Ghosts in the Whelan farmhouse on Wheeler Rd in Lockport
It was late summer 1983. I had just finished a grueling summer of engineering courses at Michigan Tech and wanted to do a road trip before Fall classes started. I had run into an old acquaintance from Lansing that summer at school. I mentioned that I was going to do a road trip to Boston once classes were over and he decided to tag along.
My parents graciously offered to loan me their blue 1974 Audi Fox for the trip. I guess by this time it was almost 10 years old, so my dad figured it was depreciated down enough for me to drive it!
We left Lansing and drove all day across Canada and got into Lockport late that night. The key my mom gave me to the farmhouse worked and we were in! By this time, Grandma had already passed and her ashes were fertilizing the flower bed just to the west of the house. Grandpa was in an old folks home if I recall. My mom and Uncle Bob were keeping the place going until the day came that my Grandpa would not be with us anymore it seemed.
It was late and I was beat from driving all day across Canada, so it was just “pick a bedroom and sleep”. I chose the bedroom furthest to the west along the upstairs hallway.
At some point in the night I woke up with a start. I know that I had heard noises in the attic and a shiver ran up my spine as I certainly felt a presence in my room.
It wasn’t necessarily an ominous presence, but it was very unsettling just the same. The remainder of the night I was only able to sleep in short cat naps.
Dawn couldn’t arrive early enough and so we jumped in the old Audi Fox and left Lockport behind.
I have never spoken of this to anyone nor written about it.
It is one of the strongest memories I have of the farmhouse in Lockport. Was it my Grandma? Or perhaps another former tenant? I’ll never know.