My Newest Book: Haunted Marquette-Ghost Stories from the Queen City

October 2, 2017—Marquette, MI author Tyler Tichelaar will be giving his readers a treat this Halloween season. On Wednesday, October 11 at 6:00 p.m. at the Marquette Regional History Center he will be releasing his newest book, Haunted Marquette: Ghost Stories from the Queen City. The book contains more than forty stories of ghosts and paranormal activity within the city of Marquette.

More than forty haunted places are highlighted in Haunted Marquette.

“For years I’ve heard stories of various hauntings and collected them,” says Tichelaar. “I never thought I’d have enough for a book, but as I interviewed people, one story led to another. I’ve found sufficient evidence to make me believe several buildings in Marquette may be haunted or have experienced hauntings in the past.”

Haunted Marquette is divided into several sections on hauntings in Marquette’s churches and cemeteries, the downtown businesses, the lakeshore, various houses, and Northern Michigan University. Tichelaar researched each location to determine the likelihood of a haunting there and whether any historical evidence existed to make the haunting plausible. He also interviewed numerous people about their personal experiences with ghosts.

“I was afraid I would end up talking to a bunch of crazy people when I set out to write this book,” said Tichelaar, “but everyone I talked to was very sincere. Not one of them was seeking attention; most had not believed in ghosts before until they had a strange experience they could not explain logically.”

Numerous city landmarks are highlighted in the book as locations where ghosts have been sighted, including the former Holy Family Orphanage, Park Cemetery, the Marquette lighthouse, the Landmark Inn, the Peter White Public Library, and the Thomas Fine Arts building at NMU.

“Only a couple of the hauntings can really be described as frightening,” says Tichelaar. “Most of these stories are about unexplainable

Author Tyler Tichelaar is a long-time lover of the Gothic and supernatural. As a seventh-generation resident of Marquette, he loves investigating its lore.

phenomena; a few are heart-wrenching when you realize the tragedies some of the alleged ghosts experienced while still human, which has caused them to linger on this earth.”

Tichelaar will release Haunted Marquette at the Marquette Regional History Center on Wednesday, October 11. A presentation will begin at 6:00 p.m. and last about an hour, followed by a book signing. Partial proceeds from the book signing will be donated to the history center.

Tyler R. Tichelaar is a seventh generation Marquette resident. He is the author of The Marquette Trilogy, My Marquette, and numerous other books. In 2011, he received the Outstanding Writer Award in the Marquette County Arts Awards, and the Barb H. Kelly Historic Preservation Award. His novel Narrow Lives won the 2008 Reader Views Historical Fiction Award. In 2014, his play Willpower was produced by the Marquette Regional History Center at Kaufman Auditorium. You can learn more at Tichelaar’s website www.MarquetteFiction.com and at the MRHC’s website www.marquettehistory.org.

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“Tales of Love and Dying” – A Fascinating Look into a Psychic’s Life

Sherry Kauppi is a psychic, medium, channeler, and Upper Michigan resident. During a near death experience at age thirty-two, she made a bargain with a spirit that would define her life’s purpose. Since 1995, she has channeled non-physical beings, seeking to give love and advice to earthbound humans. Kauppi’s new book, Tales of Love and Dying, tells her story about being a psychic and how she communicates with spirits and helps others. Through her psychic abilities, she has been able to help treasure hunters locate valuable ancient artifacts and parents communicate with children who have passed to find the comfort they need.

Much of this book resonated with me because Kauppi’s experiences reveal that the universe is a largely benevolent place. Furthermore, she predicts that as more people are open to psychic possibilities, they will awaken to their own abilities until it will be a common occurrence in the future for people to communicate with the spirit world. Kauppi also confirms for me what I have always believed—that everything has a purpose. In channeling a Viet Nam vet, she states, “He came to appreciate that his wound was actually his gift in this life…. Our frailties are usually contracted for us, designed to offer us the most useful existence possible in the whole universe. Yet, while we are here, we still curse them.”

While death is difficult for those left behind, Kauppi helps to ease that pain. A significant portion of Tales of Love and Dying is devoted to her working with the parents of a deceased young teenager, Joey. In time, Kauppi was able to help the parents understand that Joey was still there, and she channeled him and his deceased grandfather, to help the parents better understand the situation and take comfort.

Perhaps the most significant message in this book is that Kauppi states there is no judgment after death. She says, “The spirits tell us that at some point in the transition, we have a life review. At that time, we experience all the significant things we ever did to anyone else—as if it were being done to us…. On the upside, I am also told that during the life review, we will feel and receive all the good that we brought to other people. We will feel the love and the service that we gave, plus much more. We will see how our kindness or outreach impacted other people in a positive way. I am told that this part is super-joyful and seems to wipe out any trace of concern about the value of the life, or the unfinished business on the earth plane that was left behind.”

