HAUNTED PLACES IN MICHIGAN
Traverse City State Hospital “Twilight Tours”
After all these years, the old Traverse City asylum finally have historical, “Twilight Tours.” The description on their website reads: “For those seeking an otherworldly experience, the evening skyline of building 50 is magical and unique. The tour begins on the front lawn with a formal toast to honor history’s advocates for moral treatment. Then, on to observe the fascinating shadow play, and listen for the creeks and groans of the asylum “cottages” settling at night.”
The tours are not “ghost tours,” but this is totally catering to paranormal enthusiasts and especially people who love the haunted tales told about the old hospital. Call it “shadow play” or “creaks and groans,” but fans of the spooky will LOVE this tour, even if ghost stories are not the focus. The real history of asylums are troubling enough and the Traverse City State Hospital goes all the way back to 1885.
This photo was taken in 2010.
©Michigan’s Otherside/Tom Maat
The hospital closed in 1989 and while the buildings decayed, people always hoped for some type of historical tours, but there were too many hazards. Rotting floors, lead paint, asbestos…no one wants to catch cancer on a ghost tour. But now that the Minervini Group has been extensively renovating the entire campus for over 17 years, it’s not such a death trap anymore. Although, the tour page does warn that it is an “active construction site” and there are a few safety suggestions to follow.
The tour focuses on the fascinating history of the hospital with stories about patients, including “eyebrow-raising accounts”, as well as, “a miraculous true-life story that we share,” according to MLive. Plus, tour participants get to see parts of the buildings not normally open to the public, such as the underground steam tunnels. How awesome is that?
PLEASE NOTE: This website is not affiliated with the tours. Visit the link below to learn about ticket times and prices.
Visit The Village website to check for tour availability and prices.
Learn more about the Traverse City State Hospital history and its hauntings.
Have YOU experienced something unusual at the Traverse City State Hospital? Leave a comment below or send an email.
Photo taken in 2010.
©Michigan’s Otherside/Tom Maat
I have been on the daytime tour twice. Never experienced anything other then catching orbs on camera in the tunnels. I really want to do the twilight tour one day soon.
In 2010 I was on my way to the old State Hospital for a NA meeting with a group of friends and we decided to skip the meeting to explore the abandoned parts of the hospital. We scaled a fence and climbed in through a broken window on the 2nd floor. When we got inside, what we saw was something out of an old horror movie scene. There were old metal bed frames with restraints still attached to them and a lot of abandoned chairs, desks and bedding. The moment we got into the building we all got this chill down our backs and feeling, I’ve only ever felt in old graveyards. There was an uneasy presence we all could feel, then we started to hear strange noises as we walked further into the halls. By far the creepiest things we saw in there was what could only be explained as old blood stains and scratches (most likely made with fingernails) in the walls of the rooms. I still to this day remember the feeling of being watched or followed the entire time we were in there. There is definitely negative energy there from the tortured patients that were held there and even died.
A few years back a group of friends and I got a tour from the grounds keeper and saw shadow figures in the halls and foot steps in the attics of the unrenovated buildings…creepy for sure but fun.
Cool!
Were you in the hospital or near it at the time?
Last fall my son and I were at the state hospital shopping and I received a text from my sister asking me why I had sent her such a nasty message. I told her I had no idea what she was talking about. She took a screenshot of the message and sent it to me, but I had not sent her that message. I checked my phone and there was no message to her on it. Perhaps it was one of the ghosts in the hospital. Lol