Is Mackinac Island Haunted? The Haunts of Mackinac in 2025
Are you wondering if Mackinac Island is haunted? Are you hoping to experience the haunted sights of Mackinac Island?
You’re in the right place. The main town in Mackinac Island was voted the most haunted town in America in 2021. Although the island was found by European settlers in the 1600s, it had been inhabited by the Anishinaabek people for thousands of years
before that and had also been used as a sacred burial site.
Needless to say, the history of Mackinac Island stretches far back into the ancient times and there are many unknowns. It is believed by experts that Mackinac’s geology enables it to be an ‘energy attractor’ where dead spirits have been lingering for many years.
Today, the haunted tours on Mackinac Island are very popular, and highly sought out by tourists year-round. On the tours, you can learn more about the history of the island, some sinister stories, and about the accounts of both residents and tourists with their encounters with what they believe to be spirits on the island.
Before you go on the tour, there is a popular book that you should order ahead of time. Haunts of Mackinac by Tom Clements gives you a history of the hauntings that have been recorded on Mackinac Island over several decades. Reading this would make a great prerequisite to visiting the island and doing the tour.
But first, I’m going to share with you everything you need to know about the hauntings of Mackinac before your trip. As a local of Michigan, I’ve been lucky to visit Mackinac Island and want to share with you how to get the most out of your Haunts of Mackinac tours while on the island.
So, let’s jump in – the haunts of Mackinac in 2025.
Is Mackinac Island Haunted?
Nobody can say for sure whether or not Mackinac Island is truly haunted. However, many paranormal experts believe it to be.
Mackinac Island’s title of ‘most haunted town in America’ is not just hearsay. Out of over 3,000 towns in the U.S. which are believed to be haunted, Mackinac Island came #1 on the list, according to the Shadowlands Haunted Places Index.
The beliefs of Mackinac Island being haunted come from stories and legends of events that have taken place, and dozens of accounts of paranormal activity from residents and visitors to the island over several decades.
Paranormal Expert on Mackinac Island
Tom Clements, who wrote Haunts of Mackinac, vacationed on Mackinac Island as a child and said he always experienced something that he couldn’t explain. He is now a paranormal expert and explains why Mackinac may be more haunted than other towns
in the US.
According to Clements, Mackinac Island has a lot of limestone and quartz in its state park, both of which are believed to store energy; similar to how a battery stores electricity. In addition, Mackinac Island is surrounded by water, which serves as a conductor.
According to Clement’s theory, this allows Mackinac Island to attract and store the energy of diseased people, which explains why there are spirits that linger.
Clement wasn’t alone in his theory about spirits hanging around Mackinac Island. There is a rock formation on the east coast of Mackinac Island made of limestone called Arch Rock. Arch Rock sits on the shore of Lake Huron.

Anishinaabek Beliefs and Legends on Mackinac Island
The Anishinaabek people believe Arch Rock to be a portal to the afterlife. According to this Anishinaabek legend, the Arch Rock portal can work both ways – the dead can cross through Arch Rock to the afterlife, or return through it to this world.
While Clement’s theory and the Anishinaabek legend don’t ‘prove’ anything per se, one of the most compelling reasons why people believe Mackinac Island is haunted is simply the many accounts of paranormal activity experienced by locals over the years.
While you will hear about some of them on the Haunts of Mackinac ghost tour, Tom Clement’s first book Haunts of Mackinac: Ghost Stories, Legends, & Tragic Tales of Mackinac Island can give you some good background knowledge on it, that you can get
more out of the tour.
If you enjoy Clement’s first book, I recommend picking up his second edition which was published in 2016.
So, is Mackinac Island truly haunted?
As a Michigan native, I cannot tell you for sure whether Mackinac Island is haunted. I don’t believe that anyone can with certainty, because it is very hard to prove.
However, I love a ghost story and I believe that reading Tom Clement’s book and doing a ghost tour on Mackinac Island enhances your trip to the island and allows you to get more out of the Haunts of Mackinac tour.
Mackinac Island Haunted Locations
Here are the four main locations of Mackinac Island that are said to be haunted by spirits
1. The Grand Hotel
The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island is a famous, historic building that opened to visitors in 1887. Several U.S. presidents have stayed here, and movies have been filmed here.
However, the Grand Hotel is one of the prime spots of paranormal activity on Mackinac Island, with guests reporting very strange and creepy accounts of paranormal activity over the years. There are very specific people that visitors claim they saw, such as a woman in black, and a little girl named Rebecca who is believed to have died at the hotel.
It’s easy to shrug off some of these accounts as being a farce, however, something very sinister happened in 2011 that may support the claims that the Grand Hotel is haunted.
Construction workers, while excavating the hotel, came across many human remains. It turns out, that the Grand Hotel was built on a burial sight.
Unfortunately, the Grand Hotel does not permit formal paranormal investigations so this can be looked into further. However, you can get all the details from Clement’s book, or from doing a Haunts in Mackinac ghost tour.

