By: Caitlyn S.
I grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan – a little bordertown right next to Canada in the Upper Peninsula. The town is small, but it has a rich history and is shaped by tourism and the shipping industry. The most iconic tourist attraction is the Soo Locks, the aquatic gateway between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes, enabling seven to ten thousand ships to pass through every shipping season. With so many ships passing through, the Sault has a rich maritime history, so if you visit downtown you would be greeted by The Valley Camp. The Valley Camp is a 550-foot long freighter that is parked in the marina and operates as a museum. It was built in 1917 and operated for almost fifty years before being retired. Interestingly, nothing particularly spooky happened while the ship was operating. Perhaps it is the objects inside that cause the hauntings today.
The Valley Camp is home to relics of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a ship that sank during a November storm in 1975. Some suggest that the items from the ship that were recovered and displayed in the museum are haunted. Employees at the Valley Camp cite hearing or seeing things. Maranda Crawford, the Sault Historic Sites Office Manager, recalled in an article by UP Matters, “One time I was up in one of the coal passer’s bedrooms and it was before we were open for the season, we were cleaning the room and stuff, and one of the lights was blinking. So, I unscrewed it and set it on the bed and not touching anything on the bed, it lit up and went out and I have never been back in the room since.“
Due to these sightings, paranormal investigators have brought their equipment to the ship to explore and see what haunted things it holds. I am lucky enough to know one of the hunters who boarded the ship and Upper Peninsula Paranormal Research Society co-founder Tim Ellis. I conducted an interview about his experience on the ship as well as his general experience exploring the haunted Sault and other locations.
Q: What got you interested in exploring the ship in particular?
A: We had people coming to us if we had ever heard stories of the Valley Camp being Haunted. And the truth of it is, back then, we never had heard anything about a possible ghost or hauntings on the ship. But more and more people kept coming to us with experiences and said we should investigate the ship. One thing led to another and we were invited on board for our first of many investigations on the Valley Camp.
Q: What did you hear or see while on the ship?
A: Over the years we have had the chance to investigate the Valley Camp and during those times witnessed a number of weird and unexplainable things. We have witnessed what are known as shadow figures twice on the ship. Once in the theater room walking back and forth, and the other in the galley area where the workers would have eaten their meals. It was standing in the doorway and then gone as fast as we saw it. One member had a piece of coal thrown at him in the coal room area, when no one was behind him that could have thrown it. But our biggest catch there was the Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) we captured. Two of our people were down in the coal room area asking questions and doing an audio recording. On playback you hear a cough in the background and you hear one of our guys say….”Did you hear that? Some just Coughed.” Then the other person says, “or it sounded like someone coughing.” And just as she is saying that, we captured a male voice saying right over the top of her words, “I am coughing.”
Q: What is your theory on where ghosts/haunted objects come from?
A: It’s all about the energy. The energy that is attracted to a location or an object. They / The Energy is there for a reason. A familiar place that made them happy when they were alive. An object that made them feel safe, etc. Or even a tragic event can cause an energy / entity / spirit to stay in a location. Unfinished business, not ready to cross over, many reasons that could keep someone attached to a place or location.
Tim Ellis will be attending an event in Ann Arbor in March, along with Tim Woolworth, in March. I am including a link below for the event, called Pawtographs Parafest IV. I am also including a link to a song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a haunting and emotional tune that might just give you goosebumps.
Further Reading:
https://www.upmatters.com/news/local-news/eastern-up/the-haunted-history-of-ss-valley-camp/
The Course of Horror 
I am also from Michigan but from suburban Detroit. I remember in elementary schools we would have to learn about Michigan history, and the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was a part of that! Super cool to learn that its remnants are now part of a haunted place near where it sank. I will have to visit next time I am in the UP!