Why do we assume historical places are haunted?

I would not say I don’t believe in ghosts. But, in my experience there are far less hauntings and haunted places than people would have you think.

I like to visit old buildings. Usually, living in a rural area of Ontario, I explore abandoned farms and farm houses. I like the houses in particular. I have explored at least 50 different old homes in various states of ruin and I have never had an experience which made me feel spooky, scared or consider any place to be haunted.

At most I think I once accidentally stepped on a toad in the long grass. That was gross enough. I get shudders just remembering. But, that was far from being ghost related.

Terry Boyle writes about local history and ghosts in Ontario, Canada.

I have quickly picked up each of his books as I find them. I don’t look for ghost stories but I do want to know about my own local history. (I consider all of Ontario to be at least somewhat local for me). Also, I will visit (and/ or have already seen) the places Terry Boyle has written about. I even have the photographs I’ve taken from my travels and adventures.

Maybe ghost lore and stories of haunted places come about from the loneliness of the locations and not the actual presence of anything spooky. Just the feeling that something was lost there, something has been abandoned and left to fall into ruin. Abandoned houses are sad. Old ruins are mysterious and that would be enough to make them seem haunted to anyone who wanted to find something more than just a sad, lonely and neglected place.

You can’t find the history of a place just from a visit there. I love finding a new (old) place. There is history and mystery to any old, ruined place. But, you need to research, talk to people and dig a bit to get more than photos and your own first impressions.

History is all about the story.

Terry Boyle Interview with Bookends TV

When you don't live in the city you can call yourself a rural explorer.

Chances are you already know the first place you want to explore. There's something that catches your eye on the way home from work every day, each time you drive to visit your Mother, when you go on the backroad into the next town... There's a place out there which you'd like to stop and get a look at, if only you dared. Let's not say you need to find the time. The time is there. It's not easy to stop the car, get out with your camera and make that first step into being an urban explorer.

Or, a rural explorer, as I see it. I don't live in the city. I've lived in the city, in a small city and a range of towns around Ontario. I started exploring abandoned farm houses with my Mother and my Aunt, before I ever knew other people were doing the same thing. I didn't go looking for antiques, old hardware or anything like that. I wasn't hoping to see a ghost or wanting to get creeped out. I wanted to see a relic from the past, the old woodwork, the way the bricks had weathered and whatever mysteries might be lost, forgotten and buried under dust, debris and wild plants. The best thing I found myself was an old iron key. I still have it in my jewelry box.

The first time I explored on my own was years later. Right after I got my first digital camera. No co-incidence there. The digital camera is a wonder for anyone into exploring. Now you can take all the photos you want and not think twice about the cost of getting them developed or how many rolls of film you had packed into your purse.

The photo in this introduction is the very first house I explored, alone. Just my digital camera and me. That was the year 2006.

Don't Pass up a Great Chance to Explore

Access All Areas: A User's Guide to the Art of Urban Exploration I bought this book just after the author died. Not from falling off a building or any kind of exploring accident. I met his wife when I bought the book, at a zine fair in downtown Toronto, Ontario. I still have Access All Areas, even though I have not visited all the places he did. Mostly because I live farther north now. The book is a guide to taking a chance, some risks and visiting places mostly unknown, unseen or where you may not be welcome. I hope people continue to buy Access All Areas for all the same reasons I did years ago.

Photo taken in 2007. This house is now gone. Burned down by vandals, then demolished.

The Real Dangers of Urban Exploration

You may expect the top danger for explorers to be people. It's not!

I've been exploring, often alone, and the biggest danger I've found is from wild animals. Not that I have been attacked by wolves, raccoons, rabid squirrels... no. I've been threatened by birds and attacked by bees. I've had toads and frogs scare the pee out of me - I still think I stepped on one poor toad when I was walking through very long grass and couldn't see where my feet were stepping.

Birds can be territorial and may dive bomb you. The only solution is to tolerate it or hide. I've yet to have one actually strike me. But, the closest to do so were blackbirds (those smaller versions of crows) and hummingbirds. Don't laugh!

Bees are pretty self explanatory. Rule number 1: don't step in between the flight path of two beehives. Just don't do it. If you really must, duck down low and make sure your hair is covered. There is nothing like having a bee lost in your long, curly hair - near enough to your ear so you know you're in danger of being stung and you're not really keen on finding it with your fingers.

People will sometimes ask you what you are doing. In all but one case I have never had any trouble at all with people. They are curious. If they know something about the history of the house/ building/ location they will usually tell you about it. Volunteering all kinds of historical information. Which is great. I do like to hear it. Sometimes people want to talk more than I want to keep listening, but I do appreciate their time, their interest in the place I'm looking at and... the fact that I'm a woman and they are likely telling me all this because I don't seem like someone who would be getting into trouble, or making trouble.

