Ghosts in the Great Lakes: 10 spooky tales about Michigan

From lighthouse keepers standing eternal watch to a man mysteriously disappearing for an entire year near the “Michigan triangle,” here are some scary tales about Michigan’s Great Lakes to keep you awake at night. 

As spooky season approaches, there is nothing like gathering around an autumnal bonfire and sharing some ghost stories. My kids always beg me for scary ghost stories, and I realized during our last camping trip that my repertoire of spooky stories is woefully lacking.

Fortunately, Michigan is chock-full of ghostly and ghoulish lore, so I did some research into the best spooky tales about the mitten state. From ghosts that haunt the Great Lakes to spirits forever trapped in a lover’s quarrel, here are some of the best ghost stories from Michigan.

The Graveyard of the Great Lakes

To those who aren’t familiar with the Great Lakes in Michigan, it can be difficult to imagine just how powerful and treacherous the waters can be. The term “lake” is decidedly misleading when the waves and depth rival those of an ocean.

There are some areas of the Great Lakes that are particularly risky, causing many deaths throughout history. For instance, the stretch of water from Whitefish Point to Munising is referred to as the “Graveyard of the Great Lakes” because so many ships have gone down in the area.

Corey Adkins, communications director and content director for the Sault Ste. Marie-based Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, explained that the area is all “open waters,” and that before radios or electricity existed, ships simply vanished. With hundreds of lives lost, sailors and even casual visitors to the area still report seeing unexplained sights and spirits who have met their watery grave in the Great Lakes.

The Michigan Triangle

A similar stretch of treacherous open water in Michigan borrows its moniker from the infamous “Bermuda Triangle.” The “Michigan Triangle” extends from Ludington to Benton Harbor, Michigan, to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and is the site of many mysterious drownings, boat disappearances, and even plane crashes.

Some of the mysterious tales that have happened in the Michigan Triangle include:

• The  Le Griffon, which disappeared without a trace in 1679, making it one of Michigan’s earliest known shipwrecks.
• Steven Kubacki, a student at Hope College who went cross-country skiing in 1978, only to disappear for an entire year after his ski marks showed him leading to the lake. The ice showed no signs of entry or being broken, but the footsteps just stopped. He claims to have “woken up” in a Massachusetts field 700 miles away. He then returned to his father’s house a full year after going missing, with no memory of what had happened to him. He’s since published a book, which, somewhat eerily, came out the day this article was written, September 16, 2025.
• Captain George Donner, after returning to his cabin to rest and instructing his first-mate to wake him as they neared land, was found to have simply disappeared. His cabin door remained locked, but the room was empty, and he was never found.
• On June 24, 1950, Flight 2501 en route to Seattle disappeared over Lake Michigan and was never found, despite annual searches for any trace of it. The search was only given up in June of 2025, after 75 years of hunting Lake Michigan’s waters, even with advanced technology that revealed no sign of the plane or the 58 people aboard.

The SS Bannockburn

Known as the Flying Dutchman of Lake Superior, the SS Bannockburn was a Canadian lake freighter that sank in November 1902 on Lake Superior. All 20 people on board were never recovered, and the now ghost ship is said to have been spotted, apparently stuck sailing its ghostly tour for all of eternity.

Michigan’s Loch Ness Monster

I have lived in Michigan my entire life but admit I had never heard of the legend of the Great Lakes’ sea monsters. While not as popular as Scotland’s Loch Ness Bessie, Michigan’s version is said to date back to Native Americans living in the area, who spoke of sea serpents and sightings in Lake Erie as recently as the 1990s.

One such sighting by a sea captain described the giant creature as “Wriggling and twisting around and swimming faster than the ship was going.” Other reports note that it looked like an eel with a “reptilian head” and ranged somewhere between 30 and 60 feet long.

Ghostly George of Lexington, Michigan

The Cadillac House in Lexington, Michigan, (now owned by Hilton) is one of my very favorite places to stay in Michigan. I try to make an annual retreat to the hotel to think, dream, and plan for the upcoming year. But every time I’m there, I have to admit that I sense a presence in the halls.

My fears are not unfounded—the hotel was built in 1860, making it one of the oldest hotels in all of Michigan and meaning that its rooms and hallways hold plenty of secrets. The “official” ghost story of the Cadillac House is “Ghost George,” a guest who was murdered and still haunts the halls. I haven’t encountered George during any of my stays, but last time I visited, I did talk to a housekeeper on the grounds, who confirmed that several of the rooms are haunted, and that there is a high spirit presence in the adjoining building, the Hidden Cavern, which is used for events.

Traverse City State Hospital

The former psychiatric hospital in Traverse City, Michigan, is the site of many purported ghost stories and legends. And while the original mission of the hospital may have started out idealistic, and the revitalized purpose of the building is one for good, the eerie history remains. Purported ghost stories of the former asylum include disembodied spirits you can still see around the buildings, a priest who died on the grounds, reportedly driven to death by the evil spirits, and a tree that serves a a portal to the underworld.

If you’re a lover of spooky stories in Michigan, I highly recommend one of the hospital’s tours. They even have a special “after-hours” tour that takes place in the dark. We visited several years ago, and the trip through the underground tunnels felt especially spooky!

Old Whitey

“Old Whitey” is a man who tragically lost his life in 1927 when the freighter SS Kamloops sank due to a blizzard on Lake Superior. Due to the depth and cold temperature of Lake Superior, the bodies of those who sank, including Old Whitey, did not decompose as they would in warmer waters and instead, became preserved due to a chemical reaction between the water’s natural minerals and the skin.

Old Whitey is spending his eternity in the engine room of the ship where he worked, and some say he often comes up from his watery grave, or haunts any diver who dares explore the wreck.

Captain James S. Donahue

Another dedicated soul who refused to leave his post, Captain James S. Donahue was a Civil War soldier who became the keeper of the South Haven lighthouse in 1874. Despite losing his leg in battle, he continued to climb the steep steps day in and day out to keep the lighthouse running for 35 years.

He’s credited with saving over a dozen lives, and the researchers who use the lighthouse now for work report mysterious sounds, footsteps, and doors opening and closing, all on their own.

Captain William and Sarah Robinson

Michigan is full of lighthouses, which are often sources of spooky tales and mysterious happenings. Take husband and wife Captain William and Sarah Robinson, faithful lighthouse keepers of the White River Light Station in Whitehall, Michigan. Despite the fact that the couple had 13 children, the pair not only petitioned the local area to construct a lighthouse but also maintained and operated it for 50 years.

The Robinsons passed at the lighthouse in their 90s, and visitors say you can still hear their footsteps up and down the stairs, eternally manning their posts to keep watch. The Captain prefers to hang out in the spiral stairway, while Sarah can often be found peacefully keeping guard in the bedroom where her young children slept.

Lightkeeper H. William Prior 

On the shores of Lake Superior, anyone who can’t get enough of ghost stories in Michigan will want to plan a visit to Big Bay Point Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast. Guests can stay the night in the actual lighthouse, said to be haunted by many former lighthouse keepers (experts report at least five frequent flyers).

Most notably, the first lighthouse keeper, H. William Prior, is said to haunt the lighthouse and the local area, stricken with grief after an accident claimed the life of his son, who lived with him as an assistant keeper. Prior is said to have taken his own life out of anguish. Visitors report hearing sobs, wails, and sounds of anger as Prior can’t escape his grief, even in death.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Related: Try to explain these 8 urban legends, haunted hotspots, and ghost sightings in Michigan