There is a recurring motif in Michigan folklore that deals entirely with the savagery of the waters. The Singing Sands of Bete Grise tells the tale of a young indigenous woman who lost her lover. How did he die? He drowned after his canoe tipped on the waters. Meanwhile, the Lilac Room ghost in Marquette speaks of a woman whose lover, a sailor, disappeared on a merchant vessel. There are multiple ghost-ship stories in Michigan’s history. According to legend, those ships pop up in the fog on the horizon from time to time. The Le Griffon, for instance. Another such tale is the Minnie Quay ghost story.
The Story of Minnie Quay
As the story goes, Minnie lived in Forester Michigan, which is located out in the thumb and to the north of Port Sanilac. According to the Huron Daily Tribune, the Quay family moved to Michigan from New York in the 1860s. “Her father was an engineer for a local lumber mill in Forester that used to be one of the many bit shipping towns along Lake Huron,” writes Dominic Sevilla.
In and around 1876, Minnie fell in love with a sailor. Her paramour frequently left for work on the waters around Michigan aboard various ships. Minnie’s parents forbade her from seeing this sailor for unknown reasons. Her parents reservations may have been related to sailor transience. But, Minnie, 14-16 years old at the time, impetuously disobeyed her parents’ wishes.
On the day Minnie learned of her lover’s death, she could not stifle her anger. Her parents had kept her from seeing him before he left on what would be his final voyage. Now, they could not stop her adolescent rage. Not long after the news shattered her world–a few days maybe–she walked into town, past some of the locals, boarded the dock, and jumped into the waters of Lake Huron, killing herself.
As reported, Minnie Quay “committed suicide by throwing herself into the lake from Smith’s dock, at Forester.” What is more, her brother watched her jump from the dock and into the waters. As stated: “A quick alarm was given, and men commenced at once to grapple for the body, but it was an hour before it was discovered … No cause is assigned for this rash act.”
Final Thoughts
Allegedly, one can walk out onto the beaches of Forester and occasionally find the ghost of the young girl. She appears to be waiting for her lover to return to shore. Others have claimed that her gravestone in the local cemetery broke open and her ghost escaped. Because of this, one must place a token on the stone to keep her from following. What’s more, some have even claimed that she has tried to get young girls to join her in the water. As with all folklore, even the Minnie Quay ghost story has some alternates.
Whatever the story, the dangers of the Great Lakes and the trauma of lost love are strong in Michigan history.
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