Only once, I had a woman who was suspicious. But, it turned out she was the owner of the house I was photographing - it was a ruin but not abandoned. In that case I liked it for the ruined look. But, there are cases where you will find out (later hopefully) that the abandoned house you're photographing isn't actually abandoned after all. It's kind of funny, later.

Getting back to animals... watch for animal holes. You might hurt your leg if you step into one. It is a good idea not to go alone just in case you do get hurt and need help. I do not explore inside the houses, hardly ever actually. I will go inside if I'm with a group, or at least one other person. Safety in numbers, when it comes to injury or... getting caught as a trespasser.

This has not happened to me. But, it is on my mind each time I stop and get out of the car at a location I want to explore. I feel I am keeping myself out of trouble by not entering the premises. If I just walk around outside taking my photos I'm not breaking into the property. Also, I just don't feel right about entering a home this way. Most often they are pretty gutted by other explorers or people looking for hardware and such to steal and sell as vintage. So, in theory, I feel I am not trespassing, or really missing much.

I was asked to leave one location by the security people. This was a time I was not alone so that was nice for me. I had already taken the photos I wanted too. I think they left me alone to wander around for awhile before they finally approached me. But, I'm sure they would have come on the run if I had been trying to do more than take outside photos.

If you do enter any abandoned, derelict or ruined building you must know you are at risk. You can not be 100% sure about anything in that building. Even a place which does not look badly derelict can have structural damage. Don't be an idiot about exploring inside. Wear decent footwear, bring a flashlight (even in daylight). Have someone with you or at least make sure your phone is charged and with you so you can call for help.

Taken outside of Barrie, Ontario. 2011.

Shipwreck on Lake Ontario, 2007.

How to Find Locations for Urban Exploring

I find places to explore by driving around and looking out the car window. These are the times it's important to have someone else driving the car. You can't navigate the car and have most of your attention focused on catching sight of weathered wood, boarded windows or a driveway overgrown with plants.

Urban Exploration Photography Tips

My new (new 2 years ago) digital camera has a great feature for urban and rural explorers, zoom. I've got 10x zoom. This makes a big difference in what I can get into a photo without having to be physically closer. You can't always get close up when there are fences, animals, and etc in the way.

Frame your photo and use the rule of thirds. I like to photograph a foreground of weeds/ wildflowers in front of a house. Sometimes I scoot down to the ground so the house appears to be on a hill. (It helps if it actually is on a bit of a rise). I like to get trees on the sides of my photos. It gives the photo a real, living edge. Then I take a photo where the house fills the frame.

Be creative, try different angles, try getting high (the roof of another building, a tree?) then get down low for a different view. Using a tripod is nice, if you have one. I did buy one but I have yet to actually take it with me.

I do have a camera strap. I always keep it on my wrist when I am using the camera. It is so easy to have some little thing trip you up and next thing you drop the camera. If you have that strap over your wrist, your camera has a much better survival rate.

Focus on details. There will be little details you miss, You will notice them once you upload the photos from your camera. As you get practice you start noticing details easier, while you are still on the site. Train your mind to look for small things, the trimmings, the cracks. There will be details which especially appeal to you of course.

Don't be stingy with your photos. Take extra. You can delete any you don't need later. Or, you might find one of your extras just happened to catch the light and the angle just right.

Try different times of day, different seasons too. Sunset adds a glow to your photos outside. Winter makes everything look mysterious and silent. You should explore night photography too, what works for taking photos in darkness. Bring a flashlight, shine it on a window and get a photo of the beam inside the house.

From 2009. Car and house in the background. Ruined by fire.

Another idea is to join Flickr. You can get a free account. Search for local groups with explorers who are already adding photos. Some of them will put directions and locations on the photos. Not everyone will. I tend to leave it ambiguous. I like to protect the places from vandals and people who just want to grab whatever they can sell. So, I am cautious about giving directions. But, that doesn't mean I hoard them all. If you can join the local group, get involved in a discussion, share any photos from old places you already have - you might find a place in the group. Try to attend when people plan an event - meeting at one site. It's a lot of fun plus you make real contacts and become someone they will share information with.

Flickr has a lot of local groups but it isn't the only source. Search online and see what you find.

Read local history. Read the news. See which buildings in your own town are historical and may be in danger of being demolished. Read about the history fo your area and see what has already been lost and what is still left.

Check real estate listings. Some places have been for sale for years, empty. Some of them are being sold due to fire or damage from something else. Some are being sold in order to be knocked down so the land can be farmed or have housing developments built over them.

On a busy road into the town, in 2008. A baby deer was also at the house when I began photographing.

UER Huge site for urban explorers. Having an active membership gives you some prestige and access to extra features. Membership is free, but donations are accepted.

