John Adams brings his unique ghost-hunting talents to Oak Bay
Chances are that some Statistics Canada employee will register a double-take when they read John Adams' census form.
After all, not too many folks can say they chase ghosts for a living.
Call him what you will - ghost hunter, spooky storyteller, chronicler of the non-corporeal - Adams makes a living researching the paranormal.
A historian by trade, Adams' interest in ghosts came when he recognized a peculiar trend in the Capital Region's historic stories.
"As the years went by, I realized there were more ghost stories than (normal)."
Compared to other regions in B.C. - if not in Western Canada - Victoria has more than its fair share of ghost stories, he said.
While on a trip to England in 1988, Adams joined a typical tourist tour with a twist - a local historian led participants through a "ghost tour" that tied in stories of local history with the spooks and spirits alleged to cling to particular sites and landmarks.
It didn't take long for Adams to recognize potential for similar tours closer to home.
"I realized there were lots of people interested in ghosts," he said.
From there, he launched a series of Halloween "ghost tours" of Ross Bay cemetery.
The tours expanded, and Adams realized he had found his calling. Even though Adams maintains he is "a historian first and foremost" his ghost tours have become a full-time profession.
After all, some people find history a bit dry - but add a ghost or two to the mix, and history stories suddenly gain a lot more audience appeal. For Adams, ghost stories are simply a medium, so to speak, to offer education on they key elements of our past.
"The ghostly walks have probably become the most popular of the tours that I do."
On Saturday, the Capital Region's most prominent ghost hunter will lead a tour in search of the Capital Region's most prominent ghost.
Doris, the Victoria Golf Course icon, is the star of the show.
Doris Gravlin lost her life in 1936, following a meeting with estranged husband Victor at the golf course. According to stories, the ghost of Doris is frequently seen along the seventh fairway and the nearby beach where her body was found. Victor apparently committed suicide by intentionally drowning himself in the nearby waters.
Doris is now one of the key attractions in the Oak Bay tourism arsenal.
"Doris, without a doubt, is the most famous ghosts - not just in Victoria, but probably in Western Canada," Adams said. "Doris is the one ghost that crops up in conversation more often, and crops up in news and books more often."
Some of that notoriety is self-serving, as many people - hearing the story of Doris - go looking for her.
But, noted Adams, many are successful.
"The number of people that have actually seen Doris is very high," he said. "It's almost a rite of passage for students in Victoria to go down to the golf course and look for Doris."
But ghosts and ghost stories are more than standard fare for Halloween and occult-seekers.
Ghosts and a degree of reverence for the spirits of the dead exist to some degree or other in every culture in the world, even the highly empirical and rational Western cultures.
"I think people are fascinated by things that are unexplained," Adams reasoned. "That is why people develop many different ideas, philosophies and religions- to explain what can't be explained."
The attraction of ghosts is linked to humanity's general obsession with the idea of life after death. "There is a belief, that somehow, there is something that exists (after death)."
And that fascination doesn't necessarily mean belief. After all, Adams noted, people read murder mysteries without necessarily harbouring an interest in becoming crazed killers.
In short, people are largely fascinated by ghost stories because "they like the thrill," he said.
Saturday's tour, titled "An evening begins in the clubhouse of the Victoria Golf Club, 1110 Beach Dr. in Oak Bay. The $35 admission charge includes a gourmet dinner, with cocktails at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m, with a detailed presentation on ghosts, ghost hunting, Doris' history and a weather-dependent tour of the seventh fairway. Call 598-4321 to make reservations.
Source: http://www.oakbaynews.com/portals-code/ ... 0492&more=
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