Tour seeks spirits at Muskoka Heritage Place

Spectral Smithy. Does a craftsman still pound metal into shape over a long silent forge within the shadowy confines of the nightime blacksmith shop? This and other ghost stories from Muskoka Heritage Place will be explored during a tour on September 15.

The sun settles below the horizon and shadows stretch across the forested landscape, shrouding the historic buildings of Muskoka Heritage Place in menacing darkness. Somewhere off in the distance, a coyote howls mournfully, its cries the only sound to break the unnatural stillness of the night. You shiver almost uncontrollably, both from the chill and growing certainty that one of the spirits inhabiting the pioneer village is stretching out an ethereal arm in greeting.
Welcome to Muskoka Heritage Place’s first ever ghostwalk, a guided exploration of the haunted history surrounding heritage buildings long-believed to house restless souls and playful poltergeists.
While the museum has long hosted a Halloween event with pint-sized thrills intended for youthful trick-or-treaters, this is the first time it has attempted something geared for more mature audiences. True to the museum’s mandate to preserve and educate the public about Muskoka’s past, all of the ghost stories featured in the ghostwalk will be based on actual eyewitness accounts, a strong tradition of folklore, and historic fact.
There are countless stories – some even told by staff and volunteers – of ghostly sightings at the museum.
And why wouldn’t these buildings be inhabited by ghostly residents? Each of the nearly two dozen buildings located within Muskoka Heritage Place has a spirit all its own, the product of the successes and failures, happiness and heartache of the men and women who lived and worked within them. It shouldn’t be surprising, therefore, if spectral energy might lurk in the cracks between well-worn floorboards, seeping out on occasion to startle staff and guests alike.
First on the tour is Ashworth Hall. The pale lantern light does little to penetrate the darkened corners of this log-hewn structure, built in 1879 and used at various times as a community hall, Loyal Orange Lodge, and school. Eyes strain to catch sight of the shadowy man said to linger within, standing silent over the building. Sightings predate the hall’s move to Muskoka Heritage Place, but when the spectral figure first began to make his presence known is a mystery. So too is his identity, but speculation suggests it might well be builder Henry Demaine or original owner Stanley Ashworth.
Turn up your collar against the wind and head over to Spence Inn, a roadside hotel dating to 1878 when it offered welcome comfort to exhausted travelers. Some tired souls, it seems, have never checked out, reluctant to leave the warm hospitality and continue their journey into the afterlife.
As with Ashworth Hall, the tradition of hauntings predates relocation to the museum by decades. A former resident (the building served as a private residence from 1911 until the 1940s when it was abandoned) reported hearing and seeing all manner of weird things, such as ghostly carriages arriving out front in the middle of the night. Modern experiences include a dark, unwelcoming feeling on the second floor, a picture that mysteriously falls off its hook, and the spectre of a jaundiced and bent corpse of a man who appears in mirrors to frighten visitors.
Stroll deeper into the recreated village and enter the Reverend’s home, where – if you are lucky – the lady of the house will introduce herself.
Hill House defies the iconic image of the haunted house: it’s a charming home, lavishly furnished in rich period detail, obviously the residence of someone cultured and refined.
And yet, the house is most definitely haunted. Footsteps can be heard upstairs when there is nobody else in the building, the beds look as though someone has been sitting on them, people feel as if they are being watched, and once two witnesses were chased from the home after an antique hair brush was thrown across the room by unseen hands. On rare occasions an elderly woman can be glimpsed tentatively looking out at an unfamiliar world from a second-floor window. This, staff is certain, is Mrs. Hill herself, a strong-willed woman in life who just might have been stubborn enough to defy death.
To remain on her good side, staff members make it a point of wishing Mrs. Hill a good morning everyday upon entering the home. It seems only polite, after all.
As you leave Hill House, strain your ears to hear the spectral echoes of the blacksmith at work in his forge. After spending a lifetime in his profession, some believe he continues to pound metal into shape even in death.
These spectral stories, and others like them, will be explored for one night only: Saturday, September 15.
Holding aloft lanterns and leading the ghost tour will be authors Maria Da Silva and Andrew Hind, who teamed together to write Cottage Country Ghosts and More Ontario Ghost Stories, and who have for the past five years hosted Spirits Come Alive: Ghosts of Inn at the Falls.
The cost for the tour is $17 per person, tax included. To make reservations call Muskoka Heritage Place at 705-789-7575 (ext 3210) or email ron.gostlin@huntsville.ca.

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