Saturday, December 3, 2011

Looking For Ghosts In Nunica, Michigan - 11/12/11

The West Michigan Ghost Hunters Society (yes, it exists) claims the Nunica Cemetery is one of the most haunted in Michigan. The town has closed the cemetery at night due to its popularity but cannot keep everyone out, particularly around Halloween.

A friend and I drove to Nunica on a Saturday to find the cemetery.
We checked google locations and google led us down a drive called Woodland but it was a dead end. A new search found us heading into Spring Lake. No longer being in Nunica, we presumed we had taken a wrong tack and stopped at a local gas station for directions.

The clerk told us there was a Spring Lake cemetery straight ahead. Ah...it’s not just any cemetery we’re looking for, I’m afraid.  She asked a fellow employee but two customers spoke up and told us to go back toward the highway and take the small drive on the left just before the Mobile gas station at the highway. 
We found a Marathon station (close enough, it starts with M) by the highway and took the drive to the left, and then took a road to the right - both no good. 
We then pulled into the gas station to ask the clerk for directions. She promptly directed us to head back towards Spring Lake. *Sigh* 

While waiting around outside scouting out the entering customers, we asked a man who appeared to be a local if he knew where the cemetery was. He pointed to a tall, spindly pine tree and told us the road in was right there. Sure enough. There was a set-back sign and fence, and a small drive that we had missed at least four times.
So we drove in, parked in the back, and started to walk around. We’re not sure about
ghosts but can say that there are many unusual grave markers. 
Some people pre-plan, and others remember their pets.
Wood decays, 
and pinwheels spin. 
If you enjoy history more than ghost-hunting, you may want to visit the grave of military veteran Henry E. Plant, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1896 for his efforts in North Carolina during the Civil War. 
Other veterans can also be found, 
along with sad photos and fallen angels.
And back in the day, some gravestones made you do your own math.

The grounds are full of atmospheric, knotty trees,

and it must be incredibly eerie at night.
A visit to a cemetery is always a poignant reminder that while everything and everyone eventually crumbles and disappears, nature carries on.
No actual ghosts were encountered during our visit, just a few from things past.