Michigan's Most Haunted Bridges- Old Stronach Bridge in Manistee #hauntedbridges



The name "Manistee" is thought to be an Ottawa word. It could be a derivation of ministigweyaa which means "river with islands at its mouth." Or it could be a version of an Ojibwa term that meant "spirit of the woods."

In 1830 the village of Manistee was one of about 15 Ottawa (Odawa) villages along the shore of Lake Michigan. Much of Manistee was designated as an Odawa Reservation from 1836-1848.

Stronach is a small town in Manistee County. It was originally settled as Paggeotville then renamed in 1841 when John & Adam Stronach built a sawmill on Manistee Lake and another on the Manistee River.

In 1849 the Native reservation on the land was dismantled and the land was given to white settlers.

On October 8, 1871, a fire swept through the town, decimating over half of the city.

Legend says that an entire family burned to death in a house near the Old Stronach Bridge: mom, dad, and two children.

People often see apparitions of people on the bridge including two children. They also hear splashes in the water and children laughing. The bridge and the water are thought to have been a happy playground of the children who were killed in the fire.



The Old Stronach Cemetery is small but scary cemetery right down the road from the bridge. 



Nearby on Maple Street in Manistee is the Ramsdell Theatre that is plagued with electrical disturbances that many attributes to ghosts, possibly to the ghost of Mr. Ramsdell himself who has been spotted roaming about the old theatre with an unknown ghostly gal.  The ghost of a little girl has been spotted in the basement.

A Stream of Darkness by Avery Kilpatrick #urbanfantasy


A Stream of Darkness
Crymsen Crescent
Book One
Avery Kilpatrick

Genre: Urban Fantasy, New Adult with a dash of romance
Publisher: Avery Kilpatrick
Date of Publication: July 31, 2020
ASIN: B08DQRLCNC
ISBN: 9798645700447
Word Count: 62,358


Cover Artist: Warren Design

Book Description:

A reformed killer, a dragon agent, and a lone shifter must work together to investigate four abductions…

I've always had a close relationship with death.

Six years ago, I was the Renegade, the Wolf of Eden, terrorizing the streets of a small town in Mississippi. Now, after a plea deal that saved my life, I work for the police as a consultant and unofficial cop.

Obsidian Moon, the Underworlder police agency, isn't doing anything about the disappearances of four college women. It falls to my shoulders while I'm stressing over my college assignments and the new transfer who thinks testing my control is a great pasttime.

Then there's him. The mystery shifter who danced with me at a club and reminds me of home.  And he seems to be more than just a random stranger who walked up to an ex-murderer and danced rather than fight.

But I have bigger concerns than two sexy men on my tail as a stream of darkness hangs over Paradise Grove.

The opening of a new series, A Stream of Darkness, will have you guessing at every turn and turning the pages to learn more.


Excerpt:

