Whitney Restaurant (David Whitney Mansion) – Haunted Mansion in Detroit, Michigan

The Whitney Restaurant, housed in the magnificent David Whitney Mansion, stands as a Romanesque Revival masterpiece on Woodward Avenue, its pink jasper exterior and opulent interior concealing over a century of tragedy, mystery, and restless spirits. Built by one of Detroit’s wealthiest lumber barons, this 52-room mansion has transformed from gilded private residence to funeral home to elegant restaurant, each era leaving behind ghostly residents who continue to roam its lavish halls, interact with staff and diners, and maintain an ethereal presence that has made it one of Michigan’s most famous and accessible haunted locations.

Historical Background

Year Built: 1894

Original Purpose: Private residence for lumber baron David Whitney Jr. and his family

Significant Events: David Whitney Jr., one of the wealthiest men in Michigan, died in the mansion in 1900, just six years after its completion, collapsing from a stroke in his bedroom after complaining of strange occurrences and feeling watched throughout the house. His widow Sara Whitney Spooner lived alone in the massive mansion for 30 years until her death in 1930, reportedly driven to near-madness by loneliness and the overwhelming presence of her deceased husband, whom staff claimed she spoke to regularly. From 1941 to 1979, the mansion operated as the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s office and morgue, with thousands of bodies processed through the building including victims of Detroit’s most violent crimes, industrial accidents, and mysterious deaths. The mansion sat abandoned and deteriorating through the 1980s, subjected to vandalism and alleged satanic rituals in the basement, before its 1986 renovation and conversion to an upscale restaurant, though workers reported disturbing encounters throughout the restoration that suggested the building’s dark history had left permanent supernatural imprints.

Paranormal Activity Summary

The most frequently reported phenomena include the overwhelming smell of jasmine perfume (Sara Whitney’s signature scent) appearing in various rooms, phantom piano music emanating from the third-floor music room when no one is present, and elevator doors opening and closing on their own while traveling between floors with no passengers. Staff and diners experience sudden temperature drops, glasses and dishes moving across tables untouched, and candles relighting themselves immediately after being extinguished.

Shadow figures appear throughout the mansion, particularly on the grand staircase and in the second and third-floor hallways, while multiple witnesses report seeing full-bodied apparitions of David and Sara Whitney in period clothing. The mansion’s numerous mirrors show reflections of people who aren’t physically present, and electronic equipment malfunctions regularly, particularly cameras and cell phones that drain completely despite full charges.

Ghost Stories & Reports

David Whitney Jr. – The Master of the House: The lumber baron’s spirit remains deeply attached to his beloved mansion, appearing most frequently on the second floor in his private study and bedroom. He manifests as a distinguished gentleman with a full beard wearing a dark Victorian suit, often seen standing by windows gazing out at Woodward Avenue or sitting at his desk as if reviewing business papers, and witnesses report that he appears solid and three-dimensional before fading slowly or walking through walls.

Staff members report feeling David’s protective presence, as if he’s overseeing operations and ensuring his home is properly maintained. Objects in his study move to specific arrangements overnight, books are found opened to particular pages about Detroit’s lumber industry, and several employees have reported having conversations with a well-dressed older gentleman who provided detailed historical information about the mansion before vanishing, later identifying him from historical photographs as David Whitney himself.

Sara Whitney Spooner – The Lonely Widow: Sara’s ghost is the most active and emotionally present spirit in the mansion, appearing throughout all floors but particularly in her third-floor bedroom suite and music room. She appears as an elegant woman in Victorian mourning dress, often seen gazing sadly from third-floor windows or playing phantom piano melodies that echo through the building, and her presence is always accompanied by the distinctive scent of jasmine perfume that was her trademark fragrance.

