Paul Morse
The Hamilton Spectator

It will take several days before city officials can make repairs from a major vandalism attack in an east Hamilton cemetery.

Neighbours say they saw three youths running from the graveyard shortly after 113 tombstones were knocked to the ground in Eastlawn Cemetery at Nash and Barton streets shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday.

“This is very upsetting to the families of loved ones who’s graves were desecrated,” said Al Dore, city manager of Parks and Cemeteries.

“This is disappointing, one would hope people would have more respect.”

The vandals managed to get away before police got there.

It will cost over $10,000 to fix the damage, Dore said, which includes having the monuments fixed, and the grounds repaired where the heavy stones damaged the grave turf.

“It’s very difficult to deal with this type of vandalism in our 67 municipal cemeteries, which are not all active,” Dore said.

Eastlawn has been the target of cemetery vandalism in the past.

Some 64 gravestones were damaged in 2004, which at the time was the largest act of cemetery vandalism in Hamilton.

Two years later, however, over 230 of some of the most historic graves in the area were severely desecrated when vandals rampaged through the old part of Hamilton Cemetery on York Boulevard, and was the worst cemetery attack in the province.

Outrage from the community led to one youth turning himself in to police for his role in the destruction.

Police hope the same happens in this case, or that someone with information contacts them at the east end station at 905-546-2963.

pmorse@thespec.com
905-526-3434

Article link – http://www.thespec.com/article/819016

Yesterday, the new Custom House, in the city, was opened for business, accompanied by one of the officers, we took a stroll through the building.  In the basement are the housekeeper’s rooms, coal and wood cellars, two hot air furnaces for heating the building, and a large fire proof vault.  On the first flat, is the examining warehouse, the appraisers office, in which is a safe, also rooms for the use of landing waiters, etc.  This portion of the building  is supplied with every convenience that can be required.  The staircase leading to the second flat is wide and airy, as also are all the main halls.  The banisters, rails and stairs are made of oak, highly polished.  On the second flat, immediately opposite the landing, is the “long room” in this all the public business of the Custom House, at least the greater part of it will be done.  A long counter runs nearly the entire length of it, and here may be seen nearly all the clerks with whom business is to be done. 

At the west end of the “long room” is the Surveyor’s office, with entrances from the main hall and the long room, at the east end is the Collector’s office, with similar entrances.  On the other side of the hall is the Collector’s private room.  The Broker’s room, a room for the messenger, and a large washroom.  Gas and water have been introduced throughout the entire building, and on each flat there is about 20 feet of hose with the branch attached, ready for instant use, so that fire could not possibly make any headway. 

The change must be a pleasant one, not only for the officials, but the public; there will now be no more long broiling walks to the Bay shore – the building being about halfway between the business portion of the City and the Bay.  For the first time, we noticed the “Union Jack” flying from the roof. 

The furniture, for the new offices, has not yet arrived, so that they present a rather bare appearance as yet, however, they are much more convenient and comfortable than the old ones.

One of the mysteries of the paranormal is the idea of energy built up over time.  Is it possible that ghosts are the same as electricity that runs your toaster?  A spirit may be the energy we leave behind, and the longer we’re here the more energy we make from cheerful or tragic events, which creates a haunting. 

History is time with a fancy name, and over time we leave our mark through experiences.  The higher energy of an experience, the larger the impression it makes.  One way to increase our energy is through emotions.  When we get emotional, it rises and we exert more towards someone or something. 

A paranormal term for this is residual energy – when you hear stories about an event being played out by ghostly performers over and over again.  Cheerful and tragic events are an example of this heightened energy.  For example, when a part of a house is considered “evil” (negative) because this is where, years ago, someone committed suicide.  A theatre is an example of happy (positive) space.  This is where the crowd is entertained (hopefully), and experiencing pleasant emotions.  It’s this residual energy which relates history and ghosts. 

