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By Wendy Clem
Contributing Writer
This story is part of a two-part series; the second will run tomorrow. This
story originally ran in last year’s Halloween week of The South End.
In “Ghost Stories of Michigan,” author Dan Asfar maintains that cultures in
humid climates tend to be more rife with ghostly folklore legends than
those of arid regions. And, with its rich history of battles, customs and
people, duo-peninsular Michigan fits the color quotient — and humidity — of
which mysterious events are made.
Home to an international border as well as a cross-section of ethnicities
and religions, the Great Lakes are often cited in reference to haunted
buildings and many accidents, forest disappearances and other paranormal
phenomenon. Epic legends have resonated for centuries, with special focus
on Detroit.
“A lot of urban legends may have a kernel of truth in them and there are
societies dedicated to attempting to verify them,” says Janet Langlois,
Wayne State University associate professor of English, who specializes in
folklore.
“Urban legends deal with stories that are told in a more informal manner
and repeated accordingly,” added Langlois. “People will ask what is normal
vs. supernatural, then work out answers logically, but it always leaves the
possibility for debate in interpretation. So-called paranormal experiences
have underlying questions, such as: Do ghosts really exist?”
Myths originating with Judeo-Christian storytelling focused on saints and
associated miracles, healings or other extraordinary events. During the
19th century, legend became more clearly defined and today might be
classified into five categories: religious, supernatural, personal
(anecdotes or stories told in the first person), local legends or locations
and urban contemporary. However, at any given time, such stories could
arguably fit into any of those classifications, Langlois says.
“Legends are very modern; they cut across historic times,” said Langlois.
“Folklore legends generally have their place in many unofficial parts of
culture and have even been known to be apocalyptical at times.”
She separates folklore legends into three broad types: oral or verbal,
customs and material. Several are typical of recurring Detroit stories.
“The story of Knock-Knock Road is probably among the most well-known in
this area and although it may have originated earlier, it was first widely
discussed in the ’40s and very popular in the ’60s and ’70s,” says
Langlois. “It involved variations on a little girl who was said to have
been hit and killed by a driver while riding her bike.”
Cars passing through the area are allegedly subjected to thumps or banging
underneath, said to be from the injured/dead girl or due to a curse placed
on the street by her parents. Subsequent re-paving of the road, located in
the Grosse Pointes, failed to stop the disturbances. The street’s name was
changed and a police officer stationed there to divert curious crowds.
The phenomenon is chronicled in Richard Dorson’s 1959 book, “American
Folklore: Folktales and Legends of the Big City.” Dorson, a former Michigan
State University instructor, based part of his research on students’ visits
to the area. He was among the first to record modern folklore and relate
legend more urban than rural. Dorson’s book is among many housed at WSU’s
archives, the Walter P. Reuther College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan
Affairs.
Haunted locations at WSU include Wayne’s Helen Newberry Joy Student
Services Center and the Bonstelle Theatre, allegedly haunted by the ghost
of previous owner Jessie Bonstelle. Bonstelle has reportedly been seen
hovering near the curtain as if coaching actors.
Belle Isle is home to a 1940s legend, The Lady of Tanglewood Drive, says
Langlois. The specter of a bride killed by her new husband could be
glimpsed by driving over the bridge at Tanglewood and honking the horn
three times.
Rumors have also circulated about The Shoe Tree outside of Novi where
numerous pairs of shoes adorn branches, said to symbolize a murderer’s
victims. This story gained popularity during the Oakland County child
killings of the 1970s, added Langlois.
The GM Stamping Plant played host in 1964 to an image that pushed a young
worker to safety from the path of a malfunctioning machine. The National
Registry of Haunted Places claims that the helpful ghost had been crushed
in a similar accident in 1944.
The Ford River Rouge Plant is said to be the haunt for the spirit of Henry
Ford, whose shadow regularly appears, “due to his sense of responsibility”
according to Linda Newman, director/founder of “Spirit.”
The Fox Theatre and Upstage Theatre are also havens for unexplained
activity. Greg Bellamy, director of Fox’s Operations, related on a 1996
video, Haunted Legends of Detroit, that union stagehands provide “insurance
against ghosts to keep them at bay” by nightly leaving a single stage light
on, while stories have circulated for years about the building’s stone
lions roaming the theater after hours.
The Upstage has a presence in its prop room that has chilled many an actor
and patron during performances, and has been known to reach out and grab
some in attendance.
