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4.4
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Felt Mansion

6597 138th Avenue, Holland, Michigan 49423 USA

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“A colorfully woven history”

"The Felt Mansion is a house located in Holland, Michigan. It was built by Dorr Felt as a summer home for his wife Agnes, completed in 1928. The Felt Mansion became the St. Augustine Catholic Seminary preparatory school in 1949." - Wikipedia From ghostly women in white dresses to werewolves on rural roads, if you look hard enough, you can find some pretty disturbing urban legends hidden away in the dark corners of every small town in America. One of the strangest legends, though, has to do with cannibalistic "Melon Heads" that roam the dark forests of the Midwest, creatures that some say even seen to this very day. The legend of the menacing Melon Heads is believed to have originated in the woods of Saugatuck, Michigan. The tale tells of a group of a family that gave birth to a brood of deformed children, kids with massively oversized heads. As this particular story goes, the children were shipped off to the old Junction Insane Asylum, where a terrifying madman performed twisted experiments on them, injecting their brains with strange fluids and torturing them for his sick amusement. Eventually, with word spreading that the doors of the asylum would soon be shuttered, the kids hatched a plan to end their abuse once and for all. On a rainy night, they attacked the mad scientist, escaping the hospital with his body, and fleeing into the woods. By this point, they had lost their sense of humanity, and they feasted on the doctors flesh, scattering his bones around a deserted mansion tucked away in the forest. This tale, however dubious, is the same yarn that was spun to teenagers in the late 60s, and the story has remained largely the same since then. In some versions, the feral children were simply released into the woods when the old hospital closed. In others, they merely killed the doctor, opting not to eat them. However, there is one frightening piece of the tale that has never changed: the disfigured children are still occasionally seen roaming through the woods by drivers of the area's lonely back roads. They came to be known as the "Melon Heads". Today, local teenagers still encounter the Melon Heads along Wisner Road near the old Felt Mansion in Holland, Michigan. It's this very mansion where the disfigured children were said to dispose of the bones of the evil doctor after escaping the hospital. The Allegan County Historical Society is keen to mention that the asylum never existed, although at one point, there did exist a prison. Laketown Township Manager Al Meshkin told the Holland Sentinel that he had heard the tales as a teenager, noting that his friends referred to the beings as "wobbleheads".  Regardless of what you call them, the Melon Heads are a staple of Michigan's creepiest urban legends, and if you go driving the dirt roads of Holland after dark, you just might glimpse one yourself. - Roadtrippers

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Reviewed by
Megan Bannister

  • Road Warrior
  • 135 Reviews
  • 113 Helpful
August 05, 2014
Rated 4.0

More than a decade ago, my family and I had driven through the estate, which had fallen into disrepair and was more or less abandoned. Today, that’s far from the case—the Felt Mansion's grounds as well as the home itself are gorgeous.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
Lindalankheet

  • 11 Reviews
  • 2 Helpful
February 23, 2014
Rated

Beautiful place, near beach, and hiking trails!

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
h2o.like.water

  • 1 Review
  • 1 Helpful
December 07, 2013
Rated

Great place to visit! Call ahead, hours of operation are limited. Place is beautiful inside and out. If you plan on going to the beach make sure you wear hiking shoes, it's a bit of a walk.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
Julia

  • 7 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
May 13, 2015
Rated 4.0

Very beautiful place!

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Reviewed by
Dora

  • 7 Reviews
  • 2 Helpful
December 19, 2014
Rated 5.0

Lots of trails out to the beach! Beautiful place to hike and explore. Place for picnic lunches at the nearby trails. One of my favorite places in Holland. Also used for weddings!

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Felt Mansion

6597 138th Avenue
Holland, Michigan
49423 USA
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