The Haunting of Rohan's Cottage, Harbour Grace, NL

If you had a horn that could summon spirits from the underworld, would you risk blowing it? 

One gentleman in Newfoundland claimed to have done it frequently.

This is the story of Rohan’s Cottage.

 

Additional investigation times added for the Paranormal Investigations at Cochrane Street

The Paranormal Investigations at Cochrane Street sold out immediately... so we've added two more nights, Oct 19-20th! Very limited number of tickets available. 

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/paranormal-investigations-at-cochrane-street-tickets-705616637357?aff=oddtdtcreator

Paranormal Investigations at Cochrane Street - October 12-13, 2023

Paranormal Investigations at Cochrane Street
Thursday, October 12th and Friday, October 13th

Investigation slots: 7pm-9pm, and 10pm-Midnight
http://paranormalatcochrane.eventbrite.ca/

Rebuilt after a disastrous fire, the 107-year-old historic Cochrane Street Methodist Centennial Church is the perfect spot for an exclusive exploration into true hauntings. 

Your evening will begin with a full briefing on the history and supernatural lore of the building, and its otherworldly inhabitants, presented by storyteller and folklorist Dale Jarvis. 

To add to the experience, investigators will be provided with equipment that would have been in use by Spiritualists at the time of the building’s construction in 1916. Dale will walk you through the equipment you will use and the best practices to follow when collecting and analyzing evidence. Then participants will explore under the building’s soaring Byzantine dome… in the dark… attempting to document paranormal activity.  

Participants are asked to bring a flashlight, notebook, and their camera or mobile phones to record what they might experience.  Following the event, you will be given access to a private Facebook group to upload and share what you found with your fellow investigators.  What will you capture?

With a max of 16 people per group, tickets are extremely limited. 

$45 per Investigator
120 minutes 

http://paranormalatcochrane.eventbrite.ca/

Bio: 

Storyteller and folklorist Dale Jarvis is the creator and proprietor of the award-winning St. John’s Haunted Hike.  Mixing history, humour, and traditional storytelling, Dale has been winning over audiences and throwing in the odd scare since 1997. He is the author of eight books on Newfoundland and Labrador ghost stories, folklore, and quirky local history, and has been featured by a wide variety of local, national, and international media. 

Explore The Fairy Path, with storyteller Dale Jarvis

Along Mount Scio Road, the fairies can still be found. But would you really want to meet them? 

Join folklorist and storyteller Dale Jarvis at twilight for an exploration of the darkly magical and at times eerie realms of the fairy folk. Then, set off by lamplight to find your own way home through the deepening shadows of the wooded paths of the Botanical Gardens. 

Be warned however! These fairies are the unpredictable, quick-to-anger, child-snatching fairies of legend. Put some bread in your pockets, bring a friend, and be careful which voices you follow into the forest... 

Presented by the St. John’s Haunted Hike and MUN Botanical Gardens

Approx. 60 minutes. This is an outdoor event, so dress for the weather, and wear comfortable walking shoes or hiking boots. Fairy lanterns will be provided, but feel free to bring your own flashlight.  Suitable for ages 10+

For tickets:

https://mun.jotform.com/232424207104240 

Pirate Ghosts in Lolly Cove, Fortune Bay

A strange looking ship entered Lolly Cove, Fortune Bay, crewed by dark, foreign men. Locals watched as they marched to the outskirts of town. There, the men turned upon two of their crew, dispatching and burying them on the spot. 

With the grave filled in, they departed, and as they did so their ship vanished away. 

Afterwards, the townsfolk could not find the freshly dug grave, finding instead a slight depression in the earth, much grown over, untouched for centuries.

www.hauntedhike.com

Buried treasure at Bay Roberts? A legend from Juggler's Cove

Local lore says Juggler’s Cove got its name because one would need the dexterity of a juggler to navigate the harbour. Rumours persist of a buried treasure that was excavated here by a man named Locke Thomas, one of the mysteries of Juggler’s Cove, the oldest settlement of Bay Roberts.

The Ghosts of Vinegar Hill

A magnet for supernatural activity, Vinegar Hill was likely named by early Irish settlers after the failed Irish uprising of 1798 which ended at the Battle of Vinegar Hill. It is home to numerous ghost and fairy stories.

www.hauntedhike.com

Back from the Dead: The St. John's Haunted Hike returns for 2023!

The first St. John's Haunted Hike of the 2023 season is this Sunday, May 28th. We've shifted slightly to a 9pm start, and have tickets available for opening night!

