Docking at the Haunted Island

Docking at midnight was always a challenge at the Haunted Island, especially so with a boatload of nervous kids making their first journey there. We always docked on the western shore of the island and about mid island. Here you can observe the central and southern shoreline on the west side of the island. Our docking point was just past the central location you can observe here.

The dock itself was rickety to say the least as it must have been 50 years old.  I took this picture of the dock in the 1970′s.  On this trip, the Hoffman Estates Boys Club was about to see what they all had been hoping to see. Although now that the time was really here they weren’t as anxious as before. There’s something about seeing this island safe from shore as opposed to actually being there.

We docked and climbed the small hill that led to the one person pathway. It is a short walk to the haunted house which is surrounded by pine trees in an opening in almost the mid central part of the island. And there it stood, a two-floor old house with no windows, only empty window frames.

The boys slowly and cautiously walked once around the house and then a story was told about the legend of that old house, which is found elsewhere under the category Haunted Island on the sidebar. Just as I was into mid story the wind picked up which startled the boys. Two of them nudged closer to me and then an ear jarring bolt of thunder broke loose and they all hugged the ground.

We then proceeded back to our wooded beachfront making sure that lightning was NOT in the area before we started back. All in all it was a great trip to the Haunted Island and my thanks to Mike Elsner for this great photograph of the island itself.

As Wild Leaves Fly on the Haunted Island

The Marion Boys Club went to our property once in the early fall in the month of October. It was two weeks prior to hunting season so the kids got to hike around our property when the trees were almost in full color.  We stayed at a cabin on the Little Manistee River as the nights were too cold to be tent camping.

One evening we went to our property and used a rowboat to get to Haunted Island.  The night saw some whitecaps on Big Bass Lake as the wind was whipping them up.  It was a bouncy ride out to the island.  Once there the boys moved up the little hill and proceeded to the Haunted House.

The trees were swaying in the wind and many-colored leaves were flying around the opening where the Haunted House stood.  Yes, it was a most spooky evening and the weather was going to provide the boys with all the scare elements it could.  As the boys approached the house several leaves shot out one of the window frames and the kids hit the ground fast. 

The boys thought they were spooks.  I asked if they wanted to visit the mounds area north of the house and they all shook their heads to the negative as that was the legendary home of the bonepickers.  So after about a half-hour of leaves being scattered about by the wind, and the boys thinking there was something supernatural about all that, we headed back to the boat.

Later that night back at the cabin the boys reflected on their windy experience at Haunted Island.  To a boy they all said that those leaves were possessed in the way they flew about the house.  Possessed leaves?  Now, that’s a new one even to me!  I wonder if they would think that about the leaves around the cabin?

How to Avoid Deer Hunters

No, that’s not the newest float in the Big Bass Lake 4th of July Parade. It’s also not the new Deer Washing Business either. What you have here is a very smart deer heading out to Haunted Island to avoid getting shot in deer hunting season.   Also those antlers are not his version of a periscope either!

Once at Haunted Island all that deer has to contend with are ghosts and bonepickers.  And, they are from the other world which it is attempting to avoid prematurely by getting shot in season.  Now he can forage for food at his heart’s content without having to dodge bullets and arrows.  After all how bad can a few spooks and bonepickers look compared to that?

If he had stayed on land then someone would have been picking at his bones and this deer was bent on survival!  Then again, with some help, he could pretend to be a float next year and if he won, who in their right mind would want to kill a winner?  Hmm?

The Overnight at Haunted Island

On one of our camping trips to our property in Michigan, two of our older members from the Marion Boys Club sought permission to spend an overnight at the Haunted Island. That was before we got to the Big Bass Lake area as they kind of laughed about it on the way up to Michigan. But when they first laid eyes on it as we were bringing the tents down to our wooded beachfront, their bravado weakened a bit.

