[4] According to popular accounts, Summerwind was built in the early 20th century as a fishing lodge on the edge of West Bay Lake in Vilas County, in northeastern Wisconsin, and in 1916, purchased by Robert Patterson Lamont.

[5][6] Legends include claims that Lamont fired a pistol at a ghost one night and was so frightened that he and his family abandoned the house.

[3] Some versions of the story claim that Bober purchased the property only to abandon it because the mansion's rooms had the supernatural power to change shape and dimensions at will.

[4][10] According to Bober's narrative, the property was often unoccupied due to alleged supernatural activity and the Hinshaws could not get workers to enter the home to do remodeling work.

The Vilas County Sheriff said it was a staging area for local teens who burglarized or vandalized nearby cottages.