Bay Cliff Health Camp
joining the soapbox........
What I am about to tell you is all true (though the causes are
unknown). If you have any commentaries or questions, I'd love to hear
them.....:-)
The Bay Cliff Health Camp is located in Big Bay, Michigan, about 30-40
miles north of Marquette via County Road 550. The place is on a cliff
above Lake Superior, but also very isolated (surrounded by woods on
the three sides not facing the lake - very creepy at night). The camp
was originally founded in the 1930s as a summer camp, but has since
become a health camp for mentally and physically handicapped kids.
Many children have gone there for therapy and have made progress, but
there are also a few who have died (their conditions were very
severe).
Every year the Bothwell Middle School (in Marquette) seventh graders
have an opportunity to spend a week (usually in May) at this camp,
studying nature and other subjects while having fun with friends and
classmates. I was able to attend this camp as a seventh grader, as
have many classes before and after us. Since that time, I have been
able to go up there nearly every year to help the students with their
camp newspaper.
The place has always given people the creeps, more so at night than in
the day, for obvious reasons. The past two years have been quite
eventful for many people, as some strange things have happened.
There is one block of cabins that is especially odd. The building is
in an L-shape, with 3 big and several smaller rooms. It is called
Sam's Place, named after a youngster who died there at some point. The
place usually houses the worst cases in the summer, as shown by all of
the hospital beds and smaller isolated rooms. The complex, especially
the middle room, is said to be haunted by Sam's ghost, which has
caused many a counselor to refuse to stay in there. For the past
couple of years the middle room has been vacant, used as a storage
area. There are a number of plaques on the wall, as well as a piano
and some furniture.
A couple of years ago, two counselors were asleep in the two ends of
the cabin, surrounded by their campers. At about 4 a.m. one morning,
one was awakened by a light in the middle cabin (which had not been on
the night before). After finding her girls asleep, she went back to
sleep, assuming it was somebody from the other cabin using the
bathroom. The next morning, she asked the other counselor whether any
of her campers were up at about 4 a.m. -- she said no, and began to
describe the exact same situation. They both realized that something
weird was going on -- and have never set foot in the cabin since that
year (though they have returned as counselors in the past two years).
In 1995, two groups of girls were staying in the same complex. One
night, a heavy plaque fell off of the wall in the middle cabin,
basically scaring the wits out of them (and the counselors too). They
were scared even further the next day, when they returned from
breakfast to find the plaque in its holder upside down (all of the
staff and campers had been present at breakfast). I can't remember the
rest of the story, but it was written about in the newspaper that
year, which I have a copy of (and may post).
This past May (1996) was no exception. On the last night of camp
(Thursday), it's always a tradition for the counselors to stay up all
night in the auditorium (listening to music, eating, sitting in front
of the fireplace and playing with stuff from the closet) and then
going down to the beach to watch the sunrise over Lake Superior. It
was a pretty nice night, and several counselors decided to go out to
the gazebo at about 2 a.m. or so, after tiring of the items in the
closet. As the staff didn't want the campers to go in the gazebo, the
area had basically been roped off. We (being counselors) were able to
step over the tape and walk up to the steps (with Sam's Place on a
little hill a few hundred feet beyond it). There was absolutely no
wind that night, but the strangest thing happened. The tape was moving
pretty rapidly, almost as if somebody was shaking it. One of the more
daring counselors basically went up to it and said "Stop," which it
did. It started up again soon after, and he said "Stop" again, which
it did. By this time we were starting to get really freaked and
decided to go back to the auditorium where the rest of the counselors
were, walking faster and faster until we were finally running. The
others agreed that it was pretty strange, and nobody really ventured
out for the rest of the night (especially me, who would have to walk
by there to return to where I was staying).
It seemed pretty harmless the next day, but we were glad that it was
morning. Another note: the cabin next to Sam's Place was vacant, as it
was usually used for the youngest children, so nobody ever went near
there. The night before, the door had been latched (pretty tightly, I
may add). The next morning, it was wide open (odd, since nobody had a
reason to be there -- and there hadn't been any wind during the
night).
