You might not be aware of it, but there is a creepy legend on Detroit’s Belle Isle that will definitely send chills down your spine. Did you know the island has a few ghostly residents that prowl the area from time to time? We can’t blame them considering what a gorgeous natural oasis Belle Isle is, but sometimes it can disconcerting to share this sanctuary with troubled spirits. A Native American legend says that if you are ever on the island, you should keep your eyes peeled for the “Lady in White.”
Belle Isle is a 982-acre island park off of Detroit, Michigan. Belle Isle Park, which consists of Belle Isle itself as well as a number of other isles nearby, was developed in the 19th century and has been enjoyed for leisure ever since.
But it's not all picnics and morning runs in this park. There's an old legend on Belle Isle that says when you honk your horn three times the "Lady in White" will appear.
There is no shortage of urban legends on the island, but the "Lady in White" is one of the most well-known and spookiest.
According to the stories, Native American Chief Sleeping Bear had a daughter that was so beautiful, he did not allow her to see any of the suitors who were constantly swarming her. To fix this, her father wrapped her in a blanket and put her in a canoe down the Detroit River. This is some real serious protective parenting.
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However, even the wind wanted to see at this young girl in the canoe and blew the blanket off her, sending her down the river where she was kidnapped. Feeling bad, the wind managed to win the beautiful girl back and sent her back to the Chief.
The story tells that the Chief asked the Great Spirits to protect his daughter for the rest of her life. In return, the Spirits surrounded the island with snakes and gave the girl immortality. To this day the Chief's daughter, robed in white, wanders the island which is both a safe haven for her and a prison.
Before it was called Belle Isle, the island was known as Rattlesnake Island due to the high amount of water snakes. The legend says that these were the very snakes put there to protect the Chief's daughter, and they were not to be trifled with.
Chief Sleeping Bear's daughter was then known as the Snake Goddess of Belle Isle. The legend also states that the "Lady in White" has the ability to transform into a white doe that many people have claimed to have actually seen. For many years there were a number of fallow deer on the island, including several white ones. In 2022 the last remaining white fallow deer were permanently moved to the Detroit Zoo due to the closure of the Belle Isle Nature Center. The real test will be to see if the doe appears to visitors still, even after supposedly being removed from the island.
So if you're ever visiting Belle Isle, test your luck and try to find the "Lady in White." There are no reports that the Chief's daughter is violent or vindictive in any way, she's more of a sad presence, so beautiful that she wasn't able to have her own life.
This strange and unusual ghost story is just one of many creepy tales that have been passed down for decades. Believe it or not, Detroit is full of them.
Do you know any other spooky ghosts stories on Belle Isle? Or perhaps you’ve seen the Lady in White for yourself. We’d love to hear your firsthand accounts. Share them with us in the comment section below!
