Michigan Legends: Folktales and Lore from the Great Lakes State

by Sheryl James (Editor)

Over the course of its history, the state of Michigan has produced its share of folktales and lore. Many are familiar with the Ojibwa legend of Sleeping Bear Dunes, and most have heard a yarn or two told of Michigan’s herculean lumberjack, Paul Bunyan. But what about Detroit’s Nain Rouge, the red-eyed imp they say bedeviled the city’s earliest residents? Or Le Griffon, the Great Lakes’ original ghost ship that some believe haunts the waters to this day? Or the Bloodstoppers, Upper Peninsula folk who’ve been known to halt a wound’s bleeding with a simple touch thanks to their magic healing powers? In Michigan Legends, Sheryl James collects these and more stories of the legendary people, events, and places from Michigan’s real and imaginary past. Set in a range of historical time periods and locales as well as featuring a collage of ethnic traditions—including Native American, French, English, African American, and Finnish—these tales are a vivid sample of the state’s rich cultural heritage. This book will appeal to all Michiganders and anyone else interested in good folktales, myths, legends, or lore.

Genres: Nonfiction, Historical, History

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Bhoff Detroit]

If you must open this book, thumb to the source pages, put those on your ‘to read list’ and don’t bother with this volume. Where it’s not blatantly plagiarized, it’s poorly written. Legends of le Detroit by Hamlin is much, much better for an initial read.

[Sarah Alawami]

I love it a history aspect, but the Reed could have been a little bit better.

[Ella87]

I've read it for the second time and I still love it.

[Alex]

I really enjoyed learning more about my home state's history!

[Zach Penrice]

Much of the book is plagiarized from other sources

[C. Patrick G.]

These are really fun stories from Michigan lore. Sheryl James does a great job telling the different tales from different times with a similar narrative. The stories often start with some historical set-up, and then get into the details of the tale. Many of the stories relate to the state's indigenous Indian population and its relationships with the settlers, French, English, and others.

I hadn't thought of a place like Detroit or Western Michigan as ripe for tall tales, but there are plenty, and certainly enough for a very entertaining book from James.

I bought a copy of this at a bookstore in Holland, Michigan. My family vacations during the summer nearby in Douglas / Saugatuck. That connection to Michigan made these stories that much more relatable and enjoyable.

[Megan Park]

A fabulously fascinating read about one of my favorite places, Michigan. I grew up knowing Paul Bunyan, but there are so many more interesting legends I didn't know from the place of my birth and this book shed some light on some of them. The stories of the founding of Detroit, the Paul Bunyan story and the Native American legends were the best of the bunch.