I'm sorry this is so long, but I can remember it like it was
yesterday. There were a lot of people there with me who would tell you
the exact same thing, so it's not a hallucination. I like going up
there as a counselor, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's just
downright creepy. Even retelling it gives me the creeps..........
Hope you enjoyed it! :-)
Amy
Eileen Lucas
In <32b20...@sunspot.albion.edu> ajen...@alpha.albion.edu (joining
Wonderful story, Amy. I really enjoyed it. Thanks for not letting me
sleep soundly tonight :)
\\|//
(o o) Tim L.
+-----------------oOOo-(_)-oOOo------------------------+
|*Mummy Looks Yummy, | my e-mail |
| But not for Tummy * | address |
|Cookie Monster | ghos...@juno.com or |
|Don't Eat the Pictures | elu...@ix.netcom.com |
|=======================|===============================
| who just got |Actors are like politicians, |
| his MSEP |they never grow up. |
| lightbulb | -Will Rogers |
+-----------------------|------------------------------+
ma...@netmanage.com
noo...@iserv.net wrote:
> In article <32b20...@sunspot.albion.edu>, ajen...@alpha.albion.edu
> (joining the soapbox........) wrote:
> Great story from Michigan, I was up there a minth ago and didn't make it
> to the camp how ever. People need to understand how desolate this area of
> Michigan is. At night there is no light, the UP at night is like a black hole.
Too true. About 10 years ago I was stationed at KI Sawyer, and in most
ways really loved the area - it was one of the most beutiful places I
have ever lived, and if I ever have a fair chunk of money I would
seriously consider retiring up there.
It was also where I encountered some of the most creepy places and times
of my life, too. I'll never forget driving along the lakeshore just outside
Marquette (Hwy 41, I think it was) late one November, watching the storm
drive chunks of ice and water almost up onto the road, and switched on the
radio only to hear a very fuzzy and far-off station start playing "Wreck of
the Edmund Fitzgerald". Makes all the hair stand up on the back of my neck
even now just typing this out :-)
I also spent a weekend up at Big Bay, and that is a creepy place even
without any Hitchcock references. It is all to easy for to imagine what
staying at that camp would be like....
Thanks, Amy, for bringing back all those memories :)
-Matt
joining the soapbox........
>Fascinating story. Have you had any ghostly experiences other than at
>this camp?
>
Let me think......yes, but neither one I would classify as ghostly --
just weird........
Once again, the stories take place in the Upper
Peninsula.......essentially a black hole at night
The first one is sort of creepy........my father owns a camp between
L'Anse and Skanee, on Huron Bay next to the Slate River and the old
ore dock. The place is somewhat old but we put a lot of work into it,
cutting down brush and burning many old buildings so we could have a
nice place. There are also a lot of antiques on the property, and one
of them is an old wooden wheelchair -- very odd-looking. It belonged
to one of the first owners of the camp, who died many years ago. From
what I've been told, people don't know if he jumped over the side of
the boat or was murdered. Ever since I heard that, I get really
weirded out whenever I see the chair.......I especially hate it when
the thunderstorms come around in the summer -- the lightning lights up
the surrounding area with an eerie light, and I keep thinking I'm
going to see something......
The other story is absolutely true.....it scared the s**t out of me
and the other girls I was with. When I was going into 8th grade (ages
ago, it seems like), I was a counselor-in-training for two weeks at a
Girl Scout camp. It's on Clear Lake, which is also in a very desolate
area, in the woods about 5-10 miles off of the road between Shingleton
and Manistique. I think it's a Forest Service camp or something, but
don't quote me on that.......Anyways, between the two weeks of camp,
we were required to stay over the weekend (with just a few counselors
and ourselves). There were 18 girls, so we stayed in two cabins, with
the woods behind us. Earlier in the day some of the girls had met some
people down at the boat launch (a ways from the camp)........Later
that night, we had come back from dinner and were hanging out in the
cabin nearest to the lake (not mine). It was dark, but a nice night,
so all of the lights were on and the windows were open (which, of
course, had no shades or curtains). All of a sudden, a face popped up
in the open window, scaring the s**t out of all of us. It was one of
the guys from the boat launch, but we didn't know where the hell he
came from or why he was there. Incidentally we had to spend the rest
of the night in front of the fireplace in the main lodge -- much to
our relief (and the counselors'). Some of the people who were there
are now my best friends, and every now and then we remind ourselves of
"Al, Frank and Roger" (their names) and laugh -- though we were pretty
freaked at the time. And to top it off, that was on my 13th birthday
-- what a birthday present!
