Haunted Maritime Museum, Victoria B.C.

“You sure know when the building accepts you.”

                                                      ---Museum Heritage Guide

The Maritime Museum of
British Columbia.

This museum is located on Vancouver Island in Victoria’s historic Bastion Square. It is an impressive 1862 building which was this cities courthouse, jail and, gallows for many years.

A famous ghost that resides in this museum is Mathew Begbie  *, known in Canada as the “hanging judge.”

Judge Matthew Begbie

Staff and visitors while on the third floor where the courthouse was once located, have seen his ghost. His tall figure dressed in black robes is seen walking across the area where the court bench is located.

Voices, footsteps, and the distinct sweet smell of a pipe are all experienced in this room as well.

The judges’ ghost appears to wander for his shadowy, bearded apparition is also seen standing at a window near the museum’s entrance as well as gliding down the main staircase.

The museum staff and guides report many other ghosts reside in this building. Some are believed to be criminals that were executed on the gallows.

In a small alcove off, the Shipbuilders Room, on the first floor, is where visitors, either individually or in groups, report feelings of being choked. Others report feeling a heavy weight as if something is standing on their shoulders.

These reports do not surprise the staff for many of them have had the same experience of being suffocated in this area—it is in this alcove where the gallows stood.

On the second floor, directly below where the courthouse once stood, are ship models and exhibits about the Canadian Coast Guard, and lighthouses.

The staff feels that several of these exhibits and artifacts have ghostly activity attached to them.

It is in these galleries that disembodied voices are heard and objects are moved without reason. Apparitions are also seen roaming about in this area.

The reconstructed courthouse
at the museum.

In a small, nonpublic room that holds special collections, staff always feel, an overwhelming sense of despair and grief.

This room is where in the past, prisoners were held while they awaited their verdicts.

Despite all this ongoing paranormal activity the museum’s staff never gets the impression these ghosts are a threat.

 *  Matthew Bigbie was B.Cs first chief justice. He served on the bench until his death in 1894. Streets, schools, and mountains in B.C. all bear his name. But Bigbe is a controversial figure because of his role in the hanging of six chiefs during the Tsilhqot’in war. More can be read here.

Terrified Night Watchmen

Waterfront Station

Waterfront Station is an old train depot in downtown Vancouver, B.C. Canada. Located in the western historic Gastown district, this grand building reflects the golden luxury era of train travel.

The station’s elegance was featured in the American television show The X-Files. A statue located on the southeast corner of the building known as Angel of Victory was featured in one episode.

Angel of Victory
Honors soldiers killed in
World War l.

This station recently celebrated its 100-year anniversary. It was built in 1915 by the Canadian Pacific Railroad and is still a busy transportation hub for the lower mainland.

As one Canadian journalist put it a building this old cannot survive without quirks. Waterfront Station is considered Vancouver’s most haunted.

In recent years, multiple night watchmen who work in the station during graveyard shifts have seen apparitions and experienced poltergeist activity.

This activity is so pronounced it has terrified them.

A favorite encounter happened late one night. A guard spotted a woman dressed in a 1920s flapper outfit dancing solo through one corridor on the west side of the station. He also heard 1920s music. When he approached this female the music stopped abruptly and she vanished.

Another guard experienced what he characterized as “the fright of his life” while he patrolled the northwest corner of the building. He entered one empty room with only his flashlight for light.

He spotted the ghost of a “little old lady.” A bright glowing light surrounded her. He described her as having a mournful expression. As he stood rooted to the floor, this woman reached out to him.

He bolted from the room. Later he stated he had no idea how he managed this for he had been in a state of shock.

Yet another security guard inspecting the upper floor on the east side of the building experienced poltergeist activity. As he walked through one room used to store old desks something caught his attention.

He became aware he was not alone. Seeing nothing amiss he became nervous. He decided to leave. When he turned around to exit he found the desks had all been moved together silently.

They now blocked his exit path. In a panic he jumped on top of one and ran from the room.

Many other night watchmen have reported hearing the sound of phantom footsteps strike the station’s tiled floors and soft disembodied voices when they are the only ones in the building.

One sight that is often reported by the guards involves three ghosts. They state they watched three old ladies sitting on one particular station bench in the middle of the night. It appears they are waiting for a train that never arrives.

Ghostly soldiers are sometimes spotted in Waterfront. This station was heavily used during both the first and second world wars.

One stark apparition often seen appears on the north side of the station on the tracks outside.

This was just one of a series of
stamps issued in Canada recognizing
the countries most famous
ghost stories in 2015.

