Victoria's Most Haunted

by Ian Gibbs

  To my wife, Margaret,

  in eternal gratitude for patiently

  supporting my love of all things ghostly

  The boundaries which divide life from death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?

  EDGAR ALLAN POE “The Premature Burial,” first published in

  The Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper, 1844

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  FOREWORD

  INTRODUCTION

  JAMES BAY

  DEADMAN’S POINT—THE LAUREL POINT INN

  THE BENT MAST

  HELMCKEN HOUSE

  DOWNTOWN

  THE EMPRESS

  THE BEDFORD REGENCY HOTEL—THE CHURCHILL & GARRICK’S HEAD PUB

  THE BARD & BANKER

  ROGERS’ CHOCOLATES

  OLD MORRIS TOBACCONISTS

  MUNRO’S BOOKS

  MURCHIE’S TEA & COFFEE

  THE GUILD

  THE KEG

  FAN TAN ALLEY

  THE CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL PRECINCT

  PIONEER SQUARE, OR THE OLD BURYING GROUNDS

  CATHEDRAL HALL/CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL SCHOOL

  THE DEANERY

  BISHOP’S CHAPEL/DIOCESAN OFFICE

  OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN

  THE DELTA OCEAN POINTE RESORT

  POINT ELLICE BRIDGE

  ST. ANN’S ACADEMY—NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

  HOME ON FORT STREET

  THE YOUNG BUILDING—CAMOSUN COLLEGE

  ROSS BAY CEMETERY

  OUTSIDE OF TOWN

  HOTEL ON LOCHSIDE DRIVE

  THE WILKINSON JAIL

  HOME ON ELK LAKE DRIVE

  VICTORIA–AREA LAKE HOUSE

  HATLEY CASTLE

  FORT RODD HILL AND FISGARD LIGHTHOUSE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITES

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  FOREWORD

  VICTORIA IS THE MOST haunted city in the Pacific Northwest and local residents aren’t shy about letting everyone know it. In North America, half the population believes in ghosts; the other half don’t—or at least they don’t want to admit they do. In Victoria, however, the proportion of believers is well above fifty percent. Those of us who actively collect and tell ghost stories soon discover that wherever we go people single us out to recount their personal encounters with ghosts, or to express a real curiosity about the spirit world. Fully twenty percent of Canadians have had a documented experience with a ghost, but it seems in Victoria there’s a higher percentage.

  For many years, the people who promoted Victoria as a tourist destination compared the city to “a little bit of Old England.” What did they mean by this? Granted, the scenery around Victoria is reminiscent of the rolling English countryside, complete with gnarled oak trees; we have many narrow winding lanes flanked by stone walls; we have stately old homes and castles, many with an Old World look; afternoon tea is a popular pastime; and even today you’ll find a lot of people walking Victoria’s streets in tweed caps and jackets. But what I think they were getting at is that our city is also well known for its haunted places—just like Old Blighty. You can’t travel far in England before yet another haunted castle, pub, hotel, or church beckons you to visit. Ian Gibbs was born in England, so perhaps his interest in ghosts comes naturally. He certainly has captured this aspect of Victoria with his stories about Hatley Castle, the Bent Mast, Bard & Banker, the Empress Hotel, Bedford Regency Hotel, Christ Church Cathedral, and many other places that would make any British ghost hunter feel right at home. Not surprisingly, haunted tourism is a niche that is growing quickly in our city.

  Katherine and John Maltwood moved to Victoria from England in the 1930s. I suspect they were drawn here by some of that “Englishness” I have described. But Katherine was also looking for something else—something not immediately apparent, except to someone like herself who was versed in the arcane lore of astrology, Druids, and ley lines. The Maltwoods had lived near Glastonbury, one of England’s most supernatural places, famous as the final resting place of King Arthur, as the repository for the Holy Grail, and for the venerable thorn tree reputedly descended from a piece of the True Cross brought to England by Joseph of Arimathea. Mrs. Maltwood developed a theory that Glastonbury was at the centre of a giant zodiac radiating across the countryside, with Glastonbury Tor at the centre. All of this was part of the wider study being made at the time by other researchers about ley lines (lines of strong energy under the earth’s surface) and places of earth magic. When the Maltwoods moved to Victoria they purchased a half-timbered house at Royal Oak reminiscent of a Cotswold cottage. Their selection of that site was not a random act: it just happens to be on one of the major ley lines running through Victoria. There Mrs. Maltwood planted a slip from the Glastonbury Thorn. She never really left this perfect place, and her ghost is a fixture at the restaurant that now occupies her former home.

