Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domainA mysterious 1889 cemetery deep in the Ottawa National Forest with only 19 marked graves — 11 belonging to children under eight — where disembodied screaming, chainsaw sounds, and orbs surrounding vehicles have been reported.
Kitchie Rd, Kenton, MI 49967
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free; deep in Ottawa National Forest — requires 4WD or high-clearance vehicle; no services within miles
Access
Limited Access
Deeply forested dirt roads; no paved access; very remote backcountry location 5 miles east of Kenton
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1889 · Only 19 marked graves; most recent burial 1901 — entire associated community vanished · 11 of 19 graves belong to children under age eight · 18 different surnames among identified burials — none named Kitchie · Possible remnant of a lost UP settlement within the Ottawa National Forest
Kitchie Cemetery represents one of Michigan's most historically puzzling burial grounds: 19 graves in the deep Ottawa National Forest, established in 1889, with the most recent dated interment in 1901. The community that created the cemetery — possibly a small settlement or logging camp — has left no other trace. The forest has completely reclaimed whatever structures once stood nearby.
Of the 19 marked graves, 11 belong to children under the age of eight — an extraordinarily high proportion that suggests either a specific mortality event, harsh frontier conditions, or the particular demographics of a transient working community. One grave is entirely unknown (unmarker). The other 18 identified interments carry 18 different surnames, none of which is Kitchie — leaving the cemetery's name origin unexplained. Several of those buried were children of soldiers.
Local researchers have speculated that this may represent the remnants of a small settlement called 'Kitchie' that no longer appears in any record, effectively a Michigan ghost town absorbed by the Ottawa National Forest. The site address (Kitchie Rd, Duncan Township, Houghton County, MI 49961) places it within land now managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Sources
Kitchie Cemetery's paranormal reputation is built on a consistent cluster of phenomena reported by visitors making the remote journey into the Ottawa National Forest. According to 99WFMK's dedicated feature on the site and independently corroborated by Northern Michigan History, the most commonly reported experiences involve sound: disembodied screams that have no identifiable source and appear to come from the surrounding forest, and the unmistakable sound of chainsaw operation when no machinery is present.
The visual phenomenon most associated with Kitchie Cemetery involves what witnesses describe as floating orbs that emerge from the forest treeline and move toward — and around — parked vehicles at the site, creating the impression of being surrounded by light sources with no physical origin.
No named historical individuals are attached to specific paranormal claims at Kitchie Cemetery; the phenomena are environmental rather than apparitional. The concentration of children's graves (11 of 19) has led local researchers to speculate about the emotional weight of the site without attaching specific biographical fabrications to any of the interred.
Remote backcountry visit to Michigan's most enigmatic Upper Peninsula graveyard — 19 marked graves from a settlement that vanished, 11 of them children's, established 1889 and abandoned by 1901.
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