The Soldier Ghost at Rifle Range Trail at Mackinac Island

A soldier hanged for the murder of another is said to haunt the Rifle Range Trail at Mackinac Island in Michigan. Appearing for those venturing onto the trail where he was once hanged, he tries to plead his innocence.

Mackinac Island, located in Lake Huron between Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas, is a peaceful getaway famous for its scenic beauty, historic appeal, and spooky legends. In fact, Mackinac Island was called the most haunted town in America in 2021, with many stories having been covered over the years. And with only a full time population of around 583 people, the ghosts perhaps even outnumber the living.

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With no cars allowed and transportation limited to bicycles and horse-drawn carriages, the island offers a unique step back in time. Some come to enjoy the quiet seaside and enjoy the famous fudge. The island has become a perfect summer destination for Americans, but after the tourists leave in the fall, the fog from the Straits comes rolling in, and the leaves turn color, the ghost of the island remains to haunt it.

Built to hold the British away, Fort Mackinac has seen its fair share of death, both in war times and times of peace. Soldiers dying in wars, children taken by diseases are only some of the many ghosts said to haunt the old fort on Mackinac Island. — **Fort Mackinac:** The Straits of Mackinac quickly became an important French fur trading location. The British took control of the Straits after the French and Indian War and built Fort Mackinac to protect their settlement from attack by French-Canadians and native tribes.//Source: Wikimedia

A Brief History of Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island’s history stretches back thousands of years, with indigenous peoples such as the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Huron considering it a sacred place long before European settlers arrived. The island’s name itself, derived from the Ojibwe word “Michilimackinac,” means “big turtle,” referring to the island’s shape when viewed from above.

Read more: Check out all ghost stories from Mackinac Island

The French established a fur trading post here in the 17th century, and the island later became a strategic military outpost during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. In the late 19th century, it became more of a summer colony and a tourist destination that it still is.

The Hanging of Private James Brown on Rifle Range Trail

On February 1 in 1830, there was a hanging on Rifle Road on Mackinac Island between 10 am and 2 am. There was a lot of talk in the small town about it, but if it was ever made a spectacle remains a mystery. Many say that all the locals came to see the hanging, but we don’t really know.

Corporal Hugh Flinn had been found dead, and Private James Brown was found guilty of his murder and hanged. They had argued the day he died and Brown walked by Flinn, sitting down at the mess room of the Soldier’s Barracks at Fort Mackinac. It was December 5 in 1828 and private James Brown entered the hall. A shot was heard and Flinn bled to death after the bullet hit his neck.

What really happened that day at Fort Mackinac? Brown confessed that the shot had come from his rifle, but claimed that it had gone off by accident. There were 15 witnesses to the aftermath, not the shooting itself, and they claimed Brown had lowered his musket as he cried out: “My God, what have I done?”

Many believed in his innocence, including Governor Lewis Cass, who even asked the president, Andrew Jackson for a pardon for him. As they tried him, they kept him in the fort’s guardhouse.

This pardon was not granted and he was found guilty of murder and hung to death on what is now close to the Rifle Range Trail. It was the only execution of its kind here. But it was not the end of the story of Brown. According to the locals, his spirit is still roaming the island, trying to convince the people who he appeared in front of to believe he was indeed innocent.

A soldier hanged for the murder of another is said to haunt the Rifle Range Trail at Mackinac Island in Michigan. Appearing for those venturing onto the trail where he was once hanged, he tries to plead his innocence. — **Ghost Haunting the Rifle Range Trail:** There are miles and miles of trails on Mackinac Island. Some of them, like the Rifle Range Trail where the hanging occurred are said to be haunted by the ghost of the soldier. // Source/Zachary V. Sunderman

The Rifle Range Trail Ghost

On Mackinac Island there are over 70 miles of hiking trails, one of them going past where they once built a gallow especially for James Brown’s hanging, the only public hanging on the island. This particular trail known as Rifle Range Trail is said to be the place his ghost is appearing to haunt.

For eternity, his ghost roams Rifle Range Trail between Fort Holmes and Fort Mackinac. People sometimes hear footsteps and get a feeling of being watched when they walk it. Some stories claim that he will appear to some and plead his innocence he insisted on until his death, still trying to get someone to believe in him.

In addition to his spirit of James Brown haunting the Rifle Range Trail, there are plenty of military hauntings around the island. The sound of a fife has also been heard playing old military tunes in the morning fog close to the fort’s North Sally Port Entrance. In the end, who knows how many soldiers posted at this place is lingering as ghosts?