Tag Archives: paranormal

Hauntings of America’s deadliest school attack that took place in Bath, Michigan

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By Wayne Thomas
Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters

The Bath Consolidate School in 1927. (Wikipedia)

It was a Wednesday morning May 18, 1927, just about fifteen minutes after the start of the last day of the year at Bath Consolidated School. An alarm clock sounds in the basement of the North Wing, triggering a chain reaction of predetermined madness that still echoes through time, 94 years later. The Bath school massacre remains the deadliest school disaster in American history, ultimately resulting in the appalling loss of some 38 grade school children and six adults with at least 58 others, suffering disfiguring injuries.

 

A combination of hundreds of pounds of dynamite and pyrotol, a World War I explosive designed to cause a fiery blast, had been packed under the school floor with the apparent intent to destroy the entire school and kill everyone in it. However, it’s estimated that between 500 and 600 lbs. of explosives hidden in the South Wing did not detonate due to the initial blast causing a short circuit. It’s reported the bomb could be heard several miles away. Mothers were among the many who came running to the scene of unspeakable carnage and were met with a “muffled chorus of moans and screams, and cries for help” from under the rubble.

Sometimes, extraordinary circumstances surrounding a person’s death can lead to unrest. Murder, suicide, and war can serve as devices cutting lives short and leaving “unfinished business.” It’s theorized that death can come so quickly that a person becomes confused and doesn’t even know they are dead, resulting in haunting spirits. Wishing peace for the families, the living and dead. One such case is the documented evidence that paranormal author and investigator Kathleen Tedsen has that links to the ghost of a little girl, a former student who died during the Bath massacre.

A monument in honor of the victims of the Bath massacre. (Wikipedia)

Ben Goldman, of Afterlife Road Paranormal, probably knows more details of the Bath disaster than most people. While attending Michigan State University, Goldman did a capstone documentary on the Bath School massacre. Goldman heads up a team of MSU students and paranormal investigators who produce Afterlife Road: A Haunted Michigan Webseries on YouTube. Goldman and crew have taken viewers on more than 100 seamless journeys to historic locations rumored to be haunted. Their documentary style finds them running and falling, and dropping the camera. You can cry with them at Bath Cemetery or be scared enough to scream during their 10- to 15-minute videos, perfect for your adult Halloween party.

Goldman was the first guest on our podcast to talk about haunted roads. Stories of 7 Gables Road — located in Dansville and considered the most haunted road in Michigan — suggests if you hear a scream and you are the last one over the fence, you would die. There is a lady in white at this location, which appears to be a recurring phenomenon at several haunted roads.

 

Goldman was on Cryptic Frequencies and the Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters podcast episodes, 12, 27, and 51.

West Michigan’s ghostbusters team: the dynamic Du Shane duo

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By Wayne Thomas
Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters

South West Michigan has a rich history when it comes to ghost stories, local urban legends, and paranormal folklore. Some investigating teams and authors are not content in just repeating unsubstantiated details and are on a mission to separate fact from fiction. Responsibly and collectively asking the questions, how many local legends are just myth and how many ghost stories are pure fabrication, is a lofty goal. Kathleen Rydel Tedsen and Todd Clements were previously highlighted as authors seeking the truth.

 

Two more names of paranormal authors that have emerged to the forefront as myth busters are the married couple Nicole (Bray) and the Reverend Robert Du Shane. The dynamic Du Shane duo has authored an impressive list of spooky books including; “Michigan’s Haunted Nightlife,” “Haunted History of Kalamazoo,” “Paranormal Lansing,” and also co-authored “Ghosts of Grand Rapids” with Julie Rathsack. “Ghosts of Grand Rapids” details the real truth of the often told Hell’s Bridge urban legend and uncovered the actual facts of the Michigan Bell Building and the Ada Witch legend. Through their research, the paranormal detectives discovered that the infamous villain of Hell’s Bridge never existed and there is no historical record of a mass murder of children.

