Читать книгу Real Hauntings 5-Book Bundle - Mark Leslie - Страница 46

One of the things that makes the process of putting a book like this together both easier and more pleasurable is being able to share stories with groups that specialize in local hauntings. Walking tour groups allow for an immersive experience, where history and ghostly lore come together through both eyes and ears.

During the research phase for this book, Shayna had the pleasure of going on several of the Haunted Montreal ghost walks in order to get into the proper mood, and for inspiration. As we continued our research, both of us found ourselves returning to the website and blog Haunted Montreal, which were created to share research into ghost sightings, paranormal activities, historic hauntings, and unexplained and strange local legends.

Donovan King, the owner of this company, was not only kind enough to write the foreword to this book, but he also shared with us some of the inspiration and motivation behind wanting to establish such a company in Montreal.

A native of the city, King credits an inspirational high school drama teacher with lighting a fire under him. Then, in 1994, King was unexpectedly bitten by the haunted acting bug when an Oscar award–winning special effects specialist named Robert (Bob) Short was in Montreal to set up a haunted house called Chateau Greystoke.

Donovan King, owner of Haunted Montreal, in character and sharing one of the city’s eerie tales.

Enjoying this role, King realized that this type of haunted acting was a lot of fun. He described it as having more flexibility, improvisation, and interaction than a standard piece of traditional theatre, and the clients experienced much stronger emotions, usually fear. “It opened my eyes,” he says, “to a whole new way of doing theatre!”

In 1995, King moved to London, England, and landed a job at the famous London Dungeon. King worked there for two years, sharpening his skills in the haunted acting genre.

King eventually returned to Canada, spending a few years doing a master’s degree in theatre studies in Calgary. When he arrived back in Montreal, he did some smaller haunted projects, including one called Scare Stories. In 2006, not long after King returned to Montreal, he began working for Fantômes Montréal Ghosts, a company that offers Old Montreal ghost walks led by professional actors. This group, formed in 1999, was the first business to develop the concept of evening street performance theatre, with actors performing as ghosts of the past to convey historic knowledge for the audience. (You can learn more at fantommontreal.com.)

King began roaming the mountain and discovered many more ghost stories, soon realizing that there were enough stories to create a ghost tour of the area. He began researching and constructing a script, with the initial idea of conducting it just once for that year’s Halloween season. Haunted Montreal began unofficially in 2011 with one ghost tour on Mount Royal in English, which was simply called “Haunted Mountain.” When 180 guests showed up, King realized that there was a lot of potential to expand upon.

In 2015, King started the Haunted Montreal blog to begin educating people about Montreal’s vast haunted heritage.

Throughout this growth, King has continued to work with Montreal Ghosts, where he gets to share tales in Old Montreal, as well.

“I am very proud to be able to create quality employment while simultaneously sharing a fascinating part of Montreal’s history with our residents and visitors. I am also happy to be regarded as one of Canada’s leading experts in haunted acting and Montreal ghost stories.”

During the editing of this book, the website Haunted Montreal suspended operation for a short period of time. The authors hope this was merely a temporary setback, as the group offers a special richness.

What is certain is that wherever you are, be it in Montreal or another city with a rich and colourful history, you can experience a little bit of creepy, fun, and historic stories with tours offered by groups like Haunted Montreal, Fantômes Montréal Ghosts, and Secret Montreal. You’ll get some fresh air and perhaps a fresh and eerie new perspective on the city.