Paranormal activity at the Museum on the Boyne

December 31, 2013 · 0 Comments

The paranormal world is widely disputed. There are some who strongly believe in the presence of unseen spirits around us every day, some who adamantly disbelieve, and then some who are on the fence.

The popularity of the subject, however, cannot be disputed. Countless movies including the Paranormal Activity series (which releases the fifth installment in January) and Insidious continue to entertain thrill seeking movie-goers, terrified of the unknown. A tidal wave of reality television shows about ghost hunting has also flooded cable channels.

Clearly curiosity exists.

For Shelburne woman Tara MacDougall, getting people to give in to their curiosity is one of the biggest parts of her job. MacDougall is the owner and operator of the South Western Ontario Paranormal Society, created in 2010.

She partnered with other investigators to conduct an investigation at the local Museum on the Boyne in Alliston. MacDougall was joined by her sister Krista Johnston, Mark and Trevor Bishop-Larocque of the Ontario Gay Paranormal Society and Wanda Hewer, an independent certified paranormal investigator, Psychic-Medium, Paranormal Consultant and founder of Ghost Hunters of Guelph. My editor Wendy Gabrek and I we able to along for the experience.

The museum was built in 1914, and originally used as an Agricultural Fair building. The barn on the property was built in 1858, and the log cabin built in 1851. The cabin was one of the first artifact donations to the museum, a building that was moved there from Essa as an attraction. The museum features a permanent collection of approximately 5000 items, plus additional items from travelling collections that are featured twice a year.

The museum has been the subject of a number of investigations over the years for paranormal activity because of several sightings claimed by different people. Based on it’s high level of paranormal activity, the Museum on the Boyne is rated 8.5 out of 10.

Museum curator Katie Huddleston confirms that strange happenings do occur, having experienced some herself. A Medium investigating the museum at one time told her that spirits are typically very respectful, and you can ask them not to show themselves if you are afraid of them. Huddleston says she has had seen shadows move on the upper level balcony inside.

“I’ve never seen anything, but it’s movement enough to draw your eye upwards.”

Other strange things have been known to happen as well, like old clocks chiming suddenly, even though they haven’t been working for years, and the old piano making noise as if someone played a key. Sounds of a babies cries have also been reported coming from the old cabin.

“Everyone likes to investigate at nighttime because it’s quieter on the street and everything, but we have activity at all hours of the day,” says Huddleston.

She considers herself to have a respectful coexistence with the spirits in the museum, but says she hears a lot especially when she is there alone after hours.

“I still hate going to the cabin by myself,” Huddleston admits.

The investigation with South Western Ontario Paranormal Society revealed the spirit of an angry man and child in the cabin, and the investigators were able to communicate with at least one child inside the museum. It wasn’t determined if it was the same child in both places.

“Children are one of the most common spirits,” says MacDougall. “Or the odd time you’ll get a demonic spirit that will act like a child.”

Activity was detected by video cameras that were monitored by one of the investigators, as well as different instruments that use light as indicators. The colour of lights on those tools changed depending on temperature, so outside on that frigid winter night the light would turn blue, normal temperature showed green lights and higher than normal showed red lights.

Some of the investigators were able to communicate with the child spirit by asking “yes” or “no” questions. For example, they asked the spirit if it was a boy and the light changed from green to red, indicating a yes. No change in the lights meant that the answer was no, or that the spirit was no longer communicating.

There was no activity detected in the barn, but when we explored the cabin the investigators described a hostile male spirit, a drunk, to be occupying the space.

Certain images believed to contain spirits were taken from different digital cameras at the time.

While conducting an EVP session (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) in the cabin, MacDougall asked several questions to the child spirit as well as the older male. Investigators say the digital voice recorders sometimes pick up additional voices than the living people in the room, voices that make sounds and respond to their questions in single words or sometimes a full sentence.

Huddleston says many EVP sessions have been conducted in the museum before, and in one a strange, unidentified sound similar to a neighing horse could be heard. At one time there was a horse racing track next to the museum, when it was still used as an Agricultural Farm building.