Order here:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/haunted-hike-2023-tickets-615042567877

Ghost Lights of Trinity Bay

Fort Point Light, Trinity

Every part of Newfoundland and Labrador has its own tradition of strange nautical tales, and Trinity Bay, is no exception. A number of local spirits were recorded for posterity in 1925 by William White (1860-1949). A native of Trinity, Trinity Bay, William White devoted much time in his later years to the collection and recording of local and church history.  His 1925 article documented a number of ghost stories, including a ghost ship seen by a local man nicknamed “Crusty Harry.”

According to White, another apparition was seen by many people, starting around the year 1916. A very brilliant light was seen just a few miles off Trinity narrows. The light had not been seen before, but was soon a regular occurrence. When it was first seen, the strange light was initially believed to be the lights of an approaching ship. 

It was written that when the Fort Point lighthouse keeper first observed the glow, he was convinced it was the SS Prospero. The lighthouse keeper, convinced the ship was making an unscheduled stop at Trinity, rowed all the way across the harbour "in great haste" to the public wharf. He reached the wharf to wait for the arrival of the SS Prospero, but discovered no sign of an approaching ship.

SS. Prospero

The ghostly light became very much talked about. Unlike other phantasms, this one was viewed by hundreds of witnesses. It also displayed astonishing regularity. The light was seen frequently, and usually from 9 o'clock pm to 11 o'clock pm.

When the light showed no sign of vanishing, the population of the town became very excited, fearing it to be a German submarine attempting to cut the Atlantic cable or preparing to attack the town. Perhaps strange today, at the time it was a very real fear.

In the early 1920s a fisherman on the fishing grounds off Trinity after dark had a close encounter with the light. He saw the light a few hundred yards distant, but as he drew nearer, it vanished.

Roll for Folklore Ep3 - Eaten by Rats!

 

 

Hatto, an evil bishop, was hoarding food during a terrible famine. The peasants became angry, so Hatto promised to feed them, inviting them to an empty barn. Hatto ordered the barn's doors locked, then set the barn on fire and burned the peasants commenting on their cries with the words "Hear the mice squeak!" Perhaps he should have chosen his words more carefully. 

View Roll for Folklore Ep3 - The Mouse Tower of Bingen.

Get the book:

Roll for Folklore ep2: What flattened 80 million trees at once?

Roll for Folklore ep2: Tunguska!

Today's Roll for Folklore: The Tunguska Explosion!

On the morning of June 30, something cause an 12-megaton explosion that flattened  80 million trees in the middle of the Siberian wilderness.  At around 7 o’clock in the morning, Indigenous people and Russian settlers northwest of Lake Baikal saw a bluish light, nearly as bright as the Sun, moving across the sky.

About 10 minutes later they heard what sounded like artillery - followed by a shock wave that knocked people off their feet and broke windows hundreds of kilometres away. The boom was so loud it was heard as far away as Washington DC

https://www.tiktok.com/@dalegilbertjarvis/video/7199769110119533830?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7147421503150261766

Get the book:

100 Strangest Mysteries by Matt Lamy 

Suggested readings on supernatural folklore from Newfoundland and Labrador

Looking for non-fiction books on Newfoundland and Labrador supernatural folklore? You could always start with some of mine, of course, but there are a lot of other titles out there for lovers of the paranormal!

Here is a selection to get you started: 

Fairies and Witches

• Strange Terrain: The Fairy World in Newfoundland by Barbara Rieti
• Making Witches: Newfoundland Traditions of Spells and Counterspells by Barbara Rieti
• Spirited Away: Fairy stories of old Newfoundland by Tom Dawe 
• Fables, Fairies & Folklore by Mike Mccarthy

Ghosts and Hauntings

• The Ferryland Visitor: A mysterious tale by Charis Cotter and Gerald Squires
• Screech!: Ghost Stories from Old Newfoundland by Charis Cotter
• Haunted Towns: Ghost Stories Of Newfoundland And Labrador by Geraldine Ryan-Lush
• Ghost Stories of Newfoundland and Labrador by Edward Butts 
• Ghost Stories from Newfoundland Folklore by Alice Lannon and Mike McCarthy 

Cryptozoology and The Old Hag

• Here Be Dragons by Bruce Hynes
• The Terror That Comes in the Night: An Experience-Centered Study of Supernatural Assault Traditions by David J. Hufford

PDF volumes

• Folk Cures and Practical Magic (2017)
• Folk Belief and Legends of Bay Roberts and Area (2014)
• Devine's folk lore of Newfoundland in old words, phrases and expressions (1937)
• Tales of Fogo Island edited by Della Coish
• Some superstitions and traditions of Newfoundland (1919)

Fiction more your style? I've got you covered here!