John Tenney

Paranormal researcher John Tenney has been exploring the weird and spooky corners of our reality for 30 years.

Each Halloween season, the Royal Oak native not only tells Metro Detroiters which cities in our region to visit (or to avoid!) for maximum ghostly activity, he also reveals his many supernatural encounters to live audiences around Metro Detroit. 

“About 10 years ago, I realized I was seeing trends from people that would email me, tell me stories,” Tenney says. “So I started putting a list together.”

Historically, Detroit has topped the list, but last year Hamtramck edged out its bigger neighbor in spookiness. 

“As buildings become more inhabited, I might get a burst of experiences out of one block of buildings,” Tenney says. 

See the top 10 cities below, and click the player to hear John Tenney talk about the rules of etiquette for investigating the paranormal. 

2019’s Top 10 Haunted Michigan Cities

(2018 rankings in parentheses)

1. Detroit (2)
2. Traverse City (3)
3. Grayling (-)
4. Kalamazoo (4)
5. Ann Arbor (5)
6. Troy (6)
7. Hamtramck (1)
8. Flint (7)
9. Novi (10)
10. Mount Clemens (8)

The five most commonly reported locations within Detroit:

1. Masonic Temple
2. Cass Corridor
3. Corktown – Various Businesses
4. Detroit Public Library
5. The Whitney