Minnie Quay & Fannie McKay
A case study in my apparent inability to find original character names ;)
Minnie Quay’s former home in Forester, Michigan
Okay, so my story was beginning to take shape—but it was missing one important thing: a love interest for my 1920s bootlegger ghost.
That’s when I began digging deeper into the legend of Minnie Quay.
The campground where we usually stayed was right across the street from the Forester Inn, so we would sometimes walk over for dinner. Their all-you-can-eat crab legs were legendary—and don’t even get me started on the fried mac-and-cheese bites.
But I digress…
One evening, while visiting the Inn with one of my oldest and dearest friends, Debi, we decided to get the lowdown on Minnie. After talking with some of the locals and hearing more about the famous ghost, we were lucky enough to get a tour of Minnie’s former home across the street.
Deb & I, circa 2016 at the Forester Inn
In the dark.
Did I mention it was pitch-black outside? Debi and I might also have had a little bit to drink by then. LOL.
Stripped down to its studs, with an old piano still sitting in the living room, the house was as creepy as could be.
Were we scared? Hell, yeah.
Did we see Minnie? No.
But we learned a lot more about her.
Mary Jane “Minnie” Quay lived in the small coastal town of Forester, Michigan, about halfway between Port Huron and the tip of Michigan’s Thumb. According to legend, when Minnie was fifteen, she fell in love with a young sailor whose ship regularly docked in Forester. Not much is known about him—only that he and Minnie had given their hearts to one another.
Minnie’s mother was dead set against the union—sorry, pun completely intended—and reportedly made her disapproval known throughout town. According to one version of the story, she even said she would rather see her daughter dead than married to the sailor.
Minnie Quay 1861-1876
In the early spring of 1876, word reached Forester that the sailor’s ship had gone down. Minnie was distraught, especially because her parents had prevented her from saying goodbye the last time he left town.
On April 27, while Minnie was caring for her baby brother, she waited for the infant to fall asleep and then walked into town, past the Inn, and toward the pier. Onlookers watched as she stepped from the pier and into the cold waters of Lake Huron.
According to the legend, Minnie’s spirit still roams the shoreline near Forester, waiting for her lover’s ship to return. A darker version claims that she wanders the beach, beckoning young women to join her in the icy lake.
What can I say? After that night, I was hooked.
I began imagining another young woman in love with a sailor—although, in my story, that sailor would be a bootlegger—and Fannie McKay was born.
Okay, I fully realize that MinnieQuay and Fannie McKay are eerily similar names and questions my ability for originality. LOL! Fannie began as a working name, but as I got to know this ghost better, it just stuck …the name really suited her.
I imagine Minnie and Fannie as young, headstrong women—perhaps a little impulsive and dramatic. But what kind of life would a teenage girl have had in a small northern coastal town during the 1870s or 1920s? I imagine it could have been terribly isolating.
At this point, I still had no idea where my story was heading, but I had three strong characters:
Kate Morgan, a cozy mystery writer who can see ghosts—but has spent years suppressing that ability.
Jacob Devin, my rum-running ghost, trapped inside an old house.
And Fannie McKay, the beautiful young spirit wandering the windswept shores of Lake Huron.
Here are the real-life actors who inspired the fictional characters on my mood board:
Left to Right: Katie McGrath as Kate, François Arnaud as Jacob, and Emma Stone as Fannie.
There’s more to come about the house—and, of course, about #RalphTheCorgi.
In the meantime, you can still preorder The Lady in White.
Or, if you prefer to wait, September 1 is the official publication day—and also my birthday!
The Lady in White - A Hopes Bay Ghost Mystery by Nan Rowe