Amberrose Hammond - Ghosts and Legends of Michigans West Coast

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2009 by Amberrose Hammond

All rights reserved

First published 2009

Second printing 2010

e-book edition 2012

ISBN 978.1.61423.411.1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hammond, Amberrose.

Ghosts and legends of Michigans west coast / Amberrose Hammond.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

print edition ISBN 978-1-59629-663-3 (alk. paper)

1. Ghosts--Michigan. 2. Haunted places--Michigan. I. Title.

BF1472.U6H355 2009

133.109774--dc22

2009026269

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is dedicated to Michigans paranormal world and the people who explore it. May it continue to create awe and inspiration, always leaving us with the feeling that theres something extra going on in our little, mundane world.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank The History Press for giving me the opportunity to write my first book on a topic I have loved since I was a kid; Tom Maat, my partner in crime, for all of his help, support, driving, pictures and late-night rumrunners at the Tip; Jeanette Weiden in the local history/genealogy department and the rest of my helpful co-workers at Loutit District Library for helping me find old, forgotten information; Troy Taylor and Rosemary Ellen Guiley for inspiring me years ago with their wonderful books; Julie Williams for listening to me go onand on and on; my buddy Jason Gowin for reminding me that if I didnt do certain things, I wouldnt be Amber; my friends and family for putting up with and supporting my crazy ghost-hunting ways; and lastly, Ghostly Talk Paranormal Radio out of Warren, Michigan, and its co-ghost and my better half, Scott Lambert, for their continued efforts to bring quality information to the paranormal world.

INTRODUCTION

What if there really are ghosts in this world? What if there are grains of truth hiding within the stories and legends? This is what keeps many, if not most of us, on a search for the unknown, the spooky and the strange, especially if its close to home. You probably have that urge yourself, hence the reason you picked up this very book! Ghosts have inspired people throughout the ages. From creepy tales told around a campfire on a summers night to great authors like Edgar Allan Poe and even Shakespeare, theres no doubt that ghost stories are a part of our world and are here to stay. For some, they are just entertaining stories, but for others, they are very real experiences. There are hundreds of thousands of events that normal people have experienced that cant be explained. We cant deny that there is something in this world beyond our normal senses.

Whether you call Michigans west coast home or are just a passing tourist enjoying our coastal beaches and unique sand dunes, you should know that Michigan isnt short of ghost stories and legends. Tales of spectral ships, haunted lighthouses, unexplained creatures and ghosts walking among the living are all part of Michigans rich ghost lore. The tales in this book are written as I have learned them or as they have been told to me. No doubt, there are slight variations of each. I have been studying and investigating Michigans paranormal world since 2000, and collected here are some of my favorite stories about Michigans west coast. Some stories are well over one hundred years old, and a few are new ghost stories in the making. Some of the tales in this book involve my own personal experiences with the paranormal through investigations and talking with all kinds of people about their supernatural experiences.

Ghosts and legends are a fun part of what makes us human. When we dont understand something, we tend to create a story to help explain it. Many ghost stories and legends come from unexplainable and mysterious events that become stories and are passed down through generations. Native Americans used legends to illuminate the hidden world around them and how it operated. These tales taught lessons and had meaning. Our modern-day ghost stories have meaning as well. They give us hope that there is something beyond our physical plane of existence, and they keep a little bit of wonder in our thoughts. A ghost story told at night takes us back to a time when the home was lit with oil lamps and the nights were darker than dark, not polluted by the light of nearby cities. So wait until night to pick up this book, grab a flashlight and throw a blanket over your head (it doesnt matter if youre all grown up)and better yet, wait for a stormy night. Happy Hauntings!

THE GHOST OF THE GRAND THEATRE

Sometimes work is the only thing people know. Their jobs become their lives, and in the case of John Buchanan, former custodian of the old Grand Theatre in Grand Haven, it became an afterlife as well. Many believe that John haunted the building when it was up and running as a movie theatre and maybe continues to do so to this day.

The Grand Theatre opened its doors on January 23, 1928, at a time when motion pictures were just starting to become popular. Vaudeville shows were still traveling the nation, and the word Hollywood was fresh to the ears. The Grand Theatre stage was equipped for plays and traveling shows, complete with dressing rooms behind the stage and in the basement. Traveling troupes and even the old freak shows entertained the people of Grand Haven, and from those old vaudeville troupes, the first rumors of ghosts in the dark corners of the building started to surface.

The original L-shaped theatre was built for about $380,000 and was inspired by Italian design, with its stucco roof and ornate tile work on the front lobby roof. The theatre boasted 833 seats for filmgoers. Frank Fisher was a longtime manager of the Grand for over twenty years from the 1940s to the 1960s. Having been on the vaudeville circuit with his wife for many years, Frank knew many of the actors who were appearing in the movies of his time and was able to bring a little bit of Hollywood to Grand Haven.

Many decades later, the 1990s brought about the dawn of the multiscreen theatre, and it became difficult for a single-screen movie house to compete. In 1996, Amy Lake and husband, D.T. LaVercombe, bought the theatre and hoped to do something exciting with the place, but as rumor circulated about a multi-screen theatre coming into Grand Haven, the end looked like it was near. The husband-and-wife duo tried to breathe life into the building one last time by getting a liquor license. They offered beer and wine with dinner during the movie, later renovating the old seating to add tables to create a dinner-and-a-movie experience. While it was a fun idea, it wasnt enough, and the pair sold the building to local businessman Steve Loftis. Many ideas bounced around about making a fine arts center or a fancy hotel out of the building, but in the end, the theatre portion of the Grand met its end with a wrecking ball to make room for high-end condominiums. It was a sad day as people poked around the rubble of the building, picking up a brick or two as souvenirs of times gone by.