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| Summerwind Mansion Courtesy Todd Roll, 2006 |
If the stories about Summerwind are true, this mansion has had a long, unsettling history. But is it really haunted?
Summerwind was built by Robert P. Lamont in 1916, as a summer home on the shores of West Bay Lake in Vilas County, northern Wisconsin. After Lamont was appointed Secretary of Commerce under President Herbert Hoover, it later became a welcomed escape from the responsibilities of working in Washington, DC.
While vacationing at Summerwind, according to legend, Lamont came upon an intruder in his kitchen. He fired several shots from his pistol, which hit the door leading to the basement -- but the intruder simply vanished!
Summerwind was sold a number of times after Robert Lamont's death, and there were no further reports of ghostly activity until the early 1970s, after Arnold and Ginger Hinshaw, and their six children, moved in. Their experiences were so disturbing that they stayed for only six months.From their first day in the old mansion, the Hinshaws reported seeing indistinct shapes moving in the hallways, and hearing mumbled voices in empty rooms that would abruptly stop when they opened the door. Appliances would break down, but before a service person could be called, they would apparently repair themselves. Closed windows and doors would reopen. Most disturbing of all was the ghost of a woman seen floating back and forth outside the dining room's French doors!
In spite of this, the Hinshaws were determined to stay, and they made plans to renovate the house. They were unable to hire anyone to do the work, apparently due to Summerwind's reputation as a haunted site, and ultimately they decided to do the work, themselves. One task was to paint a bedroom closet. There was a large shoe drawer built into the back wall of the closet. When Arnold pulled it out to paint the frame, he saw that there was a large, dark space behind it. Wedging himself in as far as he could, he shone a flashlight to see what was there. Suddenly, he pulled back in revulsion. What he had seen in that dark space appeared to be the corpse a dead animal. He then tried to squeeze through the opening far enough to get a better look, but he was too big. When his children came home from school, Arnold had his young daughter climb through the opening with a flashlight to get a closer look. A moment later, she let out a scream! What she had seen was a human corpse, with dirty black hair still clinging to a skull.
According to Arnold Hinshaw, they chose not to report the corpse to the police, reasoning that this crime happened so long ago that there was nothing the police could do about it. Strangely, they just left the body to be "at peace" in that hidden compartment. Regardless of their reasoning, the discovery of the corpse marked the point at which things started to go very bad at Summerwind.
Prior to moving to Summerwind, the Hinshaws had purchased a Hammond organ, which Arnold enjoyed playing for relaxation. Shortly after the discovery of the body, Arnold began stayng up very late into the night, playing the organ in an increasingly frenzied manner, louder and more discordant as the night wore on, pounding on the keys until dawn. His wife and children were so terrified by this strange behavior that they would huddle together in one bedroom, waiting in fear.
Ultimately, Arnold had a complete mental breakdown and at the same time, Ginger attempted suicide. Arnold was committed to an institution, while Ginger and the children moved to her parents' home in Granton, WI. After it became apparent that Arnold would not recover, Ginger obtained a divorce.Eventully, Ginger married George Olsen, and looked forward to building a new life far from Summerwind.
Imagine Ginger's horror when her parents, Raymond and Marie Bober, announced that they were going to buy Summerwind to turn it into restaurant and inn. (continued...)