I sidestepped the ramming bull—well, technically, he was a werewolf—and watched with growing amusement as he slammed into the bar.
As one of the more prominent clubs on the Quad, Mirage was filled to the brim with writhing bodies hypnotized by the pulsing music that resounded from the DJ’s throne. The walls thrummed with the powerful beats and siren acoustics coaxed people into drowning themselves in alcohol. Flashing lights of gold and sapphire, of ruby and amethyst, of emerald and topaz, cast colorful shadows on the clubbers who watched the growing brawl in amusement and fear.
I cocked my head to the side and ebony-gray curls swayed to the left as mint eyes burned like a raging pyre as I watched him stumble to his feet. A Cheshire Cat smirk pulled my lips back over elongated canines that gleamed under the colorful neon lights. “OlĂ©!”
The bar, a mix of black quartz and wood, won this round as it remained unharmed. The werewolf shook his head, the tightly braided red curls bouncing lightly against the left side of his skull. His jade eyes were glazed in confusion and there were flecks of pale yellow from the wolf peering through his gaze as his temper grew shorter. He held a hand to his side and attempted to take a deep breath only to hiss quietly. Though wolves, like most Underworlders, could heal themselves through either magic or blood, it took time to fix fractured bones. His linebacker build didn’t help matters either as he held out another hand to grip the bar to steady himself.
He snarled, a rumbling sound that probably caused him more pain than he let on. Our audience murmured as the less than sober patrons realized that the scar dominating my face wasn’t just any old scar from a run-in gone awry. Flowing from my left jaw to the bridge of my nose, the puckered, jagged scar was as much a moniker as a reminder of my “sin.”  
“Mind givin’ me another shot, Izzy?” I drawled, my gaze never once leaving the wolf in front of me as we circled each other.
Izzy was already working on my drink before the last word left my mouth. Her hands flashed after working for years as a bartender on the fast-paced Quad, and she wasn’t at all bothered by the brawl in front of her. “I should be cutting you off, Luce, but since alcohol doesn’t effect you—what the hell, right?”
Pink eyes remained amused as she watched the crowd around us groan while money exchanged hands. She had her long, straight platinum locks pulled into a ponytail as two square strips caressed the sides of her sharp cheeks. Placing the shot glass on the tabletop, she placed a fifty-dollar bill beside it with a good-natured grumble.
I chuckled, and the redheaded wolf took the momentary distraction as a chance to tackle me. Sidestepping him, I placed my hands on his back—barely a brush of my fingertips—and slammed my knee into his abdomen. The crunch of bone and the wheeze of air as a rib punctured his lung reached my ears, and my glittering eyes narrowed as he collapsed at my feet with a groan. Either he was truly a newbie with fighting a petite woman like me, or he was attacking with emotion rather than logical reasoning.
As my father would say, he was fighting for his pride and not for survival.
Heading to the bar to collect my shot, I tossed it back with a hearty sigh as the burn slid down my throat. Without me asking, Izzy refilled my glass, and I repeated the action before slamming the shot down on the bar as stumbling steps reached my ears over the roar of the music and drunken crowd. Sighing, I glanced over a narrow shoulder to see the wolf clutching his side as blood dripped from his bottom lip. He just would not accept defeat, no matter how much bigger a predator I was.
“Look, sourpuss,” I adjusted the fingerless gloves on my hands and rolled the sleeves of my leather jacket to my elbows. Pulling my thick, ebony curls behind me, I continued, “I’d hate to kill your pride in front of all these people, but I’ll gladly do it if you’re raring for a good ol’ fight.”

Glaring at me, he clenched his teeth at the calm indifference in my voice as I was not at all intimidated by his hulking form or the flecks of gold in his eyes. He towered over my five-two frame and I looked like a sixteen-year-old girl with a blunt mouth that got me into trouble, but I wasn’t joking around this time.


About the Author:

Avery Kilpatrick was born in Flowood, Mississippi, in April 1996. Raised in a small town in the Mississippi Delta, she has a fondness for nature and the cotton fields that create Southern snow pastures in the fall. After writing her first novel when she was thirteen, Avery decided to pursue her dream as an author at a young age.

An alumnus of Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, Avery graduated with a Bachelor’s in English. She also worked on the student-run newspaper, The Delta Statement, during her four-year career at Delta State as copy-editor and Editor-in-Chief.

Avery currently lives in a ranch-style home in her hometown in Greenwood, Mississippi. The mother of three fur babies, Cinnamon the spoiled cat, Ginger the rambunctious old lady, and Remington a.k.a. Remi the service dog, Avery has enough fur from shedding animals to make a fourth pet. When Avery isn’t busy writing her next novel, she goes on walks with her mother and dogs, watches Outlander or Criminal Minds on Netflix, or can be found curled up on the couch with Cinnamon reading a good book.







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Michigan's Most Haunted Bridges- Trowbridge Road Bridge in Bloomfield #hauntedbridges




This concrete T-Beam bridge that crossed over the Grand Trunk Railroad was built 1930 by A. Guthrie and Company. Decorative false arches gave it a unique appearance.

It is 231 feet long, with a 44-foot-wide deck carrying a 30-foot-wide roadway. The odd thing is, Trowbridge Road itself is less than a mile long and basically ends at the bridge.

The bridge was closed in early 2017 and slated for demolition in 2019.