Before the EVP session, Wendy Gabrek, Editor of the Shelburne Free Press, The Innisfil Scope and the Times of New Tecumseth, connected with a spirit in the cabin. She described what was happening at the time as she had the distinct feeling that a child was clinging to her leg on the upper level of the building, while at the same time her brand new flashlight faded off and on repeatedly.

I was in the room with her at the time, as well as investigator Mark Bishop-Larocque. He asked me if I could feel anything, but I was unaware of any presence apart from the people I could see. What I felt was a strong sense of calm.

Later, however, when we conducted the EVP session, I sometimes had the distinct feeling that something was looming directly behind me, the feeling you get when a tall man stands behind you.

Before the investigation began, Wanda Hewer of Ghost Hunters of Guelph led us in an exercise of meditation, meant to open our minds to the experience. My mind was open, and I am a believer, but unfortunately I don’t think I experienced the presence of spirits in the same way as the others, as much as I wanted to.

But there were still a few things that happened that made me believe I had witnessed paranormal activity that night. First, at the beginning of the evening I was seated next to Wendy when the DSLR camera in her lap snapped a picture on it’s own. It happened while someone was asking a child spirit questions, and the lighted instruments on the floor with us were responding rapidly. There were other strange things happening to the technology, something Huddleston says is not uncommon in that building for investigators.

The video feeds in the back room of the museum showed different areas of the museum, where the cameras picked up the sight of dust orbs in the unlit rooms. But those dust orbs are said to be different from spirit orbs, which are perfect circles and move differently. Watching those screens, I could see when a spirit orb moved through the room.

Mark and Trevor Bishop-Larocque of the Ontario Gay Paranormal Society streamed the entire investigation live on their website, with a chat room for people to ask questions to either the investigators or the spirits.

MacDougall’s sister Krista Johnston said she had a vision of a young boy with dark hair and wearing a hat, a description that curator Huddleston said employees at the museum had heard on more than one occasion. She gave two examples of children participating in museum activities who asked about a boy who wasn’t joining in. The boy met the description Johnston gave, and could only be seen by those children.

“If you go into an investigation with a loving attitude then you’re going to get the kids and the loving spirits,” says MacDougall. “It’s all about the trust between the living and the dead.”

The South Western Ontario Paranormal Society is not registered as an official business. MacDougall says it doesn’t have to be, because there are fewer than 12 people working for her.

“I’ve had more skeptics than believers in the past two years,” says MacDougall, who does most of her investigations in private homes. She usually will approach the owners after experiencing strange or eerie feelings when passing by, and asks to investigate further.

“It’s just a matter of sitting them down and saying you know, they exist,” she says. “This isn’t a bunch of crap, this is true.”

According to her, her suspicions of paranormal activity are right about 80 per cent of the time.

As for her family, MacDougall says they were surprised when she decided to pursue this line of work.

“They all thought I was nuts,” she says.

But they didn’t fight her at the beginning as much as they do now. MacDougall’s grandmother strongly disapproves, believing it to be dangerous witchcraft that shouldn’t be dabbled in.

While MacDougall can enjoy the company of friendly spirits, including a childhood friend of hers who passed away 25 years ago, she recognizes the difference between mean spirits and nice ones.

“When it comes to those un-rested spirits, I prefer not to mess around with that simply because if they become violent it can be dangerous.”

There are still many different places that MacDougall would love to investigate for paranormal activity, but one place in particular sits at the top of her list.

“As it stands right now, probably Casa Loma, just because I’ve heard rumours and I’ve seen a lot of things as a kid.”

It wasn’t the first time the Museum on the Boyne has been investigated, and it won’t be the last. As for the South Western Ontario Paranormal Society and her partners, they have plenty of investigations ahead of them.

By Emily Wood

Photo by Emily Wood
PLAYING TRICKS – Wendy Gabrek, Editor of the Shelburne Free Press, the New Tecumseth Times and the Innisfil Scope watched as the light on her brand new flashlight faded from bright to dark repeatedly. It was while she sensed a child spirit clinging to her leg.