Detroit’s own haunted mansion: The spookiest spirits and eeriest incidents at The Whitney

DETROIT (WWJ) -- Whatever you do…don’t move the tea set.

That was just one of the main takeaways from a recent tour of The Whitney in Detroit, which is widely regarded as one of the spookiest spots in the city, and even throughout the country.

Speaking with The Whitney’s General Manger Tony Muzzi, and “Haunted Detroit” author Nicole Beauchamp, WWJ’s Zach Clark and Annie Scaramuzzino dig into the details of the building’s haunted history for the latest Halloween episode of The Daily J podcast.

The historic home, which stands regally at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Canfield Street, was built in 1894 for David Whitney Jr. and his wife and children — one of the wealthiest families in Michigan at that time.

Unfortunately, the lavish house was not a home for very long, and the string of tragedies that followed may have led to the high amount of paranormal activity in the mansion.

Though initially imagined as a forever home for Whitney’s first wife Flora, that fantasy never came to fruition, as the family matriarch passed away in 1882 before construction on the house even began.

One year later, Whitney married Flora’s sister Sara, who became step-mother to the family’s four children.

It is said that Flora haunts now the Whitney mansion — particularly the women’s third floor restroom — and she can be observed sobbing out of devastation that she never got to live in her dream home, and her sister did.

The Whitney family continued to be plagued by tragedy when Whitney himself died of a heart attack in the mansion in 1900, just six years after the home’s completion.

Whitney’s daughter Grace was in Europe at the time of her father’s passing, and was unable to say goodbye.

Grace enjoyed having tea in the home’s carriage house, which is located just next door, and a tea set always sat in waiting for her visits, per Whitney’s instructions.

The now dilapidated and rather creepy carriage house continues to hold a tea set in Grace’s honor. Through the years, if anyone has moved the set, an influx of paranormal activity has been reported in the mansion, particularly pertaining to china falling off the shelves and breaking.

When the tea set is returned, the activity stops. So there it stays, perched in front of a window overlooking the Whitney grounds.

Whitney’s second wife Sara died in 1917, and the mansion was eventually transferred to the Wayne County Medical Center, and even used as a tuberculosis ward for some time.

Some have reported encountering spirits having coughing fits throughout the mansion, with the theory being they were possibly patients of the TB ward.

Fast-forward to the 1980s, and The Whitney was reimagined as a high-end restaurant after it was sold to entrepreneur Richard Kughn, who restored the building so the public could enjoy it.

The mansion changed hands again in 2007 when former Chrysler executive Bud Liebler bought the building, which once again underwent renovations, and a state-of-the-art kitchen and new features like the third floor’s Ghost Bar were added.

Despite the building’s many updates and changes, the ghosts seem to remain steadfast, and many believe that the spirits of David Whitney Jr. and his family are there to stay.

Guess it really was their “forever home” after all.