During paranormal investigations, special tools are used to detect spirits.  The common element of these is energy.  From the EMF (ElectroMagnetic Frequency) detector to the diving rod, all of these have been created to read energy that’s different from our own, disturbances that make up a haunting.

A great example of residual energy came to us from the old Tivoli Theatre that once stood on James Street North at Wilson.  When the front building stood, this place was a perfect storm of spiritual energy because of two main factors, it was historic and it was a theatre.  This made it Hamilton’s most haunted building. 

Residual energy was experienced by staff and actors.  Multiple times they would hear the eerie noises of an invisible crowd moving through an empty lobby as if exiting a show. Also, a young boy was heard crying from within a vent at the front of the auditorium.  Staff would investigate to find the vent dark and empty.  They’d run away when the crying started back up again just after the covering the vent.

Nothing in life can be explained away with such a black and white view.  Energy isn’t the only reason for a haunting.  It’s believed that some spirits are aware.  These ghosts interact with the living, either to scare them away out of anger, or cause mischief out of boredom.  It’s this idea of a conscious spirit that leads to the best horror movies. 

Under the old Insane Asylum are tunnels, and in these two conscious spectral woman wait.  A security guard found them when checking the tunnels for trespassers.  He heard voices from down a dark hall just behind an old wooden door.  Opening the door he revealed the women sitting at a table, dressed in ancient nursing outfits.  One of them looked directly at the guard (showing consciousness to his presence).  She turned to her friend and said, “See, I told you he would find us.” 

Whether residual or conscious, strong or weak, angry or mischievous, make sure when you’re walking through the old buildings of Hamilton during Doors Open this weekend, that you keep your senses open to the energies around you.  Picture our ancestors moving about their days within the same house, how their feet touched the same floor; how it was here that all the stresses and happiness of life came down.  It’s those common experiences which connect us through energy and time.  After a while this open sense may become second nature, and then who knows what you may see.

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Link to Hamilton Mountain News – http://www.hamiltonmountainnews.com/news/article/208814

Haunted Hamilton's Niagara-on-the-Lake Ghost Guides

Haunted Hamilton is pleased to announce our 2010 Ghost Guide Troupe for our Lanternlit Ghost Walks of Niagara-on-the-Lake! They look forward to scaring you soon!

Left to Right: Kristina Stanclik, Jacob Bergsma, Ashley Alan and Claire Rouleau.

By Nick Spring

Investigator/Technical and Photographic Specialist

The difference between a theatre with and without an audience is enormous. There is a palpable, critical energy created by the presence of the audience. – Andy Goldsworthy

You need three things in the theatre – the play, the actors and the audience, and each must give something. – Kenneth Haigh

Theatres are one of those spaces that seem to be notorious for ghosts and hauntings. The most popular reason for this is due to the amount of raw energy that is expelled into the environment from both performers and audience members alike.

An actor will pour their whole being into the believable portrayal of a character full of life and emotion. A musician will focus all their energy on having their story or tale erupt from themselves or their instruments in the way it will most impact the crowd. In return, the audience will clap, cheer, shout, cry and jump up and down to show their support of the abilities of these talented individuals.

Having worked in theatre for eleven years, I have a first hand understanding of how these things will permeate and charge the air with energy and emotion. It will seep into the people and ooze from the walls for many hours that follow. After many years of this, you can walk into an older empty theatre and still feel it resonating in the structure. It’s this feeling that makes the grand old theatres even grander.

With the unique nature of these buildings, they end up having very special structural designs and histories that often warrant the desire to photography them in hopes of preserving their legacies for years to come. On occasion, this ends up in having spectral anomalies present themselves, much to the surprise of the person taking the photo.

However, there are also a number of photos that seem spectral, but have legitimate non paranormal explanations. Theatre is meant to suspend reality for the audience. This is achieved with various techniques from scenic painting to light and sound effects to illusion tricks to fool the eye.

