The haunting colours of the hippie tree outside the asylum

The haunting colours of the hippie tree outside the asylum
6 April 2024 J.W.H
ghosts

In front of the old Traverse City State Hospital in Michigan there may be an old willow tree called The Hippie Tree. It is claimed to be haunted by former patients of the mental hospital and is possibly a gateway to hell.

In the isolated woods outside the abandoned Old State Hospital Grounds near Traverse City, Michigan, stands the Hippie Tree, a silent witness to the ghostly tales which have enveloped it in an environment of mysterious allure. Little is thought concerning the origin of the tree, nevertheless it is claimed that it fell and died when it was struck by lightning.

The rotten and broken willows have been painted with colourful neon images over the generations, with one image covering the faded image underneath. Its nickname comes not only from its location, but in addition from the disturbing local legend that has surrounded it over the many years of haunting.

Hippie Tree: In Traverse City you'll find the Hippie Tree along the Hippie Tree Trail, which is believed to be haunted or not less than have spiritual powers from former patients of Traverse City Hospital. // Photo: Jeremy Thompson/Flickr

Traverse State Hospital

But what type of patients haunt this particular tree? Traverse City State Hospital in the realm opened in 1881 and was also once called the Northern Michigan Asylum. It is the last constructing in Kirkbride, Michigan, and is characterised by a particular type of architecture for asylums.

There are many stories of how people treated mental illness, and before drug therapy within the Fifties, Traverse City State Hospital used “Beauty is therapy” philosophy. This meant meeting patients with kindness, comfort and pleasure where, for instance, straitjackets were prohibited.

The idea was also for patients to give you the option to surround themselves with beautiful things, e.g. flowers, and possibly the concept of ​​painting a Christmas tree also comes from this philosophy?

Traverse City State Hospital closed its doors in 1989. It reopened in 2002, but as The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, an area for outlets, restaurants and offices, nevertheless it continues to be said to harbor ghostly remnants from a time when was a hospital.

Traverse City State Hospital: The Northern Michigan Asylum, with its impressive Kirkbride architecture, is positioned next to the Hippie Tree and housed patients who likely possessed and haunted the tree. The former hospital itself is believed to be haunted.// Source

Haunted legends concerning the hospital

Traverse City State Hospital itself can be filled with ghost stories. People report hearing voices and footsteps when nobody is there, in addition to flickering lights or an unnatural cold.

This was particularly talked about when construction staff reopened Traverse City State Hospital, where some saw something that horrified them in order that they refused to work on the constructing.

There can be a dark story a couple of hospital doctor who killed each patients and nurses, and a hospital chaplain who went mad and hanged himself of their chapel.

Although there are numerous ghost stories concerning the old asylum, essentially the most famous story concerning the place involves a dead willow tree on a forest trail.

The ghost of crazy asylum patients

According to legend, the Hippie Tree serves as a ghostly meeting place for the tormented souls of asylum patients arriving from Traverse City State Hospital, and their restless spirits remain beneath the branches.

It is claimed that the madness that when consumed them echoes within the rustling leaves, where sometimes they’re indignant, sometimes just sad.

Another ghost haunting the tree, other than the patients, is a boy who was allegedly murdered on this area, although there may be little details about this branch of the legend.

The Hippie Tree is claimed to be haunted by many ghosts, and in essentially the most extreme versions of the legends, it’s even a portal to hell that opens as much as the roots if the tree is handled in a certain way. No one has been in a position to come back and tell me easy methods to do it yet.

Hippie rituals on the hippie tree

Jeremy Thompson/Flickr

Visionaries, mystics and spiritual seekers, often called “hippies” by locals, gathered under the gnarled branches of the Hippie Tree, searching for solace and enlightenment in the guts of the haunted forest. This is how the name Hippie Tree stuck in memory.

As these seekers meditated under the ghostly cover, a peculiar tradition emerged. Ghosts and trees are said to offer off a special energy, which hippies discover when sitting on the Hippie Tree.

As a ritual expression of their transcendental experiences, they painted revelations of their heightened consciousness on the branches of the tree, making a kaleidoscope of psychedelic visions amid the eerie silence of the asylum grounds.

It is unclear how many individuals painted on the Hippie Tree, nevertheless it is believed to be not less than a thousand, creating one other psychedelic painting on top of one another.

We serve colours and spirits

As night falls over the Hippie Tree, the shadows solid by its haunted branches come to life, inviting those brave enough to delve into the secrets that lurk at the guts of Traverse City's most enchanted forest sanctuary.

In daylight, it serves as a colourful and fun thing to brighten up passersby and guests in perhaps the brightest looking haunted place.

Bibliography:

Northern Michigan Hippie Tree | Kyle Schepperley | Original NewsBreak

Traverse City State Hospital – Wikipedia

Hippie Tree State Hospital/Traverse City

Traverse City State Hospital and the Hippie Tree – A Journey with Murphy

Image Source: Pixabay.com

  • J.W.H

    About John:

    John Williams is a Reincarnationist paranormal Intuitive freelance writer...he is living proof of reincarnation existence, through his personal exploration, he has confirmed its authenticity through visits to the very lands where these events transpired.

    Through guided meditation/s using hemi-sync technology he has managed to recollect 3 previous lives to his own, that go back to the Mid to Late 19th century.

    JWH - "You are the GODS! - Inclusion of the Eternal Light of Love and you shall never die”.

    “Death is Just the Beginning of Life”