In 1926, a brakeman while making repairs was killed in the rail yard. He was knocked unconscious by falling debris on the tracks. Tragically, a passenger train then ran over him, decapitating his head.

Since, many have reported seeing this headless brakeman roaming the tracks--especially in rainy weather. He carries a glowing lantern in one hand.

This apparition has also been seen in other parts of Gastown. The Old Spaghetti Factory a restaurant in the area also lays claim to this ghost.

People wonder if he is still on the job or if he is just looking for his head.

Sara Ann and Fort George, Part ll

In Part 1 of this post a brief description of one battle that occurred during the War of 1812 and the hauntings it caused are shared.

View of Fort George from Old
Fort Niagara on the American side
of the river.

Fort George is located near the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario, Canada. It was destroyed by the Americans during a battle in 1813 but was rebuilt as a National Historical site in more recent years.

This fort is considered one of Canada’s most haunted and several ghost soldiers have been seen at this location, but the most active ghost is a little girl by the name of Sara Ann. She is a very precocious spirit.

Sara Ann’s ghost has been seen so often over the years no one has kept count. Her youthful antics elicit smiles as opposed to fear.

Her ghost, when seen, is playful. She engages in games of peek-a-boo, hiding under beds and behind pillars. She is heard giggling quietly to herself.

She is known for tugging on visitors’ clothes. When they turn, they see her running away. She is described as bare-footed with shoulder-length curly blonde hair.

She wears a white dress and is often seen around the fort’s barracks. Three female visitors spotted just her hand resting on a staircase railing in this area.

At other times she appears as just a white cloud with a vague form.

Fort George today.

One summer night in August a group of tourists who were leaving spotted a little girl in the parking lot. She was skipping around a group of guides that worked at the fort.

She appeared to be wearing a white nightgown. Two women watched as she then faded from view. The men in this group did not see this little girl.

But these two women who did not know each other eerily told similar stories of what they saw. The guides despite being closer to this apparition reported they had seen nothing.

One well-documented encounter happened to a guide, storyteller, Kyle Upton who works at the fort. He had heard about Sara Ann's ghost but did not believe the stories.

The tunnel at the fort.

Upton led a group of tourists to the entrance of a subterranean tunnel at the back of the fort one night as storm clouds gathered, and lightning flashed.

When he reached the back of this tunnel, Upton waited for his group to gather around him. This is when he saw a form that was illuminated by a dim green-grey light.

He saw a small figure silhouetted in this light. It was a child standing just outside the tunnel looking in at him.

As he watched she playfully disappeared and then reappeared again. He saw her hop and skip around—then she stopped and looked to see if she was being watched.

At first, Upton thought she was a part of his group but after he took a head count, he realized she wasn’t.

It dawned on him that this must be the little ghost he had heard so many stories about.

Upton had trouble concentrating on his presentation for Sara Ann distracted him. Every time the lightning flashed at the entrance all he saw was the white wall of the nearby blockhouse, but when the lightning stopped, he would see her once more.

When the group exited the tunnel the little girl was gone.

St. Mark's Cemetery

It is believed that Sara Ann was the daughter of Hannah and Thomas Tracey. She died at age seven in 1840. Her grave and tombstone are located at St. Mark’s Cemetery.

Her father was a sergeant major with the King’s Dragoon Guards at Fort George. No one knows how she died or why her spirit lingers at this fort.

In Part l of Sara Ann and Fort George other ghosts seen at the fort are described.

Sara Ann and Fort George, Part l

Americans landing at Fort George.

This story is about a young ghost that haunts Fort George located at Niagara-on-the-Lake * in Ontario, Canada.

The Americans destroyed this fort during the War of 1812.

America began this war with Canada after being provoked. The British Royal Navy had taken to forcefully “press-ganging” American sailors into service with their fleet. The British were undermanned at the time because of the Napoleonic Wars, which were raging across Europe.

The British were also trying to prevent the U.S. from trading with France.

Also, the British were arming Native American tribes that were standing in the way of American expansion. During this time, American extended from the Mississippi basin to the Great Lakes.

In one battle in the spring of 1813, an American fleet appeared at the mouth of the Niagara River. These warships bombarded Niagara-on-the-Lake with cannonballs. Two days later they sent hundreds of rowboats ashore at Lake Ontario close to Fort George.

The Canadians and British were outnumbered 10 to l so they could not hold back the Americans. They were forced to retreat, and U.S. troops took control of the town.

American Patriots who were loyal to King George lll during the Revolutionary War, populated Niagara-on-the-Lake, so its residents held a robust anti-American sentiment already.

Many of these Patriots lost their property and were ostracized after the Revolutionary War so most of them then headed north to the Niagara region.

