S12 E21 F-Bomb - The Head That Spoke From the Fog

On this episode of F-Bomb Friday, we travel into one of the oldest and strangest pieces of Great Lakes folklore tied to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula: the Talking Head of Sault Ste. Marie.

Along the Saint Marys River, where fog settles low over the water and sound can lose all direction, stories once told of a severed head that continued to speak after death. Some versions connect the legend to French missionaries, fur traders, frontier violence, and the early colonial tensions surrounding one of the most important waterways in North America.

Hosted and produced by Tracy Preston, featuring Todd Preston

Story researched and written by Todd Preston

Original music created exclusively for F-Bomb by Tracy Preston

Original artwork by Todd Preston

But was there ever truly a talking head along the river? Or did fear, fog, isolation, and history create something that felt just real enough to survive?

#FBombFriday #MichiganFolklore #GreatLakesLegends #SaultSteMarie #MaliceInTheMitten

Sources:

“The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents.” The Jesuit Relations, Creighton University, moses.creighton.edu/kripke/jesuitrelations/. Accessed 30 June 2026.

“The French Lead the Way: c. 1500 to 1763.” Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/collections/pioneering-the-upper-midwest/articles-and-essays/history-of-the-upper-midwest-overview/french-lead-the-way/. Accessed 30 June 2026.

“Sault Sainte Marie.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/place/Sault-Sainte-Marie-Michigan. Accessed 30 June 2026.

“Fur Trade.” Virtual Museum of New France, Canadian Museum of History, www.historymuseum.ca/virtual-museum-of-new-france/economic-activities/fur-trade/. Accessed 30 June 2026.

“MSU Libraries.” Michigan State University Libraries, Michigan State University, lib.msu.edu/. Accessed 30 June 2026.

“Great Lakes Digital Library.” University of Michigan Digital Collections, University of Michigan, quod.lib.umich.edu/g/glrr. Accessed 30 June 2026.