Painting by Michelle Basic Hendry

Women Urban and Rural Explorers - I have met the women explorers on this list through my years of running the Flickr group: Ontario Rural Ruins. If you are a woman urban or rural explorer send me a note and I will check your links and photos and add you to the list.

Flickr: Female Urban Explorers "This group is a place for UE girls to get together to talk about our explores and experiences and a place to share our images. Let's celebrate the fact that we are female Urban Explorers....and proud of it!"

msDeKay Ontario urban and rural explorer. Lots of photos, not all locations in Ontario.

KateKnevil Ontario rural explorer. Not a lot of photos but very good photos.

Lee-Ann Licini Ontario rural and urban explorer. She also runs the Creepy Ontario group on Flickr.

The Navigator Ontario urban and rural explorer. I've actually met Carla, face to face once.

Michelle Ontario rural explorer and artist. Now moved away from Ontario and living in the US. Her paintings of rural ruins are available on her site.

Abandoned on a Lake, 2010

Take only photos; leave only footprints.

I read Beautiful Joe as a kid. I can still remember having the book with me for a sneak read at night. I’d go into the bathroom and sit on the side of the tub cause I could stretch my legs out there. Beautiful Joe was one of the books I most remember from my childhood. Much later I found out the story was from right here in Ontario and the story was not fictional.

Beautiful Joe was a Real Dog

Beautiful Joe was a real dog, a puppy in 1890, from the town of Meaford, in Ontario, Canada. The dog was a mongrel (or a mutt as we call them) and owned by a milkman who beat and starved the dog nearly to death.

The young dog was rescued by Walter Moore, a local miller. His daughter, Louise Moore, kept the dog and gave it a much different life and named him Beautiful Joe because of how less than beautiful he looked. The dog’s ears and tail had been cut off at some point. The dog grew old and eventually died still living with the family in Meaford.

Joe became famous and never knew a thing about it.

Margaret Marshall Saunders (1861 – 1947) met the dog while visiting her brother and his fiancée, Louise Moore, in 1892. The story inspired her to write a novel from the dog’s point of view.

However, she changed the location of the story to Maine (in the US) in order to enter a literary contest sponsored by the American Humane Education Society. She also changed names in the story and she wrote the story under the name Marshall Saunders because she thought a woman writer would not be taken seriously. She did win the contest and the book was first published in 1893.

Beautiful Joe was the first Canadian book to sell over a million copies. By the 1930′s the book had sold over 7 million copies around the world. Beautiful Joe has appeared in several editions, been translated into ten different languages.

The sequel, Beautiful Joe’s Paradise, was published by Marshall Saunders in 1902.

The book contributed to worldwide awareness of animal cruelty. The Beautiful Joe Heritage Society was started in 1994 and continues to run . You can find the Beautiful Joe Park and monument if you visit the town of Meaford.

Ghost walks (or ghost tours) are guided tours where guests are shown the haunted history of an area or a location. Ghost tours cater to tourists and are not meant to be as frightening or taken as seriously as an actual ghost hunting would be.

If you want the reality of a ghost hunt you will need to talk to the ghost hunting or paranormal research group and ask to be included next time they go out on something other than a tour. However, you would have to be someone with more knowledge and commitment to investigating the paranormal than at the tourist level.

Finding a Ghost Walking Tour

If you are already online the easiest way to find a local ghost hunting tour group is to try an online search. Open your search site of choice: Yahoo, Google, DuckDuckGo (a new search which I've been trying and liking), etc. Type in the search terms - "ghost tour", "haunted walk", "haunted tour", "ghost exploring", and then your local area which could be the town or city or the county you live in. Don't restrict your search to a small area, unless you live in a very large city and want to find something right in your neighbourhood.

Don't forget to check social sites like Flickr, YouTube and Pinterest for people who are giving ghost tours or have been on a ghost tour and given a review of their experience.

Also, search for paranormal seekers and ghost hunters in the larger area around you. Often they will have links to smaller groups in the area on their websites or blogs. This is a great help, of course, for people looking for local ghost tours.

You can also contact the larger groups and ask for information, links or phone numbers to contact any local ghost hunters who would give tours if asked or may already run scheduled tours.

Another way to find your local ghost hunters is to watch where local groups list their upcoming events. I found my local group listed in the local newspaper and a website giving free space to local groups to list their upcoming events. The ghost tours are a tourist service, a small business, so they won't be trying to be too secretive, they want customers to find them. Ask around town, talk to other local business people and see what they know.

Historical Walking Tours

Here in my area, Barrie, Ontario, Canada, we have Doors Open, which is a tour of historical homes and places. The doors to private homes and businesses open once a year for people to have a look.

Look for tours of historical places in your area and ask the people who give the tour if any of the places are known or suspected to be haunted.

