Ghost Town

In the spirit of October, we've decided to add some spice (pun intended). Today we're going to nudge you guys in the direction of Pere Cheney. Pere is an actual ghost town located in Michigan. At about 3 hours outside of Detroit, this town is completely abandoned for (by legend) all the wrong reasons. In the late 1800's, this was a booming lumber town with all the normal fixtures: grocery store, post office, church, etc. Unfortunately, when the lumber industry moved on, the town fell apart. Eventually, people started leaving. Today, only a cemetery remains.

Which brings us to our topic of the day, witches. The devil's mistresses, these creatures have been terrifying us all for years. Most notably in "The Conjuring". A film based on supposedly actual events, a witch terrorizes a family and proceeds to take over the body of the mother. Without giving too much away, the movie was scary as hell. Pere Cheney has its OWN witch tale as well. Some say there was a witch who lived in the town and was hung from the oak tree in the cemetery. To this day, visitors say they have felt her presence or seen shadows moving along the old tombstones. Legend has it, that she was not a witch in life, but a woman who had a child out of wedlock. The townspeople hung her for her "crime" and she cursed them during her hanging. If it sounds familiar, it should. Most American witch tales follow that same story-line. It, simply, shines a light on how cruel people can be. These tales are fun but they can originate from a truly dark place within people. Share a smile with someone, treat others with kindness, practice tolerance and acceptance. Not just in October, but every day.