Is Arch Rock One of the Reasons Mackinac Island is so Haunted?

Many legends are told of the Arch Rock on Mackinac Island and its origin. Thought to be a portal to the afterlife, many people tie the many haunted ghost stories from this little island to the legends behind this mysterious rock formation.

In the glistening waters of Lake Huron between Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas, Mackinac Island is a serene retreat known for its picturesque beauty, historic charm, and an eerie reputation for the supernatural. 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.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from the USA

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.

Many legends are told of the Arch Rock on Mackinac Island and its origin. Thought to be a portal to the afterlife, many people tie the many haunted ghost stories from this little island to the legends behind this mysterious rock formation. — **The Arch Rock:** A place of legend on Mackinac Island. The Arch Rock are said to have been a portal to the afterlife, where spirits on the other side could come and the living could go.

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 Arch Rock and it’s Legends

Many believe that many hauntings on Mackinac Island come from the stored energy the island holds. Some believe that the energy is stored inside of the many limestone and quartz the state park has. One of these places is the rock formation on the east coast of the Island called Arch Rock.

It is one of the more famous places to visit on the island, arching 140 feet above the water of Lake Huron and is more than fifty feet wide.

It is not only in recent times that people have begun talking about energy coming from the stones. Archaeologists have found evidence for the island being inhabited since AD 900, 700 years before any European settlers put their foot on the land.

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The Legends of the Arch Rock

Over the years the rock formation took place in more than one legend. One tells of the Ottawa nation committing a shameful act once upon a time, so shameful that the Master of Life punished them for it. He sent a wind to earth, so powerful, the rocky hills trembled for a whole day, even blowing the sun away. The Ottawa nation could only watch as when the sun turned into the color of blood before falling into the island, carving a hole through it, making an arch. Ever since then, the Ottawa have kept away from the rock and not even the bravest of them all walked over it.

The Anishinaabek natives have long roots to the island and used to believe that the Arch Rock was a portal to the afterlife. According to their belief, it worked both ways. People would be able to cross over into the spirit world, and the spirit could return to the world of the living.

The Anishinaabe people believed the island to be the home of the Gitche Manitou, or the Great Spirit. This was said to be the first land to appear after the Great Flood, and was a gathering place for tribes who made offerings to Gitche Manitou and a burial place of tribal chiefs.

The Legend of She-Who-Walks-Like-The-Mist

One of the famous legends comes from a book by Dirk Gringhus’s, The Lore of the Great Turtle about an Ojibwe Chief and his daughter called, She-who-walks-like-the-mist, or ‘Mist Woman’.

Misty was a beautiful woman, always smiling as she went about her chores, although she rejected every suitor giving her gifts. One day, her smile faded, and she didn’t do her chores as she used to, only sitting down and looking miserable.

The chief wanted her married and angry that she didn’t care to make an effort. He asked her what’s the matter. She answered that she would only marry the Sky Person:

“Two moons ago…..a handsome brave appeared to me…..‘Oh, lovely one,’ he said. ‘Long have I watched you in the village wishing that you might be mine for all time. In my home, high above you, I am the son of a chief, Evening Star, and therefore, a Sky Person…..(I descended) to earth that I might ask you to join me in my sky home.’”

“You should marry no one at all then!” her father said and put her in his canoe and paddled out to the Island of Turtle Spirits we today know as Mackinac Island, already a holy place for the natives.

He took her to the rocky formation and said she had to stay there until she was ready to obey him. She didn’t fight or move, only cried, her tears turning into an arch as she mourned her loved one she didn’t believe would come. One night however, the stars shone so bright it was a ray of light through the arch and the Sky People came down for her. He picked her up and carried her home to live in the sky for all its time.

Ties with Freemasonry

Also when the Europeans arrived, there was a lot of mysticism over the place. The mysterious Freemasonry came to the Great Lakes region in the 1700s and built lodges around the area. Mackinac Island was home to St. John’s Lodge No. 15 (1782–1813), holding meetings at the newly constructed Fort Mackinac in the rooms in the Officers Stone Quarters.

What really happened when they arrived is unknown as there are few records of the lodge in existence.
Was it only a boys and mens club for the military people stationed there? Or something else? The second Masonic Lodge was Mackinac Lodge No. 71, operating as a so-called moon lodge, with meetings on Monday evenings on or proceeding full moons until the 1860s.

The Haunting of Mackinac Island

For those believing in the paranormal, the Arch Rock is often said to be one of the sources of whatever strange things happening on the island. Truth is, going back to before the Europeans settled here, the whole island was considered somewhat holy to the local tribes.

This is were they came to make offerings to Gitche Manitou or the Great Spirit they believed created the island and whose home it was after the Great Flood receded. Today the island is considered to be the home of more spirits than living.