Haunted Holy Cross Orphanage

Holy Cross Orphanage

Holy Cross, located in Marquette, Michigan, opened its doors in 1915.

Many of its residents over the years were not actually orphans.

In fact, one of the first groups to use the building was 80 Native American children and 8 nuns. The Catholic Church had ruthlessly removed these children from their families intending to “assimilate them.”

Other children sent to Holy Cross over the years lived with single parents who could not care for them.

In 1963, this orphanage accepted a group of refugee children from Fidel Castro’s Cuba.

At its peak, this orphanage housed over 200 residents. The nuns kept a strict schedule for their charges.

Up for breakfast, always cereal, at 9:00 a.m., classes promptly at 9:00 a.m. and playtime in the afternoons, always outside, even in bad weather.

Now adults, former residents of Holy Cross, have reported experiencing extreme mental and physical abuse at the Orphanage--meter out by the “holy sisters.”

One story shared involves a little girl who stayed outside after the rest of the children had been called in—by a horn used to announce playtime was over.

It was winter, and a blizzard hit. She like most of the residents did not have a warm coat. The result was she caught pneumonia and died.

The nuns callously displayed this little girl’s body for everyone to see. They used it as a warning to listen. Former residents state it shocked and horrified them.

The nuns regularly used cruel punishments to keep the orphans under control. One method used, actually by many orphanages at the time, was small closets.

The children were placed in these and kept in complete darkness. Food would be shoved in through a small hole, and a pot was used for waste.

Another punishment involved making children stand for hours with their arms outstretched, often holding a heavy object.

One stark example of the extreme abuse at Holy Cross mentions some children who misbehaved were beaten to death.

Abandoned Holy Cross

This orphanage was shut down in 1965. The building by 1982 stood deserted and boarded up.

Marquette Residents’ state feeling uneasy when they are near this building, even during the day.

Neighbors have seen ghostly children playing outside the building and at night, people report hearing the moans and cries of young children coming from various rooms.

In recent years, this building has been renovated and turned into apartments. Some state that a fresh coat of paint will not be enough to stop this haunting.

Grand Rapids’ Murder-Suicide

Warren and Virginia Randall moved into the old Judd-White mansion in 1907. This home at one time was a lavish property in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. But by the turn of the century, it was in a state of disrepair for it had been used as a boarding house for several years.

Downtown Grand Rapids turn of the 20th century.

Warren Randall had a steady job as a brakeman for the G.R. and Indiana Railroad. He and his wife were happy. A bad accident would change this.

Warren was involved in an accident at the rail yard. He tragically lost his leg. He now was home a lot. He could no longer work for he walked with a wooden leg. His self-esteem took a drastic plunge.

He became convinced his wife was seeing other men. He accused Virginia of having affairs. Virginia denied these accusations, which caused arguments. The local police were called out to break up these heated fights on several occasions.

At one point, the cops found Warren chasing Virginia down an alley with a straight razor in his hand. Several months later in the summer of 1910, Virginia left Warren.

Contrite, he tried to coax Virginia back, however, she stayed away. But he did manage to convince her to take a buggy ride with him one late afternoon. The couple ended up back at the Judd-White mansion where they argued once more. This fight escalated out of control.

Warren removed his wooden leg and beat Virginia with it until she lay unconscious in one bedroom. He then stuffed towels into all the cracks in the room and tore a gas light fixture off the wall. Deadly fumes invaded the bedroom.

Not leaving anything to chance, Warren slashed his throat with the same straight razor he had held as he chased Virginia down the alley. Neither Warren nor Virginia were reported as missing.

Two weeks after the Randall’s final fight, workers at a nearby business began to complain to the health department about a foul stench coming from the mansion. Officials from the gas company were sent out to investigate.

They broke into the home and discovered the sealed off bedroom. The Randall corpses were then found. However, they were in such an advanced state of decay they were only identified by Warren’s wooden leg.

The mansion because of the murder-suicide was never occupied again.

For over a decade, neighbors became convinced the house was haunted. Witnesses reported seeing strange lights and hearing loud noises coming from the home.

People stated they heard a woman's voice, presumably Virginia’s, begging for mercy. Others reported hearing the sounds of Warren’s wooden leg thumping through the home.

The children who grew up in the neighborhood remembered they were warned to stay away from the old mansion.

Bell Telephone Company

This house was torn down in the early 1920s. The Bell Telephone Company built offices on the lot in 1924. They have occupied this space since.

Despite the fact, the mansion no longer stands it appears these two ghosts have remained. For decades, this company has claimed their offices are haunted.

One common occurrence has annoyed many of the local residents.

According to an article by Troy Taylor, these local residents are awakened by a phone call in the middle of the night only to hear nothing on the line. All of these calls have been traced back to the offices that reside on the Judd-White lot.

Workers are never in this building this late at night.

Waved Down

Truck drivers out on dark roads frequently report seeing unusual sights. The following 1^st person account is one of my favorite guardian spirit stories.

It was a rainy night and I was on a tight schedule as I impatiently made my way through a slow construction zone just west of Detroit, Michigan.

