A Brief History
On January 19, 1913, the Holly Hotel in Holly, Michigan burned for the first time! Called “the most haunted historic building in Michigan” on the hotel’s own website, the Holly Hotel burned again 65 years later to the day and hour!
Digging Deeper
Digging deeper, we find many more reasons for the “haunted” reputation of the Holly Hotel.
The haunting has been confirmed by numerous investigators such as Professor Norman Gauthier. Photographic evidence and the sheer volume of persons reporting ghostly phenomena are hard to casually disregard.
Many people unfamiliar with the history of the hotel or the previous reports of spiritual manifestations (which include apparitions, smells, sounds and music) are shocked when they find out other people have experienced the same creepy events! Also, since the hotel was built in 1891, this paranormal activity has been going on consistently for a long time.
Host to many notable people such as George H. W. Bush and notable comedians who perform at its comedy club such as Bill Maher, the Holly Hotel has even hosted the Detroit Red Wings, a professional ice hockey team, after they won the Stanley Cup! The Holly Hotel website brags that the Broadway actor Joel Grey said the Holly’s restaurant is the equal to any in New York.
Carry Nation, that crusader for “temperance,” visited the Holly Hotel in 1908, but she did not come for the food, lodging, or entertainment! She came, along with her like-minded, intolerant, anti-alcohol mob, to beat the hotel’s bar patrons with her umbrella. Not surprisingly, management disapproved of her actions and had her arrested.
If you need a place to stay in southern Michigan and do not mind any of the following: ghosts; the smell of non-existent cigars and ghostly perfume; objects moving of their own accord; phantom dogs brushing against your leg; mysterious disembodied giggling; and music coming from nowhere, you might want to try the Holly Hotel. The top notch food and entertainment could help you overlook the pesky ghosts, or perhaps you are coming to do a little research of your own!
Question for students (and subscribers): Have you ever been on a paranormal investigation? If so, please let us know where and when in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For an example of a book mentioning that this hotel is haunted, see for example…
Haggart, G.P. and Nancy Haggart. The Ekballist. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012.
For more information on other allegedly haunted sites in Michigan, please read:
Hunter, Gerald S. Haunted Michigan: Recent Encounters with Active Spirits. Thunder Bay Press Michigan, 2000.
Lyons, Sandy Arno, Dr. Susan Richardson, et al. Michigan’s Most Haunted, A Ghostly Guide to the Great Lakes State. SkateRight Publishing, 2007.
The featured image in this article, a photograph by Andrew Jameson of the Historic Holly Hotel, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
You can also watch a video version of this article on YouTube:
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1039 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1039">18 Comments
I believe in ghost due to having lived in a haunted house for about 15 years. The haunting was not terrible, just mild things happening, but the history of the house is terrible.
Dear Deanna Nagle, I would be interested in learning more about your experiences and history of the house you mention if you are willing to share more information. I am the adviser to https://www.facebook.com/jcuparanormal and so I am especially curious about the kinds of experiences people have had. Thank you for your time! Sincerely, Dr. Zarzeczny
Okay I can tell you more about it. Your class is the first on Monday and Wednesday and i have a long break until my next one if you want to talk then.
Your Welcome,
Deanna Nagle
Dear Deanna,
Sure. I have office hours from 3:30 to 5:15 on MW.
Sincerely,
Dr. Zarzeczny
When it comes to ghosts, I think that the media and even the movie industry sort of desensitized us to the theory of ghosts and other paranormal activities. The public like the whole ghost story aspect because it gives them a thrill like a roller coaster at an amusement park. If I was asked to say if I believed in ghosts, I wouldn’t be able to answer because if you’ve never experienced a real ghost then you wouldn’t be able to answer that sort of question.
I have heard of this story! However, I feel that I can’t believe in ghosts until I experience some sort of paranormal activity.
Ill pass on staying there but sounds like an interesting time. I wonder where the roots of the hautnings come from though.
I have heard of haunted hotels before and I have always wanted to stay in one. I would stay in this hotel since the ghosts seem pretty harmless.
This is creepy. I would never stay here
I think that creepy stories such as this are just a way to drum up new business. Using a ‘ghost story’ to lure people in is a great example of a tourist trap. Nevertheless, I can understand how many people would find it interesting to find out if it were real for themselves.
Sounds like an interesting place to spend the night. I love Carry Nation stories. I wonder if her ghost is still there, whacking away at people with that umbrella.
I think if a former president can stay there and survive than I could do the same. Very creepy coincidence about the timing of the fire but I don’t look too much into that.
While I’m never going anywhere near that hotel. That is just freaky.
One of my worst nightmares!
I don’t know if I could ever stay in a haunted hotel. That’s just too creepy especially about the part with the ghosts brushing up against people. No thank you, i’ll stick to your average hotel.
The timing is definitely interesting but I stayed in a “Haunted Hotel” in West Virginia and it was not that bad. Maybe this one is worse though
I could absolutely never stay in a haunted place. I know my mind would play tricks on me and I would be all kinds of crazy by the time I left.
How did this not come up in our haunted locations research! This would have been great but as a die hard buckeye fan, I cannot affiliate with that state up north.