The Haunting of Bower's Harbor Inn: Traverse City, Michigan

About twenty years ago, I went with a couple of friends and spent the night at this place which is said to be haunted....not rumored, but believed.

When we went there it was called Bower's Harbor Inn...nowadays it's called "The Mission Table / Jolly Pumpkin." But before I get into my experience, here's the tale:

The inn was constructed in the 1880s north of Traverse City in the Old Mission Peninsula. It was built and owned by Chicago lumberman J.W. Stickney & wife Genevieve to be used as a summer vacation home. Over time, Genevieve kept gaining more & more weight, much to J.W.'s displeasure. She gained so much, that it was difficult for her to go up the stairs......so J.W. installed an elevator to get her up & down the stairs and then hired a nurse to help out.

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Oh, she helped all right.....she helped herself right into the sack with J.W., which Genevieve was afraid would happen.

When J.W. passed away, he ended up leaving his entire fortune to the nurse and Genevieve was left with the inn. More distraught than pissed off, Genevieve decided to end it all and hung herself from the elevator shaft's rafters.

Over the years the paranormal activity rumors began circulating: at times the elevator goes up & down on it's own, Genevieve's face has been spotted in mirrors, things re-arrange and fly off shelves in the storeroom and lights go on & off by themselves.

When we stayed there, nothing happened during the night...until about 5:30am. As we were waking up, the figure of a woman dressed in old clothes and her hair done up in a bun was standing in the doorway. As one of the guys grabbed his camera, she turned and walked away...downstairs and thru the kitchen and gone. I went downstairs and noticed wet footprints coming inside the kitchen, but not leaving. So was this an employee they asked to pose as Genevieve to keep the 'haunted' image alive? Or was this a real paranormal experience? I tend to think it was set up.

But there is one thing that happened with no explanation.

When a manager was showing me the storeroom where things fly off the shelves by themselves, an item really did fly off while I was standing there.

Pay a visit for yourself. Bower's Harbor Inn is located on West Grand Traverse Bay on the Old Mission Peninsula...13512 Peninsula Drive, Traverse City.