6. Big Bay Point Lighthouse is a haunted Bed & Breakfast in Marquette
Along the shore of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula stands Big Bay Point Lighthouse. Built in the 1890s, its first keeper was William Prior, a man noted for both his hot temper and his flaming red hair. Prior hired his son to act as his assistant around the turn of the century, an arrangement which did not last long, cut short due to a tragic accident which cost the son, Edward Prior his life (some accounts describe the son as being named George). After the death of the younger Prior the deranged father vanished into the thick woods which cover the Upper Peninsula, and he was not seen again alive. About eighteen months later his body was found hanging in a tree, apparently a suicide.
Big Bay Point Lighthouse, which became a bed and breakfast operated by a series of owners, is haunted by a ghost said to be of William Prior, which has frequent tantrums, slamming doors and cupboards in apparent rage. Images of a red-haired man have been reported in windows and mirrors by visitors at the site. There were enough reports by frightened residents to attract the attention of paranormal experts, some of whom claimed to have identified at least five different spirits occupying the lighthouse and keeper’s house, sharing them with the temporary guests of the inn. Big Bay Point Lighthouse, unlike other “haunted’ facilities, does not stress its paranormal activity in its marketing materials, which makes the reports of visitors that much more frightening.