Bo Peep killers, ghost cars and buried witches lie in wait
By William Zilke, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: June 8, 2006
Urban legends can pop up anywhere or any time As a result, they will be repeated, no questions asked, and through gossip and casual conversation start a spider web o f misinformation to incredible not to believe.
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In 1988, following the release of the movie "Urban Legend," a story began circulating around Michigan State and the University of Michigan.
Allegedly, there was a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show who predicted before the end of October, 1998, there would be a mass murder in a large H- shaped ( or building that begins with H on a Big Ten campus in Michigan.
The student body, faculty and university newspaper were inundated with calls but the story, which was later elaborated with the killer dressing like Little Bo Peep, obviously was not true.
In fact, colleges in Florida were now on the lookout for the grisly killer who lost her sheep.
Sources prove the story dates back to 1968, when the all too real Richard Speck killings took place, setting colleges on alert.
Not too surprisingly, the Eloise Mental Hospital at Michigan Avenue and Merriman Road is said to be rife with paranormal activity.
Renamed the Wayne County Poorhouse and then Wayne County Hospital, weird unexplained smells linger years after many of the structures were torn down.
The cemetery across the street has reportedly been a veritable recording studio for ghost hunters with threatening voices and mysterious orbs captured on video tape.
Soop Cemetery on Old Denton road near the S. I-94 Service Drive is another alleged hotbed of haints, spooks and things that go bump in the night.
Urban legends have abounded here for each generation of high school kids that comes along.
The first urban legend surrounding the cemetery is that of a witch being buried there. Supposedly, groundkeepers refused to tend the grave.
Another story is that the ghost of John Norman Collins, the Ypislanti Co-Ed Killer of the late 1960s, haunts the cemetery after allegedly dumping one of his victims there.
This would be quite a feat since Collins is still very much alive and incarcerated for life in a northern Michigan prison.
Whether or not you believe in ghosts, ghost hunters find the place creepy and unwelcoming at night.
The Ladies' Library in Ypsilanti is home to even more local ghost stories.
Once the actual family home of the Starkweather clan, it was donated to the City of Ypsilanti by Mary Starkweather on her death.
The building was later renovated for office space, and many claim it is haunted by Mary's specter and people have heard her footsteps while working alone after dark.
The Tyler Road Cemetery is allegedly the home to ghosts dressed in white who disappear into the tallest tombstones and allegedly follow cars into the cemetery.
There also are reports of a young girl seen staring at a grave that reads "Our Little Janie" on it.
On Robson Road in Van Buren Township, supposedly you can get out of your car, leaving the headlights on and another car will appear and drive through you and your car.
Given Belleville drivers this is probably true, but the legend is a ghost car will drive through you.
At the old Denton Road bridge in Canton- this road has been reconfigured, save your time looking for it, it isn't there anymore- many high schoolers from the '40s and '50 claim to have seen the light pass through their car or chase them.
The Wellesley Apartments north of Wick on Wayne Road were allegedly built on ancient Indian burial grounds. Some claim to have seen the devil, horrible apparitions in the mirrors or Indians running in the woods.
Little Bo Peep mass murders, buried witches taunting groundskeepers or gang members slashing the ankles of young mothers from under their cars in parking lots are not likely to go away anytime soon.
Whatever we need inside of us to be scared of things that go bump in the night is apparently just a part of our collective psyche.
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