A team of paranormal investigators visits local castle in search of spooks
On the third floor of Hatley Castle in room No. 318, a young heartbroken Chinese maid plunged to her death from the window. More than 80 years later, a woman shrouded in white still haunts the floor, or so the story goes.
The spirits are restless in James Dunsmuir's opulent 40-room mansion, now the centerpiece of Royal Roads University. With only ram trophy heads as witnesses, staff members say things do indeed go bump in the night.
At times, doors rattle violently and some fly open. Chilled air moves though cavernous oak-paneled hallways. Somebody or something seems to live in the boiler room. Nighttime brings the clack of billiard balls, or the smell of pipe smoke when the Colwood castle sits empty.
Stories of the supernatural abound. But are they just told with a nod and a wink to give the old stone walls some added tourist draw? Some longtime employees say, for instance, the Chinese maid is just a myth.
Doubters aside, the ghosts of Hatley Castle were compelling enough to attract a team of paranormal investigators from Vancouver earlier this month.
Six occult enthusiasts from the B.C. Society of Paranormal Investigation and Research into the Supernatural (B.C. Spirits) spent a night in the castle, armed with electronic gear and their psychic senses, seeking evidence of the other world. Four Royal Roads employees and one reporter tagged along.
The investigators were sober, serious people. Most of the team have investigated buildings together around the Lower Mainland for years, although B.C. Spirits as an organization has only existed since February.
Infrared and video cameras were set up in hallways, and thermometers and audio recorders in significant spaces, such as Dunsmuir's study and billiard room. Psychics or 'sensitives' (a lower-level psychic) split up to get independent impressions of the building. We were encouraged not to panic if we saw any spectral apparitions, ectoplasm, floating orbs or flying objects.
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"Don't be scared. It's all good," B.C. Spirits leader Diana Valentine told us.
Tell that to some of the staff. Commissionaire Linda Lukow, who patrols the castle, said one night she heard the sound of running footsteps behind her.
"My heart almost stopped," she said, noting the second floor seems to be a hub of unusual activity. "At night there are lots of noises here."
Nancy Arsenault, dean of the faculty of tourism and hotel management, was working late one night and heard a door being loudly rattled on the third floor. The door was locked tight. After it happened the third time that evening, "I freaked out and left," Arsenault said.
While still a military college, at least one high ranking officer reported seeing a ghostly woman floating through room No. 318. On the same floor, a tour guide and witnesses reportedly saw a door fly open, heard the sound of bells and a felt a cold wind.
"The whole third floor is considered active in unusual activity," says Stephanie Slater, RRU's communications director, who admits she hasn't yet run into any apparitions. "There's been some colourful history here."
Another story says cadets bunking in what was the fourth-floor ballroom were awoken to a woman pulling down their sheets -- Laura Dunsmuir searching for her beloved son James "Boy" Dunsmuir. Boy perished with the sinking of the Lusitania during the First World War, and is said to float among the mists in the Japanese Garden.
Slater said in the past few months a supposedly lone staff member setting up for a banquet heard dishes rattling and a voice in the kitchen. The door wouldn't open, but peering in from an outside vantage point, Slater said the employee "saw a white figure walk by the window."
"He was a big, big guy, and he left in a hurry," Slater said.
"We've heard stories from people in all walks of life," Arsenault added. "There has been so many you've got to wonder."
Indeed, with so many ghost stories floating around, investigating the supernatural conjures up high expectations of experiencing something unexplainable. Yet actual paranormal work is incredibly dull.
By about 10:30 p.m., audio and video was rolling. Psychics Natasha, Kathy, Shelly and Randy meandered among the winding corridors looking to hear, see or feel things no longer of this earth. Kevin (last names of most of the team are not released), the historian and equipment manager, methodically shot long-exposure film photos.
"All we can do is collect data. We just observe and document," Kevin says. "If we see an anomaly we deduct all logical explanations. But you can't prove it is a spirit or any kind of ghost. People will draw their own conclusions, but nobody will believe without seeing."
Valentine, with 25 years studying the occult, says about 10 per cent of her investigations turn up hard evidence that suggests supernatural activity. Ideally, the psychics will independently detect the same event, with correlation from recording equipment.
"I'm very skeptical," Valentine says. "But I'm more afraid of wildlife than the paranormal. Once you have an experience, it becomes an addiction."
The B.C. Spirits team rides a fine line between healthy doubt and outright belief in the supernatural. All have their individual reasons for pursuing a hobby that involves spending long nights in creaky buildings -- an interest in history, a curiosity to know what happens after death.
"It's all about energy. After we die, what happens to that energy?" Valentine asks. "Since I was a kid I've been curious to know what happens after we die."
Kathy, a 'sensitive', said she's seen ghosts wandering among the living since childhood, and at times has seen her 'sixth sense' as curse. Kevin, ESP free, says he experienced 'historical repeaters' in his childhood home -- images of people, in his case, from the 1920s having a party.
"I've seen gruesome scenes, and things that have baffled me, but I haven't been scared yet," Kevin said.
At about 3:30 a.m., Hatley Castle's first and only ghost hunt came to an end. The verdict? A lot of strange events happened, but B.C. Spirits needs to review its tapes and recordings. Natasha, the lead psychic, said without a doubt something is in the castle no longer of this world.
She saw a strange mist dart up a stairwell, and could sense the spirit of woman wandering in the garden. The boiler room also had some strange knocking sounds, she said.
"There is definitely something there, there are definitely a few spirits around," Natasha said. "It's will be interesting to see if we have anything on tape."
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