Daring escapes, murdered pirates, ghost ships and more

Daring escapes, murdered pirates, ghost ships, buried treasure, tragic drownings, and headless phantoms: it is all in a night’s work at Signal Hill National Historic Site in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Or at least it is for storyteller Dale Jarvis, creator of the award-winning ghost tour, the St. John’s Haunted Hike. No stranger to strange stories from old St. John’s, Jarvis has created a new storytelling show for Newfoundland’s most historic hill.

Ghosts of Signal Hill is Jarvis’s newest work: an evening of ghost stories, historical tales and strange adventures. His spooky stories are spun out for eager listeners by lamplight inside the historic Queen’s Battery Barracks, overlooking the Narrows, the entrance to St. John's Harbour.

“There are ghost tours in other historic sites across Canada,” says Jarvis. “Halifax Citadel has a ghost tour, for example, and it seems like a perfect fit for St. John’s. And you couldn’t ask for a more dramatic setting than Queen’s Battery to tell a tale.”

The last North American battle of the Seven Years' War between England and France was fought on the Hill in 1762, after St. John’s had been captured by the French. In September of that year, the British reclaimed the town, marching overland from Torbay.

“The 1762 Battle of Signal Hill provides a great backdrop for the show,” says Jarvis. He portrays a real historical character in the piece, a role he shares with local actor Jedediah Baker.

“Lieutenant Ranslaer Schuyler was a member of the British force sent to take back St. John’s,” explains Jarvis. “We’ve brought him back to life for this show, so to speak!”

Jarvis is passionate about local history and folklore, and believes storytelling is a great way to get people interested in what is often portrayed as a dry and dusty subject.

“When someone starts going on about dates and battles and generals, people tune out,” says Jarvis. “But when you tell a story about real characters, with drama and intrigue and mystery, people love to hear more. That is part of what makes this show much fun. That and the ghosts, of course!”

Ghosts of Signal Hill runs every Friday night at 8pm until September 16th. Tickets are $15 ($10 for kids 12 and under) and are cash sale only, available at the Signal Hill National Historic Site Visitor Centre. There is no performance on Canada Day, July 1st.

For more information, contact :
Dale Jarvis
www.hauntedhike.com
709-685-3444
info@hauntedhike.com

High resolution promo photos available at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dalejarvis/sets/72157626756149194
Photo credit Chris Hibbs

Name that ghost! #namethatghost

Well, the little photograph of what might (or might not) be a ghost in the historic Newman Wine Vaults in St. John's, Newfoundland is getting a lot of attention: reports on CBC radio and television, VOCM radio, the internet, and as of this morning, apparently, it has made the CNN Morning Express television program!

Read the article and see the video here.

What the ghost needs now is a suitable name, and suggestions are already starting to trickle in on twitter and facebook.  So far, names include:

The Lone Tourist
Vinnie
Port-ia
Porthos (which I like!)
Swayze
Charlie
Bob
and (most obviously) Newman

Got a suggestion? Let me know!

The St. John's Haunted Hike turns 14!

1997 was the year of the John Cabot celebrations in Newfoundland. According to legend, heresay, and the provincial tourism department, John Cabot had landed in Bonavista (and definitely NOT Cape Breton) five hundred years before. The Matthew sailed into port, tourists descended, and I started a little summer business called the St. John's Haunted Hike.

Fourteen years later, the Hike is still going strong. We've just started up our season, with people already showing up in the cold and drizzle to hear our stories. So, if you are downtown these evenings, you'll likely see myself, or one of my long-time guides Dave Walsh or Steve O'Connell, leading a group of tourists and fans of the paranormal from site to haunted site.

Hope you'll join us!

The Hike runs every Sunday to Thursday evening at 9:30 pm from the stone steps of the Anglican Cathedral on Church Hill. Tickets are $10, with no need to book in advance.

www.hauntedhike.com

A busy day in the life of your friendly neighbourhood storyteller

I'm in an airport! It is hardly news to anyone who follows me on twitter that I'm writing from yet another airport, but it is true. I'm in Ottawa, having just finished a speaking engagement last night for Memorial University Alumni. It was a great turnout, with some familiar faces in the crowd, which is always a plus for me. Here is the interview done by Dean Verger at the event.

I'm off to Halifax, for another talk and storytelling session tonight at the Elephant and Castle Pub. Last night I was telling ghost stories, Jack tales and some oral history material from Newfoundland. Who knows what tonight will bring, through there will definitely be some ghostly tales, and perhaps the appearance of a sea monster or two.  It has been a great mini-tour so far, and I'm delighted that Memorial University, and their sponsors Johnson Insurance and the Elephant & Castle pubs, have been so supportive. It is great to get storytelling out to new audiences, and introduce Newfoundland stories to new (and old) listeners.