  Ley lines are associated with haunted activity, so it is not a coincidence that several of the stories in this volume are directly connected to the ley line Mrs. Maltwood found. A casual observer might think the sites are unrelated, but nothing could be further from the truth. Only a few blocks away from the Maltwood’s former home is Elk Lake Drive, a setting for one of Ian’s stories. If you follow the ley line in a southwesterly direction from there it will take you right past the Wilkinson Road Jail, another building featured in the book. The end of this ley line just happens to be at Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse, whose ghostly stories Ian has also brilliantly documented.

  Many years after Katherine Maltwood’s death, Ian Gibbs had occasion to work in the diocese office of Christ Church Cathedral. He devotes an entire chapter to the precinct around the cathedral and his own experiences there. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that the office stands on the site of the former bishop’s palace that previously was the home of the prominent Powell family. Dr. I. W. Powell’s ancestors lived at Nanteos in Wales and were said to be keepers of the Holy Grail that had been smuggled out of Glastonbury by monks fleeing in advance of King Henry VIII’s men. On the grounds of Christ Church Cathedral another Glastonbury Thorn has been planted. Next door to the cathedral is Pioneer Square, the old cemetery from 1855, where our Ghostly Walks guides have spent many hours telling stories about Adelaide Griffin and Robert Johnson; Griffin and Johnson have inspired two of my favourite tales, which I’m pleased Ian has included in his volume.

  Is it happenstance there is so much ghostly activity in this one small area around the cathedral? Not at all! The answer is simple: the cathedral precinct is situated right on another ley line. As a result, the site was destined to be one of extremely strong energy. Ultimately it was the place where Ian had the first of his many encounters with spirits in Victoria.

  Many threads are interwoven into Victoria’s ghostly lore that Ian Gibbs so successfully incorporates in his book. It’s no shock that he sensed the energy in the former bishop’s chapel for reasons he explains in his story. It is equally unsurprising that Ian and other paranormal investigators have found many other strong links between Victoria’s history and ancient connections to the paranormal realm. Victoria’s Most Haunted reveals a fascinating glimpse of Victoria’s spirit world and is an invaluable resource for those intrigued by this profoundly haunted city.

  JOHN ADAMS

  Ghostly Walks Tours, Victoria BC

  February 2017

  INTRODUCTION

  VICTORIA IS HARDLY unique in that it is haunted. But there are several things that make the nature of Victoria’s ghosts and hauntings unique. Before we get into that, though, we need to come to some type of understanding about what is a ghost. One of my careers is as a guide for Ghostly Walks in Victoria, and we ask this question at the start of some of our tours. Th
e answers we get back will vary. Some will say spirit, soul, energy, Chi; others will even say nonsense. Regardless of the answers we receive, we know that human beings are run by electrical energy. It causes our hearts to beat, our brains to function, and our muscles to move. When we die, that energy goes somewhere—but where seems to be the great question. It’s where our religions, belief systems, and contemplations diverge. For our purposes, we will consider the definition of ghost to be “energy left behind.”

  There are a number of reasons why Victoria has such a concentration of these energies. The first reason is geographic. Victoria was built on a type of bedrock called basalt, which is believed to hold onto energy longer than other types of bedrock. Water and salt are believed to both attract and trap energy. Being an island in the Pacific Ocean, our city has plenty of salt and plenty of water. Some also credit our high levels of ghostly energy to the existence of “ley lines” beneath the earth’s surface. These lines are believed to be very powerful, especially when they intersect. Victoria has an uncanny number of intersecting ley lines all over the inner harbour/downtown area.

