The Top 10 Haunted Places in Grand Rapids

While Grand Rapids may be known for its furniture, it’s also building a reputation as one of the most haunted cities in the Great Lakes region. The most haunted places in town have gruesome backstories, from a person being decapitated in a hotel to a woman beaten to death by a wooden leg.

If you want to see the most haunted locations for yourself, book a ghost tour with Grand Rapids Ghosts. As a top-rated ghost tour in Michigan, you can trust that we’ll give you all the behind-the-scenes details of these dark stories.

What is the most haunted place in Grand Rapids?

We rounded up the 10 most haunted locations in the entire Grand Rapids area. The spectral-heavy sites include:

• Amway Grand Plaza Hotel
• Michigan Bell Building
• The Peck Building
• Veterans Memorial Park
• Grand Rapids Public Library
• St. Cecilia Music Center
• McKay Tower
• Old LaMar Hotel and Horseshoe Bar Building
• The Heritage Hill Neighborhood
• Aquinas College

Amway Grand Plaza Hotel

In 1913, the luxurious Pantlind Hotel was unveiled in Grand Rapids. (It’s now owned by Amway Corporation.) The 10-story tall building included all the finest elements and features of the time, and it was declared to be one of the nicest hotels in all of Michigan. 

Yet, just a year after opening, a tragic accident took place on the top floor. Mary Monko started to get off the elevator as it began moving downward. Monko didn’t move quickly enough, and her head got caught between an iron gate and the tenth floor landing — decapitating her. 

Ever since that day, guests have heard the cries of a woman near the elevator. They’ve also experienced strange events in their room, like doors slamming and faucets turning on randomly, blasting hot water into the sink. 

Michigan Bell Building

The Michigan Bell company was likely kicking themselves when they discovered that they had built their building on the site of one of the most gruesome murders in Grand Rapids history. 

Warren and Virginia Randall were an ordinary, happy young couple who moved to town for Warren to work in the railroad industry. Just a year after moving to town, Warren got into a terrible accident and lost his leg. 

Outfitted with a wooden prosthetic leg, Warren never could get over the trauma from the accident and started verbally abusing Virginia as he sunk into a deep depression. After physically threatening her with a knife, Virginia left. 

Warren then hounded Virginia for weeks, claiming he’d changed. One night, Virginia finally agreed (or was forced) to accompany him for a carriage ride out to an abandoned lot. Weeks later, neighbors called police about an awful smell — and police found the Randalls’ bodies. 

Warren had beaten Virginia to death with his wooden leg and then slit his own throat. For years after, ghostly wails could be heard from the site, until Michigan Bell bought the lot and built an office building. 

Then, neighbors started getting relentless prank calls — which police traced to be coming from the empty office building at night. Many believe this is Virginia desperately trying to phone for help. 

The Peck Building

The Peck Building used to be home to John and Hannah Peck, a wealthy couple whose roots go back to the early days of Grand Rapids. They had several children, including a daughter named Clara.

In 1916, Clara fell in love with a charming doctor from New York named Dr. Arthur Waite. John and Hannah went to visit the newly married couple in New York.

However, while there, the elder Pecks started becoming quite ill. They returned to their home in Grand Rapids, where Hannah died first, followed some time after by John. 

The Pecks’ family was suspicious of the quick downward turn of the couple, so they ordered an autopsy. They discovered that Waite had been poisoning them both, spraying Hannah’s mouth with influenza, anthrax, diphtheria, and tuberculosis germs (and putting glass in her marmalade) while he put arsenic in John’s food. 

Today, in the Peck Building, Hannah’s voice is often heard as a whisper, while John’s phantom can be found standing near his former office. 

Veterans Memorial Park

Veterans Memorial Park was built to honor fallen veterans from any war; and it seems its mission has attracted a certain kind of spirit to the park. 

Visitors have seen spirits dressed in military uniforms from several different eras floating around the park. This includes a soldier dressed in World War I gear and multiple troops sporting Civil War-era garments. Before anyone can get too close, the apparitions fade into the night air.

Grand Rapids Public Library

If you linger too long at the Grand Rapids Public Library, you may find yourself face-to-face with a librarian who is more than 150 years old. 

At the library, several entities haunt the bookshelves. This includes Mary, a ghostly librarian who is known to straighten up books as she walks past a shelf. There’s also Samuel, a librarian who served his community during World War I and continues his duties by sitting at his original desk. 

St. Cecilia Music Center

The staff at St. Cecilia Music Center started to think they were going crazy. Touring performers would ask them about a strange woman they encountered backstage, or a quiet janitor in a jumpsuit who startled them. 

The staff would then have to muster up the best way to say that neither of those people worked at the music center. After enough times of being asked about these two, the music director concluded that “either homeless people are living here, or we have ghosts.” 

A paranormal investigation confirmed the latter. In addition to the resident ghost sightings, orbs of light can be spotted throughout the hall and the elevator will move floors when no one has pushed a button.

McKay Tower

Back in the 1920s, you didn’t want to mess with Frank McKay, the owner of McKay Tower. McKay was said to be a mob boss who positioned himself as a politician, running the local Republican party.

While McKay was never convicted of any wrongdoings, there are plenty of stories about the man overseeing executions of rival gang members within the tower that bears his name. 

Today, McKay is often seen walking around the building. One woman was riding in the elevator when the doors opened and a ghostly figure stepped in. After a few floors, the elevator doors reopened and the man, believed to be McKay, walked out. 

Old LaMar Hotel and Horseshoe Bar Building

Back in the mid-20th century, the Horseshoe Bar and Blues Club was the place to be. A hip club on the ground floor was accompanied by a brothel on the third floor. 

Over the years, the club didn’t last, and the building changed hands several times. Recently, a tattoo shop went into the space — and the workers were met with more ghostly guests than they anticipated. 

Their interactions included everything from doors locking on their own, distant footsteps when no one else was around, mysterious handprints left on windows, and items that went missing. One of the most confounding occurrences was a regular strong scent of perfume, which none of them wore due to their close proximity to clients. 

The Heritage Hill Neighborhood

In the 1970s, the Heritage Hill neighborhood was rocked by several grisly murders. The assailant was never found, and it seems the victims of the crimes haven’t been able to fully move on. 

This has led people living in the neighborhood to experience strange things within their homes. This included Chris Gibbons, who poured his life savings into renovating his Heritage Hill home. 

After moving in, Chris and his family started experiencing strange things, like the bed shaking violently in the middle of the night. Chris also felt a sensation like something was pushing down on his pillow next to his head, and he’d hear the plastic from the renovation being stepped on, even when no one was in the room. 

After an attack against his wife, Chris requested the assistance of a priest. But even divine intervention couldn’t fully rid the neighborhood of the spirits. 

Aquinas College

With several buildings that were built well over a century ago, Aquinas College’s campus is teeming with spirits from long-departed faculty and students. 

This includes Holmdene Manor, which used to be the home for the wealthy Lowe family. Today, many staff members refuse to go into the building after nightfall because of a little girl spirit who will whisper, “Hi,” and whose laugh echoes throughout the halls. 

There’s also Brookby House, where a UPS driver saw a woman staring at him out of a window. When he mentioned the woman to the person who answered the door, she showed him that the window was 10 feet off the ground — too high for anyone to peer out of. 

Haunted Grand Rapids

Want even more information about these crimes and ghost stories? Check out the most phantom-filled areas of Grand Rapids for yourself on a ghost tour with Grand Rapids Ghosts. 

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to learn about other haunted buildings around the Midwest and entire U.S. To read about other eerie locations around Michigan, check out our blog. 

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