Urban Legends by State Part 27: Michigan no-er two

1. The Singing Sands of Bete Grise. On the south side of the Keweenaw Peninsula is a beautiful beach that contains more than meets the eye. The legend is that a Native American woman lost her love to Lake Superior and, because she spent the rest of her life on the beach crying and calling out to him, the white sand still calls to him to this day. You can reawaken her voice by making the sand sing with the palm of your hand, by patting or brushing the surface. However, it only works if you're on the beach at Bete Grise. Take the sand anywhere else, and it loses its voice. Have you've heard singing sands?

2. Torch Lake Monster. A popular urban legend and campfire story in northern Michigan, often described as a large, slimy creature with one brown eye and one blue eye. The legend is widely attributed to former summer camp counselor Dave Foley, who created the story in the 1960s and 70s to entertain campers at YMCA Camp Hayo-Went-Ha. The legend was popularized by a folk song written by another camp counselor, Bob Thurston, which described the creature with lyrics like, "One eye is brown, one eye is blue / His body covered all in icky green goo". The story served to frighten and entertain generations of campers, warning them not to venture into the lake at night. While the story is considered fiction, some natural elements of Torch Lake may have contributed to its plausibility. Exceptional Depth: Torch Lake is Michigan's deepest inland lake, reaching 285 feet at its deepest point, providing an ideal, mysterious "hideout" for a large creature in the minds of the campers. Large Fish: The lake is known to contain very large fish, including muskellunge (muskies) that can weigh up to 50 pounds. Such large, rapacious fish could easily be misidentified or used as inspiration for a "monster" story. Alternative Descriptions: Another variation of the legend describes the creature as a "sea panther" with the head of a cat and the body of a lizard, a different take on the potential "monster" lurking in the clear, deep waters. Today, the Torch Lake Monster is a beloved piece of local folklore, inspiring various forms of local art, including nail polish colors and stickers. Have you've heard of this monster or song? Today, the Torch Lake Monster is a beloved piece of local folklore, inspiring various forms of local art, including nail polish colors and stickers

3. The Urban Legend That Came True. (This will be a future series about legends that do come true) There's an Urban Legend that goes around every so often about a Halloween display that actually features a dead body. This, unfortunately, came true back in 2001. 14-year-old Caleb Rebh volunteered to be a part of a Haunted Hayride attraction at Alpine Ridge Farms in Sparta. They already had enough people, but he was intent on being involved. He told the owners that he would do it for free as long as they let him work the hayride. They put Caleb at a post with a coffin, but it didn't really give him much to do except shout "boo" at customers. Unsatisfied, he talked another worker into switching posts with him. This time, Caleb was hosting a skeleton hanging from a tree by a noose. Still wanting to go a step further, he thought it would be scarier if the noose was around his own neck. He pulled the tree branch down, took the noose off the skeleton, and put it around his neck. Unworried, since his feet were still able to touch the ground, he let go of the branch. But Caleb wasn't heavy enough to keep the branch from springing up and choking him. The noose tightened and began to suffocate him, as he desperately attempted to get the noose off his neck. Customers and workers watched, thinking it was all an act to prank everyone. After it was too late, hayride employees and visitors attempted to resuscitate him, but it was too late…he was pronounced dead. This is a sad one, he wanted to really do something fun and worthwhile and he paid a heavy price trying to pull off a scarier showing. Do you believe somethings aren't worth doing just for show?

4. Munchkin Land. There is no yellow brick road here. The Franklin Church was constructed in 1855 and it still stands to this day. The church and its accompanying cemetery can be found at the junction of Franklin/Brush Lake Road and Frost Road, out in the countryside, just east of Booth Lake and Curtis Lake. It's north of Niles and east of Eau Claire in Berrien County. People who have gone there tell others not to go alone, as cell phones have a habit of not working in that area. The graveyard has been called Frost Cemetery, Franklin Church Cemetery, and Munchkin Land. The nickname "Munchkin Land" is probably the most curious name this place has. Why is it called "Munchkin Land"? Because of the many children's spirits that have been seen among the tombstones. The legend that began in the late 1800s says the church's pastor murdered two small girls and buried them in the woods behind the church. Time went by and the crime went unsolved...until, little by little, members of the congregation started putting 2 and 2 together and figured out the truth. Realizing his crime had been discovered, the pastor went up to the church bell tower and hung himself. After a search that lasted a few days, his body was finally discovered. There had been other child murders in the area, and the townspeople assumed they were also committed by the pastor. Since then, there have been numerous sightings of child-like ghosts through the woods and hiding around the old gravestones. The eerie sounds of children giggling and little girls whispering have been heard coming from inside the cemetery grounds. There is also a tombstone that glows a faint green color at night. If you visit Munchkin Land, be respectful, don't vandalize, litter, or be noisy & obnoxious. Obey any 'no trespassing' signs that may be posted. Have you've been to Munchkin land?

5. House of the horrible hag. Also know at the horrible hag of Detroit. There was a family by the name of Adams that moved into a house on Martin Street. This house had a back bedroom that was so small it only had room for a bed and a makeshift closet. The father worked 3rd shift at the nearby Cadillac plant and would come home & sleep in the back room so he wouldn't be disturbed. However, his children and the family dog soon sensed there was something else occupying that back room; the dog would absolutely NOT go into the room and the kids avoided the area altogether. Adams soon began having grotesque nightmares from sleeping in that room. He was quoted in the Detroit Free Press, saying "(the dreams) would leave me limp with fear, because they were so real. I would find myself sitting in the bed screaming, till my throat was sore. One of the dreams was when I found myself opening a door and a mutilated body fell out." When the nightmares would not stop, he went back to sleeping in the master bedroom. After his bad dreams ceased, he realized that something in that back room was causing his ghastly nightmares. Granny Adams came up from Georgia to stay with the family in 1962 and the family put her up in the back room. After continuously experiencing weird noises and uneasiness, granny packed up and went back to Georgia. The Adamses had another guest visit, an old family friend from Georgia. They decided not to tell him about the happenings in the back room and put him in there as a kind of test. He was in the bed for only a few minutes, laying on his side, facing the wall. He then felt something roll him over. He was quoted as saying, "It rolled me over, & then I saw it standing outside the bedroom door. At first I thought it was (Mrs. Adams), but I started to tremble. It was a woman with long hair, & she had her back to me, looking into the kitchen. She was wearing a short fur coat, & a kind of blue dress." After screaming and running out of the room, he ran into Mrs. Adams in the kitchen and began telling her what happened. Before he could finish, they both witnessed a rancid odor and a "terrible wailing---a mournful, half-human, half-animal sound, that left both of them speechless with fright". When Mr. Adams got home from work, the two told him what happened. Now he'd had enough. He was determined to stay in that room again and defeat whatever was in there once and for all. After lying down on the bed, he sensed a presence but thought his wife was still in the room. According to Mr. Adams, "the face was inches away from me. It was the most horrible thing I have ever seen. The eyes stared past me, & the mouth moved to talk, but only a hissing noise came out--- and a terrible stench!" An hour later, the house was empty, as the Adamses got the heck out of there for good. Curious relatives of the Adamses who attempted to investigate this for themselves ended up hearing unimaginable groaning but refused to disclose what exactly was seen in there. Paranormal investigators attempted to find out what was going on but the owner/landlord of the house absolutely refused to let them investigate. It has never been determined why this "horrible hag" haunts the back bedroom of this particular house. Does this sound like a case of sleep paralysis or something more?