Lake Superior has taken the lives of roughly 10,000 people with fierce weather, and volatile conditions out on the water.
Experts estimate nearly 350 shipwrecks remain hidden underwater. Dozens of ships disappeared without a trace on the water and have yet to be found.
Employees on the William A. Irvin, a historic iron ore vessel that now operates as a museum on the Duluth harbor say they’re convinced the former shipping boat is full of spirits.
“It’s almost like this is a channel people pass through,” said employee Alex Dunning.
The ship was built in the 1930s and retired in the 1970s. There was only one documented death that occurred on board. A man was killed in an explosion in the steam room in 1964.
Staff at the ship-turned museum say they often hear voices, footsteps and witness doors that open and shut on their own. Some workers claim to have seen images of people that don’t belong, including a woman dressed in white in the cargo hold.
“I happened to glance up and saw the top half of person going down the stairs and disappearing behind the wall panels,” said Dunning. “I went to intercept them and nobody was there.”
“My theory is water is a great channel of energy,” continued Dunning. “We’re connected to the lake with a lot of shipwrecks, death and danger. It’s almost like we’re a conduit on it. Allowing it to be an open door which fuels the fire.”
One of the biggest mysteries on Lake Superior dates back more than 100 years. Konnie LeMay of Lake Superior Magazine knows the story well, she served as the editor for the “Haunted Lakes” books written by Frederick Stonehouse.
In 1902, a 200-foot freighter called the Bannockburn left Thunder Bay, Ontario with a load of grain.
“It disappeared into the fog, and was never seen again,” said LeMay. “There was an oar, a partial ore that showed up on a beach near Grand Maris, the oar is said to have scratched into it ‘Bannockburn’ with blood in it.”
According to legend, the ship is still out there, doomed to sail the icy waters with 22 souls on board forever.
“Although it disappeared physically, throughout the years after that other ships saw what they believed to be the Bannockburn as a ghost ship,” said LeMay.
Violent storms on Lake Superior are no stranger to Lee Radzak, for 35 years he’s had a great view of Lake Superior out of his living room inside the lightkeeper's quarters at Split Rock Lighthouse.
“There’s a lot of tragedies fresh to the people who lived here,” said Radzak. “A lot of shipping accidents happened close by, that’s why the lighthouse was built here.”
Like a fingerprint, Radzak says no two days are the same out on the lake. However, if you’re hoping he's got a spooky story to tell, you’ll be disappointed.
He believes the lake phenomenon has much more to do with ‘fata morgana’ and weather conditions than paranormal spirits.
“Temperature inversion you get different layers of air, and different temperatures tend to work like a mirage and flip or stretch images,” said Radzak. “You see double.”
He says in his time living at Split Rock Lighthouse, he’s learned you can’t always trust what your eyes see to be true on Lake Superior.
“At times I’ve seen big Lakers that might look like a ghost ship because of weather conditions, it looks like it’s floating above the lake,” said Radzak. “But nothing close enough to give us pause and question if that’s really happening.”
Whatever the truth may be, believers say Lake Superior will always have a certain level of mystery.
“Remain open to the magic of the lake around you,” said Lemay.
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