Column For Writers of Storytime Tapestry to Write about Canada

September 6, 2008

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

Contact the publisher at: winterose@videotron.ca

 Ghosts of Atlantic Canada
A. F. Stewart

You cannot swing a cat in any of the Atlantic Provinces without hitting a ghost story.  We have ghost ships, ghost sailors, ghosts of pirates, gentlemen ghosts, haunted cemeteries, a Lady in Blue and a headless nun, just to name a few.

Nova Scotia:

The best place for finding ghosts is our capital city of Halifax, for they are oozing out of every crack in the municipality and surrounding area.
Some of the more interesting ghost stories of our capital:

One of Halifax's most favourite and famous sons, our own brewer Alexander Keith, is supposed to haunt the brewery he founded, Alexander Keith's Nova Scotia Brewery.  There have been several reports of his ghost being sighted throughout the building; coming back to check on the quality of beer production, perhaps.  Also, disembodied footsteps have been reported in the empty hallways, and supposedly the face of a murdered man can be seen in a bathroom mirror. 

• At the Cathedral Church of All Saints, an old dean of the church (Dean John Llwyd, who died in 1933) is said to wander the sanctified halls and he is most frequently encountered around the altar; some say his ghost appears when a certain hymn, Come down, O love divine, plays in the church.  This church was the recent subject of an investigation by a local paranormal group.
• The historic Waverly Inn is said to be haunted by several ghosts, one of whom may be a famous, former guest by the name of Oscar Wilde.  A spectre dressed in a long coat, reading a book, roams the inn.  It seems that dear Oscar prepared for his lectures in the same manner.
• At the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, 121 victims of the Titanic lay buried; it is said ethereal voices can be heard by some.  There may be a few phantoms lurking there as well, including the ghost of a little girl. 

Another haunted place with a Titanic connection is the Five Fisherman Restaurant.  It was originally a schoolhouse, then used as an art school by Anna Leonowens, (her story was turned into the King and I musical).  It was next used as a mortuary, and in that capacity it

• housed some of the recovered bodies of the Titanic victims.  Now it is a seafood restaurant, and one of the most haunted places in Halifax.  Glasses and cutlery mysteriously move about, doors swing shut inexplicably, strange apparitions are seen and ghostly voices have been known to whisper people's names.
• At St. Paul's Anglican Church, there have been sightings of the ghost of one of its past parishioners, who tragically died in the 1917 Halifax Explosion.

 The Halifax Club, a gentlemen's club built in 1862, has supposedly been haunted since just after it opened its doors.  There are two prevalent theories as to whom the spectre may be:  The first theory holds it may be the ghost of one of the club's former members.  The poor gentleman had the unfortunate luck to die of a heart attack in the arms of a prostitute.  His fellow club members, in order to save both his reputation and the club's, moved the body to the club's stoop before calling in the proper authorities.   The second theory speculates it may be the poor soul of a former club steward who stabbed himself in front of club members, before jumping through a window to his death.

In Peggy's Cove the ghost of a lady dressed in blue wanders the rocks.  She has been seen standing at the edge of the rocks, as if she is about to jump, and on occasion has been heard to speak.

In 1813, in Mahone Bay, the pirate ship Young Teaser, fell into an ambush by a British warship.  Instead of surrender, the captain of the ship, Lieutenant Frederick Johnson, opted to destroy the ship.  He threw a torch into the ship's powder magazine, and the ship went down in a flaming blaze; all on board perished.  Now the burning, ghostly silhouette of the Young Teaser can still be seen, with the panicking sailors on deck among the flames.

The Haliburton House Museum in Windsor was once the home of Judge Thomas Chandler Haliburton.  During his life, Judge Haliburton was a lawyer, judge, historian, politician, and writer; he was best known for the Sam Slick novels.  Now in death, he is said to still reside in his old home.

In Wolfville, a residence hall of Acadia University, Seminary House, is haunted by the ghost of a young girl.  Seminary House was once a Baptist finishing school for girls, and the ghost may be a former student.  She committed suicide in the 1800's; she hung herself in the stairwell of the finishing school.

Fortress Louisburg is said to be haunted by its former soldiers that died in battle, and settlers who died of smallpox.   There have been at least four separate ghost sightings, one being that of a crying child.  The fortress even has a candlelight tour, where with any luck you can see one of these original residents of the fort.

On the Northumberland Straight, between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, a ghost ship sails.  It most often appears as a three-masted ship, seemingly aglow or on fire.  The apparition can be seen clearly, before it simply disappears.

Prince Edward Island:

There is the ghost of a military captain haunting The King's Playhouse in the town of Georgetown, Prince Edward Island.  It seems that he has been spotted by both actors and theatre technicians, treading the boards both on and off the stage.  Perhaps he always wanted to act.


New Brunswick:

In the Miramichi area, a headless nun haunts the woodland.  In the mid 1800's a nun was asked to guard the treasure of some Acadian settlers and keep it safe from the British.  Unfortunately for the nun, lepers escaping from a nearby leper colony came upon her and attacked.  When she refused them any information, protecting the Acadians' secret, she was decapitated.   Now she still walks, looking for her missing head.
Both the historic Charlotte County Courthouse and Gaol, in St Andrew's by the Sea, are haunted by former victims of their justice.  It seems that a hanged prisoner never left the site of his execution, but still wanders, carrying a small piece of rope, apparently a rather hostile spirit.  At the Charlotte County Gaol, a man convicted of murder, and executed, still sits in his cell declaring his innocence.   Also in St. Andrew's, the Fairmont Algonquin Hotel is rife with spirit activity, including a ghost of a bell boy that is still doing his job after death.


Newfoundland:

In St. John's, Newfoundland's capital, the poor unfortunate loser of the last legal duel to be fought in that province still haunts the city.  The duel was fought over a hundred and fifty years ago, but its victim never found any rest.

In Trinity, Newfoundland, they say an old phantom hearse haunts a local cemetery, driven by a spirit of a woman in a red cloak. She is said to be Nancy Coyle, who in life had the occupation of preparing the unwanted dead for burial.

The place of the first Viking settlement in North America, L'Anse Meadows, Newfoundland, may still be home to their spirits.  A Viking ship is said to still navigate the waters around the area, sailing through the fog.

A. F. Stewart

rheged9@yahoo.ca
 

For information on paranormal activity at Cathedral Church of All Saints and Haliburton House Museum check out the website:  http://www.grimundertakings.ca/index.html

A History and the Hauntings of the Five Fishermen:
http://www.fivefishermen.com/history/ghosts.php

Some more websites:

Two short listing of ghostly sightings: 
http://novascotia.com/halloween/en/home/haunted_sites.aspx
http://www.ehow.com/how_4450550_experience-paranormal-nova-scotia.html

A list of ghost tours in Nova Scotia:  http://novascotia.com/halloween/en/home/ghostandgraveyardtours.aspx

Links to a ghost tours of Halifax:
http://www.thehalifaxghostwalk.com/
http://hauntedhikeofhalifax.bravehost.com/index.html

The website of the television program Creepy Canada:
http://www.creepy.tv/index.html