Atmospheric Effects

One of the most common items that can disrupt a photograph taken in a theatre is the use of Atmospheric Effects. More commonly known as Fog, Haze, Cracked Oil or Dry Ice Fog, they can all create false images when photographed.

Fog, haze and cracked oil are all used to create a visual thickness in the air that allow the beams of the lighting fixtures to become visible as they travel from the fixture to the stage. This creates a 3d image of something you can only see if it’s projected onto an object.

For example: A local rock band is playing at a favoured venue. The stage is lit, the band is playing their most popular song with the stage lights flashing away and changing colours. It’s a good time, but the changing colours don’t do a whole lot.

Now, using the same scenario, we add a ‘haze’ to the air. Now you can see where each beam comes from and which ones are changing to what colour. On top of that, you can now see the 5 fingers of light that radiate skyward from behind the drummer during his solo to emphasize that he is now the center of attention. Instead of the laser effects that seemed to be a bunch of annoying little green points of light moving on the wall, now move around above the audience and create a ceiling of light that moves and pulsates overhead. It helps to give depth to a flat scene. It helps create the emotion and importance to parts of the activity on the stage resulting in a more complete experience.

Now for the downer. Using these techniques to capture the light for the show also captures the flash of the camera on the particles in the air and causing either false orbs or ‘mists’ in the image. Taking video of these doesn’t help either as even though they can be moving in unusual manners, they are all easily affected by air currents cause by ventilation or movement of people or objects in the venue. In some instances, the air currents will change from visit to visit based on movement of drapes, scenery and other equipment. This can also explain cold spots that move around at different times.

Another drawback is that much like with magic tricks, these effects can play havoc on the mind with how the body reacts. The term “mind over matter” is appropriate in this situation. Often times someone will walk outside on a foggy day and will get a heavy feeling as soon as they see the fog. I’ve actually run across people who were fine on a dark stage, but as soon as the lights came up and they saw the fog/haze, they would start to cough.

When the local dance schools would come through a theatre I worked in, I would have complaints from parents over the haze that was used. The one that still sticks in my mind was the parent who was upset over the haze as their daughter was asthmatic. Yet when it came time, the young girl was doing her thing with no regard for the haze and no ill effects from the ‘Asthma.’ Apparently she hadn’t been told that she should react to it.

To make a long story short, not only are these air effects tested thoroughly and made to meet FDA guidelines in order to be pumped into the air around humans, they are also something to be aware of when taking and analyzing photographs for paranormal phenomenon.

Scenic elements, manipulation of light and auditory trickery

Over the many decades that people have performed on stage, all sorts of techniques have been developed and refined to help make the audience put reality aside while watching a performance through the use of scenery, light and sound. Unfortunately for people investigating these spaces, they can cause false anomalies to appear in the data.

Sound

In terms of sound, live performance venues can have some very unusual quirks. These spaces are meant to best utilize the acoustics for the enjoyment of the audience. This can result in voices coming from weird angles, clear one moment and muffled the next, or voices that seem to come from nowhere. A number of different factors can cause auditory anomalies. How many people are in a space? What is the relative humidity in the air? What about various structures like balconies, orchestra pits and acoustic tunnels? Are the seats in the auditorium up or down? Someone sitting under a balcony may suddenly hear a voice from an empty stage and not realize that there is someone above them on the balcony speaking due to acoustic bounce. There may also seem to be a space in the auditorium that seems to have a dampening effect when the seats around it are left down. When the lights are on for a long time, a lot of heat is generated in the upper areas of the building, as the area cools in the dark, you can get noises of the metal and other materials contracting. These are all things to note and look into as you investigate.

Light

With the various productions out there, the lighting capabilities of a space are vary important. Without the proper light, the audience may miss an important moment or emotion that the director meant to show and as a result changes the performance. However, just as much as something can be missed, others can be highlighted.  An effect that I’ve always enjoyed is using light and scenic tricks. There is a material that is used called a scrim. It creates an opaque surface when lit from the front, however, if you shine a light on a person or object behind it, it will become visible, and sometimes ghostly. Should you catch a glimpse of someone behind an effect like this under house work lights or normal investigation conditions as you investigate, you may be fooled by a false anomaly. Other scenic elements may also cause unusual reflections or shapes/shadows to be cast if light from certain angles.