  Another reason is history. Victoria is one of the oldest cities in Western Canada. Established through the fur trade, gold rushes, and the pursuit of British Columbia’s abundant natural resources, it has a long colonial history. This often led to violent encounters, accidents, and murders. But under the colonial façade, Victoria also has incredibly rich First Nations culture. It is believed that the Lekwungen people have inhabited the Victoria area for over 8,000 years and their ghosts remain, even though traces of their original settlements have all but disappeared. The Lekwungen people did not bury their dead in the same way the Europeans did. They practised sky burial, which involved placing their dead in baskets or boxes and setting them high up in trees in a sacred grove. They also believed that their dead remained among the living, still involved in day-to-day life. This certainly left its imprint on the spiritual environment of this city. Victoria is also home to one of Canada’s oldest Chinatowns—its colourful history has contributed significantly to the ghostly tales in this city. Combine all of these elements and you can see exactly why Victoria is one of Canada’s and, perhaps, North America’s most haunted cities.

  WHILE YOU’LL GET to know some of the history behind Victoria’s most haunted in these pages, you’ll also experience these stories from the point of view of someone who was involved and in touch with the hauntings. I have what I like to refer to as a “spidey sense” when it comes to spirits or ghosts. I’ve always been able to pick up on things going on in a place spiritually. When I was a kid I was told I was wrong. People accused me of making it up. I know this wasn’t said to be cruel; those people were just not in tune with or aware of what was going on. But as I’ve aged, and since I’ve become more comfortable with my capacity to sense spirits, my abilities have increased. I’ve found they become more reliable the more I trust them. If I’m somewhere safe, those abilities are easily accessible and I can connect with the spirits around me. To be clear, however, I am not the guy to call if you are having a problem with something in your home. I may be able to sense it, and even figure out why it is acting the way it is, but my abilities are limited to helping the living get along with the dead. There are plenty of other people who can help you out; check out my website (www.ghoststoryguy.com) for a list. Even though I may not be able to solve your haunted problem, I love to hear ghost stories. If you have any to share, my contact information is included at the end of the book, or simply head to the website.

  Throughout the book I have changed people’s names. Anyone who asked for their name to be withheld has been given a pseudonym. Where the story involves private residences, the details have been kept deliberately vague to protect the privacy of the people involved. On that note, I’d like to add that the stories and experiences shared in this book are based on the author’s collection of sources, including individuals whose experiences have led them to believe they have encountered phenomena of some kind or another. The stories are meant to entertain, and neither the publisher nor the author claim that these stories represent fact. Additionally, it is not the author’s intention to influence anyone’s beliefs; instead, the author’s wish is that these stories will inspire, thrill, delight, and comfort.

  JAMES BAY

  DEADMAN’S POINT—THE INN AT LAUREL POINT

  BEFORE 1855, Deadman’s Point—or what we now know as Laurel Point—was a sacred space for the Lekwungen, the First Nations people who first inhabited the area. They kept this place as a village of the dead and practised sky burial among the tall trees that covered the point. Sky burials involved laying out their dead in nature, allowing the elements to clean the flesh from the bones, and then carefully and respectfully gathering the bones and placing them in baskets and boxes, which they then put high up in the special and revered trees. Their village was across the harbour at Songhees Point, but this village of the dead was sacred. The First Nations believe that the dead never truly leave; they stay with us and remain a part of village life. However, they need to be respected and kept in their own place so they cannot interfere with the lives of the living. Certain days were set aside to go to the place of sky burial and perform ceremonies to honour and respect the ancestors.

  In 1885, Jacob Sehl, who had arrived in BC from Germany in 1858, decided the point was the perfect spot for a furniture factory. To build his factory, Jacob first needed to clear all of the trees. He hired a team, and as the trees came down, the men noticed the boxes and baskets of bones tumbling from the trees to the ground. They thought it was strange, but kept clearing.

