Take a Tour of Grand Rapids’ Ghostly History

As Halloween draws near, Grand Rapids comes alive (or is that undead?) with terrifying haunted houses, spooky corn mazes and other eerie entertainment. This is the season when the veil separating this world from the next is at its thinnest, and local legends of apparitions wandering city streets and bedeviling their old homesteads make us more aware of things that go bump in the night.

It's the perfect time to explore our haunted hot spots and learn the chilling stories behind them. But it’s not the only time – the tour operators below are fiendishly happy to guide you through the city’s ghostly history all year-round!

Paranormal Michigan

Ghosts of Grand Rapids Tours by Paranormal Michigan offer the unique twist of being hosted by paranormal researchers who literally wrote the book on hauntings in the city.

Led by Ghosts of Grand Rapids authors Nicole Bray and Robert Du Shane, along with A Haunted History of Grand Rapids author Julie Rathsack, Paranormal Michigan offers private Haunted History tours, along with two public tours in Grand Rapids: one explores a western route through downtown (Monroe Center Street NW area) while the other follows an eastern route through the Heritage Hill neighborhood. 

Both routes cover various paranormal activity reports occurring on the streets, sidewalks, and in historic buildings that have been in Grand Rapids for generations. The western tour draws from such local lore as:

• A ghost cat roaming the hallways of an apartment building on Ionia Avenue NW.
• Comic books flying from their shelves in a comic book shop near Rosa Parks Circle.
• A volatile romance in 1907 that supposedly ended in death by a wooden leg in a building near the corner of Ionia Avenue NW and Fountain Street NE.
• Apparitions peeking through the curtains on the stage of a popular theater and unnerving growling noises heard by actors on the third floor.
• The ghost of an old maid who enjoys indulging in a few cigarettes in the historic lobby of a well-known Grand Rapids hotel.
• Fallen soldiers returning to war memorials to honor their departed comrades.
• The ghost of a 14-year-old boy named Mortimer who holds a degree in causing shenanigans throughout a string of connected buildings near the intersection of Fulton Street East and Division Avenue South.

You may also hear the occasional spirit-adjacent historical fact about the. For example: did you know that Harry Houdini performed in Grand Rapids several times? In one memorable show, he escaped from a straitjacket while dangling upside down from the fifth floor of a building in less than two minutes in front of a crowd of roughly 2,000 people in 1916.

On the other side of town, the Heritage Hill experience includes “more gruesome tales of macabre history and even spookier ghosts,” according to Rathsack, who leads the eastern tour route. Rathsack is intimately familiar with the haunted happenings of various Heritage Hill locations, including the Sweet House, where she has conducted actual overnight paranormal investigations and knows firsthand what happens in the shadows. On this tour, you’ll hear a variety of stories, from a body boiling to death in a bathtub and “Dead Man’s Row,” where there were once nine funeral homes within a two-block radius, to the “Living Skeleton” - a 6’2”, 90-pound man who gained fame by traveling around the world with the circus and died in his downtown Grand Rapids home. Unlike other tours, actual photographs are occasionally shown to reinforce the tales.

Both tours begin and end at the Grand Rapids Public Library, cover just over one mile, and take approximately two hours – so wear your walking shoes and keep the weather in mind since the tours are completely outside. Ghosts of Grand Rapids Tours are a fun, albeit goosebump-inducing, opportunity to learn about the mysterious happenings of the city.

Grand Rapids Running Tours

Normally you run away from ghosts, but with Grand Rapids Running Tours , you run towards them.

Offering more than 80 unique moving tours, founder and Chief Tour Ambassador Caroline Cook has been encouraging people to “burn while you learn” throughout the 1,500 or so tours she has personally facilitated since establishing Grand Rapids Running Tours in 2013. Some of her most popular fall tours include:

• Fulton Street Graveyard: shares stories about the fascinating lives of the first generation of Grand Rapids settlers while visiting the first and oldest public graveyard in Grand Rapids, which was established in 1838.
• Grand Rapids Most Haunted: visits iconic locations where there have been multiple paranormal sightings and unusual activity while answering the questions: “Did someone suffer a tragic death here?” and “Is this story legend or real?”
• Heritage Hill Hauntings: explores the historic neighborhood and the many stories of ghostly activity therein. 
• Saints & Spirits: explores the history of a piece of property that used to be a dairy farm, a proper estate, a business college, and is now Aquinas College, while investigating various landmarks on campus tied to superstitious traditions.

In these tours, attendees try to answer questions like, “Is the ghost of Frank D. McKay haunting the tower that bears his name?”, “Where is Haunted Hotel Row?”, “Why are old homes so susceptible to hauntings?”, and “Which downtown church is haunted by Edythe?”

All tours, which generally last 60-90 minutes and take place rain or shine, can be scheduled as a run, walk, or step-on bus tour, and meet in the lobby of the JW Marriott Grand Rapids  (unless otherwise noted).