On a different note, if you are taking photographs of areas around a stage, there are two prominent situations to watch for. First are reflections off of equipment. For example, the lighting fixtures all have glass lenses and reflectors in them. If you take a photo facing the opening of a fixture, you may get a refraction of light. Second is a condition that is called ghosting. This is a technical term used when a lighting fixture, when turned off, still seems to emit light from the bulb. This is due to the power source, or dimmer, for the light being slightly out of calibration. Unlike a normal light at home that is either on or off, the lights in a theatre are often required to perform at varying intensities to change the mood of the scenes.

Scenic Elements

In theatre, materials are often dressed up to look like something they aren’t. Cloth is painted to look like brick, wood is painted to look like steel and flat objects are painted to look three-dimensional. Nothing is what it seems. In different lighting conditions, these elements can take on even more unusual appearances. Complex paint jobs or other detail based scenarios can help lead to your eyes and mind making up images that aren’t there, also known as matrixing. A cloth back drop painted to look like a forest may show what looks like a shadow figure. Add in a small breeze from the ventilation system and now it’s a moving shadow figure.

Theatres are wonderful places to investigate. It may seem daunting with all the possibilities for trickery, but don’t worry. For all the possible problems, there are a number of phenomenon in these buildings that still remains unexplainable and worthy of sharing. These stories are around for a reason and have stood up. If nothing else, you may be able to say you’ve walked in some very special and unique foot prints.

As Always,

Happy Hunting and Break a leg!

Nick Spring

Nick Spring is an active investigator and technical/photographic specialist with the Haunted Hamilton Investigations Team.

Comments and/or questions can be directed to nick@hauntedhamilton.com

I know, I know… for those of you who are aware of my opinions, this blog is going to come as a bit of a surprise.  However, rest assured my views on the subject of Paranormal TV show fakery hasn’t changed.  I’m opposed and will continue to speak out against the blatant counterfeits presented as real. 

We are aware of techniques used by shows to sell ratings.  These include getting producers to make noise in the distance to scare unsuspecting investigators.  The talent isn’t told so that the reaction is real fear.  Also the low-budget FX used for moving chairs, doors and sliding picture frames.  I’m sure this only scratches the surface.

That, from a very high stance, covers the bad.  What about the good?  

Entertaining paranormal shows point people to world of ghosts.  The items presented on here are extreme representations of the truth.  The main reason for this angle is because of the impossibility for any TV show to get so many results while taping for only four hours.   Experienced investigators know if could take days, even weeks, for anything real to occur.

It could be argued that this representation of the paranormal is the popular reason so many people are interested; why a website on ghosts is as common as ghost stories.  These shows create an excitement which brings in more thinking minds.  It’s not a stretch to say one of these people could break things wide open and come up with an innovative technique or even prove the existence of ghosts.

I agree that these shows should be clear on what’s dramatized and what’s real, but I disagree that we the experienced should be attacking the celebrities.  Many of the good ones (including Ryan Buell… who said that) started from the same place we did.    

Then when the explosion occurred (and A&E stopped being arts), the producers scooped down and picked up those who looked and talked the best among us.  They know what entertains an audience and we know how to find ghosts… it’s this difference that brings us together.   

The field of paranormal investigation is still very young.  You could argue historical accounts of the Victorian style since the invention of the camera, but is that really investigation?  With new technology comes new ways to open up the unknown, make it more known… and it’s in-fighting and the want of limiting people because of completion that’s not needed.

We’ve made no secret of our dislike of the new HST coming into the reality of all Canadians after July 1st, 2010.  We’ve commented on it on our radio show and to anybody who would listen.  This new idea from our backwards thinking government representatives affects us all… in a negative way. 