I went out for breakfast this morning with Ottawa's Ruthanne Edward, who was host of the St. John's Storytelling Festival's first story slam earlier this year. It is always great to get to hang out with fellow storytellers, to talk about what is happening in the storytelling community. We talked about how it is that storytellers so often work in isolation, working individually on personal projects, without a lot of opportunities for some of us to collaborate, critique, grow and converse about our art.

I head back to St. John's in the morning, taking every chance I get along the way to run lines for Ghosts of Signal Hill which opens this Friday night at 8pm! Zounds!

Something wicked this way comes! Ghosts of Signal Hill coming soon

I've been working on an exciting new ghost story project, and its launch date is coming closer and closer! This summer, as part of the fourteenth season of the St. John's Haunted Hike, I've created a new show, in partnership with Parks Canada and Signal Hill National Historic Site: Ghosts of Signal Hill.

Daring escapes, murdered pirates, ghost ships, buried treasure, tragic drownings, and headless phantoms: it is all in a night’s work at Signal Hill National Historic Site.

Ghosts of Signal Hill will be an evening of ghost stories, historical tales and strange adventures. Join the dashing Lieutenant Ranslaer Schuyler by lamplight inside the historic Queen’s Battery, and find out what happens on Newfoundland’s most historic hill, after the lights go out.

The show will run every Friday night this summer at 8pm, from June 3rd to September 16th. Tickets will be $15, $10 for kids 12 and under, and price includes admission to Signal Hill National Historic Site Visitor Centre. The role of Lieutenant Schuyler will be played by yours truly, with Jedediah Baker performing the role on alternating nights.

Seating is limited. Tickets will be available for advance purchase at the Signal Hill Visitor Centre. Check the website, and I'll let you know when tickets go on sale!

And, of course, you can like this on Facebook!

UPDATE: here are the promo photos!

Here Be Monsters! Encore Family Performance Sunday 2pm

It sold out its first show, and now the Monsters are back!

Sunday, May 15, 2 pm
Encore Family Performance
Here Be Monsters!
The Rooms, St. John's

In the ocean's depths lurk rarely seen horrors. From giant squid and whales the size of a house, to mind-reading mermaids and the most angry sea-horse you'd ever want to meet, the seas off the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador have seen it all! Join storyteller Dale Jarvis of St. John's Haunted Hike fame for tales of creatures from the deep. You may never want to dip your toe in the water again.

Tickets just $5 and free for Rooms Members.

The Menin Gate, and why you should vote #elxn11

Earlier this year, I had the great opportunity as a storyteller to take part in the wonderful Alden Biesen International Stortyelling Festival in Belgium. It was a great experience, and wonderful to see so many storytellers working and sharing in so many languages.

Since I was in Belgium, I took some time off to explore some of the country's great cities, and I made certain that I visited some of the sites that have entered our consciousness as Canadians, sites with names that resonate with those of us who have never even visited Belgium, names like Passchendale, Flanders, the Ypres Salient.

At Ypres, on an appropriately grey day, I walked around the imposing Menin Gate. The gate is a memorial to those soldiers whose bodies were never found, 55,000 of them, which was erected on the spot where the soldiers left the city for the frontline, never to return. Even today, they are still digging the bodies of fallen soldiers out of the Flanders clay.

It brought the reality of that conflict home to me in a way that can only be described as emotional; and what struck me most as I walked through the impeccably kept graveyards of Flanders was how young all those soldiers were. 

I came home from Flanders to a country facing an election.  In a world where young people are dying every day to for the right to have a democratic say in their own futures, I think we all too often forget about all those young men and women who died to protect our freedoms.

I've already made my vote in advance, as I'll be travelling to Hopedale, Labrador, on election day. If you haven't voted, you should.  The democracy that people died for works when we all make it work, together. You can make a difference with your vote.

To you from failing hands we throw
       The torch; be yours to hold it high.
              - John McCrae, 1919

Haunted Waters reviewed on CBC Radio

Laura Cameron at Flanker Press was kind enough to send me this transcript of a review aired on CBC Radio, Corner Brook this morning. Here it is! - Dale

Haunted Waters: More True Ghost Stories of Newfoundland and Labrador

I've always admired folklorist Dale Jarvis for the way he treats stories of the supernatural and unexplained. Newfoundland and Labrador, as part of its history, is rich with stories and accounts of hauntings and paranormal phenomena.