City hospitals have experienced many dramatic occurrences, including the
death of Harry Houdini in room 401 at the former Grace Hospital on
Halloween 1926. Located at the intersection of John R and Willis where
Harper Hospital now stands. Grace was where Houdini succumbed to
peritonitis. His name has become synonymous with séances and quests to
contact the dead.
Eloise Mental Asylum alternately housed the poor, the insane, tuberculosis
patients and myriad others. Later renamed the Wayne County Poorhouse and
then Wayne County General Hospital, it gave a television crew pause during
paranormal investigations, according to Ghosts Stories of Michigan.
Located at Michigan Avenue and Merriman Road, Eloise’s buildings were
eventually torn down, but smells still persist and the hospital’s cemetery
is said to contain unexplained phenomena. Audiotapes recorded during an
investigation reveal eerie, threatening voices.
Many area restaurants are said to have unusual activity such as Detroit’s
Cadieux Café, says Langlois.
The Riverplace Grand Heritage Hotel near Belle Isle, featured in the 1996
video, claims that kitchen staff report seeing a young figure in
Revolutionary War clothing walking outside the window. Its gym is haunted
and room 301 has numerous instances of strange footprints and dead flies on
a window especially right after housekeeping has scoured the room.
The video depicts Farmington’s Botsford Inn as home to a strange force in
its banquet vicinity, believed to be the spirit of the former Mrs. Henry
Ford. With the former ballroom focus of the Fords’ romantic rendezvous,
Clara Ford is today said to play havoc with the table settings, lights,
doors and even the busboys.
Stories about victimized children seem to recur in the urban areas. One of
the most common is the tale of a small boy castrated by a stranger in a
public bathroom. Often attributed to the Detroit area in particular,
Langlois says these myths can actually be traced back to pre-Socratic time,
intended to inflame rather than inform the public. Such stories tend to
surface during times of war, race riots or other public distress, she says.
Langlois cites an instance during the Gulf War in 1991 when tales about
babies bayoneted by Iraqi soldiers were unfounded, as well as the
razor-blades-in-apples story during Halloween trick-or-treating.
Later, however, a Texas father actually used the information he gained from
the apple/razor blades ruse to murder his stepchild.
“Children are frequent targets in these types of stories,” says Langlois.
“This is probably due to their vulnerability and innocence. Yet, one
shouldn’t be quick to de-bunk them — as they may indeed have happened.”
Often, says Langlois, such legends are categorized as conversations that
center on “I heard it from a friend of a friend …,” and can be rooted in
people trying to philosophically work out their own problems of reality.
Sociologists refer to such tales as unverified correct or incorrect
information, or urban legends/rumors.
The scientific community sees such events as possible behavior or thoughts
motivated by psychological processes. Symbolic expressions of fear can
result in needing to develop mastery over those fears, says Shawn Ruben,
28, adjunct faculty member of the Center for Humanistic Studies Graduate
School in Farmington Hills. Ruben, a Royal Oak psychologist, specializes in
treating traumatized children.
“We are tantalized by the unusual and its human enterprise to bump up
against these things and try to make sense of them,” Ruben said.
“Certainly, scarring events can be attributed to particular places or
people.
But, over time, people ascribe meanings to those situations that puzzle,
frighten or frustrate them. For instance, an old lady living alone and
keeping to herself in a neighborhood may, over the years, come to be
thought of as a witch — and the legends can grow from there.”
Ruben said adults carry their histories with them and shape their world
around them, including childhood fears and feelings of helplessness or
dependency associated with that period. External events confront adults and
can play on internal events as people try to fill in gaps and blanks with
their own interpretations.
“In mysterious matters, I would encourage exploring all possibilities for
explanation,” says Ruben. “And, Halloween is a time to confront issues and
fears and have a healthy expression of the macabre that we’re so interested
in. Even children can benefit by confronting their fears at that time, from
behind the safety of a mask.”
Langlois says sometimes tales are historic in nature and it’s through
“legend dialect” that one can try to sort out what really did happen after
an unusual experience.
“I think personal experiences are true to people and very real,” said
Langlois. “Sometimes people only realize afterward that an experience has
pushed the envelope of believability and begin to question what really went
on. Then, as they relate their story, some listeners to it will be
sympathetic, while others question it — or the teller.”
To check the latest urban legends, visit: www.snopes.com, www.urbanlegends.about.com
and www.urbanlegends.com.
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