It’s very bold to see the campaign the CRA has gone on now that we’re getting closer to the date.  Emails, articles, flyer and broadcasts as talking about how great the HST will be… how the new tax breaks with save you all this money… how businesses will keep more.  Now I can’t claim to an expert on the subject.  I’ve read as much as I could, and for what I did see, it’s hard to believe many of the claims that attempt to make HST seem like a good idea.

After HST was first announced, everything was to be taxed (including books and groceries).  Then an uprise occured and things started being added to the list… almost like somebody was caught with their pants down. 

The truth is that many of the once tax exempted items are now going to be fully taxed.  For folks just trying to get by pay cheque to pay cheque, the feeling of being trapped is only going to get stronger.  On the extreme side are big purchase items such as cars and houses.  Did you know that for houses, if you’re rich enough to get one worth over $400,000, then you’re still exempt from PST!  What about those of us who aren’t in that tax bracket?

…and now for the main reason I’m typing this… how will this new HST hurt the Canadian actor and actress?

We are side-by-side with the struggling actors/actresses of Hamilton and Ontario.  This isn’t the only reason why I respect any business that gives back to the acting community, but also for the idea that entertainment is a big part of our lives.  A great play, show or movie is an escape from the pressures of life, one that allows us to release some of that stress.  So why do some feel the need to make it so difficult for great performers to make a living.  The term “struggling” isn’t used for fun… it’s damn hard to make any money in this profession! 

Governments before Harper actually cared when they came up with a tax break to help theatre companies pay more.  A PST break was given if you were hiring Canadian performers for your shows.

And now, with many other positive endeavors of previous governments, the theatre break is now dead with the invent of HST…

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From the Hamilton Spectator – “HST will hurt theatre companies” by Gabe Macaluso

“The supply of Admission to a place of amusement, seminars, an event or an activity would be deemed to be a supply of service for the purpose of HST.”

– Bill G 162, June 5, 2009

Effective July 1, 2010, performing arts theatres such as Hamilton Place and Theatre Aquarius and community arenas located in Ontario will no longer be exempt from the 10 per cent entertainment tax.

Effective July 1, all tickets sold for entertainment at these facilities will include GST (5 per cent) + PST (8 per cent) = 13 per cent HST.

Organizations such as Opera Hamilton, HPO, Geritol Follies, Pearl Company, Hamilton Theatre Inc., Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble, etc. will be negatively affected as they will be forced to increase their ticket price by 8 per cent for tax purposes.

This will impede them from increasing ticket prices due to increased production costs, etc. The public won’t accept these combined increases.

Those of us who have purchased tickets to sporting events such as Tiger-Cat and Bulldogs games and concerts at large facilities such as Copps Coliseum and Ivor Wynne, will receive a break of 2 per cent on the entertainment tax we have paid in the past.

What was GST (5 per cent) + entertainment tax (10 per cent) = 15 per cent will, effective July 1, be reduced to the 13 per cent HST.

In view of all that, I would strongly suggest the following:

1) For those purchasing tickets to events scheduled to play after July 1 at Hamilton Place, Theatre Aquarius and the like, buy them now and save 8 per cent on a ticket. Hamilton Place and others such as Opera Hamilton and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra should sell post-July 1 events now and inform the public of 8 per cent savings on their tickets.

2) For those purchasing season’s tickets for the Ticats or Bulldogs, ask to have your credit card processed after July 1 and save 2 per cent on the ticket price.

The reason I am interested in this is because many moons ago I and a number of theatre managers across Ontario appeared before the minister of revenue pleading our case that lifting the tax exemption would do irreparable damage to the performing arts, especially those of us with resident tenants such as opera companies and orchestras. We won the day and the exemption remained.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe many in the arts community know what’s coming. If they did, they would be up in arms as they were when the Ontario government was planning to lift the exemption.