Multiple witnesses report extended interactions with Sara’s spirit, describing her as melancholy but not threatening. Restaurant guests have reported a woman in period clothing approaching their tables asking if they’ve seen her husband, touching their hands gently before disappearing, and servers frequently feel their shoulders touched by unseen hands that provide comfort during stressful shifts, which they attribute to Sara’s maternal nature and loneliness driving her to seek human connection.

The Elevator Operator: A phantom elevator operator, believed to be a former mansion servant from the Whitney family era, controls the mansion’s antique elevator with apparent intelligence and purpose. The elevator travels between floors on its own, stops at specific levels when called by name, and numerous people report seeing a shadowy figure in old-fashioned servant’s livery inside the elevator car who nods politely before fading away.

Staff members have learned to speak to this entity, saying “Third floor, please” or requesting specific levels, and report that the elevator responds more reliably to these verbal requests than to the physical buttons. The elevator frequently malfunctions when skeptics or disrespectful visitors attempt to use it, stopping between floors or refusing to open its doors until proper courtesy is shown.

The Medical Examiner’s Victims: The building’s decades as a morgue left behind disturbing residual hauntings in the basement and first-floor areas where bodies were stored and examined. Staff and guests report hearing moaning, crying, and voices calling for help from empty basement rooms, seeing translucent figures in modern clothing (unlike the Victorian-era spirits) wandering confused through dining areas, and experiencing overwhelming sadness and despair in locations where autopsies were performed.

One particularly tragic spirit is a young woman in 1970s clothing who appears in the Ghostbar (formerly the embalming room), looking lost and frightened, asking people “Where am I?” and “What happened to me?” Investigators believe she may be a murder victim whose case was never solved, trapped in the location where her body was brought for examination.

The Children in the Attic: Multiple witnesses report hearing children laughing, running, and playing in the mansion’s upper floors and attic spaces, despite no children being present. These sounds are accompanied by the appearance of toys moving on their own, the sensation of small hands tugging at adult’s clothing, and brief glimpses of children in Victorian-era clothing peeking around corners before vanishing, though their identity remains a mystery as the Whitneys had no children who died in the home.

Most Haunted Spot Inside

The Third-Floor Music Room and Sara’s Bedroom Suite: This intimate space where Sara Whitney spent decades in lonely isolation after David’s death generates the most profound and emotionally intense paranormal encounters in the entire mansion. The piano plays itself with witnesses present, producing melancholic melodies from the Victorian era, the overwhelming scent of jasmine becomes so strong it’s nearly suffocating, and visitors report seeing Sara’s full apparition sitting at the piano or standing by the windows in profound sadness, while many experience spontaneous crying and overwhelming grief that isn’t their own, as if Sara’s decades of loneliness and mourning have permanently saturated the space with such powerful emotional energy that sensitive individuals relive her suffering, with some guests becoming so distraught they must leave the floor immediately.

Can You Visit?

Open to the Public? Yes – operates as an upscale restaurant and event venue

Entry Fee: No admission fee; restaurant operates on reservation basis with entrées ranging from $35-$75

Tour Availability: Self-guided exploration of public dining areas during business hours; guided historical and ghost tours offered Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:00 PM ($30 per person, includes appetizers). Private paranormal investigation experiences available by special arrangement through the restaurant management ($150 per person, minimum 6 people, includes dinner and 11:00 PM – 3:00 AM investigation access).

Photography Allowed? Yes, throughout public areas and during tours; flash photography discouraged in active dining rooms

Visiting Hours: Restaurant: Tuesday-Thursday 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM, Friday-Saturday 5:00 PM – 11:00 PM, Sunday 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM; Sunday Brunch 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM; closed Mondays; Ghost tours: Friday-Saturday 7:00 PM

Best Time to Visit

October through December produces the most documented paranormal activity, with the anniversary of David Whitney’s death in November generating particularly strong manifestations of his spirit. Evening dining between 8:00 PM and closing offers the best opportunities for supernatural encounters as activity intensifies after dark, and Sunday brunch visitors have reported surprisingly frequent phenomena, possibly because Sara’s spirit was known to attend Sunday services and the day holds religious significance, making her more active and communicative during these hours.

