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The facade of the Masonic Temple in Detroit. There is an arched entryway. There are sculptures of religious figures above the entryway.
Is the Masonic Temple haunted?
Michelle & Chris Gerard

13 haunted places in Detroit

Explore, if you dare...

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Is the Masonic Temple haunted?
| Michelle & Chris Gerard

With contributions from Nicole Lapointe

It's the spookiest time of the year and Detroit is full of haunted locales ... whether you know it or not. From popular destinations to places that are long gone, here are 13 haunted, creepy, and spooky places in the city (or just outside the limits).

Could we have chosen more? Of course. But 13 seems like just the right number. Feel like we’re missing some? Let us know in the comments section.

Note: Locations are organized from west to east.

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Historic (Haunted) Fort Wayne

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Historic Fort Wayne never saw battle and its sprawling buildings, acreage, and history add to its creepiness factor. Rumor has it the bathrooms in the visitors center are haunted (for real). Are there ghosts still wandering the grounds? Their tours hint that there might be.

United Community Hospital

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Abandoned hospitals are always creepy—and probably haunted. Southwest Detroit Hospital, later United Community Hospital, was built in the 1960s when several small black-only hospitals merged to form this larger one. Due to financial struggles, it closed in 2006 and has been quickly decaying. It’s a popular spot for urban explorers who have found medical records of, we can only assume, ghosts that haunt the building.

The Whitney

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David Whitney Jr. and his wife both died in this storied mansion, and many believe they still inhabit the elevator and second and third floors. Ghost hunters have searched the massive grounds. If you hear utensils, look around. Is there anyone there?

Masonic Temple

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Is the largest Masonic Temple in the world haunted? How could it not be? It can certainly feel like it, with its secret rooms, labyrinth-like layout, and so many rituals shrouded in mystery.

The Majestic Theatre

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One of Harry Houdini's last performances was at the Majestic, and some say his ghost still haunts the theater.

A tall, rectangular with brown paint and some Aztec-inspired Art Deco details on top. There’s blue awnings above the ground-floor windows, one of which has a big M for Majestic. Wikimedia Commons

The Alhambra Apartmetns

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In 1905, Rose Barron made biscuits with arsenic and poisoned many families in the Alhambra Apartments, killing two. She was acquitted after a long trial, and some say the two people killed still haunt the building. If they ever end up being redeveloped, will it stir up some ill feelings in the ghosts?

The exterior of the Alhambra apartments in Detroit. The facade is white and red with boarded up windows. Google Maps

Fort Shelby Hotel

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Apparently, Old Al, a one-eyed, drunk homeless man, became mired in a 4-foot deep sludge of human waste here. He died stuck in that waste, but regulars around the hotel said that they saw him walking around in the alley after the incident.

Stevens T. Mason Monument

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The remains of Michigan's first governor, Stevens T. Mason, were actually entombed beneath the statue of his likeness in Capitol Park. Originally buried in New York after his death, an outcry brought the body back to Detroit about a hundred years later.

In June of 2010, Capitol Park was to be refurbished and his remains were dug up—except they weren't there. After several days of searching, he was found several yards away. Some say he was moved early to make way for a bus terminal; others say a high water table moved him. All we know now is it's highly likely we never found all of him when he was reburied again in October, 2010.

2 Way Inn

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The ghost of Col. Philetus Norris is said to haunt the 2 Way Inn, which has served as a jail, general store, and dance hall. Norris was quite the Renaissance man, as he's known as a Civil War spy, poet, Ohio legislator, superintendent of Yellowstone, and surveyor. He managed the land by McNichols and Mt. Elliot after the Civil War and built the 2 Way Inn. If you see a ghostly cowboy in that area, that could be him.

St. Aubin Massacre

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This location once housed a cult-like and mostly made-up religion created by self-proclaimed prophet Benny Evangelist (Benjamin Evangelista). In 1929, Evangelista was found sitting nearly decapitated at his desk. His wife and four small children were found murdered upstairs. No one was ever charged with the crime.

A pile of old newspaper clippings all about the Saint Aubin massacre in Detroit.

Elmwood Cemetery

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Elmwood Cemetery is the site of the Battle of Bloody Run, an ambush by Chief Pontiac’s army on British soldiers. The fallen British soldiers caused the nearby creek to run red with blood. As one of Michigan’s oldest cemeteries, it’s pretty spooky this time of year, with the leaves crunching underfoot and the wind howling around the statues and mausoleums.

A post shared by @motor_city_muckraker on

Belle Isle

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The zoo wins for creepiness, but it's the bridges on Belle Isle that are haunted. Rumor is if you park on a bridge, honk three times, and wait, a woman in white will appear. Should you follow her? No one dares.