Gabe Macaluso was managing director and CEO of Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities Inc.

http://www.thespec.com/article/736645

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We still hold on to a little bit of hope that the Harper government will back off on such a drastic change to our country.  A change dreamed up when financial times were tough, and even though our markets have rebounded, still the governement spoon feeds us on the idea that HST is the only way to fix things.  What I’m not sure of is, what are they trying to fix?

By Nick Spring

HH Investigator/ Technical & Photography specialist

Sun. Jan. 31^st, 2010

 As I usually do on Sunday, I was sitting at a local diner I frequent doing some research and reading when I came across a story in “Seeking Spirits: The lost cases of The Atlantic Paranormal Society.”  A story that made me stop and think about the path I am currently taking and one which many others are now on and many more mock, ridicule or outright deny.

I know that Jason and Grant take a lot of flak from their involvement in a TV show, but they obviously made a name for themselves in order to get to the point of being on TV. This is why I still watch the shows, read the books and have a high degree of respect for them and their organization. Reading about some of the early cases that were never on TV has given an insight into why the search for the paranormal is much more important than just finding the reason for ghosts, spirits, ESP and the like. It’s also about understanding and helping those who don’t. It’s about helping those who feel they have nowhere else to turn due to fear of persecution.

As is with anything popular, you get groups of people who flock to an activity because it’s the “in” thing to be doing. We are currently in a time where paranormal investigating is getting an influx of this due to production companies and TV networks jumping on the bandwagon after seeing successful implementation of “ghost hunting” shows on rival networks. As a result, we are seeing paranormal groups popping up like wildfire all over North America. Don’t get me wrong, this coverage and interest is great! However, the problem that we now encounter is in how each of these groups run and why they were formed.

By this I mean are the members out for kicks? Are they out to make money? Are they trying to further the field scientifically? What about helping individuals to deal with a taboo subject? Are they just trying to get their fifteen minutes of fame on someone else’s coat tails?

 No matter what the reason, it’s for the group and the individuals in them to look at and decide what’s important. In the end, it’s them who will have to look in the mirror and deal with not only how others view them, but how they view themselves.

With that in mind, here is a recount of the story that caused me to write this.

 In 2001, TAPS was contacted by a woman Ontario, Canada suffering from physical attacks from an unseen assailant in her home. As a result of the severity of the attacks, she was extremely distraught about entering her bathroom, the site of the attacks.

 As TAPS was not always the popular group as it is now, their finances did not allow for an immediate trip up to Canada. Instead, they attempted to contact a couple of groups in the area multiple times in hopes of finding help for the woman.  They did not receive any response to their inquiries. They informed her that they had been unable to contact anyone but would continue trying and asked that she remain in contact with them. After a couple more weeks of contact, they stopped hearing from her. The assumption was that she had found the assistance she needed.

 About a month later, Jason heard from a woman who identified herself as the first woman’s sister. She demanded to know why she had contacted TAPS in an effort to retrace her sister’s last steps. She informed Jason that they had found her dead after she apparently hit her head on the porcelain sink and fell into the tub eight feet away, and drowned.

 To make it worse, the conversation was closed with “It would have been nice if you had actually helped her.” Then she hung up on him.

 This case was one of the reasons the TAPS family network was created.

 (Source: Seeking Spirits: The lost cases of The Atlantic Paranormal Society Jason Hawes & Grant Wilson 2009)

 This story struck a chord with me. I’ve been attempting a couple of online projects to try and get some new perspectives on old theories and ideas. I saw them both pick up for a short period of time and then die out. I found this very disappointing. I had purposely contacted people who are active in investigating for the first group and anyone who was interested for the other, so we could get the best and broadest perspective possible.

My hopes had been twofold; to find ways to advance thinking in areas that seem to be a little stagnant and to get investigators from different areas and back rounds working together for a common set of goals.

 -         Help those in need

 -         Open much needed communication between groups and other investigators

-         Keep ideas fresh and evolving as wells as come up with new theories and explanations.