Our younger members urged them on because of all their bragging and for a time their bravado returned. That was until the first sunset had vanished from the sky and there the island stood in the lake, drapped in darkness and very foreboding. As I put a tent into the boat, one of the older kids began rethinking his boasting. “How about in a few days. There’s no rush”, he said. The other older member echoed those vey thoughts.

But each night as it came time to shove off for the island, another excuse was forthcoming. So it was until the final night of our stay there when push came to shove as the younger members began heckling them about their so called bravery. But the farthest we ever got was about five rows away from our campsite. On another night they had accompanied us to the full camps visit to the Haunted Island which left a “haunting” impression on each older member. Thus, that overnight never came to be and they took a lot of ribbing from the younger members all the way back to Marion.

An overnight at the Haunted Island is easier ssid then done.

Haunting Spirit of Big Bass Lake

It always happens that first night of any camping trip. I call it “The Haunting Spirit” of Big Bass Lake. It seems to permeate each and every boy. It commences on our first night hike and thoroughly invades each boy when they return from that hike and observe the Haunted Island enshrouded by darkness.

It accelerates itself on a visit to that island as the boys near the Haunted House or the burial grounds where the bonepickers are said to dwell.  It further stretches itself on hikes down the Bloody Antler Trail on that hike at night. 

Even after dark visits to our commode area heightens that spirit as those walks are often taken by the boys alone.  Yet that same “spirit” keeps the boys most aware of their surroundings thus keeping them safe.  Never did they venture outside camp by themselves at night.  Might there be a bear out in all that darkness?  That “spirit” kept them safely in their tents until morning. 

In effect that haunting spirit kept the boys far safer than they might have been without it.  It sure made my task easier on every trip.  So was it really a haunting spirit or a protecting one?

The Clearing at Haunted Island

During the 1980′s there was NO Haunted House anymore as the old house had been razed. In the late afternoon on a warm summer day, a neighbor boy and I rowed out to Haunted Island to check it out.  Still there on the west side of the island was that same fragile pier that shook as you walked on it.

Rick and I then climbed the short hill that led to a pathway that took us directly to the opening you can see here in the area of sunlight.  Even in brightest day the island still has the effect of night-time as the area is enshrouded by trees.

Rick still felt uneasy as we approached the area where the Haunted House once stood.  Though it was gone, the burial grounds remained just north of us.  Without the house, it no longer carried the spooky significance it once hold.  Yet at full night I’m sure it could hold its own.

We didn’t stay long that day as there was not that much to see.  Without the house the island was somewhat diminished to me.  Still I was taken aback as to how dark that island was with the sun still out.  I wonder if eerie cries still exist during the night hours there that we heard in the 1970′s? 

Last Twenty Yards to Haunted Island

There is something aboutHaunted Island that no boy ever truly knows until they are within twenty yards of its coastline at midnight on any given trip.  On this trip the Marion Boys Club was making its way to the rickety pier in the center of the island as darkness draped them fully by the approaching tree line.  Each boy’s eyes became almost twice their normal size and their mouths became dry.  All the speculation about this midnight excursion was over and now they were about to experienceHauntedIslandfor the first time.

As we docked the boys apprehension grew.  They climbed out of the boat, one at a time, and mounted the small hill that led to a path.  In single file, for that is all that pathway would allow, we walked until we came to a clearing and there it was- The Haunted House surrounded by huge pine trees.  The boy’s eyes scanned each and every inch of that house as we approached it slowly.  Just then a loon cried out and the boys drew very close to me.

I told them the story of how this island came to be made known as being haunted.  Of the couple that once lived there and of the time the husband left the wife for food.  She could not swim a lick and when he came back he could not find any trace of her whatsoever.  Authorities checked the lake and could not find her at all.

The legend is that she still walks the island every night searching for her husband and periodically cries out in anguish for him.  I asked the boys if they wanted to spend the night within the house and to a boy they all shook their heads “no” in unison.  This is the trip where once that story was told that a piece of cardboard sailed out one of the window frames being carried by the wind.  The boys scattered faster than a speeding bullet. 

