A Haunting in June

Canada Post has managed to distract from its rising postage prices this past week, by releasing the coolest set of stamps I've seen in a very long time - on Friday the 13th, no less.

Based on ghost stories and hauntings across the country, the stamps feature foiled photos (print and digital "paintings") depicting legends from different provinces.  You can read each of the stories here.

From a spectre bride (and bellhop) at a haunted hotel, to a nightly spotting of a train that no longer exists, to burning ghost ships - these are just a few of the strange stories depicted on the stamps, which will apparently spawn a series to appear each year.

I nabbed my set right away, but I'm heading back to the post office to see if I can find more.

Postcard anyone?

The Blue Lady and the Ice Cream Ghost

Every town has them.  Ghosts.  Hauntings.  Just about everyone I know has heard a local story, or knows someone who lived in a house or near a house that was haunted.  Whether you believe that these are just tall tales, or that a spirit or residual energies can stay behind when a person passes - ghost stories seem to thrill us.  Especially at this time of year.

Here are two from my area:

The museum in my town, is a fairly modern building.  Built in the 1960's, the building also houses the public library and a good sized meeting room with a stage.  The museum has it's own separate space, and archives many interesting items.

Between the years of 1990 and 1992 the museum went through eight janitors.  Each janitor supposedly quit after seeing a lady dressed in blue wandering through the museum at night.  It wasn't until after the bones of an unknown woman from the 1920's that had been stored in the archives for years had been moved, that the sightings stopped.

~~~~~~~

I have worked for a local gourmet food and gift company for 20 years.  The building that houses the store is very old and unique.  One evening in the Autumn, just after closing up for the night, I was in the back room when I saw a man dressed in a dark suit and a hat walk from the front door over to area where an ice-cream freezer stood.  I came around the corner from the back room to serve the man (wondering if I had made a mistake in locking the door) and found that there was no one there.

I relayed the story the next day to a co-worker of mine, who asked me what the man looked like.  I described him, and she laughed.  "Oh - that's just our ghost," she said.  Since then, a half dozen of our employees have seen him over the years, and a few of my more sensitive co-workers can always tell when he's around.  He doesn't show himself often, but when he does it's usually during the Autumn for some reason.  And he seems to enjoy setting the windchimes to swinging.

There are several more haunted places about, including the winery that my brother works at.  If you take some time and look into your own town's history, you might be surprised to find plenty of ghostly sightings in your area.  A haunted tour is always a fun way to learn some history about where you live!

Wishing you all a very Blessed Samhain and a Haunting Halloween!