The story of Summerwind is one of the most famous ghost stories of all time, possibly because people call it the most haunted house in Wisconsin. Thousands of people have shared the story, spreading it far beyond a local ghost story. Even though the gorgeous mansion is now just a pile of rubble, it hasn’t stopped the stories from continuing.
Summerwind was located near West Lake Bay in Wisconsin, in an area known for expensive and enormous mansions. Robert Lamont was a career politician who needed a place to take his family during the long summer months. After examining a number of locations around Wisconsin, he finally decided on West Lake Bay.
Lamont and his family experienced some odd things during their years at Summerwind, though not nearly as odd as what would come later. Family members occasionally saw spirits, and one night Lamont encountered a spirit that he thought was a burglar. The man drew his gun and fired several times before the ghost disappeared, leaving bullet holes in the wall.
During the 1970’s Andrew and Ginger Hinshaw and their six children moved into Summerwind, and things would begin to take a strange turn. The house had sat empty for a number of years, but the family assumed that they could make it livable. Instead they found some strange things.
First the family heard strange noises, as if people were talking in empty and closed off rooms. The family noticed that if they heard the noises while outside, everything would go quiet when they stepped inside. Then they began seeing shadows and odd shapes moving through the house, as well as a female ghost in one specific room.
Strangest of all were the appliances that would suddenly and unexpectedly die. The family called several people to come to the house and fix the appliances, but they would always arrive to find the appliances in perfect condition. The family also noticed that the doors and windows refused to stay closed, and would open at all hours of the day.
Finally the family began fearing that they were in mortal danger. Arnold was getting ready for work one morning when his car unexpectedly exploded. The flames spewed everywhere, and no one was able to determine what caused the explosion.
Then the family decided to spend some money fixing up the mansion. Yet workers consistently found reasons not to work on Summerwind. The general consensus was that locals believed the old mansion was haunted, and wanted nothing to do with it. When Arnold decided to do some of the work himself, he was shocked to discover a human body inside the walls of the house.
Of course this only falls into the legend part of the story, as there is no proof of this actual discovery. No one can prove that the family found the body, and if they did, they never notified authorities, as they should have. Some claim the family believed too much time had passed since the person had been killed, so they had no reason to inform local authorities. Legend claims that the family instead put the body back in place, and continued working on the house.
That was apparently a bad idea as the supernatural activity only increased in Summerwind. Arnold and his family believed the man was possessed by demons, demons who forced him to play the organ late into the night and forcing him to continue playing no matter how tired he was. Not long after this behavior began, Ginger tried to kill herself and Arnold suffered a breakdown. Rational thinkers have pointed out that Arnold may have had psychological problems, and his behavior carried over to his family.
Arnold was institutionalized, and Ginger divorced him in the meantime. After his release, she married another man and the whole family kept their distance from Summerwind. Ginger believed the only reason she fully recovered was because she had escaped the ghosts and demons of the house.
Her father decided that he would buy the old mansion, and planned to turn it into an upscale restaurant and hotel. Though she pleaded with the man not to do it, he pushed forward. The man also claimed that the real ghost of Summerwind was an old explorer who was trying to find a treaty he signed with Indians in the area, giving him sole ownership of a large portion of Wisconsin. This treaty was sealed in the foundation of the house. Why a treaty from 200 years ago would be placed in a much newer house remains a mystery.
Ginger’s father Bober later wrote a book about the house, before pushing forward with his plans. Bober brought her new husband George to the house at one point, asking his advice on restoring the house. During their time there they explored the area where the family supposedly found a body, but it was now gone. Some say this is proof that the family exaggerated their experiences in the house.
The process of converting the house into a commercial space took far longer than anyone could have estimated. Workers kept walking off the job, or refusing to appear at all. The owners also claimed that rooms kept changing shape and size throughout the job, making it impossible to fit the rooms for new floors or wall coverings. After some time the family decided to scrap plans to change the house, and instead abandoned it.
Following that, the house sat empty. A group of investors decided to buy Summerwind in 1986, but the house was struck by lightning a few years later. The lightning started a massive fire, which burned out of control before anyone could get there. Now all that is left are the original foundation and a few remains. Unless you were looking for it, you might miss it completely.
Though this story shares some similarities to the Amityville Horror, including the same timeframe, no one has yet to come knocking for this story. Then again, maybe even Hollywood is afraid of the flaws in this one…
