Isle Royale Forums

I just picked up a book on haunted national park hikes. It included some stories on Isle Royale. It talks about ghost ships and Alice Mott. Has anyone else read this book? It is called Haunted Hikes.

I haven't heard of this book, but "haunted" and "hiking" sound like my jam. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation!

That sounds pretty intriguing. Did the book mention specific trails or locations on the island? What is making them haunted places? Have people seen ghosts or heard weird noises or maybe an occasional misty aberration of a moose floating though the air?

One time I pulled up to the Wood Lake campground, alone, and the only other people there were a family packing their canoes to leave. While the parents packed, the little children took me up to the overlook over Siskiwit Lake (beautiful spot) and told me they had just spread their aunt's ashes right there, which is a cool place to do that--don't get me wrong. The parents called to them, and they ran off and I stood there watching their canoes cross Siskiwit Lake. I was all alone. I swam in Wood Lake. This sounds silly and is more a statement about my imagination that hauntings, but after my swim I got in my kayak and portaged over to Lake Whittlesey and spent the night there instead. I knew I would never sleep at the Wood Lake campgrouond.

Backpacker534 wrote:That sounds pretty intriguing. Did the book mention specific trails or locations on the island? What is making them haunted places? Have people seen ghosts or heard weird noises or maybe an occasional misty aberration of a moose floating though the air?

It talked about Mott island and the story of Alice Mott and the meaning of Windigo. Also of the many shipwrecks off of Isle Royale. There is only a few stories about IR, there are more on other parks.

Kevinl wrote:told me they had just spread their aunt's ashes right there, which is a cool place to do that--

Shhhhh! That's illegal, you know.

Kevinl wrote:One time I pulled up to the Wood Lake campground, alone, and the only other people there were a family packing their canoes to leave. While the parents packed, the little children took me up to the overlook over Siskiwit Lake (beautiful spot) and told me they had just spread their aunt's ashes right there, which is a cool place to do that--don't get me wrong. The parents called to them, and they ran off and I stood there watching their canoes cross Siskiwit Lake. I was all alone. I swam in Wood Lake. This sounds silly and is more a statement about my imagination that hauntings, but after my swim I got in my kayak and portaged over to Lake Whittlesey and spent the night there instead. I knew I would never sleep at the Wood Lake campgrouond.

Great story Kevinl,

That spot overlooking Siskiwit Lake was the highlight of my October 2006 trip. We took a daytrip there from Chippewa Harbor. I really hope to camp at Wood lake someday. That view was amazing.

We took a day trip over to Windigo on August 18th and just before returning the park ranger gave us story about the geology of Isle Royale
and the story of Alice Mott and her husband who were lured to Isle Royale with the promise of re-supply to establish a mining operation on Mott
Island. The re-supplies never came and Mr. Mott grew ever weaker from starvation. Alice found a way to survive by trapping rabbits. Mr.Mott
passed away. Spring came and the re-supplies finally arrive and the boss asked Alice her husband was. He was suppose to come down and help.
She pointed up the cabin where died last winter. And the boss went up to talk to him. Alice left him where he died sitting in a chair at the table.

Don`t recall to much of the story from this point since I was getting ready to board the Sea Hunter III for the return trip.

I've told my daughters if my ashes aren't scattered on Isle Royale , I'll come back and haunt THEM!

This has me intrigued. Being in the Funeral industry, I wonder if my energy will conjur any spirits up.

My buddy and I were 16 yrs old in 1979, spending 11 days on I.R. by ourselves. The only creepy feeling I remember was at Hatchet Lake campground. We heard our first barking wolves that day and a yodeling loon, but those didn't creep me out. The weird, distressing dreams I had that night did. I couldn't get out of there fast enough in the morning as it really was a feeling of danger. Perhaps the dreams resulted from a combination of wolves, loons, and sleeping on the hard ground. But I slept on hard ground the other 10 nights and no place felt like Hatchet Lake did.

Years ago, I spent a night alone with the barking wolves at Hatchet. The night before they ran thru that campground (in the middle of the night). No negative dream, lucky me.