Saturday 1 October 2022

Hallowe’en Schedule 2022 - ghostly storytelling for the month of October



It’s the most wonderful time of the year – Hallowe’en season! October is here, and as the veil between worlds grows thin, it is the perfect time to explore the supernatural along the haunted laneways of old St. John’s. Luckily for fans of the paranormal, the St. John’s Haunted Hike returns for the 2022 Hallowe’en season! We are adding some new stories to our regular hike, and have a few other tricks and treats up our black sleeves, including an exclusive paranormal investigation at the very haunted LSPU Hall (stay tuned for more on that, we are very excited), a virtual open mic ghost story night, an evening of spooky stories and music, and the return of the Hallowe’en Night VOCM call-in show!

(All tickets for the Hallowe’en Hikes are here – follow links below for other events)


Hallowe’en Schedule 2022


Wed, Oct 12 - 8pm Hallowe’en Hike

Sat, Oct 15 - 7:30pm Songs and Stories of Ghosts and Spirits (organized by First Light Centre, Cochrane St)

Sun, Oct 16 -8pm Hallowe’en Hike

Mon, Oct 17 - 8pm Hallowe’en Hike

Tues, Oct 18 - 8pm Hallowe’en Hike

Wed, Oct 19 - 8pm Hallowe’en Hike

Thurs, Oct 20 - 8pm Hallowe’en Hike

Sun, Oct 23 - 8pm Hallowe’en Hike

Mon, Oct 24 - 8pm Hallowe’en Hike

Tues, Oct 25 - 8pm Hallowe’en Hike

Wed, Oct 26 - 6pm Ghost Story Open Mic (virtual, pre-registration required)

Wed, Oct 26 - 8pm Hallowe’en Hike

Thurs, Oct 27 - 7pm Paranormal Investigation at the LSPU Hall tickets tba

Thurs, Oct 27 - 8pm Hallowe’en Hike

Thurs, Oct 27 - 10pm Paranormal Investigation at the LSPU Hall tickets tba

Sun, Oct 30 - 7pm Hallowe’en Hike

Sun, Oct 30 - 8pm Hallowe’en Hike

Sun, Oct 30 - 9pm Hallowe’en Hike

Mon, Oct 31 - time tbd VOCM Hallowe’en Phone In Show!


On demand any time - Virtual Campfire

Monday 26 September 2022

A strange light haunts the waters near La Scie, Newfoundland: Jack the Lantern of Shoe Cove Bight.

Not far from La Scie, Newfoundland, is the former community of Shoe Cove Bight.  The Bight was said to be a favourite stomping ground of a supernatural phenomenon which locals know as Jack the Lantern. Storyteller and author Dale Jarvis shares the tale of what happened when a group of boys rowed home one September night from La Scie to The Bight.

Wednesday 21 September 2022

The Haunting of Lunenburg Academy, Nova Scotia



Lunenburg is said to have more folklore, witches, and superstitions than any other place in Nova Scotia. Of all its sinister places, the Lunenburg Academy is definitely the most famous of the historic town's many haunted buildings. 

The Lunenburg Academy was built in 1895, and operated as a school continuously to 2012. It stands on Gallows Hill, close to the Hillcrest Cemetery, dating back to the 1700s.

Years ago, a carpenter working alone in the school felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Turning around he saw the vision of a man, strung up by his neck, before it vanished.

The building’s basement was nicknamed The Dungeon by students, thanks to an evil feeling pervading the space and rumours of a dark creature inhabiting one of the toilet stalls. More recently, a film crew captured the image of a face in the window of the Academy. When the image was circulated, it was identified in a school yearbook as Mr. Sidney Knickle, a past custodian and caretaker.


Sunday 18 September 2022

The Grave of Henry Waterman, Assistant Lighthouse Keeper, Fogo, NL


The churchyard at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, Fogo. was in use as a burial ground from at least the 1760s and into the first half of the twentieth century.

One who lies here is Henry Waterman, assistant keeper of the Offer Wadham Island Lighthouse.  The Wadham Islands are a group of islands southeast of Fogo Island; Offer Wadham Island is the most northeasterly.

The lighthouse was built following many petitions to government, especially after the "Spring of the Wadhams" in 1852, when more than 40 ships were crushed and abandoned in the ice near Offer Wadham Island.

Unfortunately, Henry Waterman "came to an untimely end in the spring [of 1880] by falling through the ice, thus removing from service an officer who had always conducted himself worthily."

 

Sunday 10 July 2022

The cooper's ghost of Port de Grave, Conception Bay, NL


Long after his earthly passing, one Port de Grave man can still be heard hard at work. 

