The True Story Behind Mellonheads in Michigan and Beyond

The 'Mellonheads' of Allegan County is one of the oldest and most persistent urban legends in Michigan.

According to the story the children were wards of an asylum near the grounds of the Felt Mansion, a historic home in Saugatuck. The children escaped and life feral lived in the woods. The name mellonhead comes from having enlarged craniums, the condition known as hydrocephalus, or more commonly "water on the brain."

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Hydrocephalus: The Real Condition

This is the same condition that caused Billy Joel to cancel concerts as he seeks treatment for the disorder. The version of the disease Joel suffers from is a version that affects the elderly. The mellonhead hydrocephalus of urban legend is an affliction among children.

What Michiganders may not know is that the mellonhead urban legend is popular in many other places.

Mellonheads Across America

There's an Ohio mellonhead story from the Cleveland suburb of Kirtland that shares a similarity to the Michigan story of children held captive and abused by a sadistic doctor.

In the Connecticut version of the story, mellondheads are escapees of an asylum fire in the 1960s.

In Georgia, it's the waterheads. Around St. Louis, it's the bubbleheads.

👇🏼BELOW: These are the Documented Hot Spots for the Disturbing 'Hum' Phenomenon Heard Around Michigan + These Tiny Michigan Counties Have Less than 10,000 Residents👇🏼

It's a common legend based on a very real - and treatable - condition in children.

These are the Documented Hot Spots for the Disturbing 'Hum' Phenomenon Heard Around Michigan

The Hum is a sonic phenomenon heard around the globe. It's often described as a persistent low rumble. For those who are susceptible to hearing it, it can be a constant, lifetime annoyance.

There are several spots around Michigan that can claim to be hot spots for the Hum.

Gallery Credit: Eric Meier