The Haunted  Island and house is something that the boys would never forget as that is always the single most important time for any of them on any trip.  It is widely talked about once home and kids anticipate that part of the trip north more than anything else.  That is, until they are within twenty yards of the island at midnight.

Motoring Around Big Bass Lake

I used to enjoy taking out our motor boat for a spin on Big Bass Lake.  From our dock I used to head due east toward the bridge to the Big Island.  But as soon as I passed the tip of the Haunted Island I turned due north and motored between both the Big Island and Haunted Island.  This is what you see here between those two islands. 

I moved close in to shore to the Big Island (right) and proceeded past their inlet on the north side of the island and then turned due east again until I passed that island.  I then made a sharp turn south and headed toward my destination, that being the Big Bass Lake Store docking area.  Enroute to that location I would pass by Grandma’s Hat Island on my left.  Just a few yards south of that, on my right, was the entry way to the bridge under the road to the Big Island. My route covered basically the entire south side of Big Bass Lake from southwest to southeast.

 The entire course of the trip took about 15 minutes.  Just north of the Big Island is the corridor to the north side of the lake through the narrows and past the other two islands on the lake.  I’ll describe that for you another time and that area also includes the channel between Big and Little Bass Lakes.

The Haunted Island Gets A Tenant

Well, the Haunted Island again gets a tenant. It isn’t the first as I do recall a cabin on the southwest corner of the island in the 1950′s with only two walls standing. Then there was the famous haunted house in the center of the island and yet still another in that same location but I don’t think it was ever fully completed. Now there is this “safer” version in the center of the island on the eastern side. It faces the Big Island.

Had it been me, I would have chosen to build where the real haunted house was amdist the pines. I still could have a dock and probably where this dock is located to keep the old rickety dock intact on the mid western side of the island. Yet one has to wonder why build out there at all because supplies can only be transferred here by boat.

Of course, here you find photographs of the home both in season and out of season. Out of season trips there could be made by snowmobile or even walking.

Yet I have to wonder how long the “spirits” will allow this house to be occupied before it too becomes deserted only to become the latest version of the haunted house? It has been said that just north of the center of that island was once an Indian burial ground.

And, as is proven elsewhere at BBL and Beyond, under the category Noreika Family, there is proof positive that my grandparents once owned half of this island. I wonder if it was the half that held the true haunted house where I took boys club kids there every camping trip at the stroke of midnight? Hmmm?

Myers and The Bonepickers

On a trip to the Haunted Island with the Salesian Boys Club, after we visited the Haunted House, we came upon the area where the Bonepickers were buried.  Mike Myers went a little away from the rest of the group and all of a sudden we heard him scream.  We ran to him and found him badly shaken.  He said that he saw an actual Bonepicker. 

 Immediately we fanned out in all directions but could not locate anything even close to resembling what Mike told us.  The other kids thought he was putting us on to add even more to the scared affect they were already feeling about the Haunted House.  But then Mike pointed to the ground and we beheld what you see below.  It was almost as if Mike’s image was burned into the ground after seeing what he thought he had.  Even though none of us saw a Bonepicker that night we couldn’t dismiss that image. 

 So what DID Mike really see that night?  Needless to say, the kids didn’t need any prompting to return to our wooded beachfront that night.  Perhaps what Mike saw was a figment of his own imagination.  Or perhaps not??

Approaching Haunted Island from the Southwest

Once I had taken members from the Marion Boys Club on a hike from our wooded beachfront to our granary so that we could get some extra tent stakes. But unknown to them, that was not my only intent.  At that time we were also to pick up a second rowboat that was docked at my family pier just below our cottage.

As we shoved away from that docking area, the two boys that were with me observed the Haunted Island from a different perspective as we were slightly southwest of that island.  As we came along aside it, the boys took notice of the area that we would be landing at on the central part of that island.  I had moved in close enough for them to observe the rickety pier and the small hill that led to a path just above it. 

