“Be hole, be dust, be dream, be wind/Be night, be dark, be wish, be mind,/Now slip, now slide, now move unseen,/Above, beneath, betwixt, between.”
―Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book
In 2009 twenty-two percent of people in America have admitted to encountering ghosts. The number gets higher if you take into account the experiences of young people, but let’s not because we all know they’re all hopped up on stuff and/or are attention-seekers. Let’s just account for the “enlightened” experiences that becoming an adult brings. From the first and second centuries to the modern day age of paranormal reality shows the legend and presence of ghosts has persisted through the ages and will continue to do so until they become comfortable enough to buy the next round of beers.
This book is a collection of true stories told by people that experienced their haunts personally. But, as the author encourages the reader to remember is that this is more than a ghost story; it is a history lesson of ordinary western residences as well as a psychological profile on the souls that decide not to make the transition to the other side. What the reader soon discovers is that “they” all have their reasons for over staying their welcome, what you discover is that is for a whole host of reasons:
- A joking janitor at a theatre locking people in rooms, messing with intercom systems, spying in bathrooms, or critiquing stage performances
- A man maintaining the growth and harvest of his beloved fruit trees
- A group of ghosts following a family from house-to-house needing permission to be set free
- A difficult spirit crosses over from the auditorial to the physical presence if the daily dose of common pleasantries from new residents is not met
- In the gates of hell in Fraser river, even clouds become a ghostly presence
- In a historic building an architect with declining mental health haunts a house he deems unfinished. A sad story as he waits for a significant other to come over but never shows, he still waits to this day sixty years after his death
- A real life Captain Highliner puts a stop to a young man completing his model boat.
There are many persons, places, and things that take on a life of their own in the spirit of the west as they remain truly unsettled.
“I don’t believe that ghosts are “spirits of the dead” because I don’t believe in death. In the multiverse, once you’re possible, you exist. And once you exist, you exist forever one way or another. Besides, death is the absence of life, and the ghosts I’ve met are very much alive. What we call ghosts are lifeforms just as you and I are.” Paul F. Eno, Footsteps in the Attic
One of my big takeaways from the book was the reaffirmation on how in tune animals are with their surroundings and how creepy they can be. This book highlights the importance animals play in the awareness of a spiritual presence or the potential of them becoming ghosts themselves; including a fire hall mascot monkey named Barney and a ghost dog named Rover who is responsible for the drowning deaths of two men at a cities powerhouse. For people with heightened senses, smell may play the most important factor where a certain odour can bring you back to a specific place and time. I know for me personally I have had two experiences where from out of nowhere I had smelled in the air something with little familiarity from my childhood, but you want to know something, I knew that smell. Other than that I have not experienced ghosts or spiritual presences but I am not a non-believer.
The author does a great job of compiling valuable primary and secondary research resources through personal interviews, other publications, and even a night as a guest in one of the haunted houses documented in this book. My favourite chapters were the last two about visitations and miscellaneous haunts. They centered around premonitions which spoke to me more than the other stories. This book was initially not scary, but when I read it before going to bed the house became a little more quiet than usual.
Jilted lovers, vengeance seekers, spirits looking for a rightful burial, conscious apparitions, much to the surprise of many, most ghosts are not found in the graveyard and may even be in your home right now……. BoOoOoOo
“The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always — take any form — drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!” Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights
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