Amy
Thomas Hitchins
Amy, don't apologlize for the length. To have made it shorter would have
detracted from the story, Which I enjoyed very much.
Thanks,
Tom
Denise A. Agnew
In article <6478.6923...@accessus.net>, John Joseph Stairs
<sta...@accessus.net> writes
>>In <32b20...@sunspot.albion.edu> ajen...@alpha.albion.edu (joining
>>the soapbox........) writes:
>>>
>>sleep soundly tonight :)
>> \\|//
>> (o o) Tim L.
>>+-----------------oOOo-(_)-oOOo------------------------+
>>|*Mummy Looks Yummy, | my e-mail |
>>| But not for Tummy * | address |
>>|Cookie Monster | ghos...@juno.com or |
>>|Don't Eat the Pictures | elu...@ix.netcom.com |
>>|=======================|===============================
>>| who just got |Actors are like politicians, |
>>| his MSEP |they never grow up. |
>>| lightbulb | -Will Rogers |
>>+-----------------------|------------------------------+
>
>Surferdude
>
Interesting story! Has anyone every investigated these occurences in
depth? History of the camp? I'd love to see the newspaper article if
you don't mind posting it.
--
Denise A. Agnew
uptwngrl
"Denise A. Agnew" <wri...@agnewdt.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>Interesting story! Has anyone every investigated these occurences in
>depth? History of the camp? I'd love to see the newspaper article if
>you don't mind posting it.
Sure, I'll see what I can dig up........:-)
-Amy
Frederick Stonehouse
> >depth? History of the camp? I'd love to see the newspaper article if
> >you don't mind posting it.
>
>
> -Amy
I am also very interested in the Bay Cliff story.
uptwngrl
I'm sorry this is so long overdue, but I just returned to campus last
week from a snowy 3-week break! I was able to find the article, which
was written in May of 1995 by a seventh-grade camper (with a little
editing from yours truly).
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"The Ghost of Cabin #11" (the rooms in the blocks of cabins are
numbered during the seventh-grade camp)
Did you know that there are haunted cabins here at Bay Cliff? Well,
there are! Cabins 11, 12 and 13 are haunted by ghosts (the three rooms
in Sam's Place)!
On Wednesday night after the dance, around 11:30 p.m., Cabin 11 heard
a loud noise in the next cabin down the hall (which was empty at the
time). They said it sounded like something heavy fell down from a high
shelf. Then they thought that their counselors were in the screened
room listening to them talk, because they saw some flashlights out
there. So they ran outside, expecting to see the counselors there.
Instead, they saw nothing.
The counselors were also wondering what the noise was, because they
heard it on their way to the auditorium (they were on night watch duty
until midnight at the time -- watching for campers). They came into
Cabin 11, walked through the hallway into Cabin 12, and there, lying
FACE UP on the table, was a silver plaque. It read:
"In Memory Of
Francis McKerchie
November 12, 1965 - July 14, 1980
At this spot he met his friends,
They shared their secrets
They laughed . . .
He left here happy"
The reason that Cabin 11 was so scared was because the plaque had been
hanging on the wall above the piano. Normally when something falls off
the fall, it lands face down. But in this case, it had somehow landed
FACE UP. It was also weird because of the loud thump it had made --
almost as if it had been thrown down. The distance from the wall to
the top of the piano is less than a foot, which would make the sound
of something falling not very loud.
(rest of story cut out -- irrelevant)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I really do not know how to explain the above occurrence, and it
puzzled all of us who were there.........I'm trying to find something
about the history of the camp, but don't have the references in front
of me (the books I use were written by a Marquette historian -- we
don't have any books down here). A history is mentioned in Superior
Heartland, a two-book collection, by Fred Rydholm. I'll see if I can
do an interlibrary loan and find out some more info................
-Amy