Of corse we would be arriving at that location at midnight instead of late morning but at least Andrew and Calvin had a chance to check it out for themselves in broad daylight first.  In fact, broad daylight would have been more than enough for Calvin as it were as he was VERY superstitious.  I reassured him that during the daylight he would not have to contend with ghosts but for some reason that did nothing to change his apprehensions?

Even so, it was a taste of things to come.  I only wish I could share with you what Calvin’s eyes looked like at that time. 

Night Camping

I think that on all my camping trips to our property my favorite times were at night. During the day we would swim a lot or take side trips to Ludington or the Lake Michigan Recreational Area, or even to Wellston and the Pine River. But after supper the real great times began. One time each trip was reserved for a voyage to the Haunted Island but largely our hiking times began at dusk until about one o’clock in the morning hiking both on our property and down the Bloody Antler Trail by and near Bear Swamp.

On our property we would travel down the old loggging trails that led to two large swamps and then to a creek. We would play hound and the hare or scouting games or just enjoy the night air. Once we went over to the blackberry patch but there were too many mosquitoes also enjoying that fruit.

Some nights we would just stay by our camping site and roast marshmellows or hot dogs while telling stories or singing songs. Some of the boys enjoyed sitting on the soft moss while taking in the night time beauty of Big Bass Lake. At times we took a rowboat excursion onto Big Bass Lake to take in all the stars of the heavens.

Talks about God were also not uncommon on those trips as many boys prayed before heading back to the tents for sleep. The kids just seemed to open up more in the evenings as the night air was more refreshing and stimulating to their thoughts. Campfires were real special at those times. Some deep theological issues were discussed right there in God’s creation.

After a full day of activities and campfire times sleep was welcome and appreciated at all times. After all another day of activities was about to come forth.

The Pointe of Haunted Island

One thing I haven’t mentioned a whole lot was on how many fallen trees surrounded the Haunted Island. That by itself added to the mystique of the island. If one where to row all around that island they could see what I mean. Almost every square inch of that shoreline is littered with dead trees.

In fact, it makes it quite difficult to row close into the island as it is an obstacle course of trees and branches.  In the 1970′s there was only one safe entry area and even that had an old rickety dock.  Yet, in the summer months, the area where the Haunted House was located was near impossible to see from any shoreline area.

The southern most Pointe of that island was where an old shack was once to be found in the 1950′s.  There were only two walls standing, if you could call it that, during those days.  It had all but disappeared in the 1960′s. 

At night, in near pitch darkness, it serves its name well and sometimes th cry of a loon can be heard which adds to the spooky atmosphere of Haunted Island.  Add to that all the fallen trees about the island and it all adds up to one most interesting place to visit at the stroke of midnight.

Natahki Drive on Big Bass Lake

My new blog friend, Joan, from “My Quality Day (Blogroll)” recently featured the northern two most islands (Turtle and Four Winds) on Big Bass Lake which she mistakenly thought were the two largest islands. She snapped the picture from Natahki Drive or Road on the land that used to be owned by Camp Martin Johnson. The area she outlined in yellow bears that out. In fact, Four Winds Island was owned by the camp.

From Joan’s satellite view you can observe the two islands in question just off the shoreline of what used to be Camp Martin Johnson.  However the two largest islands are south of there and can be photographed by either the Public Landing or by taking the bridge to the Big Island and gaining view of that island as well as Haunted Island to its west. 

I personally believe Haunted Island to be the most fantastic of all the islands on the lake.  Natahki is what Big Bass Lake used to be called in its early days.  There was even a girls camp under that name once on the lake. 

Here now are Joan’s two islands on the north side of the lake.

