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The Stong Homestead

~ Black Creek Pioneer Village ~

Put salt on the doorstep of a new house so that no evil can enter

The Stong Homestead may appear uninhabited, but you would be mistaken. Two spirits linger here, maintaining a connection between dimensions. There is a reason for this state of affairs, but what is it? Perhaps you, the reader, can visit this site and solve the mystery of why these spirits have a foot in two worlds.

Our story begins with Daniel Stong, born in Pennsylvania in 1791. His parents, Sylvester and Barbary, immigrated to Canada in 1800. During the War of 1812, Daniel served with a British regiment.

On January 23, 1816, Daniel married Elizabeth Fisher in the township of Vaughan. They soon settled on Lot 25, Concession 4, in West York. Daniel and Elizabeth constructed a sturdy, squared-log house that consisted of three small rooms and a large stone fireplace. The couple raised seven children in this small dwelling.

The need for a much larger home for his growing family prompted Daniel to begin construction of a two-storey, hand-hewn log home dressed with clapboard siding in 1832. Daniel built it directly behind the original log cabin. The home featured several bedrooms, a separate parlour, and a large, impressive kitchen with a brick fireplace and bake oven. Their eighth and final child was born in the new home.

Eventually Daniel acquired an additional one thousand acres around his existing property.

Tragedy struck the Stong family on September 7, 1845, when their eighteen-year-old son, Michael, was killed in a horrible hunting accident. It was an accidental shot and he subsequently died in the upstairs bedroom of the house. Michael became the first person to be buried in the cemetery on the Stong family farm.

Michael is one of the spirits who comes and goes in the house. The second spirit to be reported in the building is a woman. She has been seen sitting in a chair on the second floor. No one knows who she is. The Stongs did have two daughters, Mary and Catherine.

The image of a woman has reportedly been captured on film, but I was unable to locate it.

Nancy, a Black Creek Pioneer Village employee, has worked here since 1999. Nancy is one of those special individuals who are sensitive to the spirit realm. She can tune in to the frequency connecting the dimensions. Nancy shared some of her experiences with me.

The Stong House.

“During my first year, I heard strange noises. Creaking sounds, as if someone was walking upstairs. When I went to investigate there was no one there. I thought I was alone at the time.

“Then I heard about the unusual death of Michael Stong and the stories about the haunting.”

Nancy began to suspect that the death of Michael and the unusual events in the house were related. Some activity has to do with the narrow piece of wood used as a window stop to keep the window propped open.

“Every once in a while, a window stopper resting on the window sill will fly off and land on the floor. This can happen with the upstairs or downstairs windows. If that happens I yell at Michael like a mother would, ‘Hey Michael settle down.’”

“I have a policy that whenever a new person begins working in the house I never say anything about Michael.”

Nami, another interpreter, recalled her first tour of duty in the Stong homestead.

“It was the fall, about closing time. It was cloudy and dark outside. I saw what I thought was the last person to come down the staircase from upstairs and leave the building. I was about to lock up the house when I suddenly heard footsteps upstairs. I clearly heard the footsteps. I first shouted out ‘it’s closing time’, but never heard a reply. As I climbed the stairs to the second floor I called out. When I reached the second floor I walked around — but there was no one there. I was very scared. I later asked my boss if the house was haunted. My boss just laughed.”

The unpredictable window stop.

Catherine Crow, a historical researcher for special events and a ghost-tour guide who started the walks at Black Creek Pioneer Village at Halloween, believes Michael is a mischievous spirit who haunts his own bedroom on the second floor, and the kitchen on the main floor.

Catherine has spoken to several costumed interpreters who work at the village and had similar paranormal experiences in the Stong homestead. Here is what they had to say.

“One young interpreter reported hearing hollow-sounding footsteps coming from the boys’ bedroom on the second floor when she was downstairs alone in the parlour. There was no one else in the house at the time except for Nancy, another costumed interpreter, who was busy working in the kitchen on the first floor. The young interpreter timidly went upstairs and found that all of the rooms were completely empty. She went back downstairs and told Nancy what she had heard. Nancy went upstairs and noted with surprise that the chain rope in the boys’ bedroom was mysteriously swinging back and forth, on its own.”

Stong House kitchen, where Michael moves items around.

“Nancy said, ‘Michael, please stop that,’ the chain rope suddenly stood still again.”

Nancy has worked here for a long time and is quite familiar with Michael’s antics.

Catherine added, “He’ll often move things around in the kitchen, across the table or other work areas when she is working downstairs.”

One staff member said Michael constantly moves a chair around upstairs. You can also hear someone playing Jacks.

Catherine shared a good story about getting locked inside the house.

“Another interpreter, Ivan, once conducted a tour of teenagers, about Michael’s age, through the house. When they went to leave, they could not get the front door in the kitchen to open at all. The front wooden door is not very sturdy. Only a small iron latch keeps the thin door shut and the door will often blow open with a strong wind.”

Ivan commented that it was as if a force was holding the door shut.

Catherine continued, “This went on for about fifteen minutes; the group interpreter was getting desperate and was about to get a student to crawl through one of the open kitchen windows to get help when the door suddenly and inexplicably opened ... on its own!

“Another interpreter received a response from Michael when she went to lock up for the night. She went upstairs to do a final check. She said she felt a strange presence beside her as she was about to head down the narrow stairs at the back of the house. She offhandedly said, ‘Goodnight Michael.’ She was halfway down the stairs when a knocking sound came from the top of the stairs behind her, as if Michael was saying goodnight.”

One employee I spoke to indicated that the female spirit had been seen on several occasions. She also shared a remarkable event that happened one December 23 in the Stong house.

“I went into the parlour and gazed at the Christmas tree on display. Then I felt a little tug on the back of my dress. When I turned around the tugging stopped. I looked back at the tree and the antique ornaments started to spin around. This lasted for a few seconds and then stopped.”

Nancy later shared an incredible experience with me concerning a direct descendant of the Stong family: an elderly woman, nearing her nineties, appeared one day at the Stong house. She declared herself to be the great-great-granddaughter of Daniel Stong. She wanted to sit in her old bedroom for a few minutes. She proceeded to do just that. Sometime later she returned and said to Nancy that her deceased mother came to her and talked with her for half an hour. The lady died two weeks later!

Maybe that’s the woman spirit detected in the house; or, is there an opening here to the other dimensions. As for Michael, do you suppose he chooses to stay or perhaps he does not know that he could move on?