Kauppi’s stories are fascinating as is her prediction that psychic abilities will be the new normal for humans, going so far as to say it can happen to us in this lifetime, although it will manifest differently for various people. She goes on to provide personal tips on how we can connect with spirits and awaken our psychic abilities.

Tales of Love and Dying may not be for every reader, but personally, I found it fascinating and an affirmation that life and love do go on forever and we need only be open to the possibilities.

(Note, the above article I first wrote for the Marquette Monthly (www.mmnow.com) and it is reprinted with permission.

New Book Gives Biblical Answer to Whether Ghosts Exist—With Frightening and Comforting Results

Seeing Ghosts through God’s Eyes:
A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits
Mark Hunneman
ISBN: 9781935586227
Aviva Publishing (2011)

Mark Hunneman, an ordained Presbyterian minister, while recuperating from some health issues, began watching “Ghost Hunters” and other paranormal investigation programs, both with fascination and alarm. Observing the recent explosion of interest in ghosts and the supernatural, as evidenced in books, TV, and movies, he questioned how a belief in ghosts coincided with traditional Christianity, where the Bible stood on the existence of ghosts, and why God would allow ghosts to exist.

Hunnemann’s investigation led him to reading and analyzing popular books by people who claim they can talk to ghosts, including Mary Ann Winkowski, to interviewing religious demonologists who seek to exorcise demons, and to watching numerous episodes of paranormal investigation programs and popular fictional shows such as “Ghost Whisperer” to understand popular—and misguided—beliefs about ghosts. Mark even relates that he has had his own frightening encounters with the supernatural world. This array of research led him to some strong conclusions.

Far beyond simply compiling evidence of the supernatural, Hunnemann applied common sense and logic, and most importantly, his own Christian beliefs as sifted through the Bible to answer the hard questions about whether ghosts exist, and if so, why. Hunnemann examines most significantly the biblical worldview of life, man’s place in the world, and what kind of God would permit people—even babies—to become ghosts. His well-reasoned analysis is centered upon answering seven biblical worldview questions: 1) What is the Nature of God? 2) What is Your Purpose in Life? 3) What is the Nature of Reality? 4) What is the Nature of History? 5) What is the Basis for Morality? 6) What are the Essential Traits of Being Human? and 7) What Happens to Us After We Die?

Hunnemann realizes that many of his readers will be skeptical both to the truths of the Bible as well as to the possibility that ghosts exist. He does an excellent job of anticipating his readers’ questions and objections, never shying away from difficult questions or trying to soften hard answers his readers may not like to hear, but he is also open to and understanding of their skepticism. Hunnemann relates some of his own story, including the death of his college age brother that left him angry at God and questioning God’s existence or goodwill toward man, as well as his own reaffirmation of faith.

What I most admire about “Seeing Ghosts through God’s Eyes” is Hunnemann’s earnestness in discussing his subject. While many people are dismissive about ghosts, he emphasizes that the Church must take note of how interest in the supernatural is growing, and take a stand upon this issue. He also logically explores the popular theories behind how people become ghosts and shows the fallacies in many of these theories. For example, why would Hitler be allowed to be a ghost and thereby escape eternal punishment, and where is the logic in a child who dies in a fire missing her chance to go into the light when she dies, thereby being trapped on earth? In short, Hunnemann sorts through the “mumbo-jumbo” to reveal the most logical answers about ghosts’ existence, and he provides plentiful evidence from paranormal investigations and biblical scripture to support his conclusions.

Some readers who question the Bible’s authenticity or inerrancy or who have difficulty believing in the tenets of Christianity may not be open at first to Hunnemann’s arguments, but most of them would be rejecting the book before giving it a chance, and Hunnemann skillfully anticipates and answers those arguments as well as points readers to additional resources. I admit that while I had some skepticism both about ghost theories as well as certain aspects of Christian theology, I found this book fascinating. In fact, I could not put the book down, and even when I did, I found my thoughts absorbed with the information found in “Seeing Ghosts through God’s Eyes.” Beyond just the question of ghosts, I came to a greater philosophical and biblical understanding of God and His love for His Creation. Even people who do not believe in ghosts or in God will find their attention fully captivated by the revelations in this book.

I am certain many readers will find that “Seeing Ghosts through God’s Eyes” will have a life-changing effect upon them by altering and enhancing their worldviews. In fact, in many ways, I think it is a comforting book, because despite some of its frightening conclusions, it results in a clearly thought out analysis on a subject that for a long time has left people confused, but now equips them with knowledge, understanding, and faith where there was doubt.

For more information on Mark Hunnemann and “Seeing Ghosts through God’s Eyes,” visit www.MarkHunnemann.com

— Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D. and author of the award-winning “Narrow Lives”