If there is only one story printed in a book about Michigan hauntings, it is usually the elusive haunting of the Michigan Bell building in Grand Rapids. No one has ever been able to investigate the building, but rumor has it that they don’t even use their second floor because of strange activity happening.
The story says the Michigan Bell building is on the old grounds of the Randall house. Warren and Virginia Randall were a typical married couple until Warren was injured on the job in 1908. He lost a leg in the accident and was forever changed. He had to have a peg leg put on, which gave him a limp when he walked. Mr. Randall started to become severely depressed about his condition and his mental state quickly declined. He began to suspect his wife of cheating on him, even though she wasn’t. Soon, neighbors could hear the Randall’s screaming at each other all at all hours of the day. Many were concerned, but figured it was nothing more than marital bickering. It wasn’t until a very nasty stench started to come from the Randall house they people figured they had better check in on the couple.
Neighbors called the police and when they arrived, it was likely not a scene they were prepared to find. Both Warren and Virginia Randall were found dead in their bedroom. The house was filled with gas and the stench of two week old decaying bodies. Warren had mutilated his wife’s body, and then killed himself by slitting his own throat.
After the home was cleaned up, no one wanted to live there. It remained vacant for a very long time. Soon, it became apparent that no one was going to live there, so the home was torn down and the lot was turned commercial. The Michigan Bell Telephone Company purchased the lot and tore down the Randall’s home.
The building is now the Ameritech Building and sits on the corner of Fountain and Division in Grand Rapids, Michigan. From what we have heard, this story has no evidence to back any of it up. There are no records of the grotesque murder and no records of a Virginia and Warren Randall. Recently, we have come in contact with some retired workers of the Michigan Bell building who say they have plenty of stories to support the rumors that the place definitely has something strange going on in it. Hopefully as time goes on, we’ll get to interview these people to get an idea about why this building has become so infamous.
UPDATE:
Michigan’s Otherside loves to get clues about mysterious hauntings from fellow Michigan residents. The Michigan Bell has been an elusive haunting around the west Michigan area for years. To our knowledge, no one has ever investigated the building and the rumors just keep pouring in about the alleged haunted happenings there. Finally, after all these years, someone wrote to us and stated their mother had worked there and they do indeed use the second floor, but on the fifth floor, his mother had witnessed an apparition dressed in 19th century clothing. Another employee at the time also saw an apparition of a man. Are these the resident ghosts that have been stirring up the rumors and legends all these years?
Old ad from the Grand Haven Daily Tribune, January 13, 1931