The Ada Witch has become a local legend to the nearby areas surrounding Ada, Michigan in Kent County, about twelve miles from Grand Rapids. She has been rumored to haunt the area between Egypt Valley, 2 Mile road and Honey Creek. She has been spotted in both the Ada Cemetery as well as the Findlay Cemetery and some even claim to have seen the Ada Witch in Siedman Park.
The Legend of the Ada Witch
The story varies from person to person, locations and dates sometimes change but the gist remains the same. A young married woman was in the habit of meeting with her lover, reportedly by the light of the full moon, along Honey Creek road.
One night her suspecting husband followed; spotting his wife and her lover in an embrace. Filled with jealousy and rage, he murdered his adulterous wife right then and there, and then turned his attention to her lover. The husband and the lover fought violently, inflicting mortal wounds on each other and in turn, they, died as well.
The Ada Witch has allegedly been seen, heard, and… felt.
Descriptions of the Ada Witch vary from person to person. She is a lovely brunette in a long, white dress or perhaps a startling, even terrifying specter that shows the signs of her murder. Sometimes she is not even seen, though sights of floating orbs and blue-green mists in the cemetery have been reported.
Hunters have reported hearing footsteps behind them, of being tapped on their shoulders only to turn around and find no one there. People claim to have heard her shrieks and screams, the murder reenacted on nights of the full moon in the fields along Honey Creek road. Others have seen her walking the fields, seeming to be searching for something, her dead lover perhaps?
What is the truth and what is the legend?
Nobody can say for sure if any part of the Ada Witch legend is true, there is only speculation and accounts given by people who have supposedly seen her.
The grave of Sarah A. McMillan has attracted those seeking the Ada Witch. The gravestone’s top half is broken off, and supported by wood frames. Sarah died November 25, 1870 of Typhoid Fever; she was twenty-nine years old. Flowers, trinkets, and candles adorn the gravestone and the immediate area around it; left by visitors who believe her to be the woman from the legend.
There is no suggestion in the story that the Ada Witch was actually a witch, though it is possible that being a witch was attributed to this mysterious woman after her death. When telling the tale, Ada Witch also sounds more frightening than the Murdered Woman, the witch label could have been added by later generations of story-tellers to make the story more intriguing.
The Ada Witch is rumored to be buried in the Findlay Cemetery where she is routinely spotted but has also been seen in the Ada Cemetery, which lies several miles south of her alleged resting place. Her haunting grounds are numerous. Honey Creek road (where some claim she was murdered in a nearby field), Findlay Cemetery (where she is buried), Ada Cemetery, and Siedman Park (another possible murder location).
It is entirely possible that the story of the Ada Witch, her lover, and the jealous husband happened. The retelling of such a tale over time would naturally become embellished and changed a little bit with each new storyteller; though the core remains the same. The grim tale would also serve as a warning to wives to think twice before straying outside their marriage. With personal accounts being added, the legend of the Ada Witch has become a Kent County staple that keeps growing.
Resources
Michigan Ghost Stories: The Ada Witch
Elise Lyons - Elise is a full-time college student, full-time parent and works as a part-time free-lance writer as well as a home help aide. She has ...
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