ADA, Mich. – We have plenty of ghost stories in West Michigan, and in the case of the Island Witch, how many of them are based on historical fact?

This is a very well known story.

“So there are actually dozens of variations of the Island witch legend, like over 100,” he said Tours Around Michigan Founder Candice Smith.

But no one Really knows.

“You know, some say it’s the 1700s, mostly it’s the 1800s,” Smith added.

Adam Bourland

No matter which version you’ve heard, they all have the same theme: A woman is murdered by her jealous husband who catches her with another man. The restless spirit of the murdered woman is bound to haunt the places where her young life was taken.

Some say the lost soul is Sarah McMillian, who is buried here in Findlay Cemetery.

Smith says that’s not true. Historical records from the area show nothing to match this ghostly origin story.

Sarah died of typhoid and Negative a love triangle.

“History varies because it’s not actually history, myth” laughed Smith.

But like ghosts, legends never die. It may not be Sarah wandering the dirt road here on the Island, but something has brought the legend of the Island Witch to life.

Andy Curtis

To find this SomethingWe had to call an expert.

“A Seer is a person who can connect with people’s energy, past loved ones, and people’s past lives, and that’s basically what I do,” said Rick Waid. “I see it through their eyes.”

Rick told us that Findlay Cemetery, at the heart of the Island Witch stories, is much more vibrant than it appears on the surface.

“First thing, when I first got out of the car, I started walking. Usually the energy came from me. It’s actually like it’s going through me,” Waid said. “So something went through me. As I started to get here, something came and took my breath away. It’s like he’s using my energy, taking my breath away. So that was the first thing that happened.”

Andy Curtis

Armed with this and other high-tech spirit detection equipment, we attempted to contact Sarah, the Witch, or whoever was wandering around, hoping to get to the bottom of the story.

“Hunters or kids park, teenagers park, they say they’ll see something or feel a tap on their shoulder,” Candice said. “Or they would hear things that would make them hear different things.”

Adam Bourland

We had no luck this time.

But that won’t stop grisly stories from circulating in West Michigan. And that won’t stop the legend of the Island Witch from passing on to the next life.

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