History of Sightings, Sounds Have Some Wondering: Is New Baltimore Haunted?

A light flickers, something moves without being touched, a noise that can't be identified, and that heavy feeling that someone... or something... is in the room with you. 

Scary movies, creepy TV shows and ghost stories are everywhere. But is it possible that places in New Baltimore are actually haunted? With as much history as the area has, there have been more than enough tales being told. Some may wonder if they're true.

New Baltimore-Chesterfield Patch explores the possibilities in the first of a two-part series.

Ghosts of the Grand Pacific

It sits quiet in downtown today, but back in its heyday the was one of the busiest hotels in the area, and is the only hotel building still standing from that era.

In 1881, Frederick C. Losh built the hotel when New Baltimore was a thriving vacation destination for Detroiters. Losh died only a few years after establishing the Grand Pacific, which eventually because a boarding house, a hardware store, and finally today a museum owned and operated by the .

But some people think Losh never really left.

"It sure seems that way," says Rich Gonyeau, president of the New Baltimore Historical Society. "We've had a few experiences."

Gonyeau explained that one night, over a decade ago, he had a group of people outside the Grand Pacific. About 30 people stood with him outside and while he was talking, the electric candles in the upstairs parlour room, believed to have been burnt out, began to flicker suddenly, and many people said they saw the curtains flutter as if someone had just walked by.

"I thought, you guys in the historical society are pretty clever," said Gonyeau, but no one claimed to have been upstairs at the time.

The parlour room, by the way, is believed to possibly be Losh's old room.

People—And Things—That Haunt

During the official unveiling of the plaque outside the building, a state official came out to dedicate the building as a historical site. A black cloth was draped over the sign. While he was speaking, the top of the cloth kept slipping down, forming a U-shape and revealing part of the writing on the plaque. Each time it slipped, the revealed word was Losh.

"I really wasn't into the ghost stories at the time," said Gonyeau. "But a lot of people with psychic dispositions have felt things in here."

"It kinda gets into you after a while," says Larry Marentette, historical society member, former treasurer, and tour guide at the Grand Pacific. "You gotta have a certain mental attitude if you're going to go along with it. Dedicated groups of people. You learn things, and you hear things."

Marentette isn't too worried about Losh bothering him.

"I've not had anything that would make me believe it's for sure. I could find it comfortable enough to spend the night," said Marentette.

But possible paranormal activity could be coming from someone or something else. 

Scott Morgan is the head of the South East Michigan Paranormal Society, or SEMPS, and has done investigations across this part of the state. Recently he has worked in Romeo, Sanilac and a suspected haunted art gallery in Roseville.

"It could be a lot of things," says Morgan, explaining how something could become haunted. "It could be that someone has passed on and is sticking around to watch things. It could be that someone died quickly or tragically and don't know they've died. They could be sticking around because of unfinished business."

It is quite possible that people may have passed away inside the Grand Pacific while it was a boarding house. Items too can have spirits attached to them much the same as land or buildings can. The antique dolls on display seem creepy and the ancient arrowheads used by local natives to kill animals—or other humans—are spooky, but it's a table and some bricks that might be possessed by spirits.

In one room leaning against the wall are small briefcase-like objects. They are actually folding tables that were used by doctors—in a time before hospitals and morgues—to perform autopsies and mortician duties, often right there inside the homes of the recently deceased. 

"Spirits could be attached to an object, like a tool or a piece of furniture," said Morgan.

Several bricks have been saved from the demolition of local historical buildings, including some from the legendary Hatheway House.

"It's easily the most haunted place in New Baltimore," said Gonyeau.

Check New Baltimore-Chesterfield Patch on Friday, Oct. 28, for more on the Hatheway House.