cktimes.ca Archives for Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent
Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent
Ghostly tales have haunted us since our early beginnings
Tuesday, October 22, 2002
This past weekend, we operated our first Ghost Walk in an area of downtown Chatham that has a long and quite well-documented history of ghostly hauntings, mysterious events and difficult to explain appearances. The fact that it sold out both nights was a bit surprising considering that we advertised very little and the nights were not exactly pleasant but what surprised us even more were the multitude of stories that came pouring out of the participants after each Ghost Walk came to a close (there were four on both Friday and Saturday nights). Some people had stories that reinforced the tales that we had recounted but many more informed us of ghostly appearances or mysterious occurences that had happened, or were continuing to happen, all over Chatham-Kent!This led us to contemplate after the walks had concluded ,and over a few beers at a local pub, just why so many people believe in the supernatural and the undeniable fact that this belief in the paranormal has been present since the dawn of time. Although we like to think of ourselves as very advanced in our thinking in this "modern age", there seems to be a relatively large segment of the population that firmly believe that "we are not alone" and, of course, as we near Halloween many peoples' beliefs seem to once again surface and take on an added reality.
In a survey done a few years ago by Angus Reid near Halloween, it was reported that one in four Canadians surveyed said that they believed in ghosts. Some differences emerged along regional lines, with Quebec residents (13%) less than half as likely as residents of English-speaking regions to have a belief in ghosts. Belief in ghosts also appears to be more prevalent among younger Canadians. One in three (35%) survey respondents aged 18-34 said they believe in ghosts, a figure that declines with age to just one in ten (11%) of their older (55+) counterparts.
In our own Chatham-Kent, we have many ghost stories and some, like the Baldoon Mystery, have gained national and even international recognition and interest and there has been countless Canadian books written about haunted houses, theatres, ships and streets and those in print probably cover only a small percentage of the countless tales of the bizarre, the fantastic and the supernatural that exist in Canada.
In our "after-walk" discussion, we contemplated that a belief in any god or any religion automatically presumed a belief in some supernatural force or being. However, many religions disavow any connection, belief or interest in any form of the supernatural, other than those corresponding with their own personal tenets, as they seem to suspect these things as the "work of the devil". A difficult separation to make, from our perspective, but nevertheless this dichotomy exists and many religions get very uptight and testy when the issue of ghosts, goblins and the unexplained arise through the mists.
Personally, we are of two minds. Lisa is more of a believer. In fact, she is inclined to believe that she has had some passing nocturnal hallway experiences with a ghost of a former English teacher at Chatham Collegiate Institute (where Lisa teaches) while I tend to be less of a believer, having never experienced anything out of the ordinary or maybe it's just that I am not as receptive or observant.
However, what I do like about ghost stories, especially local ones, is that they are usually great stories that serve to give our community a "personality". I firmly believe that a community is not really a true community until it has these tales of the bizarre, the fantastic and the supernatural that are passed down from generation to generation and become part of a community's history. Chatham-Kent certainly has done that with such stories as the Baldoon Mystery but I also think that many families or communities, within the larger community have their own ghost stories that have become an essential part of the familyís history as well as the community, within the communityís, history.
An excellent example of one such story, that I have recounted many times in other articles , interviews and broadcasts, is a ghost story that my grandmother told me each year around Halloween and it was one that her mother had recounted to her as a young girl. It happened right in our own neighbourhood ( along the Thames River) and has been well-documented with a minister being the key eye witness in the story.
Next week, as the shadowy mists of Halloween once again advance upon us, I will recount this story as I best remember it.
What do you think? We are very interested in hearing your tales of the supernatural whether they be stories passed down or real life first-hand experiences. We are currently researching Chatham-Kent "tales of terror" for an upcoming book so......don't hold back. We are "dying"....well sort of....to hear them! Contact us at jgilbert@ciaccess.com.
And......for those daring individuals who wish to explore the ghosts of Chatham with us this weekend. We are once again offering "ghost walks" on Friday and Saturday night at 7:00, 7:30, 8:00 and 8:30 P.M. All walks leave from "the Clock" on King Street outside the Downtown Chatham Centre and tickets may be reserved by phoning 351-2058.
Jim and Lisa Gilbert are local, national and international award winning educators and historians.
