Maritime ghosts to haunt popular TV show
Last Updated: Wednesday, February 3, 2010 | 5:26 PM AT
CBC News
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Some of the Maritimes' spookiest haunts will be featured on the upcoming season of a popular paranormal documentary series.
A production team from the Canadian show Ghostly Encounters is in the region this week, scouting out stories and locations in the Saint John and Halifax areas for the upcoming fourth season.
"Every historic city has its fair share of ghosts," said producer Brian Dennis, who has visited Saint John in the past, while on location with other projects.
'The stories we get range from very comforting stories of visits from lost loved ones, through strange poltergeist activity...Really scary stuff.'— Brian Dennis, producer
"Saint John has the architecture, the history, the sea. The sheer number of widow's walks I saw on the tops of buildings walking around, it just felt like eyes were poking out looking at me in the streets at night and in the fog," he said.
"And of course you have the amazing cemetery right downtown. I took incredible photos of ravens sitting on moss-covered gravestones and thought - this is perfect."
Dennis wants people to share their first-hand accounts of supernatural sightings.
"The stories we get range from very comforting stories of visits from lost loved ones, through strange poltergeist activity, conventional things that go bump in the night, to the really freaky - dinner plates flying out of cupboards of kitchens. Really scary stuff," he said.
"If a person had an experience themselves, we're anxious to hear about it."
The show should find ample material to work with in the Saint John area, said Catrina Haun, who used to take groups on ghost walks with her mother.
In Saint John, Francoise Marie Jacquelin, who died in 1645 after leading a valiant defence of Fort La Tour against attack by a rival French lord during her husband's absence, is said to haunt the west side and north end. And in nearby St. Andrews, some supernatural hotspots include The Fairmont Algonquin Hotel, built in the 1880s, and the Charlotte County Courthouse, built in 1840.
"We have lots of pictures of orbs," taken at the courthouse, said Haun. "There's actually a perfect image of a gentleman with an old suit and hat and mustache standing in the window, when there was no one left in the building whatsoever."
Stories can be submitted by emailing submissions@ghostlyencounters.ca, or by calling 1-877-889-5737.
Filming is expected to start in March, with the new season scheduled to air on the VIVA channel, W Network and A&E in September.
About one-third of the half-hour episodes will be based in Saint John, a third in Halifax and the remainder in the Ottawa Valley.
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