Isle Royale on Michigan's Great Lakes was once a wilderness frontier. A man named Charlie Mott once tried to tame the winter wild and died for it. It is said that he haunts the island today, searching for food, having died of starvation one winter night.
In the icy embrace of northwestern Lake Superior, Isle Royale on Michigan's Great Lakes stands as a testament to both the raw beauty of nature and the haunting whispers of its storied past, being the fourth largest lake island in the world, close to the Canadian border.
Designated an Insular National Park in 1940, this remote outpost off the coast of Michigan has been home to humanity for millennia and carries stories as historic as the land itself. Isle Royale National Park consists of the island itself among 400 adjacent tiny islands in Lake Superior.
The island is celebrated for its diverse ecosystems, including dense forests, sparkling inland lakes and rocky shorelines. It is also celebrated for its growing population of moose and wolves, which have been the subject of long-term ecological research. With over 165 miles of hiking trails, visitors can explore scenic ridgelines, historic copper mining sites, and peaceful campsites.
Amid the legends that echo throughout the island's dense forests and rocky shores, Charlie Mott's ghostly presence looms as a chilling reminder of the island's harsh winters and the unforgiving forces of nature. In the annals of Isle Royale ghost stories, the saga of Charlie Mott unfolds like a ghostly tapestry, weaving together tragedy, survival, and the lingering shadows of a bygone era.
Charlie Mott and Angelique on Isle Royale
The year was 1845 when Charlie Mott, a determined copper prospector, set foot on Isle Royale with his 17-year-old wife, Angelique, an Ojibwe woman from the Great Lakes region. He was hired to take control of the copper deposits on the island where they wanted to plant a mine. Lake Superior was an uncertain frontier at the time, and at that time only Fort Wilkins and Sault Sainte Marie on the Keweenaw Peninsula were settled. Even the natives did not establish a eternal camp there, and for thousands of years it was used mainly as a summer hunting ground.
Their aspirations echoed the dreams of many who sought happiness in the untamed wilderness. However, the couple's fate took a bleak turn when they depended on occasional visits from supply ships for their sustenance. The winter grip in the waters between Isle Royale and the Canadian province of Ontario left searchers without vital supplies because the ship never returned.
At first they fished from a kayak, but a summer storm destroyed it and the fishing net fell apart due to overuse.
As the harsh winter months approached, the specter of starvation cast its long shadow over Charlie and Angelique Mott, who had only half a barrel of flour, six pounds of butter, and some beans.
Deprived of the motive power of supply ships, their dreams of prosperity turned into a desperate fight for survival. Angelique related that in a fit of fever, Charlie Mott pointed a knife at her, called her a sheep and said he would kill and eat her. However, he did not do this and eventually died of starvation.
Angelique survived the winter and, being raised in the Anishinaabe culture, she learned a few things about surviving in the wild. When Charlie died, Angelique was forced to leave the body in the cottage and created a bush shelter for herself to live in. She lived on bark, berries, and catching rabbits in traps made of her own hair.
In May the ship returned. People claimed they sent a ship but didn't know what happened. Others told her the ship was never shipped.
In any case, she lived to tell the tale and lived another 30 years. Her husband may have had a ghost story, but she had a survival story. In 2018, a movie was made based on this story called Angelique's Island
Haunted Isle Royale today
To this day, the island retains some of its wildlife as there are no roads on the island, which are only accessible by private boat, seaplane or commercial ferries.
Visitors to Isle Royale report sightings of the ghostly figure of Charlie Mott roaming alone in the wilderness – a ghostly seeker forever doomed to wander the rugged terrain. Charlie Mott's appearance is reminiscent of the island's untamed wilderness, where the line between life and the afterlife blurs among historic pines and rocky cliffs.
People claim that his spirit wanders the island's forests in search of food, and when he dies, he starves to death, leaving only his wife to live and tell the story.
Reference:
Hauntings on Isle Royale – Cascade Vacation Rentals
Isle Royale – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Image Source: Pixabay.com
