Community Corner
This Little Island Is Supposedly Michigan's Scariest Place To Visit
If you're looking for a spooky adventure, you may want to check out this little place because its legends are truly horrifying.
MICHIGAN — Michigan has a rich history when it comes to ghost stories and paranormal history, but one popular travel magazine believes a little island in Lake Michigan is the creepiest of them all.
Ghostly thrill-seekers may want to check out South Manitou Island, as its legends have convinced the magazine it's the most haunted place in the entire state, according to a Thrillist. The island sits roughly 16 miles off the coast of Leelanau County in northern Michigan.
"16 miles offshore from Lake Michigan's Leelanau Peninsula, South Manitou is home to 300-foot sand dunes, deserted shores, and empty campgrounds," the magazine said. "And with respect to the abandoned buildings of Detroit and Flint, it’s about as creepy as you can get in Michigan."
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The popular magazine cited two of the island's legends, in which one is to believe that a ship of cholera-stricken passengers stopped at the island, and the sailors buried them in a mass grave while some were still alive.
The other legend revolves around the SS Francisco Morazan, which ran aground on the island's coast in 1960, and a young boy died trying to explore the shipwreck on his own.
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The magazine also said that voices are often heard hallowing from the island's two cemeteries and through a cedar forest.
South Manitou Island is one of two off the coast of Michigan's Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore coast in Leelanau County. It is also part of an island chain in Lake Michigan that extends north to the Straits of Mackinac.
The island is also widely recognized for its dense history and three miles of sandy beaches that are only accessible by ferry. In addition, the island features unique sand dune formations, ten miles of pebble beaches and a grove of old growth white cedars that date back over 500 years.
The Manitou Passage State Underwater Preserve was established in 1988 to conserve the historic and archeological value of over fifty known shipwreck sites, dating from 1835 to 1960.
Other spooky attractions you may want to check out across the state:
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