Читать книгу Real Hauntings 4-Book Bundle - Mark Leslie - Страница 31

When I was asked to write the foreword of this book, I naturally asked “Why me?” My natural neurosis immediately kicked in. What made me the Creepy Guy? Was it my cologne, or maybe my sense of dress? I thought my trench coat was stylish!

With a laugh, the authors reassured me that they were looking for someone with local knowledge of creepy things.

That I do have.

The city of Greater Sudbury has a long and very interesting history. It would be nearly impossible to grow up here and not have heard a strange and unexplained story of one kind or another.

In the 1950s Sudbury was a hotbed of UFO activity. In 1975, four UFOs were confirmed on radar, and fighter jets were sent to the area from an air force base in Michigan.

Perhaps it was a result of the cold war, an increase in visibility through movies and television shows that made our city more active for these types of occurrences. Or, maybe it’s something else.

Greater Sudbury is a mid-sized Canadian city (pop. 160,000) with an industrial resource base; a bustling community that is the centre of commerce for northeastern Ontario. Nestled in the Canadian Shield, it is surrounded by a natural, rugged beauty that reflects the friendly and self-reliant nature of its inhabitants. It is everything you’d expect from a city of its size — big city amenities with a small-town feel. At least that’s what you’d think.

There’s something more here, though. As one might find with the American Deep South, underneath this placid, genial exterior lurks something almost … sinister.

The Sudbury Region houses unique blends of rugged natural beauty with an underlying energy as deep and dark as the mines the city was built upon.

Greg Roberts

As with any city, there are sudden deaths. Some are violent, others unexpected, and all are tragic. The sense of small-town closeness can begin to feel suffocating as tales of jealous lovers, disappearances, murder, suicide, and accidental death increase in size as people engage in the child’s game of “telephone” and the story is embellished as it passes from ear to ear.

Unfortunately, locals have had more than their share to gossip about. Some years Sudbury has had almost one murder per month, sometimes more — a statistic well above the rate of other cities of comparable size.

The community has also had several high-profile, unsolved homicides, some of which have garnered national attention. And, there have been many strange disappearances.

Some of these people are not the type to run away or to get lost. Stories range from women who’ve vanished from seemingly happy domestic lives, to experienced men who never returned from hunting and fishing trips.

Of course, it’s likely that many of these stories have elements of the aforementioned party game syndrome and that most have some rational explanation.

But, as a final thought, consider this:

I’ve been told by local First Nations elders that the core of what is now the city of Greater Sudbury was traditionally considered to be a place best avoided. In fact, the whole area was believed to have a strong energy to it, but that the center in particular was a dark place.

I was told that this is the reason that no First Nations settlement was ever established at the heart of our city, and that communities were instead erected at its borders. Such was the fear of that dark energy.

These elders told me that there are stories of people who disappeared when traversing the land, and tales of others who went mad after travelling across the area. There are also stories of sudden and uncharacteristic violent acts by people that are attributed to this piece of land.

Strangely, many of these stories mirror modern occurrences with only minor cultural and historical differences. It would seem there is still an energy that runs as dark and deep as the mines the city is built upon.

So, is that creepy enough for you?

Enjoy the book.

Mitch Ross

President ORP.ca

Overlord of ParaNorthern.ca

Spring 2013