Something Eerie in Elk Rapids, Michigan

I thought I was a fiction writer, but now I’m not so sure.  The story I’m about to tell is true, but even I have to admit, it sounds like fiction.

For over two years, I have been working on a novel set in Northern Michigan called “Noble Manor”.  Here is the unedited opening of the novel… 

 

At the end of a winding dirt road, behind Pine, Oak and Beach trees, sat Noble Manor, a house which had belonged to the descendents of Edwin Noble for 150 years.  Well built, the house endured for years the seasons of storms which rushed in over northern Lake Michigan, often without warning.  The house strained and groaned on its foundation, but it always stood firm against the wind and rain, keeping its occupants safe.

Noble Manor, with a wrap around porch and a rounded spire in front, was the only house of its kind in an area of farmhouses, modular homes and later large summer cottages built along White Pine Lake.  A beautiful house, it should have been admired by all who saw it, but set back discreetly in its woods, away from city streets, the house and its inhabitants were isolated.

Maybe the first two paragraphs aren’t the pinnacle of American fiction, but I share them now in order to tell you what happened to me while I was on vacation last week.  The things to note about Noble Manor are that it was built 150 years ago near northern Lake Michigan by a man named Edwin Noble.  Each of these details was from my imagination… or so I thought.

For our vacation my family camped in East Jordan, Michigan, on the South Arm of Lake Charlevoix in the northwestern corner of the lower peninsula.  I always enjoy this annual trip Up North.  I like the proximity to Lake Michigan and the overall vacation feel of the area.  This is also the basic setting of Noble Manor as well as my short story, “The Kid From The Other Side.”

This year, my wife’s aunt suggested we drive over to Elk Rapids, Michigan, a Lake Michigan coastal town about 45 minutes or so from East Jordan. 

Now, I’d never been to Elk Rapids, and I knew nothing about the town.  Our plan was just to go to the beach and also ride a “rapids area” that emptied out into the lake.  It was at this rapids area where I came across this historical sign for The Island House.

 

I found this extremely eerie, since the fictional Noble Manor and the historical Island House in Elk Rapids were both built by a man named Edwin Noble, in Northern Michigan, near Lake Michigan, about 150 years ago.  In my story, the house is a beautiful Victorian, while The Island House is better described as an 1860’s country home.  Still, I can’t describe what I felt when I stood in front of this sign.  I had to drag my wife over to look at it.

My plan at this point is to tweak the history in my novel, possibly referencing the real Edwin Noble, but attributing Noble Manor to a fictional cousin who I’ll be very careful to make sure never really existed.

Does anyone else find this story as weird as I do?  Do you have a similar story to share?  Either way, please post a comment.