There’s a Silent Dead Zone in the Interior of Mackinac Island Where the Tourists Never Go
Say Mackinac Island and just about anyone will begin to think of images that make the island famous - fudge, bike and carriage rides, the trip over on a ferry or the Grand Hotel. Almost no one will conjure up an image of the wooded interior of the island - it's an area where tourists don't venture and some call the most eerie location in Michigan.
The question came up recently on a Reddit forum dedicated to Michigan, what is the most eerie place in the state? Common and expected answers were shared like former asylums and the well known Pere Cheney cemetery. Some answers, however, were quite intriguing like this experience in the interior of Mackinac Island:
The middle of the woods on Mackinaw Island (i.e. the interior of the island where most tourists don't go). I remember riding my bike around the interior of the island a few years ago. It was a beautiful summer day and there was no one else around. I stopped for a break and it was just... Silent. But not in like a peaceful silent way? Like, there were no animal noises, no wind in the trees or anything like that. Just dark and twisted trees closing in all around me. It wasn't a scary feeling, just unnerving and definitely felt like I was being watched by something.
As few tourists do make it off of M-185, the carless state highway that makes an 8 mile ring the island. Those that do certainly would not be expecting to find an eerie dead zone. Although such locations do exist - a hiker had a similar experience on the North Country Trail in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
So should you ever find yourself vacationing on Mackinac Island and wish to stray from the village area's fudge shops and hotels, be ready for the unexpected.
How to Spot a Fudgie on Mackinac Island
Gallery Credit: Maitlynn Mossolle