Niagara is an obvious place for hauntings given its tumultuous and violent history.
'Ghost stories' were the topic of a recent talk given at the St. Catharines Public Library by Gail Benjafield and Darlene Erskine on Oct. 11, entitled "Hauntings in St. Catharines".
There was spirited talk of local houses and areas that have known to be haunted, sharing of personal experiences, and even a short trip out to St. George's Church.
Benjafield started one of her stories by saying, "By the way, I'm a skeptic, I don't believe in ghosts," but still said that she has encountered things she could not explain.
Once, when writing a review for The Downtowner about a popular local restaurant (that used to occupy what is now Amakara Japan on Geneva Street) the owner told her a chilling story. He talked about unexplainable cool temperatures in his upstairs office during the hot summer months, and papers being tossed and shuttled around when he left the room.
His fears were confirmed when a group of psychics, feeling something was terribly wrong in the house, dropped by unexpectedly to help. When the group ascended to the upstairs office, they saw papers floating about the proprietor's desk, and felt the cool temperatures. The spiritualists told the owner that they thought a murder occurred in the house, that a man had murdered his wife, and she had died at the bottom of the stairs near the kitchen.
Benjafield, who was there for a restaurant review after all, was ready to pack up her books and leave when she was interrupted by a man sitting with his wife by the window, who had overheard their conversation.
Benjafield relates what the man said to her: "I was just driving through town with my wife. I now live in the States but I wanted to show her some places I knew when I lived in Canada. I saw that this house was now a restaurant. Everything you've just said is absolutely true. I was 9 or 10 years old and my best friend's father killed his mother and committed suicide in this house."
Benjafield cannot explain how this unbelievable coincidence happened, how the psychics chose the house or how she happened to encounter this couple. Being a Special Collections librarian, she decided to investigate the matter with the resources she had on hand, only to find out that everything the man had said was true.
Here is a short list of other local spooky hot spots (some of which you can visit):
St. Catharines
The Blue Ghost Tunnel, located behind the Welland canal near General Motors Gate 12, was abandoned after the construction of the fourth Welland canal. No mysterious deaths were reported, but sightings of a blue-mist figure have been spotted for decades.
The Merritt House once had underground tunnels connecting with the Underground Railroad, which might explain the sightings of several apparitions seen since its construction in the 1820s.
Niagara Falls
The most famous spot in Niagara Falls is the Screaming Tunnel, located on a dirt road leading off Warner Road, thought to be haunted by the screams of a young girl who burned to death there sometime in the early 1900s.
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Since the town was burned to the ground in December of 1813, it is not hard to find a house that has legends of ghosts, though no place could be more fruitful than the site of Fort George. The death of many men, women and children occured at this famous site.
Thorold
Bishop Fuller House (Thorold Stone Road and Davis Street), built in the 1840s and burned down in the 1980s, is inhabited by a young girl who was seen from time to time and is said to leave the scent of lavender behind. Visitors and employees of The Keefer Mansion, now a bed and breakfast at the corner of John Street and St. David Street West, reported hearing footsteps, banging inside a staircase, faucets turning on and off, and smelling pipe smoke wafting through the basement.
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