All of the islands on Big Bass Lake can be found in our Categories on the sidebar. And that even includes Sunken Island which is just east of the two islands pictured here. That underwater island is between the two islands here and the channel between Big and Little Bass Lake. Last December I did a multi-part series on Turtle Island featuring pictures around and on that island.

Its twin, Four Winds Island, can also be found in Categories and features many pictures of the remains of Camp Martin Johnson.  Also check out Grandma’s Hat Island, Haunted Island, The Big Island, and Sunken Island.  Of the latter one in a few days I will have a great shot of that submerged isle.  You also might want to check out the Category about The Big Bass Lake Channel for some excellent photographs. 

Errie Day on Big Bass Lake

Days where a light fog appeared over Big Bass Lake made for ideal day time hype of the Haunted Island.  Often I would promote our trips out to the Haunted Island at these times and once with the Hoffman Estates Boys Club, it sent chills down to particular kids those being Mark O’Brien and Alan Cohen.  Both were very apprehensive of making a midnight run to the Haunted Island.

Whenever we swam at our beach, each boy could visually make out that all forested island and their apprehension grew.  I mentioned to them of the burial mounds just north of the Haunted House and the stories of the Bonepickrs.  Mark seemed braver than Alan but once at the island, both were hanging onto me for dear life as soon as we docked there at midnight.

Yet, fog always seemed to make the tales more suspenseful.  That is why when the boys looked out at the island, enshrouded in fog, they were even more sacred of that midnight journey to come.  In that way, Big Bass Lake itself played into the drama.  But, for what might have happened on that midnight trip,  you’ll have to check the sidebar for the categories Hoffman Estates BCA or Haunted Island.  You’ll also find their other stories of trips with different boys clubs over the years.

The Islands of Big Bass Lake Transitional Names

By way of a reference point, the island names on Big Bass Lake were given to me by my grandmother, Barbara Noreika, who homesteaded the land in the 1020′s. She provided me the island names in the 1970′s when I was taking camping trips with Boys Clubs of America to our property. By the way, you had better keep a scorecard handy.

1.  Sunken Island:  North central part of the lake near the channel between Big and Little Bass Lake.  I call it that because of the three-foot depth there in the middle of the lake making it ideal for swimming and it is usually surrounded by pontoon boats doing just that.

2.  Turtle Island which is also sometimes known as Pirates Island.  I kind of like that latter name and it is the twin of Four Winds Island.  It was once owned by the Manistee National Forest but is now privately owned.  It is located just past the narrows of Big Bass Lake to the north.

3.  Four Winds Island is now privately owned but was at one time the property of Camp Martin Johnson.  To my knowledge it has always been known as Four Winds and it also is just past the narrows to the north.

4.  Grandma’s Hat Island is also known as Tiny Tim and Loon Island.  It is the smallest island on the lake and is in the southeast portion of the lake.

5.  The Big Island was formerly known as Waite Island.  Clyde Waite put up the bridge in the 1950′s.  It is now known as Isle of the Wilds.  It is located in the south central part of the lake.

6.  Haunted Island is a term I gave Matson’s Island because of the old house in the middle of the island which made midnight visits to the island ideal with various boys clubs.  It is located in the southwest part of the lake.

Have any of these islands also known other names over the years?  Let us know by way of a comment.

Another Haunted Island Loon Speaks

“I often take night flights over Haunted Island to catch a break from tiny Loon Island. This evening I got to observe a group of kids from the Hoffman Estates Boys Club take a ride out to Haunted Island and it was a hoot. From my aerial vantage point I could watch them row all the way from their wooded campsite to that island. As they approached the darkness of the island I saw their boat began shaking as if some wake from another boat had hit them only there was no other boat. The operative word that made that boat shake was FEAR!

Now what could little old me do to add to that fear?  Well, as they landed I flew directly over the trees crying out and those big babies hit the ground as if they had heard some ghostly scream.  They got up and dusted themselves off only to arrive soon thereafter at the old house in the middle of that island. 