If you’re unable to make a tour, but still want to experience the fun of Grand Rapids’ history, Grand Rapids Running Tours uniquely offers half of its tours, like Grand Rapids Most Haunted and Fulton Street Graveyard, as virtual tours in presentation format via video call or in-person.

Tours Around Michigan

The Tours Around Michigan  team ultimately strives to inspire people to learn more about Grand Rapids through adventures and explorations, and their Ghost Tour Grand Rapids is the perfect way to start since it effectively blends history with spooky stories.

Tours Around Michigan constantly updates the tour’s content and locations by engaging with the local community to find active hauntings and research new stories. For example, there’s one business manager who routinely visits with tour groups to share his latest ghostly encounters around his establishment. Other common locations include hotels, restaurants, the Grand Rapids Public Library , and St. Cecilia Music Center . 

While you enjoy iconic sights and learn about Grand Rapids’ history on this tour side-by-side with Tours Around Michigan’s mascot, #CreepyDollAmanda, you’ll hear stories handed down through generations set in buildings passed during the experience, such as:

• A murdered woman who terrifies the people working in her building.
• The tale of an ill-mannered janitor still cleaning up in the afterlife.
• A Grand Rapids pioneer determined to make sure he is talked about for years to come.

While it doesn’t happen every time, there are occasions when spirits even join the fun. An early Grand Rapids settler named Amos, for example, will sometimes make himself and his bushy mustache and happy energy known to people who are sensitive to ghosts. 

Tours occur daily and last about two hours while covering approximately two miles. Each tour begins at Lyon Square (296 Lyon Street NW, Grand Rapids) where Lyon Street meets the Grand River behind the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel . While you can join public tours, private and customizable tours are also available, like combining ghost stories or other topics with beer, wine, or distillery/cocktail tastings in haunted restaurants.

Tours Around Michigan also prioritizes accessibility by offering tours that are wheelchair and stroller friendly, pet friendly (must be on a leash or in a carrier, able to stay quiet during the tour, and feel comfortable around downtown activity) and that welcome sign language and spoken language interpreters, who can join tours for free.

A Haunted Hotel

The Amway Grand Plaza is hosting the first-ever peek into the hidden history and ghostly legends of the city’s most historic and iconic hotel. Ghosts of the Grand, A Paranormal Indoor Walking Tour , is a four-hour exploration of the Amway Grand’s haunted history, including a 45-minute guided tour filled with chilling tales and exclusive access to the property’s most haunted spots; an interactive experience with renowned seer Rick Waid, who connects people with departed loved ones; and a special appearance by an Amway Grand Plaza historian.

Guests will also enjoy a welcome cocktail and bites plus priority admission to the hotel’s IDC bar. Four tour times are available the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 30 – and they’re likely to fill up fast, so book your slot ASAP.

Want to make a night of it? Book a guest room at the Amway website and email Lindsay at  lhovingh@ahchospitality.com  to be placed on a floor with high reports of paranormal activity.

Can’t make it on the 30th? The Amway Grand is celebrating Halloween all month long with a Haunted Tour Room Package . Guests will receive tickets to the Ghost Tour Grand Rapids conducted by Tours Around Michigan in addition to overnight accommodations in a luxurious guest room, $50 food credit for hotel restaurants and lounges, and complimentary self or valet parking. Available Oct. 1-31

GR Haunted Tour

Betka-Pope Productions, a Grand Rapids company that works to provide new opportunities to local artists, invites guests to uncover ghost stories, urban legends, and paranormal secrets hidden in the shadows of Downtown Grand Rapids on a “wickedly funny, hauntingly memorable” walking tour.

The GR Haunted Tour lasts about two hours and covers roughly 1.5 square miles. It takes place within Downtown’s Outdoor Refreshment Area, so you can enjoy adult beverages purchased from participating businesses during your stroll. The tour is ADA-accessible, just let Betka-Pope know ahead of time if you need accommodations.

You can book a private GR Haunted Tour for two to 25 participants any time of the year. Special public tours are offered in October – unfortunately, they’re already sold out for 2024, but Betka-Pope offers two other ways to get into the spirit of the season: The Fourth Annual Halloween Bash on Oct. 6 at Fulton Street Farmers Market and an After(Life) Party at The Pyramid Scheme Oct. 26.

Walking Ghost Stories

Student artists, animators and sound designers from downtown GR’s Kendall College of Art and Design at Ferris State University created this self-guided tour exploring the city center’s creepiest ghost encounters. Walking Ghost Stories is available via the PocketSights app, available for download on the Apple Store and Google Play.

You’ll start the tour at Kendall College and make your way to 20 additional downtown landmarks, accompanied by audio and video clips that convey the scary stories surrounding each location. Be sure to wear headphones or ear buds to enhance your experience.

Ghostly history tours and Halloween happenings lead a huge lineup of fun fall things to do in Grand Rapids. Visit our Fall page to plan your itinerary!