 

Nicole and Robert Du Shane

One of Grand Rapids’ most sensational ghost stories revolves around the old Michigan Bell Building and the murder/suicide victims, Warren and Virginia Randall. Tedious research revealed the names and dates in this tragedy have been changed. Did an insanely jealous husband brutally bludgeon his wife to death with his wooden leg? The truth is in the book.

What of the Ada Witch legend? A secret love affair where a cheating wife, her lover, and her enraged husband all end up dead and have haunted the general area ever since. Although no one has been able to prove the grisly details of this legend, the story continues to spread as fact, resulting in disrespect of the dead and the senseless destruction of their final resting place.

The Du Shanes both grew up in homes that were haunted and have shared their paranormal interests for several years. Nicole formed the West Michigan Ghost Hunters Society and the Reverend Robert Du Shane founded WPARanormal Talk Radio, where the couple works together on these and other projects and, eventually, married one another. Each year the Du Shanes also host Ghosts of Grand Rapids Tour and Haunted History of Kalamazoo Tours. Check out these two living legends of the paranormal on WKTV Journal episode #33 of Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters Podcast. The Du Shanes are scheduled to be on WKTV, The Whole Picture Podcast in August.     

Nunica Cemetery is noted for its ghosts leading to the founding of Michigan’s most

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Ottawa Country’s Nunica Cemetery is one of the most haunted cemeteries in the state and where Gathering Research And Stories of Paranormal Phenomena got its start. (Public Domain)

By Wayne Thomas
Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters

Nunica Cemetery is on top of the list of most haunted cemeteries in the state. The cemetery is located in Ottawa County’s Crockery Township. Ghost hunters report extreme cold spots, otherworldly voices, orbs and floating lights, the spirit of a little girl, a Civil War hero, and the apparition of a “mysterious lady in white.”

Ideally cemeteries serve as locations for the dead to rest in peace but unfortunately mistakes and disrespectful practices can lead to spiritual unrest.

The rumored ghost activity of Nunica Cemetery has also resulted in the birth of one of the most respected paranormal investigative teams of South West Michigan. Bill and Connie Jones of GRASPP Paranormal say they started their adventure on a “whim” one Halloween night with an “impromptu” ghost hunt at Nunica Cemetery. Gathering Research And Stories of Paranormal Phenomena, G.R.A.S.P.P. has evolved from this spooky inception as ghost hunters to include research and investigations into Bigfoot and other cryptids, as well as ufology. With 15-plus years of experience and accumulated knowledge, this unique husband/wife team of paranormal investigators has learned the importance of being dedicated, honest, and objective. Their promise of confidentiality, their emphasis on debunking such things as orbs, and the decision to become a LLC or limited liability company, elevates GRASPP from other teams.

GRASPP will have its upcoming Paranormal Summit for Paranormal professionals, which is May 14 – 16, at the SS City of Milwaukee located in Manistee. (Public Domain)

GRASPP is based out of Grand Haven with about 10 current full-time members, including sensitives. The team utilizes modern equipment and techniques as well as old school dowsing rods, but it’s the discipline of their methods that separates them from most teams.

GRASPP has always been generous helping and educating, but their passion for paraunity has reached a higher level. In 2018, GRASPP focused on Michigan’s mysterious encounters and brought an impressive list of speakers to Grand Haven for an event that they single-handedly orchestrated. The event, Michigan Ghost Coast Paranormal Convention explored such topics as: Demonology, Cryptozoology, Haunts of Mackinac, and UFO sightings; featuring authors, Amberrose Hammond, Todd Clements, Shetan Noir, and William Konkolesky. The significance and synchronicity of this single event cannot be overstated as it started the ball rolling in all different directions. Last year GRASPP organized and hosted an event on the USS LST 393 in Muskegon and followed that with the first Paranormal Summit on board the SS City of Milwaukee docked in Manistee along with being able to investigate the Coast Guard ship USCGC-Acacia.

