The Luxurious Haunting at the Grand Hotel at Mackinac Island

A Brief History of Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island’s history stretches back thousands of years, with indigenous peoples such as the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Huron considering it a sacred place long before European settlers arrived. The island’s name itself, derived from the Ojibwe word “Michilimackinac,” means “big turtle,” referring to the island’s shape when viewed from above.

Read more: Check out all ghost stories from Mackinac Island

The French established a fur trading post here in the 17th century, and the island later became a strategic military outpost during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. In the late 19th century, it became more of a summer colony and a tourist destination that it still is.

**Mackinac Island:** Cars were banned at the end of the nineteenth century due to health and safety concerns for the island’s residents and horses, as local carriage drivers said it scared their horses. This, together with the old historic houses and lush nature makes you feel like stepping back in time and welcoming old ghosts to linger.

The Grand Hotel: A Luxurious Haunt

The Grand Hotel at Mackinac Island has become an iconic symbol of the island, is as famous for its opulence as it is for its ghostly residents. Built in 1887, this sprawling hotel has hosted numerous notable guests—and a few uninvited spectral ones.

Read More: check out all ghost stories from haunted hotels

The Grand Hotel is located on Grand Avenue is one of the most recognizable buildings with its 660-foot porch said to be the longest in the world. It was built in 1887 for the rich rail and steamship passengers.

Movies have been filmed here and presidents and celebrities have stayed here. And according to some, so does the dead.

The Mass Graves Found on Mackinac Island

In 2011 developers of a new hotel discovered a mass grave downtown on Mackinac Island. They had a plan of building a three storey hotel at the site. Before the hotel construction started, there was a building known as the MacNally Cottage at the location. Some think that the cottage was built on a Catholic cemetery of the St. Anne’s Catholic Church who closed the cemetery in December in 1851. where there were many native american members as well. The police said that there were some bones belonging to animals, but there were also human bones. The human bones found were likely from the Sault Ste Marie Tribe of the Chippewa natives. Many hundred bones were unearthed.

The tribal members came to reclaim and rebury the remains to give them a traditional ceremony, but the building of the hotel went on ahead as well. The next year a few bones were discovered on the site of a remodel for a Main Street store. So it’s safe to say that most of the construction work on Mackinac Island will dig up some bones. Which begs the question, what did they find when they first built the Grand Hotel in 1887?

According to the lore, they found so many bones and bodies during construction that they were unable to keep track of them. Who were the people buried here? Were they Anishinaabe Chiefs, warring tribes, or the fallen European soldiers from the wars fought on the land? We don’t really know, because they decided to build on top of them without removing the skeletons in the ground or doing further investigations. Some say that this has angered the spirits, and awakened them to haunt the Grand Hotel.

The Ghosts of the Grand Hotel

So what are the ghost stories inside of the Grand Hotel at Mackinac Island? According to the staff, they keep hearing and seeing things they can’t explain, when they clock in for the morning shift, they find furniture has mysteriously moved. There are many different entities that are said to be the ones haunting the Grand Hotel. Here are some of the legends:

The Lady in Black

One of the most well-known spirits is the “Lady in Black,” believed to be a former guest who never checked out. Guests and staff have reported seeing the spirit of a young woman wearing Victorian era clothing, wandering the halls, particularly near the hotel’s grand staircase or walking a large dog on the porch after dark. She has even been said to get into bed with the other living guests.

The Haunting Black Mass

Another peculiar thing that is said to be haunting the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island is a sort of evil entity, appearing for staff and guests as a black mass with glowing red eyes.

A maintenance man was once working at the theater stage at the hotel. According to him, there was suddenly a black mass rushing after him, knocking him off his feet and out. Two days later he woke up from the fall and decided to never go back to the hotel.

**Haunted Hotel:** There is said to be more than one ghost haunting the hotel. //Source: Photo of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island during the late 1920’s.

Other Ghost Haunting the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island

Another frequent sighting is that of an elderly man in a top hat lingering around the hotel’s bar and piano room, smoking a cigar. Those who see him claim that he disappears when approached.

Another is the ghost of Little Rebecca, who passed away on the grounds and haunts the fourth floor, being spotted floating or walking through the halls and disappearing to nowhere.