Michigan’s First Public Haunted Attraction

Out of all the haunted attractions found throughout the entire state of Michigan, did you ever wonder what our first one was?

High schools would put on their own versions of “haunted houses” to walk through. Our school put on a haunted walk through the boys’ locker room, where someone dressed in dark clothing would hide in the showers and grab your neck as you went by. Nowadays ‘haunted house’ performers are not allowed to touch you, and for good reason: people nowadays are too sue-crazy.

These school Halloween events have been going on for many decades, but when and where in Michigan was our first haunted attraction for the entire public?

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The findings aren’t definitive, but so far the time is pinpointed back to 1974. That’s when two of Michigan’s most popular haunted attractions came into existence. The Greater Niles Jaycees Haunted House kicked off that year – now known as Niles Scream Park – and is one of the oldest in the country.

The other is the Haunted Theatre on Mackinac Island, which also opened in 1974. The theater was built in 1885 by Charles Caskey, who also constructed the Grand Hotel and many of the island mansions.

The theater was first used as a roller skating rink and then in 1895 as a dance hall. Finally, in 1907 it became a theatre that featured short, nickelodeon-type films and motion pictures by 1923. In 1917 it was named the Orpheum Theatre.

This is one of those places that was indeed built over a centuries-old Indian burial ground – no rumor, all fact; this attests as to why the theater is believed to be authentically haunted. Bats come out and fly through the theater at night, helping the creepy atmosphere of the Haunted Theatre.

Since this also opened in 1974, there could be a debate to which of the above two attractions came first, and I’m not going to get into that. As far as I’m concerned, they both qualify.

As a sidenote, Mackinaw City once had its own “Haunted Fort” just outside of the city on the south end. I visited there a few times and each time we were the only ones there. It has been torn down and long gone for the last few decades.