Dowling, Michigan: The Home of Howard the Ghost

Howard the ghost resides in the little Michigan town of Dowling in the Dowling General Store. Located at the intersection of M-37 and Dowling Road, the second floor served as a dance hall many years ago and was THE place to go every Saturday night.

But before we get to the hauntings, here’s just a few details about the village of Dowling...

Dowling lies in Barry County and grew on land that was owned by John Stall. In 1842 the township was dubbed ‘Baltimore’ (named after early settlers' original hometown) and the village adopted that name when a post office began operating in 1850. Thirty years later, in 1880, the village name was changed to ‘Dowling’. Allegedly, but not historically proven, the name came from the first settler in the area, Judge John Dowling.

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Now for the hauntings from Howard...

There are a couple of tales about why Howard haunts the second floor:
1) He used to go dancing every Saturday night at the hoedowns and
2) He used to live up there.

His ghostly figure has been seen by visitors and employees both inside AND outside; and sometimes you can hear the sounds of someone dancing upstairs late at night...

Aside from Howard the ghost, not long ago the building was a very cool old-fashioned rustic general store complete with home-made ice cream & donuts, hardwood floors, and antiques. It resembled something straight outta "Gunsmoke." The general store has left the building...now it’s the Lumberjack ‘Provisioning (a/k/a recreational/medical) Center’.

If you pay a visit, make sure you ask about Howard before you leave...