Lore Podcast Episode 292: "Message in a Bottle"

Host: Aaron Mahnke
Release Date: November 3, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Aaron Mahnke explores the legends, disappearances, and supernatural mysteries surrounding the so-called "Lake Michigan Triangle." Through tales of vanished ships, unexplained disasters, and chilling folklore, Aaron examines why this corner of the Great Lakes has earned a reputation to rival the Bermuda Triangle itself. Marrying dark history with myth, the episode balances skepticism, storytelling, and a healthy dose of eerie wonder.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction: The Great Bell of Dhammazedi as a Parallel Mystery (01:12–03:45)

• Mahnke opens with the tale of the Great Bell of Dhammazedi, a massive bell lost to the waters of Myanmar in 1608, never to be recovered.
• He uses the bell’s disappearance as a bridge to discuss similarly vast and seemingly impossible disappearances closer to home—namely, in Lake Michigan.

2. Lake Michigan: Geography and History (03:46–05:50)

• Lake Michigan's size and mystery are established.
• Noting the region’s indigenous origins (“Michigami” – “large body of water”) and millennia of human habitation.
• "It's not an exaggeration to say that the lake has watched many a generation live and die." (04:55)

3. The Lake Michigan Triangle: Origins and Reputation (05:51–09:15)

• Defined as the area between Manitowoc (WI), Ludington (MI), and Benton Harbor (MI).
• Originates from Jay Gourley’s 1977 book, The Great Lakes Triangle, which claimed more disappearances here than anywhere but the Bermuda Triangle.
• Reasons for the area’s infamy include high numbers of drownings, shipwrecks, and vanishing aircraft.
• Eerie events: pilots disoriented, plane engines failing, sightings of UFOs/strange lights, and incidents of survivors experiencing amnesia.
• Quote: "So much so that the beaches along the lake had to be closed for nine days to keep vacationing families from accidentally making sandcastles out of human flesh." (08:45)

4. Explanations: Natural and Supernatural (09:16–13:00)

• Scientific theories: magnetic anomalies due to magnetite in sand, interference from electronics or even underwire bras (with Aaron’s trademark sardonic humor poking fun at the latter).
  • "If the underwire in a bra can shut off a plane engine, you would think that the TSA would care more about that and less about whether I've packed too much shampoo. But what do I know?" (10:50)
• Mystical theories: underwater Stonehenge-like formation (discovered 2007), ley lines, and indigenous myths:
  • Thunderbirds, whose wings and eyes bring storms.
  • Mishipeshu, the great underwater lynx/panther, causes waves and disasters.

5. Notable Disappearances & Shipwrecks

a. Le Griffon (1679) (13:01–17:00)

• The first sizable ship to vanish in Lake Michigan, ignored local warnings about storms, and was lost forever.
• Theories: sinking in a storm (hubris), crew theft, Native American attack, or even sailing into another realm as per Native legend.
• "The griffin may have been named for a mythological beast, but it was another mythology trope that would seal its fate. That is, hubris will always lead to downfall." (15:17)

b. Rosa Belle (1921) (17:01–20:31)

• A cult-owned schooner (The House of David), already marred by bad luck, vanished with its crew; premonitions of disaster preceded the trip.
• The Coast Guard ruled out collision but provided no other explanation.
• "The souls aboard the Rosa Belle were never seen again." (20:28)

c. Captain George R. Donner (1937) (20:32–22:58)

• Experienced Great Lakes captain vanished mid-journey from a locked cabin, with no explanation.
• Mystifying because the cabin was locked from the inside; Mahnke leans into the impossibility.

d. Thomas Hume and the Message in a Bottle (23:00–31:45)

• The Thomas Hume, a lumber schooner, disappeared in 1891 with no wreckage or crew found.
• A bottle washed ashore claiming to be from passengers on the Hume, signed by Frank Maynard and Wilbur Grover, requesting to notify friends—Hackley Hume Lumber denounced it as a hoax (since the Hume had no passengers and was on a different route).

"We don't care for the boat. It's a loss of the captain and men that makes it sad." – Charles Hackley, owner (27:58)
"It's like they sailed through a crack in the lake. That's how sailors describe the thousands, yes, thousands of vessels that have vanished into Lake Michigan over the years." (29:07)

• Decades later, a diver (Taras Lysenko, 2006) finds a well-preserved schooner matching the Hume’s description, with evidence there had been passengers and found along the "wrong" (St. Joseph) route—validating the message in the bottle after all.

6. The Persistence of Supernatural Folklore (31:46–33:15)

• "With so much tragedy, it's no surprise that leagues of supernatural folktales have cropped up around the lake."
• Maritime historian Frederick Stonehouse:

  "Everyone who sails the lakes has a tale of something they experienced. They can't explain whether it is a light that shouldn't be there, the faint outline of a ship where the radar says there isn't anything, or even a shadowy figure standing on the bow rail." (32:47)

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• Magnetic Anomalies & Bra Humor
  "If the underwire in a bra can shut off a plane engine, you would think that the TSA would care more about that and less about whether I've packed too much shampoo." – Aaron Mahnke (10:50)
• Grisly Shipwreck Aftermath
  "So much so that the beaches along the lake had to be closed for nine days to keep vacationing families from accidentally making sandcastles out of human flesh." (08:45)
• On Mystery and Folklore
  "In the end, a bizarre answer is better than no answer at all." (32:15)
• On Loss at Sea
  "It's like they sailed through a crack in the lake." (29:07)

Supernatural Case Study: The Repeated Drowning of "Seaweed Charlie" (35:30–38:30)

• Local ghost story: a drowned man seen repeatedly dying off Evanston’s shore, then dragging himself to Calvary Cemetery’s gates.
• Legend attaches to Lt. Laverne Naber, a Navy pilot who crashed nearby in 1951, but also resonates with WWII naval training deaths on Lake Michigan.
  • "Some call him Seaweed Charlie, others, the aviator. And throughout the 1950s and 60s, joggers, bicyclists and other passersby traversing the Evanston side of the lake allegedly watched him die more times than history can count." (36:32)
• Mahnke suggests the cemetery-gate motif likely grew as oral tradition rather than fact, as none of the pilots are actually buried there.
• Fun fact: George H.W. Bush trained on Lake Michigan aircraft carriers during WWII.

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Great Bell of Dhammazedi story & transition to Lake Michigan – 01:12–03:45
• Lake Michigan’s physical/historic profile – 03:46–05:50
• Lake Michigan Triangle origins and strange phenomena – 05:51–09:15
• Explanations: Scientific, mystical, and supernatural – 09:16–13:00
• Le Griffon disappearance – 13:01–17:00
• Rosa Belle and cult connection – 17:01–20:31
• Captain Donner vanishes from locked cabin – 20:32–22:58
• Thomas Hume disappearance and bottle message – 23:00–31:45
• Supernatural anecdotes and Stonehouse quote – 31:46–33:15
• Discovery of the Hume and confirmation of message – 31:45–34:45
• "Seaweed Charlie"/the Aviator haunting – 35:30–38:30

Conclusion

Aaron Mahnke masterfully weaves together documented disappearances, folklore, and contemporary findings, interrogating the line between fact and myth on Lake Michigan. By grounding each ghost story and supernatural claim in context—and often providing rational explanations or revealing layers of legend accretion—he draws listeners into a chilly, unsettled past that refuses easy answers and where, sometimes, the truth truly is stranger—and scarier—than fiction.