Fort George played a vital role as the Americans attacked Niagara-on-the-Lake, but it was ultimately destroyed during the fighting.

A depiction of Fort George
in 1812.

The U.S. hoped this conquest would help them gain control of Upper Canada but their defeat at the Battle of Stoney Creek, later that June, halted their ambitions.

When winter arrived the Americans finding themselves vulnerable to attack had no choice but to retreat back to the American side of the Niagara River.

But before they did this, on December 10, 1813, they burned Niagara-on-the-Lake to the ground. Which left the residents out in the freezing cold.

Part of Fort George today.

Within a decade this town was rebuilt and is today a thriving tourist area. Fort George was restored in more recent years and is today a National Historical site that offers tours.

It contains several buildings including barracks, officer’s quarters, and craftsmen shops. Many witnesses feel this fort’s Palisades and earthen parapets are haunted.

In fact, the fort is considered one of Canada’s most haunted.

There have been many sightings of ethereal soldiers standing guard along the parapets. Witnesses have heard drum rolls across the grounds, and phantom gunfire is also heard rumbling.

But by far the fort’s most active ghost is not a soldier but rather a young girl who was the daughter of one of the families that lived at Fort George.

*  The town of Niagara-on-the-Lake has had many names over the past 200 years. It was first named Butlersburg, then New Niagara, West Niagara, Lenox and then Newark. It wasn’t until the late 19^th century it was called Niagara-on-the-Lake.

In Part ll of Sara Ann and Fort George sightings of this young ghost is shared.

The Silent Organ

The Trivett family migrated west from Ontario, Canada, in 1908. They settled on a homestead in Saskatchewan.

Mary Trivett was a hearty farm wife and mother of five children who was never too busy to lend a helping hand to a neighbor in need.

She had been a devoted member of the Salvation Army for most of her adult life and she carried on their charitable doctrine despite the fact there was no branch near where her family now lived.

She opened her home to the poor and homeless. Her kindness became renowned in the area. During World War l she doubled her time and efforts to help all who were in need.

The local United Church, which Mary was a member of, supported her charitable endeavors.

One afternoon Mary confided in the church organist, a man by the name of Walter that she loved his music but that she missed the enthusiastic sound the Salvation Army’s drums and tambourines made.

She told him that when she passed she did not want organ music at her funeral for she felt it was too somber—she wanted something upbeat instead.

By 1928, the year Mary Trivett passed away, Walter had forgotten about her wish not to have an organ music at her funeral.

He practiced several favorite hymns to play for her family and friends. The day of the funeral, Walter sat at the United Church’s pump organ and began to play but, o sound came from the instrument.

He checked the organ but found nothing wrong with it. He tried to play his first selection again, but once more, there was no sound. He pumped the pedals and tried a variety of keys, but the organ remained mute.

He finally gave up and Mary’s funeral continued without musical accompaniment.

After the burial, Walter returned to the church. With the first note he struck, the church was filled with organ music. The organ now played as it had while he had practiced the day before.

Confused, Walter wondered what had happened during the funeral—suddenly he remembered Mary’s wish from years earlier—it now made sense.

Mary had gotten her last wish—she had not wanted organ music—and her spirit had made sure there had been no organ music.

So the organ had honored. Mary’s wish, even though Walter had forgotten.

Assiniboia and District Museum

Today this pump organ is fully restored, and Assiniboia’s District Historical Society displays it in their museum. This old organ has been preserved because of the story above.

The Legend of the Qu’Appelle Valley

“I started up and bending o’ver my dead,

Asked when did her sweet lips in silence close.

“She called thy name—then passed away,” they said,

“Just at an hour when the moon arose.”

                                    --E. Pauline Johnson

In Canada there is a beautiful valley that stretches east to west across one third of the Sashatchewan province.

This valley called Qu’Appelle was in ancient times a glacial spillway but today is a popular spot for tourists who love the outdoors.

Qu'Appelle Valley

The first white settlers to this area in 1804 where fur traders and the North West Company.

One of these metis trappers was David Harmon who passed on a legend that the First Nation Crees told him in the 19^th century of how the valley got its name.

The Cree call the valley “Katepwet” which was later translated into French “Qu'Appelle” which was the language the trappers spoke.

In English Qu’Appelle means, “Who calls?”

This name comes from the legend the Cree First Nation people recounted to Harmon.

This legend was then immortalized in a poem written by E. Pauline Johnson entitled, The Legend of the Qu’Appelle Valley.

The First Nation Indians whom believe in spirits believe this story is true.

Qu'Appelle River

This legend tells of a young Cree Indian brave who canoeing home from a hunt hears a voice call his name just as the moon rises in the east.