Jarvis, with his academic background and solid reputation for doing high quality research, gives this aspect of our history extra dignity and credibility. His interest in this field is quite genuine and he treats it seriously – and not just because these events make for fascinating stories.

Jarvis's latest book, “Haunted Waters: More True Ghost Stories of Newfoundland and Labrador” is a follow-up to his popular collection “Haunted Shores.” Many of these stories were published previously in Jarvis's column in the Telegram, “Newfoundland Unexplained,” and in Downhome Magazine.

Jarvis takes an organized approach; “Haunted Waters” is sorted into sections dealing with specific types of haunting or disturbance. There are haunted houses and other buildings; apparitions; phantom ships, and animal spirits; there’s also a section on faerie folklore and local legends.

There seems hardly a corner of our province where Jarvis hasn't found something otherworldly or hard to explain. Many of the things recounted here relate to places in St. John's, but most deal with other places and readers won’t be able to help being impressed by this rich assortment.

The Town of Deer Lake, incidentally, has a ghost story of its own, and Jarvis supplies it here. The section on scaring off evil spirits relates specifically to Codroy Valley.

While our folk legend having to do with the sleep disturbance, known commonly throughout Newfoundland as the Old Hag, seems to have particular power to terrify, and Jarvis covers that one in this book as well.

“Haunted Waters” is an excellent collection –highly readable and enjoyable for adults and young adults – and not just those with a fondness for creepy tales. Readers interested in the folktales, superstitions, and history of our province will find much to admire about it as well.

For Newfoundland and Labrador public libraries, I’m Darrell Squires.
CBC Radio, Corner Brook, April 18, 2010

Two Storytelling Workshops with Clare Muireann Murphy

I want to give a plug for two workshops coming up next week with the fabulous visiting Irish storyteller Clare Muireann Murphy. How could you not love that face?

I met Clare through her work with FEST (Federation for European Storytelling) and I'm delighted that she is coming to Newfoundland.  If you have an interest in storytelling, performance, spoken word, or theatre, take one of these workshops!  There are two, one in Mount Pearl, one in St. John's, and they are for people with a wide range of backgrounds, or no background in storytelling at all.  You can read more about Clare at http://claremurphy.org/

“Introduction to the Art of Storytelling”
Tuesday, March 8th
Admiralty House Museum,
23 Old Placentia Rd, Mount Pearl
7:00 – 9:00 PM

The Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl is pleased to present storyteller Clare Muireann Murphy offering a workshop in the fundamentals of storytelling that will teach the essential tools for creating and telling stories. Pre-register at: storytellingstjohns@gmail.com
Aimed at: Beginners
Admission: $20

"Finding Your Voice" 
Saturday, March 12th
Gower Street United Church Hall
1:00 – 3:00 PM

Turn familiar stories into true treasures! Each storyteller is blessed with their own unique style. Having trouble finding yours? Treat yourself to this workshop and find your own voice! A workshop focused on how to make stories uniquely your own; how to discover and develop your own style of storytelling. Learn how to uncover your own voice, turning old or familiar stories into something beautiful and inherently yours.
Aimed at: Beginners / Intermediate storytellers
Admission: $20 Pre-register at: storytellingstjohns@gmail.com

Fantastic sea monsters invade St. John's!

Well, I'm getting stoked. There is nothing I love better than a giant squid (with the possible exception of a cloned wooly mammoth). My new sea monster storytelling show "Here Be Monsters" is coming up quick, at The Rooms on February 27th.

The event is part of a travelling exhibit at The Rooms called "Fantastic Sea Monsters" running February 12 - June 19 on Level Two.

Here is what The Rooms website says about the exhibit:

Fantastic imaginary creatures? Amazing but real marine life? Either way, stories of ocean and lake monsters have fascinated us since the dawn of time. Seafarers were convinced that the oceans were the devil's kingdom, a place of terrifying monsters eager for shipwrecks, the home of sirens, krakens, whales, sea serpents, and giant sharks. Early naturalists were fascinated by the strange creatures of the deep. This bilingual exhibition will take you where the fantastic intertwines with reality.

The exhibition is produced by the Musée du Fjord, in partnership with The Rooms Provincial Museum Division, the Maritime Museum of British Columbia, and Océanopolis (France). I'm going to check it out this week, and will report back!

In the meantime, you can visit the exibit website at:
http://monstresmarins.ca/en/home.html