Wednesday, July 6, 2016

The Ghost of Minnie Quay: Forester Michigan


ghost of minnie quayMichigan is known for its automotive industry and for its unusually large number of lakes. The town of Forester on its east coast has a story to tell and that is about the ghost of Minnie Quay.

It was here that a couple James Quay and his wife made their living out of a tavern they built in the year 1852. This tavern is of course now still lies unvisited by anybody and is in an abandoned state. The story goes back to the days when Minnie Quay, their daughter at the age of fifteen started taking a fancy to a sailor who was a regular visitor to Forester. She wanted to marry him and very soon the town was agog with stories of their clandestine meetings.
The small town as well as the parents did not approve of the relationship as it was considered inappropriate of good girls or girls from good families to marry men from high seas. When one day, Minnie heard that her sailor friend had met his death in a storm at sea, she was heart broken and being of impressionable age, took an unfortunate drastic step in committing suicide. She did this by plunging into the cold waters of the Lake Huron and people did not get a chance to rescue her.



Many decades later, people passing by this part near the shoreline of Lake Huron in close proximity to the tavern reported a sound of mournful grief coming out of the water and also from near the tavern. Some people have testified to seeing a young girl in her teens trying to call them and some others have also reported witnessing this kind of an apparition a few times in the past as well, both near the tavern as well as within the waters of the lake. One such girl who said that she noticed this was found drowned in the lake a few days later in rather strange circumstances.

This tavern over the years has stood all alone as a mute witness to a blossoming love that was cut short by fate.



Comments

9 Responses to “The Ghost of Minnie Quay: Forester Michigan”
  1. Kathy says:

    I just wanted to say that I have personally been to Minnie Quay’s cemertary and it is true you do see and hear her. my husband and I both have pictures

  2. Ben Allen says:

    what are the coordinates of it so i can mark it as a to do on google earth?

  3. Admin says:

    @ Ben
    Coordinates are 43°31′27″N 82°35′50″W

  4. Cortnii Renee says:

    I go camping every year at Forester Campgrounds. One night around 12 my friend and I were sitting on a picnic table under the picnic area. I was talking to him when I looked over by the swing set. Behind the swing set is somewhat of a boardwalk. I have seen feet, with the bottom of a white gown walking. There was no top. Only feet and the bottom of the gown. It took me a second to understand what it was. I am more than positive it was Minnie. I can honestly say that I was very scared and did run. I am a strong believer in Minnie Quay.

  5. Joel says:

    She is real. I have witnessed her myself. My father was a construction worker and was on a job to tear down the house several years ago. After he had pushed down the 1st pillar he said he felt dizzy and took a break. I looked around the house to check it out and when i looked up in the upstairs window, she was sitting the in her chair looking out the window. Me and my father went to get something to eat because he thought food would make him less dizzy, and when we returned the pillar wasnt even damaged, it was put back into place. We hear a whisper through the wind that told us to leave. My dad told his boss what happend and he fired him because he thought he was lying. At the beach i have heard her and 2 times i saw footsteps on the water. I lived right next to the graveyard and i swear i saw her all the time after that.

  6. zech says:

    it didn’t happen in the tavern, it was a place called the Tanner Inn. there’s no such thing
    as a vacant tavern, regardless.
    and to the fellow in the commemts, I don’t believe anyone tried to have the building removed.

  7. Chis Shaw says:

    The house is still there but someone purchased it and left it to rot. I went up just last weekend. It is so sad to see this historical site rot away. I wish that someone could take it over and turn it into a museum.

  8. Stan says:

    Is the house right across the street from the Foster Inn just north of Lake Huron Campground?

  9. Annette says:

    Has anyone searched for newspaper articles from that time? Or other first hand sources – diaries, funeral home or church records?

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