Ghost Stories of Michigan [Paperback]

Dan Asfar (Author)

Book Description

Series: Ghost Stories of | Publication Date: April 15, 2002

Amid the beauty of Michigan's lakes and forested hills lurk spine-tingling stories of the supernatural. These tales of fright-filled folklore span the length and breadth of the Great Lakes State. Read about the Red Dwarf, a hideous harbinger of doom, who continues to be sighted in Detroit whenever tragedy visits; a cantankerous ghost that hampers renovations of an old farmhouse in Gladwin; and the mysterious growls and barks that haunt Dog Lady Island in east Monroe, where long ago a solitary woman began her legendary metamorphosis into a canine monstrosity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Asfar has done a remarkable job of amassing these uniquely Michigan ghost stories. Even nonbelievers will find the legends highly entertaining. --The View, Belleville, MI

About the Author

DAN ASFAR has a flare for writing lively narrative and has written several books on the history of the Old West. His keen interest in paranormal folklore also has resulted in nine collections of ghost stories. Dan, who has a degree in history, has traveled extensively across North America and has visited Australia and Mexico in recent years, all in pursuit of regional ghost lore.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Lone Pine Publishing (April 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894877055
• ISBN-13: 978-1894877053
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,283,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining if a bit cheesy, June 5, 2007

By 

Bookphile (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ghost Stories of Michigan (Paperback)

Just in time for Halloween, I started on this novel. The first part, which discusses the activities of various Michigan paranormal associates, was not of great interest to me. Some of it was downright hokey and I was glad when I got past that section. Once past it, though, I really enjoyed reading about the various urban legends and ghost stories that are tied to cities around the state. I thought the gave the reader quite a feel for Michigan's history and culture and I love learning about the folklore of my home state.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good mix of folklore and contemporary account, July 7, 2004

By 

Luftmensch (Ann Arbor, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost Stories of Michigan (Paperback)

Admittedly, I haven't been scared by a book in years, and wasn't expecting to be frightened by anything in Dan Asfar's Ghost Stories of Michigan. Purchasing it during a recent trip to the U.P., I was pleased by this thorough treatment of the supernatural in Michigan. An interesting, fun, and occasionally creepy collection of stories and accounts.

The first chapter features four groups of paranormal investigators (i.e. "ghost hunters") and the different spooks they run into during their investigations of cemeteries, homes and other supposedly haunted sites. The Michigan Ghost Hunters Society produce the best stories of the first chapter; the organization's investigations of the Eloise Mental Asylum and a possessed home in Livonia are especially good.

The second chapter, a collection of old Michigan folk tales, is the strongest. While some readers may be familiar with the stories of the Red Dwarf or the Hundred Heads, I was glad to see them here, vividly retold with vim and more than a little bit of twisted humor. I've noticed the reviewer below seems to have misread the obvious hilarity of the Red Dwarf's various descriptions. I've heard stories of Detroit's "stmpy monstrosity" before, but this was the first time the Red Dwarf made me laugh. While camping in the U.P., my wife and friends ended up reading the entire second chapter around the campfire.

The rest of the book covers hauntings in different settings, one per chapter- public places, houses and the lakes, respectively. While these stories are well written and entertaining (the story of the Michigan Bell Building, Mr. Enoch, and the Calumet Theatre stand out), this is also where the author stumbles, citing authors Gerald S. Hunter and Frederick Stonehouse in a number of retellings in the fourth and fifth chapters. Whatever Mr. Asfar was thinking here (does he hope to push these tales into the realm of folklore by retelling them?), he would've done well to stick to the methods he used in the rest of the book. Otherwise, a great book on ghosts in Michigan.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The investigations discussed in this book and the"evidence" found for paranormal activity., June 26, 2009

By 

Redneck Country Boy and proud of it - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost Stories of Michigan (Paperback)

Overall this book is an easy and enjoyable read. However in the investigations talked about in this book, most of the "evidence," that the investigaters found, was nothing more than pictures of orbs. I am not a skeptic, I certainly believe in "ghost" or spirits. However I believe that most(about 80% acourding to some experts in the field) can be disproved. It stands to reason that if you can find a logical explanation for something, then it is not evidence of the paranormal. "Orbs" or balls of light caught on camera can easily be accoplished by specks of dust or insects in the air, or a smuge on the camera lense. Most of the time what people call orbs are merely one of these three things. There are actual orbs occassionally caught on camera but still, its just energy(a naturally occuring phenomena), not evidence of a ghost or spirit.
Also, in this book on some of the investigations, the investigators bring along a physic. Again I'm not a skeptic, I believe that some(very few) are real but most are fakes. Also it can't be proved one way or the other if the particular physic is real or fake. As I said, I believe some are real, but you should have nothing to do with them especially if you are a christian. Physcics(the real ones I mean) are merely a demonic perversion of what the Bible calls prophets(prophecy being the revelation of truth, not necesarily predicting the future, though it sometimes can include that). The rest of the book talks about different stories of folklore from around Michigan such as the Dog Lady of Dog Lady Island and the Red Dwarf of Detroit. I found this part of the book entertaining though I doubt any of it is true. The book finishes up with stories about haunted light houses from around the great lakes. This part was good I guess, I'm just not that interested in light houses even though alot of other people are.
P.S. This book was ok but for a much better book check out a book called "Ghost Hunting: True Stories of Unexplained Phenomena from The Atlantic Paranormal Society" By Jason Hawes and Grant WIlson.