They approached the house slowly just as I revved up my wingspan and darted over the top of that house and cried out loudly.  Those kids ran into the woods like they were on fire.  I wonder what they would have done had they seen a real ghost?  I’m glad that I chose this night to get some winged exercise.  I’ve been putting on a few pounds and the laughter I had from this night sure shed a few of them.

On their way back across Big Bass Lake I let out another cry and those kids hit the oars trying for a new speed record.  What fun!  I might do this again the next time they head out there?  Who loves ya baby?

Winter at Big Bass Lake

Well, here is Big Bass Lake without swimmers, speed boats, water skiers, or jet skies. You might find a few snowmobiles making their way about the lake and maybe even a dog sled. Perhaps there are a few ice skaters gliding about various parts of the lake? Maybe even some that are ice fishing for the frozen catch of the day?

Big Bass Lake looks so desolate in this picture. Yet I can well imagine many a house around the lake ablaze with a warm fire in their fireplaces. Big Bass Lake has been described as an all seasons lake so does that include ice fishing? This stretch of the lake is looking from south to north.

It should be pointed out that the Haunted Island (left) now has a residen on it and this is his dock.  To your right is the Big Island and I wonder how many of the homes there are inhabited in the winter?  Anyone know?

The Haunted Island From The North

On a trip with the Salesian Boys Club, on a day excursion on Big Bass Lake we rowed toward the north edge of Haunted Island. This is one portion of the island that we rarely explored as the farthest we ever got was just past the burial mounds near the haunted house itself.

The best landing area was always the central part of the island and the rickety pier that took us on the path to the haunted house.  This time we tried a northern approach but the many fallen trees that surround most of the island made it difficult to approach from the north. 

The landing area itself appeared very overgrown making a landing difficult so we landed in the central part of the island.  The boys walked past the haunted house and burial mounds gingerly and were somewhat disappointed at the northern end of the island.  After all it was the central part that held their attention especially at the midnight hour on most trips.

I’m sure, though, that had we taken that same walk to the northern part of the island at midnight that it would have held a whole different meaning for those boys than it had done in daylight hours.  For the “atmosphere” of that island in night makes everything take on a different perspective. 

Around the Next Island at Big Bass Lake

One of my favorite past times at Big Bass Lake was to go “Island Hopping” and since there were five to choose from, it was a great deal of fun.  I would take our motor boat and first encircle Haunted Island before turning slightly northeast and travel the shoreline of the Big Island.  As I finished that course, I circled Grandma’s Hat which took all of 30 seconds to do since it was the smallest island on the lake.

Then I turned northward and traveled through the narrows of Big Bass Lake to get to the two islands on the north side of the lake.  Four Winds Island was once home to Camp Martin Johnson and still has all the buildings that were used at camp yet today.  Then I took a turn around Turtle Island which is the only island on the lake owned by the Manistee National Forest. 

Then it was back through the narrows again to Haunted Island on the southwest side and back to our dock.  Private homes are today found on the Big Island, formerly Waite Island, and on both Haunted Island and Four Winds Island.  I’ve always loved going around the next island at Big Bass Lake and would recommend that journey to anyone.

The Haunted Island At Night

This picture was taken in the middle of the Haunted Island on the southwest side. A boys club group and I had just landed our rowboat at the rickety pier and climbed the short hill to the path that led to the haunted house. Before taking our short trek to the haunted house, I turned and snapped a picture back onto Big Bass Lake from my wooded vantage point. You can’t see a whole lot but what you can imagine is how spooky and desolate that area was at that time.

On that particular trip, our group had landed at the island just about a half hour before midnight. The weather that evening was cool enough for light jackets to be worn. A short ghost story was followed by an examination of the house from the outside. The inside floor may not have been safe enough to walk upon. I should add that there were no volunteers anyway to enter that house. In fact, most of them wanted to return to our wooded beachfront right after the story.