One of the most important side-hustles in a busy fishing community like Port de Grave was barrel-making. Wooden barrels were needed for transporting fish and other goods; even berries were exported in herring barrels. Skilled coopers were always needed, and many outport fishermen augmented their meagre yearly earnings making barrels or supplying materials for the cooper’s trade. 

According to legend, one of Port de Grave’s coopers did not let his own passing interfere with his enterprise.

After his burial, locals claimed that the sound of the cooper knocking the hoops onto the barrels could be heard ringing mysteriously through the night air.

Listen on TikTok


Thursday 7 July 2022

The Devil Himself, in Locks Cove, Hare Bay.



At the bottom of Hare Bay, Newfoundland, there is a little spot called Locks Cove, known for strange and unexplainable happenings.

Years ago, a crew just off the fishing grounds were bunked down in an old fishing stage in Locks Cove.

They got in, had a mug up, and settled down for the night. They lashed the door shut with trawl line, and retired for a few hours sleep.

It was a calm clear night, without another living soul for miles.

At 3:00 in the morning, they woke up to the sound of something pounding at the door. Then, the door, which had been tied tight with trawl line swung open.

When they got up to investigate, they saw that line, strong enough for the heavy work of hauling fish, had been snapped like a thread. All was calm, still and silent, without a breath of wind. They quickly gathered their belongings, jumped in their boat and never looked back.

Years later, one of those old fishermen said that whatever was strong enough to bust a trawl line, was not something to be messed with. He added,

"It must have been the devil himself."

View the story on TikTok here

Have a story from Hare Bay? Let me know at dale@dalejarvis.ca


Monday 23 May 2022

Fredericton, NB's Tomato Soup Ghost


The second wife of Bishop John Medley, first Bishop of Fredericton NB was Margaret Hudson Medley. Well educated and independent, she was a choral singer, gardener, botanist, lithographer, horseback rider, and ice skater. It was rumoured that prior to her marriage she served alongside fellow nurse Florence Nightingale in the Crimean war.

Margaret survived her husband and was fiercely protective of his reputation. When she passed in 1905 at the age of 84, she was entombed beside him beneath the Cathedral's elaborate east window. 

Busy as she had been in life she did not rest long.

Reports circulated of a woman in a white dress floating through the grounds. The first written account appeared in 1975 when a worker reported a veiled spirit walking down Church Street and entering via the west door.

Most often, Margaret is seen seated or kneeling in prayer, but she is also partial to playing the church's magnificent pipe organ.  To this day she still walks the path from their house to the Cathedral bringing her husband supper, as there have been numerous inexplicable incidents of people smelling tomato soup.

She has also been spotted standing at the pulpit as if delivering a sermon, a fitting spot to spend eternity for a bishop's wife.

Listen to the story on TikTok



Friday 6 May 2022

Beware the Boo-Beggars of Springdale, Hall's Bay.

Image source: https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/elrcdne/id/5619/rec/15

You better be good or else the Boo Beggers will get you.

Up to the mid-20th century and possibly later, mothers in Springdale, Newfoundland, would warn their children to keep away from the wharf head with threats of the Boo Beggars.

A Boo Beggar is a said to be a supernatural creature related to the fairies in Newfoundland folklore, but usually only seen as a ghost-like black shadow. It’s often found living in wells or other dangerous places.

Their dark and devilish cousins Boo Darbies and Boo Men haunted other parts of the island, and in modern english, we still use the word “Boogeyman” to mean something regarded as an object of fear.  

NEW! Explore the legend of the Boo Beggars on TikTok!


Wednesday 30 March 2022

Save the date: Place Names of Newfoundland and Labrador LIVE April 6th



Save the date! I'll be on Facebook Live on April 6th talking about the weird and wonderful stories behind the Place Names of Newfoundland and Labrador! 




Sunday 6 March 2022

Place Names of Newfoundland and Labrador - From Dildo to Dover with Dale Jarvis


The launch of my latest project is getting closer and closer! Over the pandemic, I've been working on a new book, all about the dirt behind the place names of Newfoundland and Labrador's towns and cities. 

Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of the place names of a region or a language, and we have a lot of fascinating stories behind the names of provincial places. It's been a treat to get to dig deep into the legends and lore behind the names of places, from Appleton to Zoar.  

No date set yet for the official release, but you can preorder through the fine folks at Flanker Press:

https://flankerpress.com/product/place-names-of-newfoundland-and-labrador 

and you can follow along and post your reviews on Goodreads (and add me!):

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60475254-place-names-of-newfoundland-and-labrador