Beware the Melon Heads of Saugatuck

This week, we’re taking a look at a mysterious creature that is unique to West Michigan.

They’re called Melon Heads.

These little people, with large heads, are said to creep around the woods of Allegan County.

Stories of their origin differ, but one thing’s for sure; they’ve scared a lot of people.

“I can see if you’re there by yourself, or with one other person, and you hear something you’re not used to hearing, your imagination will start to run away with you,” said Scott Kuykendall of the Allegan County Historical Society.

Or it could be a Melon Head.

The vast network of trails in Laketown Township, surrounding the Felt Mansion and Saugatuck Dunes State Park, are said to be haunted by this mysterious band of creatures.

“You do hear stories of older people saying, ‘Well, when I was a teenager, in the 1950s, we would be out there and see glowing eyes in the woods, or we might see something’,” Kuykendall said.

Legend has it; the Melon Heads live in an underground series of tunnels.

Sometimes, jumping out to attack people, or eat them.

There are lots of different stories about how these little monsters got here.

They all have to do with people who have hydrocephalus.

It’s a real condition.

Excess fluid in the brain causes the head to grow to an abnormal size.

The stories say melon-headed children lived at an insane asylum near the Felt Mansion.

“There was a doctor or scientist, and he had the children and started conducting experiments on them,” Kuykendall said.

The Melon Heads revolted.

“Killing him, eating him, and going into the woods. Where they supposedly are today,” Kuykendall said.

Kuykendall, a board member of the Allegan County Historical Society, says there’s no hard evidence that any of this ever happened.

There was never an asylum in the area.

However, there was a prison.

“When you look at the stories and look at the time frames, it kind of fits into the fears were at the time,” Kuykendall said.

There could be a more simple explanation.

The Felt Mansion was once used as a catholic school, and that caused some tension.

“The town folk referred to them as Melon Heads because they were considered smarter, it was a negative obviously, they thought they came from money and that they were rich and had big heads,” Kuykendall said.

It seems that every town has a scary story to tell.

And can get people interested in the world around them.

“For us it’s fantastic because we’re able to draw them in with the interest in the paranormal and at the same time they’re able to learn about the history of the county,” Kuykendall said.