Around 2:00 a.m. I spotted an elderly lady standing by a broken down old car. The rain had saturated her thin coat. I ignored the fact she was desperately waving me down.

Without stopping, I passed where she stood, I justified my action by telling myself there where plenty of other people who had the time to help. But as I wound my way around to the next exit a feeling of regret I still can’t explain gripped me.

I felt compelled to turn off. And to my surprise I found myself steering my rig back around headed once more for the stranded car.

When I pulled up I saw two small heads pop up in the back seat. Then a young man approached my rig. I offered to take him and his family to a gas station so they could get help.

I watched as he gathered up his children and young wife. But where was the elderly lady? As they piled through my passenger door I asked if that was all of them.

They looked at me puzzled. I then asked about the older lady. They didn’t appear to know what I was talking about so I tried once more. Didn’t you see the overweight lady with the snow-white frizzy hair standing out in the rain.

They replied no. The wife asked if I had noticed anything else about her. I told her the lady was tall but stooped over. She then began to cry. It was my turn to be puzzled.

The wife wiped her nose and told me that I had just described her grandmother who had died recently.

She turned to her husband still sniffling. She stated, "I have always heard relatives sometimes return as guardians in times of trouble but I didn’t believe it until now."

This encounter still gives me chills even though it has been over 10 years. For some unknown reason that night I felt compelled to go back.

I guess the wife was right. I encountered a force that was not of this world.

Michigan’s Mackinac Island, Part l

This small island on the western tip of Lake Huron reflects its history at every turn—some believe this is why the ghosts on the island outnumber the living.

Mackinac Island

Many have visited the island for its beauty, but few know its hidden darker past.

Archaeologists have determined the Anishinaabe Tribe, which was drawn to the area for its prime fishing in 900 AD, first inhabited the island. These Native Americans considered Mackinac sacred and used the area to bury their tribal leaders.

Fort Mackinac

However, by the time the first Europeans stumbled upon the island in the mid-1600s, it was deserted. The French first settled the island, then the British took control of it in 1780 and established Fort Mackinac.

Not long after, the Treaty of Paris gave the island to the Americans.

During the War of 1812, the British captured the island once more, despite numerous bloody attempts by the Americans to take it back.

After this war in 1815, the Treaty of Ghent put the island firmly back in American hands.

After the American Civil War, Mackinac became a popular tourist destination. It, after Yellowstone, was made American’s second National Park.

Downtown Mackinac Island
reflects the Victorian era like most
buildings on the island.

The island today still has no bridge to the mainland. It is accessed from ferries, boats, and planes. No cars are allowed on the island—which lends an old-world charm to the place.

Some believe this is why so many ghosts linger.

Grand Hotel

The island’s most famous building is the Grand Hotel. When this structure was built, many human skeletons were found. The workers unearthed so many it is said they did not know what to do with them.

So they were just left there—hence the Grand is built on a massive gravesite.

Two maintenance workers checking the hotel’s theatre stage encountered a dark entity. They felt as if they were being watched. Then one of these men glanced across the stage and saw a dark mass with red glowing eyes.

Before he could react, this entity quickly headed for him—knocking him down. Later, when he woke up in a hospital, he refused to return to the Grand.

Other witnesses have spotted a ghost wearing a top hat in the 2^nd floor piano bar. They watched as this entity just disappeared. Afterward, they smelled his cigar smoke.

Workers at the hotel claim a woman dressed in Victorian clothing haunts their employee housing. Some have experienced her lie down next to them as they slept.

At Fort Mackinac,  ghost soldiers have been seen walking the Rifle Range Trail. Others have stated they saw piles of amputated limbs in the fort’s hospital.

Fort Mackinac

Furniture is known to move around by itself, and at least thirteen ghosts of children have been heard. It is believed they died of Typhoid Fever and Tuberculosis. Their cries are heard echoing in the halls of the buildings where they once lived.

Located between Mission Point Resort and downtown Mackinac is a 20-foot drop off a cliff. This area is called The Drowning Pool.

It was here were women accused of witchcraft were tortured.

These women worked in the brothels that sprang up on the island in the late 1700s and early 1800s. They were accused of witchcraft because they enticed supposedly unsuspecting innocent men to their houses of ill repute.

Rocks were tied around these women’s ankles, and they were thrown into the lagoon. If they sank, they were considered innocent—but by then, they were dead.

It is believed this pool is haunted by some of these victims. Shadows come out of the water silently. Also, no ripples are seen.

On the other hand, witnesses report seeing huge splashes in the area that are too big for fish to make.

In Part ll of Michigan’s Mackinac Island stories about the island’s most haunted area—Mission Point Resort are shared.

Presque’s Mysterious Light

It is not recommended that one visit Michigan’s Old Presque Isle lighthouse after dark. A ghost has been known to scare visitors away.

Old Presque Isle Light

This lighthouse sits on Lake Huron, 20 miles south of Rogers City, Michigan.

Built in 1840, the Old Presque Isle Light guided ships safely into Presque Isle Harbor for 31 years. In the 1870s, it was replaced by a new lighthouse bearing the same name, which remains the tallest on the Great Lakes.

