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The Richmond Hill Manse

~ Black Creek Pioneer Village ~

Growing ivy on the outside of your house protects the inhabitants from witchcraft and evil.

If you want to be watched by someone not of this world, be sure to visit the Richmond Hill Manse. The good reverend is waiting for you.

The manse, located across from the church and cemetery at Black Creek, was built in 1830. Originally situated at 88 Yonge Street in Richmond Hill, the building — originally a private residence — became a home for Presbyterian ministers in 1840.

During the 1970s, an official of the affiliated Presbyterian Church found the manse too costly to maintain. The structure was designated as an historical building and relocated to Black Creek Pioneer Village on October 5, 1978.

The building itself represents what they call “plank-on-plank” construction, with wood planks stacked one on top of the other to create six- to eight-inch walls. The construction technique was in vogue when wood was cheap and plentiful. It provided an uneven surface for the application of plaster and stucco finishes.

In the early days, ministers would spend four to five years in a particular parish before moving on to the next church. Reverend James Dick preferred to stay put. In fact, he may have never left the manse at all! In life Reverend Dick occupied the building from 1849 until his death in 1885.

Reverend Dick had a reputation for being moody and eccentric. His uneasy energy remains in the building, and some employees are hesitant and nervous there.

Catherine Crow explained.

“‘The manse gives off a disturbing vibe,’ reported Curt, who works as a costume interpreter. ‘I am too afraid to go upstairs.’”

He is not the first employee to sense the energy or spirit presence. Catherine added, “Harold is a volunteer at the village. His daughter was an employee at one time and she also worked in the manse, as a costume interpreter, until she requested a transfer to another building.”

Harold described his daughter’s apprehension. “She would actually sit outside the manse and only venture inside when she had to. She just found the atmosphere in the manse was too creepy. She felt like she was constantly being watched in the building by someone not of this world.”

Richmond Hill Manse, circa 1830

Harold’s daughter was not the only family member sensitive to the other side. Catherine explained, “Harold had a three-year-old niece who refused to step into the manse when he took her to the site. The three year old stood in the front doorway and said with a pout, ‘mean man inside,’ and then turned around and walked back up the pathway to the main road.”

Ruthan Johnson, a former employee who worked for many years at Black Creek, had several glimpses into a world thought to have vanished a hundred years ago. When we met, Ruthan talked about the Richmond Hill Manse.

“In the minister’s office, located on your left as you enter from the front door of the house, you can hear the books being pulled off the shelf; listen to the sound of turning pages. One employee would leave the Bible located in the office open to a certain passage. When he returned in the morning he observed that the Bible was open to a different passage.

“Occasionally you will hear coal being dumped in the parlour stove in the office.”

It is not uncommon, early in the morning, for a staff member approaching the manse to witness someone peeking out through the curtains of the upstairs window. Sometimes people see a small infant running around the upstairs of the house. One time, when Ruthan was about to open up the church, she turned around to see the upstairs curtains of the manse house moving. There was no one in the house at the time.

In the Richmond Hill Manse office Bible pages are changed.

The spirit of a little boy dressed in blue has been seen on a number of occasions in the house. Ruthan described him.

“The boy wears blue shorts, a white shirt, suspenders and a little jacket. He has blond hair and wears knee high socks. His clothing would date between the 1870s and 80s.”

“He isn’t afraid to appear to visitors at the village. He usually shows up when small children come through the house.

“At Christmas the boy dressed in blue enters the house through the front door. He then proceeds to the parlour and can be seen walking through the existing table in the house. Then he enters the downstairs bedroom situated by the staircase leading to the second floor. To your amazement you can actually see a dent in the bottom of the bed where he is sitting,” said Ruthan.

A female employee was working in the Manse house alone one night during Christmas holidays. To her amazement, she saw the minister standing at the top of the stairs on the second floor. He appeared quite angry. The employee fled the building.

Ruthan mentioned that her husband Dennis, who also had worked at Black Creek, had actually seen the little boy.

Another employee at the manse heard a woman humming upstairs and the tiny footsteps of a child coming from the upper floor.

When Catherine was researching the ghost stories in the village, prior to the first Halloween ghost walk in 2006, she had decided to check out the manse for herself. This is what she discovered.

“Although the downstairs was nicely decorated with comfortable furniture it felt very depressing to me. It was on the second floor, however, that I encountered the angry presence spoken of by employees and visitors. I was on the second floor landing looking down the stairs. To my immediate right was a bedroom and from the doorway of this room I could literally feel hostile eyes boring into me, willing me to get out of the house. The longer I stood there the more intense the feeling became. I started shaking with fear and had to come downstairs.”

A couple who arrived to take the ghost walk tour decided to walk to the site where the Manse house is located and this is what happened.

“The building intrigued them and they found an unlocked kitchen door and entered the house. They were standing in the kitchen when they heard distinct footsteps walking around upstairs.

“They assumed it was the caretaker for the village. They had seen him nearby, walking alone, just prior to their entering the building.”

This was not the case.

“Much to the surprise of the couple, the caretaker walked in the front door of the manse while they were still standing in the kitchen — [he was] listening to the footsteps on the floor above. The couple asked the caretaker who was walking around upstairs since they had thought it was him. He said the second floor was closed to the public and was not in use that night and there should be no one upstairs. On further investigation he, in fact, found no one upstairs.”

As if that wasn’t enough, later that night a tour guide had her own experience with the spirits of the Manse house. Catherine explained, “One of the tour guides had finished her speech to her tour group in the manse and after everyone had left the house, she shut the front door and started up the main road with the group. She happened to look back at the building and saw a curtain in the front parlour being pulled back by an unseen hand, as if someone were watching to make sure everyone had finally left the area.”

Rhona Hastings has visited Black Creek Pioneer Village on several occasions over the past forty years. She states, “I have always been drawn to a few of the houses. I don’t call myself a psychic. I am just a little sensitive to things. I have a strong intuition.

“The minister’s house I feel has energy. About sixteen years ago I went into this house and, as we all do when we visit the village, I looked around. It was a little unusual that there was no one in the house at the time telling the tale of the house or spinning the wheel as they do. I had a friend with me so I wasn’t alone. We were looking in one of the rooms and turned our heads to the left where there stood an old lady smiling at me. She was very close to me. She was dressed with a long coat and a scarf [babushka] on her head. She stared at me and had a very warm smile. She actually looked like what I might look like as an old woman. My friend and I looked at one another and then looked back to the old woman and she was gone!”

Despite the apparent benevolence of the older woman who frequents the corridors of the manse, it would seem the reverend does not want you to overstay your welcome. So, as you enter the manse house I would suggest you take note of the time. The good reverend may, indeed, be watching over folks at the village — but it seems he is also keeping time and is happier once you’re gone.