Residents urged to avoid Mount Pleasant Center; tips for a safe Halloween available online

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Thrill-seekers and trick-or-treaters are advised to play it safe this Halloween weekend.

Children are encouraged to include carrying a flashlight, traveling in groups and be wary of traffic during official Halloween hours, 6 to 8 p.m., said Mount Pleasant Police Department Public Information Officer Jeff Browne. Additional tips are available at www.mt-pleasant.org.

A thrill with higher consequences may be ghost hunting at the Mount Pleasant Center, 1400 W. Pickard St.

“People are interested to see what it’s all about,” Browne said. “But the problems are that there’s no power up there, the buildings are unsafe and the property has not been maintained.”

The site has been the source of many ghost stories.

Browne said the police department has about 10 people trespass the sight each year the week of Halloween.

Gladwin freshman Anna McNeill said she is very interested in ghost hunting at the Mount Pleasant Center. She heard rumors during Leadership Safari and is eager to go.

“I personally wouldn’t be so bold as to go on Halloween, but I would defiantly go some other time of the year,” she said. “From what I remember of the story, apparently the “asylum” was a sort of school the native children were forced to go to but it was then converted to a psyche-ward.”

McNeil said she could see why people would want to go on Halloween.

According to www.strangeusa.com and other ghost story sites, the haunting allegations derive from the buildings’ history. The Mount Pleasant Center was a housing community for mentally disabled persons.

“The building dates back to the first hospital in the area, then a transitional school for Native Americans,” Browne said. “Then the state developed into a place where people with mental disabilities could live.”

The site has been closed for two years.

The state issued security officers to patrol the lot 24 hours a day. Chains and trespassing warning signs line the property, Browne said.

The biggest concern with entering the lot is safety, he said. The abandoned center houses dilapidated buildings, fallen trees and broken fire escapes.

He said tree branches are likely to fall because of the recent windstorms.

“My biggest concern is someone hurting themselves,” Browne said.

Legal consequences for trespassing include a 90 day misdemeanor. If it is in the presence of an officer, they can be arrested on site.