If one goes looking for
ghosts in Wisconsin the name Summerwind
always pops up.
This mansion was located on
the shore of West Bay Lake for 72 years. It burned down in 1988 after it was
hit by lightning. Despite this fact, many still have questions about this place
and its ghosts.
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| Summerwind |
This mystery began in 1916.
Robert Lamont was working as Secretary of Commence in Herbert Hoover’s
administration when he bought an old fishing resort along the Michigan border
near what is today the town of Land O’ Lakes.
The property came with a
hunting lodge and several smaller cabins. Lamont turned this property into a
comfortable summer home. He had 4 new fireplaces built with two forty-foot
chimneys. He had a grand terrace added and expanded the size of the home.
He had steam heat put in and
had servant quarters built. He named his new retreat, Lilac Hill.
Lamont was the first of
several owners that realized that the property was haunted. One day hearing
noises in his kitchen he discovered what he thought at first was an intruder.
He shot at the person twice. To his
amazement this figure then vanished as he watched it.
Lamont along with various of his guests also were overwhelmed with a feeling of a "flight response" when they
spent time on the homes' second floor.
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| After fire |
In the 1930s Lamont’s family
sold Lilac Hill after his death. Many felt they did not want to deal with the
properties ghosts any longer.
In 1941, a family named
Keefer bought the property. They were soon to regret this purchase. They spent
the next 30 years trying to get rid of it. They sold it five different times
only to have the new owners return it to them within days of their purchase.
One disaster after another happened to each new owner--it appears the ghosts
were unhappy.
In 1972, Arnold and Ginger
Hinshaw purchased the property now known as Summerwind. They moved in with
their 6 children.
They immediately started to notice
odd activity. In the evenings as they ate dinner the family often saw a lady
wearing a white dress dancing in their living room. Also a window in the master
bedroom would open on its own.
Ginger started to redecorate
the home. She threw out an old lace curtain that hung between the home and the
servant’s house several times only to find it hanging once more in its original
spot.
Several of the Hinshaw’s new
appliances, including a water heater and pump broke down only to start working
again several weeks later. The couple became frustrated when local repairmen
refused to step foot on the property.
One day as Arnold went to
enter his car it caught on fire mysteriously.
One of the most disturbing
incidents happened when the family pulled out a large drawer in a linen closet
upstairs to find a dark open space. They discovered a mummified corpse with shriveled limbs and dark hair
hanging from its skull.
The couple decided to just
leave it--not wanting to stir up more activity.
The activity in the home
eventually took a toll on both Arnold and Ginger. Arnold felt driven to play
the family organ each evening--his music became more frenzied as time went on.
He eventually stopped working
on the house and had to seek professional help.
Ginger found that she became
overwhelmed with feelings of despair. Soon after the family moved out, Arnold
and Ginger divorced.
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| The Milwaukee Journal, 1985 |
In an odd twist to this
story--Ginger’s father, Raymond Bober, purchased the property. He intended to
turn the large home into a bed and breakfast.
Ginger’s parents and brother
Karl also experienced the strange activity. The lace curtain continued to
appear and the master bedroom window continued to open.
Karl often heard his named
called out when he was alone in the home. The family also heard phantoms
gunshots in the kitchen.
Ginger remarried and returned
to help her family restore the home. She decided to show her parents the corpse
but it had mysteriously disappeared.
The Bobers also discovered
some kind of time and space distortion. They would measure a room one day only
to discover that several days later it had shrunk or expanded in size.
Photographs they took of
various rooms would often reflect furniture that was no longer there.
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| What is left of Summerwind. |
Today, thrill seekers still
enter the property in hopes of seeing ghosts. All that remains is part of the
foundation, the chimneys and weeds.