2. The Drowning Pool
The Drowning Pool is a lagoon located on the southern top of Mackinac Island between Mission Point and downtown Mackinac.
The Drowning Pool has some very sad stories behind it. Seven different women in the 1700s and 1800s were accused of being witches and died in the lagoon.
To test them for sorcery, the women were thrown into the water while being tied up and weighed down with rocks. Of course, they all sank and drowned when thrown into the water- proving their innocence. However, none of the women made it – they are all said to have perished at the bottom of the lagoon, which is 20 feet deep.
The Drowning Pool is visited by visitors year-round, who claim that they hear unexplained splashes in the water, and occasionally a face appearing underneath the surface.
3. Fort Mackinac
Fort Mackinac was built in the 1700s during the Revolutionary War, and its of the few surviving American Revolutionary War forts.
It is made of several small buildings that are virtually unchanged from how they looked in Victorian times, such as a hospital, a schoolhouse, a bathhouse, and of course, soldier’s quarters.
There have been a range of paranormal accounts over the years at Fort Mackinac that differ from place to place within the fort.
In the soldier’s quarters, there have been accounts of phantom babies crying or children playing, and sometimes toys are thrown around in the morning despite being tidied up the night before.
At the Fort Mackinac hospital, there have been accounts of ghost limbs of war victims.
These are just a few examples of some of the haunting theories at Fort Mackinac – a very interesting place for sure!
4. Mission Point Resort
Mission Point Resort is a 3-star hotel in Mackinac Island State Park, and according to legends, some long-dead guests never left the hotel.
A man named Harvey stayed at Mission Point in the 1960s and was said to have shot himself, but it is believed that he may have been murdered instead.
In addition, some people claim to have seen sightings of a young girl who fell ill, and died while staying at Mission Point long before. There have been accounts of her crying for her parents in the hallway.
These are the four main haunting locations of Mackinac Island, but there are many locations on the island under suspicion.
More details can be found in Tom Clement’s Haunts of Mackinac book, and from doing a ghost tour. I recommend doing both to hear more details on these cases, as well as several more stories.

Mackinac Island Haunted Ghost Tours
Although ghost tours on Mackinac Island are most popular during the fall season on Mackinac Island, they run year-round.
The ghost tours are 90 minutes long and offered by Haunts of Mackinac, located in the main town at 7416 Main St. A costumed tour guide with a lantern will bring you to the most haunted locations in the town and share with you compelling stories.
It’s a great way to see the town of Mackinac and learn more about its sinister history.
Book your Haunts of Mackinac tour directly through the official website here. You can also email them at info@hauntsofmackinac.com.
Pro Tip: The walk is fairly easy, and only a moderate level of fitness is needed. However, I recommend bringing a jacket as it can get pretty chilly on the island in the evening – even in summer.
Mackinac Island Haunted: FAQ
Here are the most commonly asked questions about hauntings on Mackinac Island
What is the book about Mackinac Island being haunted?
So far, there are two books written about Mackinac Island being haunted, both by Tom Clements. Clements vacationed in Mackinac as a child and experienced paranormal activity firsthand, as a young boy. The first edition of his book was published in 2006 and is called Haunts of Mackinac: Ghost Stories, Legends, & Tragic Tales of Mackinac Island. He wrote a second edition in 2016 and is currently working on a third.
Is Mackinac Island the most haunted place in America?
Yes, Mackinac Island holds the title of the most haunted place in America. It was voted the most haunted town in the United States in 2021 by the Shadowlands Haunted Places Index. It won this title out of over 3,300 other cities.
Are there ghost tours on Mackinac Island?
Yes, there are ghost tours on Mackinac Island that run year-round. They are offered by the Haunts of Mackinac. The tours are 90 minutes long and take you to some of the haunting locations around Mackinac, giving you detailed accounts of paranormal activity that has occurred there, as well as some history of the location that supports the claims that there may be ghosts.
Final Thoughts: Is Mackinac Island Haunted?
The depths of Mackinac Island’s history are not fully known, which makes some of the haunting stories interesting to learn about. The island served as an ancient burial ground for many years, in addition, there have been countless shipwrecks; and colonialism.
Don’t forget to grab a copy of Tom Clement’s book before your trip to Mackinac Island. Many visitors buy the book after their visit and miss out on the opportunity to do the tour and visit the places with a well-informed perspective.
The ghost tour on Mackinac Island is about so much more than just spirits and paranormal activity. It delivers an interesting history of the town and the island as well.
Whether or not you have any belief in ghosts, I would recommend doing the Haunts of Mackinac tour for a fun experience as a way to learn more about the history of Mackinac Island.

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