Talk to people in your local historical society too. Anyone with an interest in history of the local area is likely to know other people who share the same interests.

Urban Explorers Like Old Places and History

Try to find a group or individual who explores old places, not for ghost hunting, necessarily. Urban explorers like old places. They don't focus on finding ghosts or any thing paranormal but they are usually interested and have stories of their own to share.

Local Pagans Will Know Where the Ghost Tours Are

Is there a local group of Pagans, Wiccans or Witches? These are another group of people who tend to be involved in the local paranormal community. Chances are great someone in the Pagan community will also know about the paranormal researchers in your area. (Actually, they are very likely to be part of both groups).

If your town or local area has a Pagan supplies store, ask there about ghost tours. They will likely have a business card, brochure or something they can hand out to tourists looking for a local ghost walk.

Find Out What the Ghost Tour Includes

Don't forget a ghost tour is a business, like any other kind of tourism service. Don't pay for the tour without checking to make sure you are getting what you want. Just what does the tour include? Will you need your own transportation between locations, if there are more than one included in the tour? Does the tour guide have a plan for handling things if someone gets too spooked out and needs a break? Will you get to see data taken from the tour and discuss it afterwards, like a paranormal investigator rather than being just a tourist sent on your way right afterwards?

Also, find out what you need to bring. Should you dress warmly, bring your own water or coffee? Find out what you are allowed to bring as well. Can you bring your own ghost hunting gear, if you have any?

Need More Ghosts?

• How to Catch Ghosts at Home
• Finding and Exploring Canadian Cemeteries
• Finding and Exploring Canadian Ghost Towns
• Ghosts, Spirits, Phantoms and Spooks in ASCII Text Art
• Ghost Signs: Faded, Painted Signs on the Sides of Buildings

Barrie Paranormal Links: My Own Local Ghost Hunters

• Jeff Ostrander.com - Jeff's Paranormal Investigations
• The Haunted Barrie Meetup Group
• Ghost Girls Of Simcoe County - Rogers TV

I've almost always lived in Ontario and I don't think I have seen a ghost. Not something I could prove to myself or anyone else for certain. I explore abandoned, old buildings and never feel they are haunted. I don't expect to see a ghost and maybe that's why I haven't. But, I do believe in ghosts.

I don't think I've ever seen a ghost. How can you ever really be sure though? Something spotted from the corner of your eye... an odd light in a photo you took... a sudden draught in the room... Would you say you've seen a ghost, for sure?

So many people believe in ghosts - you feel it must be true. But, everyone should use their own judgement. Take what you see and use what you know to make our own decision about what you believe to be true.

Haunted Towns and Cities

• Burlington Ghost Walks

• Hamilton Paranormal

• The Peterborough Paranormal Society

• Halton Paranormal

• Thunder Bay Paranormal Society

• Haunted Hamilton

• Oxford Ghost Researchers

• Sault Ste. Marie Paranormal Group

• Stoney Creek Supernatural

• Ghost Tours of Niagara

• The Toronto and Ontario Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society

• Flickr: Niagara Cemeteries & Spooky Places

• Superior Paranormal Haunting Research Society (Sault Ste. Marie based)

• Niagara Area Paranormal Society

• Da Guys Paranomal Team (South Western Ontario)

• Trent Hills Ghost Seekers

• Haunted Walk: Kingston and Ottawa

• Haunt Pursuit | Paranormal Northumberland | Port Hope | Cobourg

• Prince Edward County Hauntings

Haunted Ontario Groups

• O.P.I.S. - Ontario Paranormal Inquest Society
• OCPRS Toronto (Ontario Catholic Paranormal Research Society)
• Flickr: Creepy Ontario

Start Your own Ghost Hunting or Paranormal Investigations Business

You don't have to turn your ghost hunting into a business. You could keep it a little more casual and turn it into a society for your area. Get others with the same interest in ghosts to come together. Talk about your own experiences, your beliefs, places you have explored and then make plans to explore and document a location as a group.

Or, you could try turning it into a business. A unique home business.

How to be a Ghost Hunter

• How to Start Your Own Paranormal Society - Yahoo! Voices
• So You Want to Be a Ghost Hunter - Squidoo
• How to Become a Ghost Hunter: This is Serious Business - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com
• How to hunt for ghosts! - About.com
• How to hunt for ghosts!
• How to Investigate a Paranormal Activity or Experience: 6 steps

Articles to Read

• How to Have a Spooky Time in Ontario | eHow.com
• Top 5 Most Haunted Places in Ontario | eHow.com
• Toronto-area paranormal investigators seek ghost hunter - The Star
• Haunted Gibraltar Point Lighthouse, Toronto: One of Canada's Oldest Structures on Lake Ontario Has G
• Tales of Haunted Ontario: The Ghost Stories of Lake Ontario's Oldest Cities | Suite101.com