Sad stories claim that numerous teens have committed suicide by jumping from the bridge 100 feet to their deaths on the railroad tracks below.


Spray-painted names on and around the bridge are said to be the names of those who jumped to their deaths.

Many strange things happen to people who decide to stroll across the bridge- unseen hands that push you toward the edge, disembodied voices that come from nowhere, and the occasional human shaped shadow that lurks at the edge of the bridge.

In article from C&G News about Detroit Hauntings a man was interviewed who claimed he heard an urban legend about the bridge being tied to satanic rituals:

Michael Babbish, of St. Clair Shores, grew up near the bridge and heard folklore passed down through generations about the location.
“Everyone knew it was a haunted place growing up. It was just kind of known,” he said. “I’ve heard multiple stories about what happened there to make it haunted, but I have no idea. No one knows exactly.”
He said a priest confirmed to him once that, long ago, local teens conducted some kind of satanic ritual there.
“What I hear is there was some type of incident that happened at Trowbridge in the ’40s or ’50s that involved the death of some type of high schooler or middle schooler, and it is suspected some kind of witchcraft or satantic ritual led to a mass suicide kind of thing, but (the story) changed every time.”
Many visitors have claimed to see the spirits of children and teenagers on the bridge and hear the screams of those who jumped to their death.



Michigan's Most Haunted Bridges - Oakwood Avenue Bridge in Owosso #hauntedbridges



The Oakwood Avenue bridge was built in 1876 by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company
Adjacent to the Kiwanis Park this is a pedestrian only bridge over the Shiawassee River.

This Whipple through truss bridge was once open to vehicular traffic but when a new bridge was built on Gould Street in 1975 the Oakwood was turned into a local landmark perfect for leisurely strolls.

At some point after becoming a footbridge it was repainted blue after years of being a salmon pink color giving it the nickname, the Pink Bridge.


Photographer Nathan Holth

An old urban legend claims that two young lovers decided to end their lives by jumping off the bridge.

No one knows why these 18 years decided to create suicide pact or exactly when this occurred though https://99wfmk.com/ claims the story happened around 1900.

For years people have claimed to see apparitions of the two young lovers on the bridge. Others have seen a horrific replay of their suicide. The two seem to be doomed to repeat their deaths over and over again.

Michigan's Most Haunted Cemeteries - Blood Cemetery in Laingsburg




The creep factor of this cemetery probably started with the name, Blood. That’s enough to get the imagination going.

There are several urban legends about the cemetery.

The stories all seem to feature Doctor Blood.

The wealthy Blood family lived in the area in 1800's. They even built their own cemetery on the land. The last surviving member of the family was Dr. Blood. He lived in a creepy old mansion next to the cemetery, which became known as Blood House. The legend claims that the doctor shot his wife with a shotgun then hacked her body to bits with an ax. Then he hung himself from a tree in the cemetery. Now the ghosts of Dr. and Mrs. Blood haunt the cemetery.

Another version of the urban legend claims that the ghost of Doctor Blood will try to murder anyone who visits the cemetery on Halloween night.

One detailed version of the urban legend features a more modern version of Dr. Blood and the demise of his wife.

One Halloween night a bunch of teens visited the cemetery. They spotted a ghostly figure moving among the gravestones, this spooked them so much they decided to make a quick exit. But as they were leaving one boy decided to dare another to go into the old Blood Mansion.

Of course he took the dare.

After about an hour the boy had not come out. His friends were terrified to go in so they drove to the nearest police station. The sheriff on duty said, Don’t you know old Dr. Blood lives there? He doesn’t like anyone trespassing on his property.

When they arrived back at the old mansion it was ablaze. The police called the fire department who tried to put out the flames but the house burned to the ground.

After the fire was out they sifted through the rubble and found the charred remains of the missing teen boy. His hands and feet were bound and a shotgun and bloody axe were found beside him.

A freshly dug grave was found in the cemetery. They dug it up and found the headless body of woman in a red gown. It was Mrs. Blood.