GRASPP has scheduled the second Paranormal Summit for Paranormal professionals only, May 14 – 16 again on board the SS City of Milwaukee in Manistee. See the Jones’s on GRGHP episode 29. Find additional info at graspp.org.      

The ghosts of summer: hauntings at Mackinac Island

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By Wayne Thomas
Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters

It’s been said, “No man is an island” but they probably haven’t met Mackinac Island’s haunted historian expert Todd Clements. Clements authored “Haunts of Mackinac: Ghost Stories, Legends & Tragic Tales of Mackinac Island,” and followed it with his second book where he added “The Next Chapter” to the title.

Author Todd Clements

“Haunts of Mackinac” is also the name of Clements’ nightly Haunted History Tours on the island. These 90-minute guided tours start in May and run until late October. It’s about an hour walk ending at Mission Point. It’s family and pet friendly and is filled with ghost stories and tragic tales of the islands history.

Clements” books offer pictures, descriptions, actual addresses, and maps to the islands’ haunted locations. Each ghost story location is provided with a “Haunting & Ghosts Activity Scale” to measure the level of intensity or strength of activity, the regularity or frequency of activity, and the time scale or most recent activity. Either, one, two, or three stars, with 3 stars being the most recent, most intense, and most frequent. Several locations received three stars in all three categories on the list of most haunted, including: Mission Point Resort, Rifle Range Trails, Fort Mackinac, St. Cloud Dormitory, and Pine Cottage & Chateau Lorraine. 

The Grand Hotel has been rumored to be a “hot spot” for paranormal activity with an “Evil Entity,” a black mass with glowing red eyes. Other haunts have a ghost playing piano man wearing a top hat and a woman in Victorian clothing roaming the halls and getting into beds. The Drowning Pool has a tragic story of seven women/witches, who as a test to determine if they were witches, had rocks tied to their feet and were thrown into the pool to see if they would float. They sank and drowned. Visitors say they see these seven women floating and splashing in the Drowning Pool. Mission Point has its resident ghost, “Harvey” who either died of a suicide or was murdered, “Harvey” likes to pinch and poke people.

 

Todd Clements’ book “Haunts of Mackinac: Ghost Stories, Legends & Tragic Tales of Mackinac Island”

Mackinac Island is a perfect storm for paranormal activity. The surrounding water currents create electrical magnetic fields which ghost are able to use to help them manifest as apparitions. The huge limestone cliffs can store residual energies created during wars and play back these tragic events as ghost activity. Combine these factors with the history of some of the oldest residential and private homes in Michigan and you have the catalyst for paranormal calamity.

Clements was the guest on the eighth episode of Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters Podcast and we featured him on Cryptic Frequencies episode 12.  

Felt Mansion, LST 393 are just some of the places Darren Dykhouse has investigated for paranormal activity

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Darren Dykhouse of the Lakeshore Paranormal, sits down with the Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters. (WKTV)

By Wayne Thomas
Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters

Darren Dykhouse, founder and lead investigator of (LSP) Lakeshore Paranormal has appeared on four episodes of Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters Paranormal Podcast and was the Grand Rapids Ghost Hunter’s first guest on Cryptic Frequencies, my Blog Talk Radio show. We open every show with a literary reference significant to each guest and so Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” has become LSP’s signature opening.

 

Dykhouse mostly explores local urban legends and suspected haunted locations in Michigan, but he also investigates private homes and provides smudging and blessings on request. He tediously edits and regularly posts his 10-15 minute video blogs to YouTube where viewers are able to see different haunted sites through the camera lens. On the list are: The Felt Mansion, The Old Allegan County Jail Museum, Joliet Prison, The Old Stimpson Hospital, and these ships rumored to be haunted; the Coast Guard ship USCGC Acacia and the S.S. City of Milwaukee both docked in Manistee, and the USS LST 393 in Muskegon.

  

Darren Dykhouse of the Lakeshore Paranormal

This list is incomplete as additional videos spotlight haunted trains, woods, piers, many cemeteries, and an Alien connection. Dykhouse is perhaps the king of cemetery sessions with reports from The Old Beaver Dam Cemetery, Nunica, Woodville Lake, the Ada Witch/Finlay Cemetery, Bath Cemetery, and others. Bath being the location of the worst school massacre in U.S. history.

