henderson-Ames Company. He and his wife lived in the home only for a few years after it was built; Frank Henderson died four years later. Henderson Castle's website says his wife lived in the home until the early-1800's. An unfulfilled plan to become an art center, the Queen Anne-styled castle was once owned by Kalamazoo College as well as several private owners. Today, it's open to the public and a restaurant and bed and breakfast. Stampfler said some rumors persist of ghostly activity at the castle. After all, the castle was featured in three movies - all horror films!
The former Red Brick Inn in Plainwell was also an Underground Railroad stop, as well as a popular stop-off in the early days of travel between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. Stampfler's parents actually managed the Red Brick back in the 1980s. While they never had any ghostly encounters they could recall, Stampfler's mother did remember things being moved - put somewhere else from where she remembered keeping them.
Click the player above to hear Dianna's segment from the 95.3 WBCK morning show.
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