Many have claimed to see a headless and armless woman in a white nightgown wandering the cemetery late at night. Others claim to see Dr. Blood patrolling the land to keep trespassers away. Orbs and cold spots have been experienced by ghost hunters along with a weird feeling emanating off a big old tree.

There are several stories about teens who visited the cemetery and regretted it. Many have claimed to see Dr. Blood with an ax in one hand and a shotgun in the other.

One teen couple crashed their motorcycle after visiting the cemetery. In 1989 two teen girls wanted to check out the legend but the car spun out of control and crashed into Round Lake where they drowned trapped in the car.

In the book Ghost Hunting Michigan, Bradley P. Mikulka recounts a story that a friend told him about a group of four bored teenagers looking for something fun to do. They grabbed some beer and went to the cemetery. A few drinks in the boys started getting loud and taunting the spirits.  After not getting any response they decided the place wasn’t haunted. As they were getting ready to leave they heard a growl from by the caretaker’s shed. 

They looked in that direction and spotted red eyes staring at them. They decided to high tail it out of there fast.

But the car wouldn’t move. No matter how much gas they gave it, it just wouldn’t go. One guy got out to see if they were stuck on something. What he saw chilled him to the bone. A large creature around seven feet tall with wings and glowing red eyes.

He jumped back in the car and screamed “punch it”. The car finally spun its wheels and took off.  He told his friends about the creature and they all looked back to see the red eyes following them. No matter how fast they went they didn’t lose it. They sped through town trying to lose the beast behind them. They were so terrified they ran a red light and were t-boned by a semi. The only survivor was in the backseat on the passenger side. He told his story to the police but passed away a few days later.

The only thing known to be true is that a family named Blood lived there in the 1800s and there was a car accident involving a group of scared teens. 

The Blood Cemetery is on Lancaster Road, East of Westgate Drive.

Want to hear more about Blood Cemetery and Blood House? 

Listen to this episode of the So Dead Podcast with Haunted Lansing author Jenn Carpenter.

Michigan's Most Haunted Bridges - The Mackinac Bridge #hauntedbridges



The Mackinac Bridge has been a symbol of Michigan since it opened in 1957. The glorious suspension bridge graces Michigan license plates, driver’s licenses, tickets, artwork, and tourist items.

Before the bridge opened on November 1, 1957, there was a ferry system in place that shuttled cars and passengers between Michigan’s lower and upper peninsulas.

It’s not surprising that a bridge of this magnitude and age has a few ghost stories attached to it.

Honestly, I’m just surprised there aren’t more.

Most of the spirit sightings appear as normal people walking across the bridge…then they disappear when you approach them. Some people have also claimed to hear a baby crying though there are no records that can be found concerning the death of an infant on the bridge.

But there are many other deaths connected to the Mighty Mac.

On September 10, 1978 three Marine Corps Reserve officers died when their private aircraft collided with one of the suspender cables. The impact occurred 80 feet above the roadway and 120 feet south of the north tower. No damage occurred to the bridge but the wings of the Cessna 182 were sheared off. Visibility issues from fog were determined to be the cause of the crash.

Police divers recovered two bodies on the day of the accident. The third was recovered inside the sunken plane the next day. The men who perished were identified as Major Virgil Osborne, Captain Wayne Wisbrock, and Captain James Robbins.

5 men were killed during the construction of the bridge and another died during maintenance in 1997.

Over the years there have been a number of suicides and accidental deaths. According to the Battle Creek Enquirer a Livingston County resident died after jumping off the Mackinac Bridge in April 2014. In January 2010, a Gaylord nurse jumped to her death off the bridge, and in 2007, three people jumped to their deaths in separate incidents.

The most famous incident occurred on September 22, 1989, when 31-year-old Leslie Ann Pluhar was speeding across the bridge at 60 mph in her 1987 Yugo. 48-mph wind gusts caused her to lose control. "Her car veered left onto the bridge's 4-inch-high median and then back across the northbound lanes, hitting a curb and jumping an outer guardrail." (Detroit Free Press) The little car plunged off the Mackinac Bridge into the icy waters of the Straits of Mackinac. 

The horrifying accident gripped the state with terror and made national headlines.

