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Haunted Grand Rapids

dbrok

By dbrok
in Grand Rapids

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dbrok Hamlet

dbrok

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With Halloween approaching, it might be fun to share some stories or rumors about local buildings that might be haunted. A story that I've come across is the supposed ghosts that appear from time to time at the Michigan Bell Telephone building at the corner of Fountain and Division. The building sits on the former Judd-White house built before 1900. A railroad worker and his wife moved in around 1907. Apparently the guy lost his leg in an accident and had a wooden replacement that he beat his wife with. He then gassed both of them to death one of the rooms. Their ghosts began haunting the old house, and the new Telephone building after it was constructed, terrorizing employees and making strange late night phone calls.

Here's the full story

Does anyone know anything about the Michigan Bell building? Are there other stories about ghosts and haunted places around the city?

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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There are reportedly a bunch in Grand Rapids, including the Civic Theatre, Amway Grand and even Studio 28 :P

I'm sure everyone has heard of the Ada Witch, and I also recently found out about "Hell's Bridge" in Algoma Township along the Rogue River, which I actually went and visited with some co-workers. My hair is standing up just thinking about it.

http://theshadowlands.net/places/michigan.htm

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torgo Town

torgo

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My grandfather's house and a lot of others on Burton/Grandville/Lee/Godfrey are haunted. Supposedly this district was built on a landfill. Maybe someone dumped dead bodies there?

^ :huh: Did GR ever have a strong mafia presence? :lol:

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ModSquad Hamlet

ModSquad

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With Halloween approaching, it might be fun to share some stories or rumors about local buildings that might be haunted. A story that I've come across is the supposed ghosts that appear from time to time at the Michigan Bell Telephone building at the corner of Fountain and Division. The building sits on the former Judd-White house built before 1900. A railroad worker and his wife moved in around 1907. Apparently the guy lost his leg in an accident and had a wooden replacement that he beat his wife with. He then gassed both of them to death one of the rooms. Their ghosts began haunting the old house, and the new Telephone building after it was constructed, terrorizing employees and making strange late night phone calls.

Here's the full story

Does anyone know anything about the Michigan Bell building? Are there other stories about ghosts and haunted places around the city?

My daughter attended Aquinas College for two years. The main administrative building on the campus Holmdeyne (sp?) has some incredible haunting stories surrounding it. Many of these stories have been confirmed by eye witnesses.

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ZachariahDaMan Burg

ZachariahDaMan

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I'm glad to see someone has made a post about ghosts on here. I have always been really interested in the paranormal.

Living in a suburb of Detroit I don't know of any place over there that are haunted but if you are really interested in the paranormal then there are a lot of Michigan-based websites with message boards you can join, http://www.ghostzoo.com is one I really like and some others are http://www.michiganghostbusters.org and http://www.semghs.org there is also the West Michigan Ghost Hunters Society at http://www.wmghs.com they don't have a message board though.

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ZachariahDaMan Burg

ZachariahDaMan

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I will post some supposed haunted places I have found out about online.

dbrok mentioned the Michigan Bell Building, here is the thread on Ghostzoo about it: http://www.ghostzoo.com/forum/Partagium/vi...ead.php?tid=171

GRDadof3 gave a link to Shadowlands but I thought I would post on here the places on there that they have listed as haunted:

Grand Rapids - Ameritech Building - Formerly Michigan Bell Telephone Company - on the corner of Fountain and Division. haunted by the Randall's , whose home stood on the ground where this building is today.

Grand Rapids - Amway Grand Plaza Hotel - in the old part (smoking section now). Objects moving on their own.

Grand Rapids - Aquinas College - Holmdene - It is rumored that this mansion (the former Lowe estate) located on the campus of Aquinas College is haunted with the spirit of one of the Lowe children_ a small boy who according to stories drown on the property. Night security guards report turning off all lights in the locked and secured building and having them mysteriously turn on once again. Reports of water faucets turning on have also been mentioned.

Grand Rapids - The Black Hills - A house Norwich St hosts a ghost. On the second story and in the far room at the right-hand side there is a ghost of a man that sometimes appears to be dressed in clothing from the 30's or 40's. Sometimes he appears to be an elderly man. At approximately 10:00 to 11:30 the specter wanders from the hallway and then hesitates at the doorway and then look like it is about to turn around. But then he walks into the room. The former residence to that place reported that the ghost walked to the middle of his room and stood there for minutes and then goes out into the hallway and stands. It is not known when he vanishes. He was last seen in 1996.

Grand Rapids - Cornerstone University - numerous stories of a girl that waits outside of Pickett Hall during very late hours. she is always claimed to wear the same dress, and is clothed in a fashion that resembles the 70's. the girl often vanishes when she notices she is being watched.

Grand Rapids - Cornerstone University - Pickett Hall - numerous stories of a girl that waits outside of Pickett Hall during very late hours. she is always claimed to wear the same dress, and is clothed in a fashion that resembles the 70's. the girl often vanishes when she notices she is being watched.

Grand Rapids - Grand Rapids Civic Theatre - Reports of an "evil presence" in the peanut gallery, gels flap in the lights, and people have been seen in the side bays or ducking behind curtains

Grand Rapids - Grand Rapids Home for Veterans - This Old Soldiers Home first opened in 1886 and its early residents were Civil War veterans. To the present day, ghostly men are seen on the grounds wearing Civil War garb.