 

Darren uses a simple approach to investigating the supernatural, asking a minimal number of questions with only one or two investigators. Collaborations have included Robert Walker of Michigander Man, scuba diving specialist Taff Williams, Brandon Hoezee of Kent County Paranormal, Jamie Rae Wonders, myself and others. He currently has been teaming up with Ali’s Vlogs T.V.

 

Dykhouse likes to keep it basic but does experiment with some modern devices and techniques, using his P-SB11 Spirit Box, proximity pods, Spiritus Whispering and Necrophonic phone apps, and on occasion utilizing the Estes Method. You can find his videos on You Tube and conversations with him on our show G.R.G.H.P.P. episodes 7, 14, 18, & 31 and Cryptic Frequencies’ first episode.

 

Dykhouse is empathic and like the rest of us he is sometimes haunted by doubts, sorrows, fears, and even loved ones. The ghost of Edgar Allan Poe’s lost love “Lenore” would have us believe, “’Tis the wind and nothing more.” 

Exploring Michigan’s spooky side in the Grand Rapids Ghost Hunter’s podcast

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In the Halloween episode of the Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters Paranormal Podcast, guests and hosts dressed up for the season. (WKTV)

By Wayne Thomas
Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters

Hosting Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters Paranormal Podcast and Cryptic Frequencies Blog Talk Radio show has introduced me to the spooky, weird, and strange world that surrounds us here in our Great Lake State.  Michigan measures very high on the mysterious meter with Bigfoot, Dogman, and lake monster sightings, significant UFO sightings, haunted ships and lighthouses, roads, cemeteries, libraries, and museums.  We profile mysterious people and places, authors and investigating teams and it’s my pleasure to share some supernatural insights, starting with one of our all-time favorite guests, Shetan Noir.

Noir recently joined us for a special WKTV, The Whole Picture Podcast Halloween episode #34 where we discussed urban legends and superstitions.  We opened with the poem “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by A.H. Schacknofsky and co-host Brandon Hoezee offered insights into the half-truths and his own family connections to the legend of the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow.

Guest Shetan Noir dresses as a green mermaid during the Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters Paranormal Podcast special Halloween edition. (WKTV)

Co-host Kim Kolean presented evidence of the Allegan County “Melon Heads” with a disturbing photo image of what they might have looked like.  The show also featured two of Noir’s books, “Lake Monsters and Odd Creatures of the Great Lakes” and “Mothman and Other Flying Creatures of the Midwest.” She shared an incredibly fascinating story of the Lake Superior Mermaid while dressed in costume as a shimmering green dragon lady.

My first encounter with Noir was during the 2018 Michigan’s Ghost Coast Paranormal Convention in Grand Haven. Noir was one of the featured speakers and during the day she asked to interview our team for her podcast Into the Liminal Abyss. Noir is an author and a journalist who has spent 25 years researching the paranormal in the field of cryptozoology, the search for or study of animals whose existence is disputed or unsubstantiated.

Currently Noir is the lead investigator for the Michigan Chapter of the North American Dogman Project as well as research into Lake Monsters, Mothman, Bigfoot, Nain Rouge. While ghost hunting might have been enough to keep most people busy, Noir found time to author several books.  Noir’s amazing research chronicles actual eye witness accounts, historical testimony, real world explanations, hoaxes, fossil evidence, and artistic renditions of what these monsters might have looked like with detailed descriptions. Noir’s extensive research documents evidence of hundreds of people experiencing strange creatures at the same time with very similar descriptions by reputable well respected citizens, police, sea captains and crews, and collectively challenges the true definition of cryptozoology.

For more about Noir and her work, listen to the Grand Rapids Ghost hunters Paranormal Podcast at the WKTV Journal or on Facebook at The Whole Picture Podcasts.