Leslie’s family suffered for eight days while waiting for her body to be recovered. Because of stormy conditions, the crews couldn’t get in the water to search. The depth of the vehicle in the cold water was also a factor in the recovery delay. They finally found the vehicle using sonar 4 days into the search. It was perched on a ledge about 150- feet below the surface but they had to wait another 4 days to retrieve it because the weather was so stormy.

It took 12 divers over 10 hours to pull the crumpled Yugo from the murky water. Pluhar's family watched from a small boat close by. Hundreds of people gathered in Mackinaw City to witness the grisly reveal as the cold waters finally released the wrecked vehicle. It was so mangled from the impact it took them hours to remove Pluhar's body so her family could positively identify her.

For years Michigan residents wondered how could such an accident happen? Was the bridge not safe to cross?

Lawsuits plagued the Mackinac Bridge Authority and the Michigan Department of Transportation for years until 1994 when they were finally settled.



The bridge’s safety measures were not changed and driver error was considered to be the cause of Leslie’s accident. 

A thorough report of the incident can be found in the book Mackinac Bridge A 50 Year Chronicle by Mike Fornes.

On March 2, 1997, 25-year-old Richard Alan Daraban drove his Ford Bronco off the Bridge.  On purpose. Richard paid his toll and then raced across the bridge at 65 mph before sharply swerving, going over the guardrail, and plunging into the icy straits below. The incident was considered to be a suicide.

The Straits of Mackinac and nearby Mackinac Island have their fair share of ghostly tales.


A spectral ship, the W.H. Gilcher, haunts the straits and there are over one hundred reports of hauntings on the island. It’s no wonder that a historical area that has seen bloodshed and battle would have ghosts.

The W.H. Gilcher sank in the stormy waters of Lake Michigan on October 28, 1892, just two months after its sister ship, the Western Reserve, went down in Lake Superior.

The Gilcher was last seen passing through the Straits of Mackinac with a crew of twenty one men. When morning came and the storm had cleared all that was left of the ship was debris floating in the straits near the entrance to Lake Michigan. The crew all perished and the wreck was never found.

But the spectral W.H. Gilcher has been spotted on occasion just north of Presque Isle near Mackinac Island. Sometimes just a glimpse of it is caught in the fog of the straits and the eerie sound of a long-ago fog horn blows to shore.

The ghost of Captain Lloyd Weeks has been seen at the wheel when the phantom ship has sailed into calm waters under the bright sun happy to be out of the fog.

Ghosts have been reported all over Mackinac Island. The Grand Hotel, rumored to have been built over several burial grounds, has had numerous reports of ghostly activity. 

Spectral soldiers and Victorian-era spooks haunt the halls of the Grand. A man in a top hat likes to appear in the piano bar before disappearing in a  puff of smoke and lingering song. A Victorian lady loves to curl up with hotel employees while they’re trying to sleep and maintenance men have given terrified reports of encountering an evil entity with glowing red eyes. The black shadowy mass attacked one man sending him to the hospital. He was so scared he refused to return to the hotel.

Another haunted hot spot is the Mission Point Resort where the spirit of a spurned student who committed suicide haunts the grounds. He tends to be a flirt and likes to pinch and poke female visitors and play practical jokes. Spectral Native Americans and soldiers are often seen walking the grounds of the resort.

Pine Cottage and the Island House Hotel have ghost stories, too. The island also has spooky tales about The Drowning Pool, Devil’s Kitchen, and numerous cemetery haunts.


One of the best articles about Pluhar's accident

Pumpkins and Party Themes Virtual Book Release Party




Virtual Book Release Party for Pumpkins and Party Themes
Tuesday, August 25, 2020 at 3 PM – 6 PM


Join Roxanne for a virtual book release party for Pumpkins and Party Themes: 50 DIY Designs to Bring Your Halloween Extravaganza to Life

Roxanne will be available live in the Facebook event for virtual book signings, an Author Q&A, an Author Chat, Games, Prizes, and Virtual Vending with The Bewitching Cauldron.

Sign up to receive a signed bookplate to add to your physical book.