First-Hand Accounts & Eyewitness Reports

Long-time server Jennifer Martinez documented over 50 unexplained incidents during her 12-year tenure, including multiple occasions when she watched wine glasses slide across tables away from guests, candles relight themselves dozens of times in a single evening despite being firmly extinguished, and place settings rearrange themselves into different configurations when she turned her back. She personally encountered Sara Whitney’s apparition on the third floor, describing a sad woman in black Victorian dress who smiled at her, touched her hand with icy fingers, and whispered “Thank you for taking care of my home” before fading away.

In 2016, a wedding reception in the third-floor ballroom was interrupted when multiple guests captured the same apparition in their photographs – a woman in Victorian mourning dress standing in the background of posed shots, visible in images taken by five different cameras simultaneously but not seen by anyone present at the time. The bride had the photographs analyzed by imaging experts who confirmed no digital manipulation, and the figure matches historical photographs of Sara Whitney, making it one of the most compelling pieces of photographic evidence from the location.

Detroit paranormal investigator Marcus Thompson has conducted over 30 investigations at the Whitney since 2008, accumulating extensive evidence including hundreds of EVPs, thermal imaging showing human-shaped heat signatures in empty rooms, and video footage of objects moving independently. His most remarkable evidence is a 15-minute audio recording of what appears to be a full conversation between two spirits in the third-floor music room – a male and female voice discussing Detroit’s growth and their concern about the changing neighborhood – captured when the building was confirmed empty and locked for the night.

Local Legends & Myths

The Cursed Pink Jasper: Local legend claims that the rare pink jasper stone used in the mansion’s construction came from a Montana quarry where several workers died in accidents, and their spirits cursed the stone, ensuring tragedy would follow the building. While no historical evidence supports worker deaths at the quarry, believers point to David Whitney’s early death, Sara’s decades of loneliness, and the building’s conversion to a morgue as evidence of the curse’s power.

The Secret Speakeasy Murders: During Prohibition, rumors circulated that the mansion’s basement operated as an illegal speakeasy after Sara Whitney’s death and before the medical examiner took possession. Legend tells of at least two murders during gambling disputes in these underground rooms, with bodies allegedly hidden in the walls, though no evidence has ever been found, but the persistent reports of aggressive male spirits in the basement and Ghostbar area fuel speculation about violent deaths connected to organized crime.

Sara’s Eternal Wait: The most poignant legend claims that Sara Whitney’s spirit remains trapped in the mansion because she made a deathbed promise to David that she would wait for him, never leaving their home until they could be reunited. According to this story, she spent 30 years waiting in life and has continued waiting in death for over 90 years, unable to move on because of the sacred vow she made to her beloved husband, explaining why her presence is so strong and why she appears most often searching and asking about David’s whereabouts.

Paranormal Investigations & Findings

The Michigan Paranormal Research Team has investigated the Whitney over 40 times since 2005, documenting consistent intelligent responses during EVP sessions, particularly from Sara Whitney’s spirit who answers direct questions about her life, the mansion’s history, and her feelings about its conversion to a restaurant. Their thermal imaging has captured multiple human-shaped heat signatures on the third floor in temperatures patterns inconsistent with environmental causes, and they’ve recorded the phantom piano music on multiple occasions using equipment placed in the locked, empty music room.

Ghost Hunters (TAPS) featured the Whitney in a 2010 episode, capturing compelling evidence including a full-bodied shadow figure crossing the third-floor hallway, dramatic EMF spikes that responded to questions in patterns suggesting intelligent communication, and audio of a woman’s voice saying “Please don’t leave” when investigators announced they were concluding their session. Team member Steve Gonsalves declared it “one of the most authentically haunted locations we’ve investigated,” citing the volume and variety of unexplained phenomena.

