Where Are the Scariest Michigan Places I’ve Ever Been? Here’s the Answer

I have written about many places and things throughout Michigan: history, roadside stops, food, abandoned locations, celebrities, small towns, etc. But the one topic I get asked about the most is ‘paranormal activity’.

I’ve written many articles about ghostly rumors, legends, fact, fiction, apparitions, creatures, and unexplained phenomenon. People I’ve encountered want to know “what’s the scariest place you’ve ever been to?” That was something I had to ponder for a while. There were some truly frightening ‘paranormal’ places I’ve been to and some other places that had nothing to do with anything otherworldly. You’ll see what I mean below…I have listed the Five Scariest Places I have visited.

#5 PERE CHENEY
Its been called “The Most Haunted Town in Michigan” thanks to the true story, the fake legend, and exaggerations from people who visited. Even though the scary legend is well-known by many Michiganders, visiting the now-defunct town was not so scary…..in the daytime. However, I was there right at dusk when shadows began to fall and the cemetery was at its creepiest. The scary part was: if your car won’t start and your phone is dead, you’re screwed. You would have to walk a few miles down the dark dirt roads just to get to a house that may or may not have residents that will help you. If YOU lived way out in the country on a dirt road and a stranger knocked on your door, would you even answer?

Read Pere Cheney’s Backstory

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#4 HELL’S BRIDGE, ROCKFORD
This was truly creepy because we walked a skinny path thru the woods, close to midnight, toward the small river with the tiny footbridge. The legend about the laughter that is heard in the woods and the faces of apparitions seen in the water is enough to creep you out in the darkness of the night, even if you don’t believe.

Read the tale that made Hell’s Bridge a Haunted Michigan legend

#3 ABANDONED HOUSE ON DEXTER TRAIL
This old log house had no legend behind it – it was just abandoned. When I was a high school senior, five of my buddies and I drove out to this house that sat alone, covered in brush and trees on a dirt road corner out in the country between Stockbridge and Mason. It was dark, deserted, devoid of people, empty, and unnervingly quiet. We looked for a place to enter and found an open window. One of the guys had one leg thru the window when for some reason he stopped and all fell silent. The next thing we heard was someone running down the stairs inside! We took off, piled in that little VW and got the heck out of there. And no, nobody was living there. Was it a tramp? We never found out who made those footsteps.

#2 CEMENT FACTORY IN CEMENT CITY
Anyone who lived in Michigan’s lower half very well may have heard about or visited the old abandoned cement factory in Cement City. Being young and stupid, we visited this place quite a few times after midnight when the moon was full and bright. We had to park and walk across a railroad bridge to get there. There were underground shafts that we went through, not even thinking how dangerous that was. There were still some buildings standing, one in particular that had a spiral metal staircase on the outside. It was around midnight and we were standing out in some kind of courtyard when we heard the sound of footsteps quickly descending the stairs. We were right under the staircase so we looked up – we could hear the loud clomping down the steps but there was no source…no human…nobody…just the sound. What was causing it? We didn’t know nor did we care. As in the previous story, we ran and got the heck outta there.

Read more about Cement City

#1 DETROIT
That’s right, Detroit. 20th Street, to be exact. It was the all-time scariest place I have ever been to…and it was in the middle of the day. I was coming back over the bridge from Canada when I took an exit and got off the Ambassador Bridge. I ended up in a section of town where there were NO people. No one was around: nobody walking, no cars, no workers, no sound. Going under the railroad tracks thru the tunnel was unnerving enough…but once thru the tunnel and on the other side, it was just as bad. NOBODY was in sight. It was sending off such bad vibes, I said ‘the heck with this’, turned around in the middle of the road and backtracked outta there. Sometimes you can just tell when something isn’t right…it was almost like a ‘Twilight Zone’ episode.

That incident made me realize that I don’t have to be afraid of anything supernatural or paranormal…it’s unseen humans you have to fear.

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