Years after the old station was closed, it was sold to a private owner, Jim Stebbins. The Stebbins family restored the station and hired Lorraine and George Parris in 1977 to be caretakers for the historic monument.

The Parris’ relished their new role, enjoying their retirement years caring for the museum and greeting the many people who came to visit the old light.

Lorraine Parris standing in
front of fireplace in the
Keepers Cottage in 1977.
The photo above is George Parris.

One evening in May of 1992, Lorraine Parris was driving back from a family dinner—she wished George was with her—but this was not possible for he had passed away in 1991.

As she rounded a bend in the road she spotted something that amazed her. The light in the tower was on. It occurred to her that the old lighthouse looked as it must have once looked over a century before.

She blinked wondering if she was hallucinating—the light had not been on in years—the wiring had been permanently disconnected by her husband and the Coast Guard in 1979, after it had accidentally been turned on.

Lorraine was too embarrassed to mention what she had seen—people would think it was just her imagination. But the light continued to appear night after night—shining in the lantern room.

This light was not visible from the station grounds, it was only visible from across the harbor.

Within days Lorraine’s secret was out for everyone was seeing this mysterious light. As word spread spectators from all over were arriving to see this phenomenon.

The Coast Guard showed up to check it out but could not explain it. Sailors on passing boats and freighters saw it. National Guard pilots flying planes overhead saw it. They reported the light cast a yellowish glow.

The Coast Guard took out the ornamental light that was used to replace the original light—but the tower still shined brightly.

Some stated it must be passing cars but the light was seen even when there were no cars in the area.

Several witnesses reported seeing the figure of a man in the lantern room when no one was about.

One young female visitor who had never seen George Parris reported seeing a man with a beard and glasses at the top of the tower stairs as she explored on her own. When she was shown a picture of George she said it was the man she had seen but that he had appeared to her surrounded by a “bright white light.”

Other visitors reported feeling a hand brush their shoulders as they walked the tower steps. George was a prankster when he was alive.

This mysterious presence is often helpful.

Lorraine began to connect this light with her husband. While alive George had always made her bacon and eggs for breakfast. After the light began to appear Lorraine would wake to these familiar smells, but no one was in the Keepers Cottage with her.

Two female visitors to the old light locked their keys in their car. Later they found the car mysteriously unlocked. When they started the ignition the dome lights came on and the radio blasted a station they never listened to.

Another odd occurrence happened one day when Lorraine found she couldn’t open a door at the Keepers Cottage. Something was blocking the door. She felt a presence on the other side.

When she went around to another door and went outside she discovered no one was there. But oddly, there was a lawn chair propped against the door and another lawn chair was facing it as if two people had been sitting there, talking.

Within moments lightning struck near the lighthouse, right where Lorraine would had been if she had been able to open the door and exit the building without the chair interfering.

Back inside the cottage Lorraine found the door opened easily now—the chair slid across the cement without resistance. Had it been George, did he block the door to protect her from the storm?

The Old Presque Isle Light is still seen today coming on at dusk and turning off at dawn. Many feel it is George’s ghost that returns every evening to light the beacon.

Attempts to explain away this odd phenomenon have been inconclusive. The Coast Guard classifies it as “an unknown light.”

The Stranger

This story was told to a priest by one of his older female parishioners in the early 20^th century.

It was the late 1800s and Edith was a newlywed. She had been born and raised in a city in Upper Michigan so it was a shock to move to her husband’s rural farm.

This farm was isolated, being the last mailbox on the lane. It was a lonely, harsh life, but Edith was happy in her marriage, and she and Lou her husband were lucky for they didn’t want for life’s necessities.

One early summer morning Lou had gone out to a field to mow hay. As Edith stood at the kitchen window, she saw a stranger ride into the farmyard.

He hitched his horse to the post but Edith was surprised to see him head toward the barn instead of approaching the house.

She watched with concern as he entered the barn, he then came out and inspected their shed. As she watched him wander around the yard, seeming to look for something, she became anxious.

He finally headed for the house. By the time his knock sounded on the door, Edith was frightened.

She hesitated, not wanting to answer, but she became afraid the stranger would break down the door. She opened it just a crack.

The words caught in her throat as she said, “Yes, what do you want?”

The stranger peered at her and said in a toneless voice, “Are you alone?”

Edith terrified now, and not wanting to be alone with the stranger blurted out, “No!” “My husband is in the attic.” To convince him, she then turned and called out, “Hey Lou.”

A voice that of her husband responded immediately, “Yea, what is it? I’ll be right down.”

Edith turned back to the stranger to see him transformed. His face became animated with anger as he backed down the porch steps. He then jumped on his horse and quickly rode away.

Edith’s shut the door and sought a chair before her knees gave out. She wondered why Lou was in the attic, she had not heard him return from the field.

She went upstairs to see what he was doing, but no one was in the attic.

A half-hour later, Lou returned from mowing hay for lunch. He had not seen the strange man.

The priest mentioned above, after retelling this story asked his parishioners, “Whose Guardian Angel do you think that was, Edith’s or Lou’s?”

A young woman gave a surprising but thoughtful reply. “I’d like to think it was the rider’s Guardian Angel keeping him out of trouble.”