Halloween Special 2022

In the Halloween Special of 2022, we visit the Victoria Golf Course, two mansions in Burnaby, and travel to a haunted highway in BC’s interior. Keep the lights on while you listen!

Based on stories from:

• Belyk, Robert: Ghosts: More Eerie Encounters
• Lazarus, Eve: At Home with History: The secrets of Greater Vancouver’s Heritage Homes
• Lazarus, Eve: Blood, Sweat and Fear: The Story of Inspector Vance,
• Mansfield, Greg: Ghosts of Vancouver

The April Ghost:

• Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck by Eve Lazarus, coming April 2025. Preorder through Arsenal Pulp Press, or your favourite indie bookstore

Victoria is the laid-back capital of British Columbia. The city is known for its stunning ocean views and fabulous gardens, but it’s also renowned for its ghosts. Victoria has the distinction of being the most haunted city in the province, and depending on who you talk to, maybe even the country.

On September 22, 1936, the strangled corpse of 30-year-old Doris Gravlin was found on the seventh fairway of the Victoria Golf Course. People soon started reporting sightings of the April ghost. According to legend, if a couple saw her, they would immediately break up and her ghost wouldn’t leave until her son was told the truth about her murder. My special guest is Patrick Dunae, a retired University of Victoria professor, historian and author. Patrick had his own encounter with the April ghost in 1972.

Overlynn mansion:

Designed by Samuel Maclure in 1909, North Burnaby’s Overlynn was a shining example of what the rich could build. Unfortunately for its owner, the rich decided to stay in Vancouver and Overlynn sold to the Sisters of Charity of Halifax and became a private Catholic girl’s school for 40 years. In 1970 the house and grounds sold to Action Line Housing Society and has been virtually uninhabited even since. Ghostly sightings include “coughing man” and a five-year-old girl who’s known for her naughtiness when humans come to visit. Greg Mansfield, a paranormal researcher, investigator and the author of Ghosts of Vancouver, tells us about his ghostly encounters.

Ceperley House:

This 1911 house (currently the Burnaby Art Gallery) is brimming with ghosts. Sightings include original owner Grace Ceperley, Benedictine monks, members from a bizarre cult and a poltergeist who throws things around in the basement. In 1985, Province Reporter Damian Inwood was sent on assignment to spend a night in the house and report on ghostly sightings. He had a terrifying experience, unfortunately no one believed him.

The Phantom of Highway One:

Bill Allman, president of the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame and owner of Famous Artists Limited, tells us the terrifying story of a couple’s 1975 encounter with a ghost along Highway #1 near Ashcroft, as they travelled from Vancouver to Kamloops. The story is from Robert Belyk’s book Ghosts: More Eerie Encounters.

SHOW NOTES:

Music:   October 31^st by Myuu Darkpiano.com (shortened)

Intro  :   Mark Dunn

Podcast promo: Fireside Canada

And if you can’t get enough ghost stories and really who can? Check out:

• Halloween 2021
• Halloween 2020
• Ghost Stories