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Black Creek Pioneer Village Cemetery

Whippoorwills call for the souls of the dead

Years ago, I was presenting a lecture on the paranormal in Collingwood, Ontario. A man seated in the audience raised his hand to speak. He told a tale about one incredible encounter with the spirit world in a cemetery.

He was attending the funeral of his uncle in Madoc, Ontario. The community is in a rural setting and was predominately settled by the Irish and the Scots.

After his uncle was buried he decided to remain at the cemetery. He sat down with his back against a tree. He was still there at twilight. Many people believe that twilight is the time when the veil between dimensions is at its thinnest. It is a time to communicate with the spirit world.

Suddenly the man heard voices. Looking about, he was unable to see anyone in the graveyard. In disbelief he sat and listened intently to the sound. He soon realized the voices he was hearing were speaking in a foreign tongue. Then he recognized the language — it was Gaelic.

Could it be that the dead still commune with one another?

Black Creek Pioneer Village cemetery may not be any different. The graveyard is located beside the Fisherville Church, at the back of the village.

The church, built in 1856, originally stood in the old community of Fisherville, once located at Steeles Avenue and Dufferin Street. It was moved in 1960 and replaced the log church that once stood on the corner of the Stong farm.

The cemetery is original to the site. It was in use from 1845 to the 1920s, and is the final resting place for members of several local founding families, including Daniel, Elizabeth, and Michael Stong, and the Kaisers, the Hoovers, and the Boyntons.

Catherine Crow highlighted the cemetery haunting during a visit to Black Creek.

“At night, security employees at the village have reported seeing unexplained orbs of light in the cemetery on more than one occasion. At times these strange orbs have been seen outside the cemetery, floating over the dirt road in front of the church. These mysterious orbs are known to dance around in the air and weave above the gravestones.”

There are many theories related to orb sightings. Some people believe they may be spirits, others think orbs could be portals or openings from one dimension to another. Other people believe that orbs are just specks of dust.

Over the years, hundreds of people have travelled to Ghost Road on Scugog Island near the community of Port Perry, Ontario, to see a mysterious orb of light that haunts a somewhat deserted side road. People claim to believe the orb of light is the spirit of a dead headless motorcycle rider. According to local lore the biker lost control of the motorcycle and was decapitated by a barbed-wire fence.

In 1986, six Niagara College film students arrived at the Ghost Road to do a short documentary about the story. Their aim was to capture the orb of light on film. The first night out everyone prepared for the arrival of the floating ball of light. One student was stationed in the field at the south end of the road where the rider supposedly hit the fence. They claimed a sphere of light the size of a basketball popped out of thin air and hovered in mid-air, sixty feet above them, for a few seconds.

The students managed to photograph and video tape the light. The photograph depicted the fuzzy outline of a human figure bathed in a strong white light. The video showed a more defined figure in the orb. The outing was a complete success.

So, back to Black Creek Pioneer Village — Animals often sense the presence of spirits. One night at Black Creek, a security employee brought a German shepherd guard dog with him on his night shift. Catherine elaborated:

“On the dirt road in front of the cemetery the dog became visibly agitated. He started to growl and bark. The dog then hunched down on all fours then rose up and started to back away from the area.”

What had he seen or sensed?

Certainly, there have been full apparitions seen in this cemetery!

A “ghost boy” has been seen. He has been described as wearing nineteenth-century clothing. He appears frequently to tour guides and to visitors.

Catherine added, “The boy likes to join the back of tour groups for brief moments and then completely disappears.

“Sometimes, he isn’t visible, but will tug on the clothes of an unsuspecting visitor or employee.”

Cynthia, a tour guide in the village, told Catherine she saw the boy herself when she was approaching the church during a tour. Catherine continued, “As Cynthia was talking to her group on the road she noticed a small boy in a period outfit playing peek-a-boo with her from behind the back of the last visitor in line.”

He was there one minute ... gone the next.

During the second annual ghost walk in October 2007, a young couple encountered the ghost boy and told Catherine about it.

“The young man told me he had a strange experience while walking back from the cemetery on the dirt road. He said he felt a persistent pulling and tugging sensation at the back of his jacket as they walked up the road. He asked his wife if she was grabbing his jacket. She told him that she was not touching him at all.

“This strange sensation continued until they reached the point where the road turns off by the mill and then the pulling and tugging on his jacket stopped all together.”

If you are a “spirit-seeker” who isn’t afraid of cemeteries, then perhaps a trip to the Black Creek Pioneer Village cemetery is just the ticket. Perhaps you have your own ‘orb-theory’ and share it with the tour guides.