Grand Rapids - St. Isidore School - Reports of water faucets going on all by themselves. There was one incident where a girl went to the upstairs bathroom and heard someone come in, but when she looked around no one was around.

Grand Rapids - Ottawa Hills High School - In North House Lecture Hall there is reports of strange noises such as water spilling on the floor, footsteps and things turning on by themselves. A girl who was dropped of early one morning decided to sit and wait in the hall until school had opened reports someone or something pulling her hair. In the first row, second seat on the right. Why these encounters are happening no one knows.

Grand Rapids - St. Stephens School - Around 1970,a mysterious fire broke out in the downstairs gymnasium and trapped a young girl named Susan in the girl's bathroom. Students reported hearing screams and hollers coming from a stall in the girls locker-room, and seeing no one there.

Grand Rapids - Studio 28 (theater) - There is a rumor of a ghost who haunts the projection booth by theater 13. Some employees have seen a shadowy figure dart across the booth. Others have noticed objects moving on their own.

Grand Rapids - West Catholic High School - There is a cemetery next to the high school that has a 'glowing nun' near one of the tombstones. You can only see this glowing nun during a full moon. When you see it, it is glowing and transparent. There is no logic of the source of light or why it glows like a hologram. After you drive past the tombstone - it disappears. Hundreds of cars would line up to see the glowing nun every full moon in the 1980's.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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There are also some others in Kent County

Algoma Township, Hell's Bridge - Old Man Friske killed his kids back in the 1800's (which Friske Road is named after) and dumped their bodies in a tributary that feeds the Rogue River. There is an old iron bridge on STATE OWNED LAND that crosses the tributary and works its way North along the Rogue. Apparently at midnight, if you stand on the bridge, you can hear Friske laughing and kids screaming and splashing in the water. Fisherman have also reported seeing a figure in the river very early in the morning at dawn. The bridge is still there and is very accessible. I've been on it.

Fallasburg Park, Cannonsburg - Haunted by a witch that was hung in the area in the 1800's

Grandville Cemetary - Extreme hauntings, and witnesses experiencing physical pain in the area

Greenville, Frigidaire Factory - Haunted by an employee that died while driving home after being fired

Rockford, Wolverine World Wide Factory - Shadow man stands over employees, follows people to the bathroom, follows people to break and pulls out a chair, and other strange occurences

Kentwood, Velvet House - Mother and daughter talk to each other, and a figure of a cat runs around

And others in Holland and Muskegon

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fluffy Whistle-Stop

fluffy

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I was getting all creeped out reading this the other day. I really need to visit some of these places again.

Not the Grandville Cemetary though. I don't need "physical pain in the area." I like my area and do not need any pain there.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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I was getting all creeped out reading this the other day. I really need to visit some of these places again.

Not the Grandville Cemetary though. I don't need "physical pain in the area." I like my area and do not need any pain there.

:rofl: I don't quite think that is what they meant. Although, it is Grandville....

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GR_Urbanist Burg

GR_Urbanist

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After my grandmother died, my family started to clean out her home. I decided to take some photos of the house, one of which was a photo of the wall that had her television. This television was turned off.

After getting the pictures developed I came to this particular shot. Inside the television was several faces looking outward. All of their eyes were black, almost like holes. My mom still has that photo somewhere..

I've also had aunts that lived in a house on the SE side that had unexplained cold spots, bibles that opened on their own and a ghost of a young boy in early 20th century clothes. They were so freaked out that they had to leave and stay with my family. As they cleared the last of their things out of the house when they moved, they looked at the 2nd floor and saw 2 pairs of glowing red eyes looking back at them. :blink:

Oops! hit the wrong reply button again! :blush:

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mateo Crossroads

mateo

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The house my wife and I currently live in sat empty for decades before we bought and rehabbed it in 2000. No one could really understand why the previous owner had refused to do anything with it or let anyone near it. Neighborhood rumor was that she had killed her husband and buried him in the basement. Doing the first walk-thru was creepy--It was kinda like entering the twilight zone--calendar on the wall read 1974. Beds were still made. Clothes still in the closets. Plates still in the cupboards. Food still in the refrigerator!!!

(unfortunantly no well-aged liquor though) We were actually very relieved to find out at closing that he (the husband) was apperently still alive and had a lien on the place. :P

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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So, now that night has fallen, I will give this thread a bump. Did anyone go to the link and pick their favorite scariest scene? :ph34r:

#9 from Exorcist III is probably one of the scariest scenes I've seen. The whole scene takes so long and really makes you wonder what the heck is going on, until it happens! :w00t:

http://www.retrocrush.com/scary/09.html

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charmed1j Crossroads

charmed1j

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I personally live only a few miles from Friske Rd - in Algoma - where Hell's Bridge is supposedly at. Today, with the flood water so high - apparently not the best day to go find it - LOL

All I saw was a tiny little metal walk bridge, not like a real bridge, but either way - I couldn't get to it due to the water level. Tons of briar bushes out there though - and MUD! LOL

Nothing creepy at all. - But then, I do not think that was the right bridge, either.

I did stop by the Overlook at the Rockford Dam, where it is stated a small boy drown. Upon going to the overlook, my brother and myself both became instantly nauseaus. I was fine when I got away from that area. There was a gigantic swan to distract me a few moments later, but whenever we got to the overlook area, it was sickening. Very Wierd.

My mom, brother, boyfriend and myself plan on investigating all the "haunted" areas in our area, which pretty much covers most of West Michigan.

The Boyfriend and I live in Rockford, and Mom and Kev live in Ionia.

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