-         Promote networking and respect within the community for all ideas and viewpoints

-         Promote honest and legitimate procedures and behavior in the field to assist in promoting a positive image.

Of course I do realize that not all teams are equipped as well as TAPS and not all areas have groups that can serve them. However, with communication and co-operation, there is no reason that anyone should have to fear being alone when the paranormal has them doubting their beliefs, senses or sanity. We are all out for a common goal: To prove or disprove, with evidence and certainty, the existence of Ghosts, spirits, entities, poltergeist and anything else that goes bump in the night.

Fame, recognition and money are great, but what about the feeling of helping someone who has been left in the cold due to the feeling of being alone in trying to deal with something they can’t understand? I, like anyone, get a rush out of evidence and personal experience when I’m on an investigation. However, I can’t even begin to describe the feeling I get when someone gives a genuine “Thank you” after explaining to them, validating their experiences or showing them they have nothing to worry about or fear with the phenomenon they are experiencing.

 I realize that there will be debates, rivalries and disagreements, but there is absolutely no reason why we can make them productive. I know nothing may come of any part of what I’ve stated here. However, if I can even stir constructive thinking in a few individuals, then it’s not a waste.

 We will all benefit from this.

Happy Hunting.

 Nick Spring

Nick Spring is an active investigator and photographer with the Haunted Hamilton Investigations Team.

Comments and/or questions can be directed to nick@hauntedhamilton.com

Posted By MONIQUE BEECH , STANDARD STAFF

February 27, 2010

The weathered building in the city’s core houses Pete’s Pizza and a 40-year-old mystery.

For about 10 days in February 1970, a series of strange occurrences is said to have plagued 237 Church St, Apt. 1. Pictures flying off walls. Bookcases crashing to the floor without cause. A police officer sitting in a chair that was picked up six inches off the floor.

The kind of spooky stuff made for movies.

The root cause of this otherworldly chaos?

Legend has it, an 11-year-old boy, Peter, who remains anonymous to this day, was taken over by a poltergeist.

At the time, the paranormal tale made headlines in The Standard, across Canada and the United States. Even former Tonight Show host Johnny Carson mentioned it in his monologue back then.

Decades later, the story of a ghostly presence wreaking havoc in the modest downtown apartment has endured.

“I think it’s been unshaken, as far as the evidence goes,” said Michael Clarkson, a former Standard reporter who wrote a 2006 book called Poltergeists: Examining Mysteries of the Paranormal.

“I’m not a devotee of the paranormal, but I can’t think of a case that still stands up after 40 years. The witnesses … no one’s come forward to say it’s a hoax.”

***

Forty years later, retired police officer Richard Colledge is still a believer.

Now 70 years old, Colledge was one of a handful of officers from the former St. Catharines Police Department to visit the Church Street apartment.

He remembers going into the unit after reports of things moving around on their own. He was 30 at the time. A constable with five years experience who had spent six years before that with the Canadian Armed Forces.

And he was skeptical — until it happened.

Colledge said he was standing in the kitchen in front of the sink when a picture came flying off the wall in the adjoining bedroom.

“All I know for sure is when it came off the wall it didn’t fall down on the single bed that was underneath it. It came out and landed on the floor, and I watched it,” Colledge said with a laugh.

“I thought it was violating the laws of psychics and gravity,” he said.

He didn’t stay much longer after that.

Colledge wasn’t the only police officer to witness strange goings on at the second-storey apartment.

Several police notes written by his colleagues at the time chronicled the events.

Const. Bill Weir wrote about witnessing “phenomenal occurrences” during a visit to the residence on Feb. 10, 1970. He was there with his buddy Const. Bob Crawford.

He called in the city building inspector to see if the odd movements could be explained by structural problems. No luck.

“My only solution to these occurrences is that the boy Peter, whom all the occurrences surround, has been inhabited by a spirit of a ‘POLTERGEIST,’” Weir wrote in his investigation report.

