Is this Michigan brewery haunted? We're planning to find out

Photo used with permission of The Mitten Brewing Company.

AMY SHERMAN | asherma2@mlive.com

Located in historic Engine House No. 9 on Grand Rapids West side, The Mitten Brewing Company is well known for their delicious pizza and tasty beers. What you might not know about them is that they may have a full time ghost residing at the restaurant.

After many unexplained events since they opened in 2012, owners Max Trierweiler and Chris Andrus have finally decided to bring in some professional help to try and figure out what is going on at the brewery. On Sunday, September 24, professionals from the Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters will be at the brewery to do a paranormal investigation.

I'll be there too. I'll also be sharing whatever we find, live on MLive.com's Facebook page, starting at 11:30pm on Sunday September 23.

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Photo used with permission of The Mitten Brewing Company.

No matter if you believe in ghosts or not, you won't be able to deny that some strange occurrences have happened at The Mitten. They keep a special "ghost journal" behind the bar so that employees can write down any strange things they see, or weird sounds. It has quite a few entries.

One night owner Chris Andrus was the last person at the bar, he mopped the floor, then left. First to return the next morning, he found footprints in the room. No one else had been at the bar. Upon closer inspection, he realized that they were children's footprints, and that they made no discernible walking pattern. In fact, according to the prints, no one had entered or left the room.

The Mitten found the exact same footprint on a board that was hidden inside a wall that hadn't seen the light of day for 124 years. You can check it out upstairs, as it's now preserved as part of the bar top.

Owners Max and Chris have never felt that there was an evil presence at the bar, but definitely some type of presence, and unexplained occurrences on a regular basis. They figured it couldn't hurt to bring in the pros and see what they could discover.

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Photo used with permission of The Mitten Brewing Company.

So just what is involved in a paranormal investigation? I talked to Wayne Thomas, one of the owners of Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters, about what to expect.

Wayne, along with his partner Pastor Dan Schmidt, has been doing this professionally for about 5 years. But he's been training since he was 5 years old. Wayne's grandfather was also a ghost hunter, and he would bring Wayne along often. "It was a little strange, at that age all of my friends were being told to not believe in ghosts, and I was told the exact opposite, and coached on how to find them", Wayne explained.

There are two types of haunting that might be happening. There is "residual" haunting, which is the most common. This is when a building holds an energy that is manifesting itself. Buildings made of stone or brick (like The Mitten), tend to hold more energy than others.  The other type is an "intelligent" haunting, when there is an interaction between the living and the dead.

"A lot of places that we go have both types. And it doesn't have to come from a traumatic event, sometimes it is just every day things", Wayne said.

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The team will set up all sorts of different equipment, from video cameras, to extra sensitive sound recorders, to electric magnetic recorders. "We go in every time with the idea of debunking first, always", Wayne said, "but if there is something there, 90% of the time we get a recording". You usually can't hear a ghost with your naked ear Wayne explained, but on the recordings, the voices always sound the same, with hushed tones.

Once everything is set up, a bevy of protection prayers will be said. Then, for about 3 hours the team will use all of their tools to see if they can find anything. Afterwards, more protective prayers so that nothing travels back with us when we're done.

"Every ghost will present themselves on their own terms, and they are not always ghosts. What we are dealing with is not flesh and bone, it's a higher power. We call ourselves faith based, and I tell my team to put on their full armor of God before we get started. This is our mission. The church tells us that this is not supposed to happen, but it does", Wayne said.

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Amy Sherman | asherma2@mlive.com

I'm hoping that I can fill up on some of The Mitten's award winning pizza before we get started, and maybe quaff a pint to calm my nerves. Wayne told me that "most ghosts are more afraid of you than you are of them. Keep an open mind about things, even if you don't want to believe".

We'll be in good hands. Pastor Dan is "kind of a demon detector, if there is a dark force present he can sense it, and we shut it down."

"We got into this to truly help people. We've never charge anybody. People think I'm crazy. But we really are helping the living. If we can put a spirit to rest, that is the ultimate goal."

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John Gonzalez | Mlive

We are hoping that whatever energy is residing at The Mitten is a beer fan, because it might be nice to just share a pint. I would, of course, recommend a Country Strong IPA.

Whatever happens on Sunday, we are all excited to find out. Hopefully some answers will reveal themselves as to what type of presence this is, and maybe even what they want. Either way, we respect that they have sought out such a cool business to be a spiritual part of.

You can watch LIVE on MLive.com's Facebook page Sunday September 23 starting around 11:30. I'll be taking your questions and comments throughout the search.

I'll be live tweeting some of the activities as well, so follow me at Amyonthetrail.

Stop by The Mitten for some fantastic beer and pizza, and maybe more.

The Mitten Brewing Company

527 Leonard St NW
Grand Rapids, Michigan, MI 49504

(616) 608-5612

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J. Scott Parks | Mlive.com

Other Michigan restaurants that may be haunted

Check out the stories from these Michigan's Best restaurants that may be haunted.

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Photo used with permission of the Village at Grand Traverse Commons.

Tours and towns that just might creep you out.

Take a ghost tour after dark at historic Fort Wayne.

"Twilight Tours" at the old Northern Michigan asylum.

Eery ghost towns of Michigan.

Come along on a tour of West Michigan's most haunted places.

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Cory Morse | Mlve

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