Yet on the way back to Illinois the kids were bragging about just how long they stayed on the island that evening. They were talking about a couple of hours when in reality it was less than thirty minutes. How time flies!

The Safer View at Haunted Island

Kenny Huffman opted for this view as often as possible when on the Haunted Island.  It was found where the Haunted House was located and it is what anyone would see if they glanced skyward.  According to Kenny, it was the “safer view”.  Kenny at eighteen was the oldest boy on that trip with the Marion Boys Club and the most afraid of even his own shadow.

He had campaigned vigorously about not making a trip to Haunted Island citing nearly every excuse in the book.  He even wanted to stand guard at the tents back on shore in the event that some berserk chipmunk would cause damage there.  Even on a second and third tour of duty at our property, his fears never left him.  He was often teased by the younger boys for being so frightened as soon as darkness fell upon the area.

But each trip to Haunted Island was Kenny’s undoing.  Even though he told himself it was just an empty old house on a deserted island located near some burial mounds, what was there to worry about?  His own reasonings often did him in.  Twice on that trip he tripped over his own feet because he was always looking up to his safer view.  Once he attributed his fall to spirits from that house which got quite a laugh from the other boys.

Yet on each trip home he would boast about his bravado at those very times that he was most frightened perhaps to convince himself more than the others about his lack of courage.  It makes me wonder if Huff would always take the “safer view”?

Sunllt Haunted Island

It is quite interesting to note that in all my boys club trips to the Haunted Island, te majority of them took place in the central section of that island.  The burial mounds were slightly north of central but still in that general area where the Haunted House once stood.  Yet in my days as a child there was another old house on the southwest corner of that island and even then there were only two walls left standing.

On a trip with the Salesian Boys Club out of Columbus, Ohio, we did take a hike to the south portion of that island to the point where we could see the public landing area quite easily.  The trees seemed much larger there, even quite majestic.  I don’t think that any club ever walked to the north section of that island.

Perhaps the central part, which housed the Haunted House, was enough for the boys.  Even so the night where we hiked to the southern section was unnerving for the boys as it was still conducted at midnight and the tree covering made the journey more than just casually spooky. You could actually hear the wind through the trees making the effect quite alarming to the boys.  Still, it was a tale they could tell their children one day and their children’s children about how they conquered the Haunted Island at midnight.  Or at least most of them thought they had!

“Looney” Trip to the Haunted Island

One trip that one of my boys club kids took to the Haunted Island was eventful for what didn’t happen as nothing was planned by me at all. The trip was just to take in the haunted house and the area around it. But as we approached the haunted house the errie sound of a loon sent the boys to the ground in a heartbeat. I must admit that it was a very bizarre sound and occurrance. Preston and Alan were quite concerned about the unusual sound.

The loon continued his moaning cry for several more minutes. After a few minutes the kids got up and dusted themselves off and asked to return to our beach front camping area. It was the first time in all my trips to that island where the kids requested to leave without some plan of mine that might have scared them. Instead a mere loon sent them packing. You know, I felt upstaged as well.

Why I Call the Haunted Island “Haunted”?

Many people have asked me why I call the Haunted Island “Haunted”. The story I received from a long time resident on the lake in the 1960′s was that at one time a man and his wife lived on that island along with their collie dog. One day the husband left the island to get supplies. When he returned he found his dog dead but could never find his wife. She could not swim and even so many dragged the lake for her body but never found it. Yet to this day weird sounds are heard coming from that island and many believe it is the wife crying out for her husband.

Just north of the one time Haunted House (for it is no longer up having been demolished several years ago) are burial mounds which I referred to once as the final resting place of the bonepickers.  You can find that story elsewhere under the category Haunted Island on the sidebar.  Yet another long time resident of Big Bass lake claims those burial mounds are from an old Indian graveyard. 

Perhaps some of our readers have some stories of that island as to why they believe its haunted and if so leave us a comment with your tale.  It should be interesting!