The Ghost That Haunted Lansing’s School for the Blind
The Lansing School for the Blind has been renovated as an apartment complex for seniors…but does that stop the place from having all the haunted rumors? Well, no.
The Michigan School for the Blind opened in 1858 as the Michigan Female College. 22 years later - 1880 - the school was changed to become the Michigan School for the Blind. 14-year-old Stevie Wonder became a student in 1964, one year after his first album was released…it was here that he studied and learned how to play piano & keyboards. After a decline in the student body - beginning in the 1970s - the school closed down in 1995.
Now for the haunting.
The Abigail is a three-story building at the center of the former campus and was among mid-Michigan's creepiest haunted spots. According to the Lansing State Journal (in an article featuring Jenn Carpenter), Abigail was Abigail Rogers, who used the building as the Michigan Female College in 1855.
The Michigan School for the Blind in Flint moved operations to this campus in 1880. The administration building was nicknamed “The Abigail” after Ms. Rogers and served that purpose until the school shut down in 1995.
Sitting empty for over twenty years, the stories began circulating about the strange goings-on in that building. Who was causing paranormal activity? It’s believed to be Abigail herself, whose malevolent actions stem from her displeasure at the closing of her school in 1880.
Some of the otherworldly activity that has been experienced is the sound of someone – or something – using the old weightlifting equipment that was left in the basement. Also, squatters and some homeless that entered the building didn’t stay long…the activity convinced them to move elsewhere.
So it may not look scary anymore, and now it’s an apartment building. But do the current residents share these quarters with something else? Stop by and ask...
Lansing School for the Blind (Before Renovation)
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