“This is the spirit which inhabits the body of a young child about to enter the phase of puberty and has been described as a mischievous spirit that does not generally seriously harm anyone…. Briefly, this boy can’t sit on a chair without being thrown off and items are hitting him for no apparent reason. I the writer (Weir) witnessed the boy being thrown on at last a dozen occasions …”

Two days later, Const. Robert Richardson reported visiting the residence with four other officers and a raft of tape recording and movie cameras.

He joined a circle of people in the living room that day. The paranormal-plagued boy, his eight-year-old younger brother, the boy’s parents, two doctors, a local priest and the family lawyer.

Then, the unimaginable.

“At this time, the chair that (name blacked out) was sitting on lifted abruptly about six inches off the floor, and then slammed down again…. On examining the chair, there was no explanation for this happening,” he wrote.

Doug Croft was just seven years old when his police officer father, Lebert, told him about his experiences at the Church Street residence.

Croft grew up in east St. Catharines, just a few blocks from the cursed apartment.

At the time, most of the guys tried not to broadcast their chance encounter with the dark side.

They were worried people would think they were crazy, he said. And they were frightened of what lurked behind the felled bookcases and picture frames.

“They were scared to death,” said Croft, who is a 47-year-old police officer with the Niagara Regional Police.

“At first it was kind of like, ‘Geez I hope I get a call there to see what the hell’s going on. You guys are shooting a line of s—or something.’

“But guys came out of there, they were scared to death. It was something weird.”

Clarkson’s brush with the supernatural started with a simple Halloween spook story.

He wrote about the Church Street poltergeist investigation for The Standard in October 1980.

Soon after he got a call. It was the boy, then 21 years old.

He was plagued. Not by ghosts, but by family problems. His family was upset that Clarkson had drudged up the past with his story. The memories were painful. During the media storm of 1970, the family was forced to leave town for a few weeks. Embarrassed by the events, the family didn’t want to relive the past. Clarkson had opened old wounds.

The poltergeist-riddled-boyturned-young-man called Clarkson from a pay phone on Halloween night 1980. He asked if he could come to Clarkson’s Niagara Falls home.

Before long, they were face to face in Clarkson’s office.

He was not what the young journalist expected.

“I thought there would be something strikingly different about him,” said Clarkson, a Toronto freelance journalist who has also worked at the Calgary Herald and the Toronto Star.

“When he came to my house it seemed to me, initially anyway, that he was like the boy next door. Very clean cut, well dressed, very well spoken, quite sure of himself.”

The young man didn’t discuss what happened to him that February in 1970. He was there to protect his privacy, his future in St. Catharines.

“He was worried about what other people in the community, a very conservative community like St. Catharines, might think about him, especially when he’s dealing with young people.”

Over the years, Clarkson saw him a few times. Walking downtown, hand in hand, with a girl. In the pages of The Standard. On a golf course.

Clarkson said the boy has gone on to become an upstanding man in the community. He works with youth.

For all these years, Clarkson, who worked as a daily newspaper reporter for 38 years, has kept the man’s secret.

But decades later, Clarkson, who highlights the St. Catharines case in his Poltergeist book, can’t shake the eerie legacy of that downtown Church Street apartment. His skepticism enduring, Clarkson calls the Garden City poltergeist case one of the best examples of a true ghostly encounter.

“Nobody has been able to shake the facts of the case,” Clarkson said. “In this day and age when so many things have been revealed as hoaxes, this stands up as a real mystery.”

mbeech@stcatharinesstandard.ca

So with the full moon glowing in the sky, i sit here fiddling away at the computer, tweaking and customizing this blog to be a little more like the HH-style you’ve come to know and love!

This is my first post ever to our BLOG so I hope it turns out ok.

I can’t wait to help keep this page updated with all the latest goings-on with Haunted Hamilton. So please check back here often!

In the meantime, here’s a spooky song to get you in the ghostly mood! Enjoy!

♦ Aria from Salem’s Lot ♦

~ Stephanie

The New Do!