A pair of presentations at local libraries will explore the stories, legends and mysteries that connect Michigan’s two peninsulas, including several from Livingston County.

Jon Milan and Gail Offen are the authors of “Michigan Haunts: Public Places, Eerie Spaces” which explores the dozens of publicly available paranormal parts of Michigan, including hotels, restaurants, theaters and lighthouses.

Speaking on WHMI’s Mike & Jon in the Morning, the pair says they drew from more than 300 years of Michigan history to create a road trip to "the other side," filled with hauntings, ghost towns, and bizarre tales, whether it was the legend of Lover's Leap on Mackinac Island to spirits said to lurk at Henry Ford's Greenfield Village.

Closer to home, Offen says the old Howell Sanatorium in Marion Township offers some chilling tales. Opened as a place to treat TB patients, it later became a mental hospital before being torn down in the 1980s to put up a housing development. "If you've ever seen Poltergeist you know that's not a real great idea. 'They're baaack!'" Other local spooky spots they catalog include the Hartland Music Hall, Howell Opera House and Brighton’s old Mellus Hospital, which is now home to the Brighton Chamber of Commerce.

Milan and Offen will be discussing their book on Thursday night at 6:30 at the Hamburg Library and then next Tuesday night at 7pm at the Brighton Library. Both events are free to the public, but copies of their book will be available for purchase. (JK)