Get your ghost on at Romeo event

PUBLISHED BY THE MACOMB DAILY ON SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 — Written by Susan Smiley

Romeo Monday Club member Mary Hummon says despite living in a home that was built in 1901, she has never had a paranormal experience within its walls or anywhere else.

But she loves to tell the ghost stories of Romeo and connect those stories to the village’s history.

“I’ve never seen a ghost or felt a chill, but who am I to say that what others are experiencing is not to be believed,” Hummon said. “I hear the ghost stories, then I research history to see if I can find something that relates to what people are feeling now.”

The Monday Club’s History & Hauntings event Oct. 21 will give paranormal enthusiasts a chance to ride through the Village of Romeo in a horse drawn wagon courtesy of Silver Woods Farm and see homes where hauntings have been reported and hear those tales. There will also be storytellers on the grounds of the Northern M

The event is a fundraiser for the Monday Club non profit, a women’s group that was established by teachers in 1879 and provides scholarships for Romeo High School students who are planning to major in the arts including music, dance and drama.

Hummon said she stumbles across many of Romeo’s ghost stories in the course of everyday activities. Someone she meets while walking her dog might mention seeing a strange image in their kitchen; a conversation at the nail salon might veer toward a story of feeling a presence in the hallway that can’t be explained. People like to tell Hummon their stories and she is an attentive listener.

“There is a house that was featured on one of the previous tours where for generations, people who lived there reported smelling campfire smoke in a particular area,” said Hummon. “Some reported seeing a silhouette of an Indian and a pillar of smoke.”

Through research, Hummon learned Romeo was originally named Indian Village and was able to identify specific Chippewas who lived in the area where the campfire house was located. She learned the name of one particular Native American who she believes could be the ghost many residents of the home have reported seeing.

“This was probably his hunting grounds and he is probably unhappy,” Hummon said. “He lived right in the area where the house is.”

Without giving away too much of one of the stories to be told on this year’s tour, Hummon said only that her research was spurred by baby footprints found in the basement mortar of the home and of reported paranormal experiences.

All of the ghost stories told on the tour have some basis in history.

“We are not making up stories, we are reporting what homeowners have shared with us and connecting it to the history of the house,” Hummon said. “Once you hear the stories, you can be your own judge.”

Hummon says throughout history, people have been drawn to ghost stories. Curiosity about what awaits us in the afterlife, communication loved ones who have passed, and the possibility of interface between our world and the spirit world are all things that attract people to haunted tales.

“Faith aside, no one knows for sure what awaits us on the other side or if there is an interface between the afterlife and what happens here today,” Hummon said. “It is the great unknown and I think that is why people have always been interested in ghost stories.”

Tickets for the Monday Club History & Hauntings event are $30 and are available only at MJC Marketplace located at 220 North Main Street in Romeo. The first time slot of the day is 1:45 p.m. and the event is expected to wrap up by 8 p.m. Call 586-531-0884 for more information.