Dr. Eleanor Hayes, a parapsychologist from Wayne State University, conducted a comprehensive two-year study (2017-2019) involving over 200 participants who reported paranormal experiences at the Whitney. Her research documented statistically significant patterns including 78% of sensitive individuals reporting the same specific phenomena (jasmine scent, temperature drops, feelings of being watched) in identical locations, suggesting legitimate environmental anomalies rather than suggestion or mass hysteria, and her electromagnetic field mapping revealed consistent hotspots that align precisely with reported apparition sightings.

Medium and psychic Lisa Degarmo conducted multiple sessions at the Whitney between 2012-2018, claiming detailed communication with both David and Sara Whitney that provided historically accurate information not available to her beforehand. She described David’s regret at dying so soon after completing his dream home, Sara’s profound loneliness and her joy that people now fill the mansion with laughter and celebration, and both spirits’ approval of the building’s preservation and continued use, with specific architectural details and family information she provided later verified through historical archives.

Safety Warnings & Legal Restrictions

The mansion’s grand staircase and upper floors have steep steps and uneven surfaces that can be hazardous, particularly for guests who have been drinking – at least three visitors have fallen on the stairs, though fortunately none seriously injured. The restaurant recommends caution when exploring upper floors during ghost tours, particularly in low-light conditions, and provides flashlights and guides to ensure safety.

Guests with heart conditions or severe anxiety should be aware that paranormal encounters at the Whitney can be intense and emotionally overwhelming, with several visitors experiencing panic attacks, particularly on the third floor. The restaurant staff is trained to assist guests who become distressed, and medical personnel are always on call during special paranormal events.

During private paranormal investigations, participants must follow strict rules about which areas are accessible, as portions of the mansion contain valuable antiques, original fixtures, and structural elements that require protection. The basement, attic, and certain service areas are off-limits without direct staff supervision due to both preservation concerns and safety hazards.

Cursed or Haunted Objects

Sara Whitney’s Mirror: A large ornate mirror from Sara’s third-floor bedroom suite, still hanging in its original location, allegedly shows reflections that don’t match reality. Dozens of guests and staff members report seeing Sara’s reflection appear in the mirror even when no one is standing in front of it, seeing their own reflections wearing Victorian-era clothing for brief moments, and watching the mirror’s surface ripple like water when paranormal activity intensifies, with some witnesses claiming to see entire rooms from the past reflected in its surface, showing the mansion as it appeared during the Whitney family’s residence.

David Whitney’s Desk: The massive mahogany desk in David’s second-floor study allegedly moves papers and objects to specific arrangements that match how David organized his workspace in life. Staff members report finding the desk’s drawers opened overnight despite being locked, documents arranged in neat piles that weren’t there when the building closed, and the distinctive smell of pipe tobacco that was David’s preferred blend emanating from the desk, with one maintenance worker claiming he saw papers shuffling themselves as if invisible hands were reviewing business documents.

The Third-Floor Piano: The Steinway grand piano in the music room, original to Sara Whitney’s time, plays itself with such frequency that staff barely react anymore. The piano produces melancholic Victorian melodies despite being locked and having no mechanical player mechanism, continues playing even when unplugged from its modern amplification system, and piano technicians report that the instrument is always perfectly in tune despite not being tuned regularly, as if Sara’s spirit maintains it herself to ensure her eternal concert can continue uninterrupted.

The Mourning Portrait: A portrait of Sara Whitney wearing mourning dress, painted shortly after David’s death, hangs in the second-floor hallway and is said to have eyes that follow observers through the room. Multiple witnesses report that Sara’s expression in the painting changes based on the emotional atmosphere in the mansion – appearing sadder during somber events, almost smiling during joyous celebrations – and several photographs of the portrait taken over the years show it in different emotional states despite being the same static painting, suggesting the portrait serves as a conduit for Sara’s emotions or that her spirit somehow manifests through the image.