Peche Island

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Although not technically part of Detroit (or the U.S., for that matter) Peche Isle is still a mysterious part of the Detroit River horizon. Lying just East of Belle Isle, it is a completely uninhabited marshy island. Once a potential home of Hiram Walker of whiskey-making fame, he and his family quickly abandoned the unfinished mansion when the rumors of the Island's long-standing "curse" started taking its toll on his family.

Historic (Haunted) Fort Wayne

Historic Fort Wayne never saw battle and its sprawling buildings, acreage, and history add to its creepiness factor. Rumor has it the bathrooms in the visitors center are haunted (for real). Are there ghosts still wandering the grounds? Their tours hint that there might be.

United Community Hospital

Abandoned hospitals are always creepy—and probably haunted. Southwest Detroit Hospital, later United Community Hospital, was built in the 1960s when several small black-only hospitals merged to form this larger one. Due to financial struggles, it closed in 2006 and has been quickly decaying. It’s a popular spot for urban explorers who have found medical records of, we can only assume, ghosts that haunt the building.

The Whitney

David Whitney Jr. and his wife both died in this storied mansion, and many believe they still inhabit the elevator and second and third floors. Ghost hunters have searched the massive grounds. If you hear utensils, look around. Is there anyone there?

Masonic Temple

Is the largest Masonic Temple in the world haunted? How could it not be? It can certainly feel like it, with its secret rooms, labyrinth-like layout, and so many rituals shrouded in mystery.

The Majestic Theatre

One of Harry Houdini's last performances was at the Majestic, and some say his ghost still haunts the theater.

A tall, rectangular with brown paint and some Aztec-inspired Art Deco details on top. There’s blue awnings above the ground-floor windows, one of which has a big M for Majestic. Wikimedia Commons

The Alhambra Apartmetns

In 1905, Rose Barron made biscuits with arsenic and poisoned many families in the Alhambra Apartments, killing two. She was acquitted after a long trial, and some say the two people killed still haunt the building. If they ever end up being redeveloped, will it stir up some ill feelings in the ghosts?

The exterior of the Alhambra apartments in Detroit. The facade is white and red with boarded up windows. Google Maps

Fort Shelby Hotel

Apparently, Old Al, a one-eyed, drunk homeless man, became mired in a 4-foot deep sludge of human waste here. He died stuck in that waste, but regulars around the hotel said that they saw him walking around in the alley after the incident.

Stevens T. Mason Monument

The remains of Michigan's first governor, Stevens T. Mason, were actually entombed beneath the statue of his likeness in Capitol Park. Originally buried in New York after his death, an outcry brought the body back to Detroit about a hundred years later.

In June of 2010, Capitol Park was to be refurbished and his remains were dug up—except they weren't there. After several days of searching, he was found several yards away. Some say he was moved early to make way for a bus terminal; others say a high water table moved him. All we know now is it's highly likely we never found all of him when he was reburied again in October, 2010.

2 Way Inn

The ghost of Col. Philetus Norris is said to haunt the 2 Way Inn, which has served as a jail, general store, and dance hall. Norris was quite the Renaissance man, as he's known as a Civil War spy, poet, Ohio legislator, superintendent of Yellowstone, and surveyor. He managed the land by McNichols and Mt. Elliot after the Civil War and built the 2 Way Inn. If you see a ghostly cowboy in that area, that could be him.

St. Aubin Massacre

This location once housed a cult-like and mostly made-up religion created by self-proclaimed prophet Benny Evangelist (Benjamin Evangelista). In 1929, Evangelista was found sitting nearly decapitated at his desk. His wife and four small children were found murdered upstairs. No one was ever charged with the crime.

A pile of old newspaper clippings all about the Saint Aubin massacre in Detroit.

Elmwood Cemetery

Elmwood Cemetery is the site of the Battle of Bloody Run, an ambush by Chief Pontiac’s army on British soldiers. The fallen British soldiers caused the nearby creek to run red with blood. As one of Michigan’s oldest cemeteries, it’s pretty spooky this time of year, with the leaves crunching underfoot and the wind howling around the statues and mausoleums.

A post shared by @motor_city_muckraker on

Belle Isle

The zoo wins for creepiness, but it's the bridges on Belle Isle that are haunted. Rumor is if you park on a bridge, honk three times, and wait, a woman in white will appear. Should you follow her? No one dares.

Peche Island

Although not technically part of Detroit (or the U.S., for that matter) Peche Isle is still a mysterious part of the Detroit River horizon. Lying just East of Belle Isle, it is a completely uninhabited marshy island. Once a potential home of Hiram Walker of whiskey-making fame, he and his family quickly abandoned the unfinished mansion when the rumors of the Island's long-standing "curse" started taking its toll on his family.