A few years ago I decided to take my niece and nephew on this tour. We really enjoyed it. So going back this year I thought to go again. I am very glad I did.

You can purchase tickets online. Adults are 20.00 plus tax, kids 8-12 are 12.00 plus tax, 7 and under are free. The time is from 9-10:30. They try to limit the amount of people to 30 per group. It is mentioned on their website if it necessary they will have more added to the tour. If you are not staying on the island best to check ferry schedule (because the last ferry is usually 9 to go back to mainland). I did notice there was a few times they added of 9:30-11:00. I liked the time I went- it eased into getting dark and you can see well. Even when it is dark there is still enough lit up but again with a walking tour I always think of my bad ankles (yes I said that)

Ok so the ticket 🎟 office is located in the atrium of the Bicycle Inn. Kilwin’s is there so maybe get there early for a treat to bring along. They give you a glow stick necklace to wear through the tour. The tour I did a few years ago had a few different stops than this one. I wonder if they mix it up. Our guide was a young girl (I totally forget her name) but I will say this you have to be very charismatic to do this job. She truly was. It has to be hard to do with people who might not interact well. My group warmed up as the tour went on.

The first stop was Village Inn suites. St. Anne’s church had been located here and was moved (which is a huge feet to do) along with a cemetery. Totally made me think of Poltergeist 👻. The one thing they ask is no video taken but they do encourage photos. Why? You never know what you might see!!

Next was the Biddle House. This is actually the oldest building on the island. As you can see it has been madeover a bit. Tales of the Biddle girls were told (they are buried in the cemetery on the island) I love hearing the history with this tour. You realize how old the island truly is.

The next stop was in an ally behind one of the hotels. Well actually it was the ally in between Main & Market street. This was not in my first tour and I liked more of seeing down the ally than anything. A tale of love well a stalking kind of love was told here. Did not end well for 1 of the parties.

From there we headed to Marquette Park. Located below Fort Mackinac- this area was used as gardens for years among other things (ok they buried quite a few people here) Truthfully we found out the whole island is basically somewhat of a cemetery. It makes sense if you think about it. Back in 2011 a bunch of remains were found under the McNally cottage as they tore it down- and I believe she said that extra caution is taken with any new construction when digging to watch for this.

Funny thing when she was talking to us we had the marina behind us. And someone was have Prince themed party (at least that’s all that was playing) so extra entertainment with awesome music.

As you venture across the park you notice up in the far right corner a playground. Tucked back behind there are steps that lead you up to Anne’s Tablet. This is a famous site to see all of downtown. The overlook was built as a memorial to local author Constance Fenimore Woolson. She is best known for fictions about the Great Lakes region, the American South, and American expatriates in Europe. A story of a wandering man was encountered in this area by a Haunts tour guide.

Heading down the street (lots of people staring at this group of people with glow sticks around necks) we stopped by Island House. This one was part of my first tour as well. Here it is said strange things have happened in a certain room on the 4th floor of the tower. Nothing evil – in fact a family that witnessed this have done the tour and spoken up on their experience.

The next stop was Harbour View. This hotel is a couple different buildings. This story I truly enjoyed. Magdelaine La Framboise is infamous here for this was built by her husband who died before her. She then had to run his fur trade business in which she did and better than him. It is said her room she once had won’t get cell service and charging devices don’t work either 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ She was said to be buried in the basement of St. Anne’s Church next to Harbour View. LaFramboise is not happy that the church moved her bones from beneath the altar to build a basement gift shop in the 1950s, not after making a promise that she and her family could lie there for eternity in exchange for her donation of the land upon which the church sits. After the move, the steeple started to lean, the foundation to crumble. Up went two statues alongside the side yard crypt — of St. Anne and the Virgin Mary — and the crumbling stopped. 💁🏻‍♀️

From here was started to head back downtown. As we walked taps was played and we stopped to pay respect. Our guide then brought up the place know for the most paranormal encounters. Pine Cottage. The B&B is said to have up to 4 ghosts. None of which are evil. One seen most is a little girl who had been abandoned by her parents and she can be seen looking out the attic window. My friends in-laws stayed here and encountered nothing.

It started a light sprinkle at this time. So ventured back towards town as we were close to the 90 minutes wrapping up. But it wasn’t done. Next was a a talk of the most recent murder that happened on the island- 1960 in fact. But a guest at the Murray was heading up to a cottage to meet her family and never showed up. Search parties were sent out and sadly her body was found in the woods not far from Stonecliff. Here is the eerie part. No one was ever arrested for this cold case. And due to her not being found for 4 days the murderer could have easily left the island or worst yet still come back to visit 😬 Now since I was staying at the Murray and it was sprinkling more I decided to just head to my room. So I didn’t finish the final stop. If there was one after but we were close to the end of 90 minutes.

I’m a true crime junkie and history fanatic so this tour is so up my alley. Not only do you get to maybe see places you haven’t, you also get to soak up the history the island has. While I personally have never experienced anything paranormal I believe it can be there. I didn’t even take pics on the tour because I really just wanted to listen and remember it all. So if you want a fun activity I highly recommend this tour.