  The First Nations people took notice of this. In fact, they were so distraught when they saw what Jacob’s men were doing that the chief of the Lekwungen sent a runner over to the point to find out what was going on. The runner quickly realized that these men were not doing this to bring upon themselves some kind of profound curse, but rather their actions were the result of genuine ignorance to the fact that they were destroying a burial ground. When the runner returned to the village and explained this to the chief, he immediately sent the women and children inland, far away from the point. He knew something bad was going to happen: you cannot disturb the bones and resting places of the ancestors without consequence.

  After the trees were cut down, the boxes and baskets of bones that had fallen were thrown into a giant pile and unceremoniously set on fire. When the fire died down, anything that hadn’t burned was shovelled into the ocean. No thought was given to the people they had disturbed or the souls they might have angered.

  Mr. Sehl then built his furniture factory. It ran very well, until a rather unfortunate evening in January 1894. Jacob and his wife, Elizabeth, had retired for the evening when they saw wisps of smoke coming up through the heating vent. In no time at all, their house was engulfed in flames. Strangely, the factory, which was over a kilometre away, began burning at the same time.

  Jacob and Elizabeth ran from their burning home. As they ran, Elizabeth noticed there seemed to be figures leaping and dancing in the flames. She called them “fire men,” and claimed they were running their hands down the drapes and along the walls to make the fire burn faster. Jacob and Elizabeth barely escaped with their lives. Elizabeth never got over the horror of losing her house and almost losing her life at the hands of the dancing “fire men.” In fact, she ended up losing her mind; within six months of the fire, forty-seven-year-old Elizabeth Sehl died.

  Jacob, having lost everything, tried to restart his factory and bring on partners, but he was not able to do so. His business never recovered and the factory was never rebuilt.

  The chunk of land, which people had started referring to as Sehl’s Point after the fire, was then bought by Mr. William Pendray, who saw the site as a wonderful place to build a paint factory. He began to build in 1908. William was not concerned with ancient First Nations curses or vengeful ghosts, but he was concerned—understandably—about fire. He installed a fire suppression syste
m that was quite revolutionary for the early 1900s. It mostly consisted of large iron pipes that hung down from the ceiling; if a fire began, the system could be turned on with a large crank that would flood the tubes with water, which would fall from the holes in the pipes and extinguish the fire below. It wasn’t quite what we have come to expect of the fire safety systems we enjoy today, but it was certainly better than nothing.

  William was very proud of his new paint factory. He was walking through it one day, making sure everything was just so and had been done correctly, when he heard one of the large iron pipes coming loose from the ceiling. It fell forty feet, landing directly on William’s head. He was killed instantly. With Willliam Pendray gone, his eldest son, Ernest, was expected to take over the factory.

  Ernest Pendray enjoyed many of the things young men enjoy, including a very fast horse and buggy. Ernest loved riding his horse and buggy around town, going just about as fast as he could go. One day as he approached the factory, his horse suddenly and inexplicably shied and stopped dead in its tracks. Ernest was thrown from the carriage and landed directly in front of his horse. Just as suddenly as the horse had stopped, it started running again, the carriage still attached. It pulled forward and the heavy steel-rimmed carriage wheel ran directly over Ernest’s neck. Unfortunately for Ernest, his head and his body were separated, and Ernest died in the driveway, right in front of the factory.

  Unlike Jacob Sehl’s unfortunate house, the Pendray family home is still standing. It is now known as the Gatsby Mansion and is part of the Huntingdon Manor Hotel, just 250 metres from where the paint factory used to stand. If you happen to work the front desk at the Gatsby Mansion, you will be briefed on the emergency protocol. This protocol has nothing to do with fire or earthquakes, but is instead all about room number five. Room five was the master suite when William Pendray was the owner and occupant of the house; it’s now the honeymoon suite. If you would like to see a ghost, there’s a good chance your wish will be granted if you stay in room five. Many times guests have woken up to see two heads hovering and circling around the bed, watching them. Back to the “emergency” or ghost protocol that you, as a staff member, have been briefed on: it has been put into place for guests who show up at the front desk in the middle of the night in their pyjamas (or less) demanding to be moved into a new room. As per the protocol, the guests are relocated immediately, with smiles and assurances, and given a free breakfast—because, of course, free breakfast solves everything.