“Who calls?” he asks. He hears his name called once more but receives no response except the echo of his own voice—“Who calls?”

The next day he reaches his home only to find the beautiful young maiden he was to marry had died the evening before.

He was told with her dying breath she had called his name twice. He asked when and was told she called his name just as the moon arose.

So it was her voice he had heard.

The First Nation Indians who lived in the region told David Harmon they heard a voice as they traveled through the valley, they then would respond, “Who calls?”

Even today many claim to have heard as the moonrises the dying young woman’s call on the wind.

Johnson's Mohawk name
was Tekahionwake.
1861-1913

Here is the first stanza of Johnson’s poem.

“I am the one who loved her as my life,

Had watched her grow to sweet young womanhood;

Won the dear privilege to call her wife,

And found the world, because of her, was good.

I am the one who heard the spirit voice,

Of which the paleface settlers love to tell;

From whose strange story they have made their choice

Of naming this fair valley the “Qu’Appelle.”

The entire poem can be read here.

The Hanging of Florence Lassandro

Florence Lassandro

Born Flumena Costanzo in Cosenza, Italy Florence immigrated with her family to Southern Alberta, Canada at the age of nine.

At the age of 15 her parents arranged a marriage for Florence. She married Charles Lassandro in October of 1915. Their marriage was not a happy one.

Charles moved Florence to the United States in order to make his fortune but ended up with huge gambling debts. The couple moved back to Alberta.

Charles hit up his former boss for a job.

Emil Picariello known as “The Emperor Pic” manufactured ice cream and owned the Alberta Hotel in Blairmore. However, these legitimate businesses where just a cover for his criminal activities.

Prohibition was in effect in Alberta and PIcariello was a successful bootlegger. He ran liquor from British Columbia into Alberta and Montana. Charles became involved in his rum running operation and so did Florence.

Picariello’s son Steve was also involved in this shady business and it is speculated that Florence was in love with him. Florence, who viewed Emil as a father figure and fed up with her irresponsible husband, ended up living with the Picariello family.

In September of 1921 the police spotted Steve Picariello making a rum run. They chased him and gunfire was exchanged. Steve was injured and then escaped to Michel, B.C.

Constable Lawson's home.

When Emil heard what had happened to Steve, he and Florence approached Constable Lawson at his home in Coleman. An argument ensued and gunshots were fired. Lawson’s nine-year old daughter Pearl, watched as her father was fatally wounded.

Both Emil and Florence where arrested for the murder of the constable. During the trial no evidence was presented that showed which one had actually shot Lawson. The jury was told they could convict both, which they did.

A public outcry arose over the fact there had been no proof or witnesses presented against Florence and appeals where submitted but nothing came of these.

One account mentions that Florence remained silent through her trial supposedly because Emil had asked her to take the blame—“for they would never hang a woman.”

During the trial Florence was dubbed, “The Mobster Princess.”

Both Emil and Florence were sentenced to hang. After the trial Florence’s pleas that she was innocent fell on deaf ears. She was hanged on the gallows at Fort Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Alberta in 1923 at the age of 23.

Fort Saskatchewan was used for a Northwest Mounted Police outpost—29 people were hanged here—Florence was the last woman to be hanged in Alberta.

People still wonder if Florence was just a victim of circumstance or was she a hardened criminal.

Fort Saskatchewan

Today several buildings that made up this fort still stand—including the courthouse where Florence was convicted. They are run as a museum today.

Many have experienced strange activity in these buildings. Unexplained voices and noises are heard on a regular basis. Apparitions are felt and seen in the buildings and around the grounds.

One ghost that lingers is believed to be Florence Lassandro.

One noted encounter with her ghost was during a Fright Night Halloween event and sleepover the fort hosted for young people.

Darlene Briere a member of Fort Saskatchewan Historical Society and a Special Event Coordinator for the fort took this group of young people outside after the event.

During this time she noticed a thick fog roll in to the area. Thinking it was strange she took several pictures with her digital camera.

Later when she downloaded them to her computer she saw a female standing amidst the fog. She became convinced it was Florence.

Later that same evening she went to check on the children whom were bedded down in the museum’s courthouse. As she walked by an adjoining room she spotted a curtain moving strangely.

She entered this room and saw this curtain move again—it then fell off its rod. It landed and outlined the shape of a body kneeling on the floor. She bravely approached this figure and pulled off the curtain shrouding the figure.

Before her was a young woman who looked just like Florence. *

* Excerpts from the television show Creepy Canada.

Side note: A popular Canadian Opera based on Florence’s or Flumena’s life and death has been performed in Canada since 2003.