Dale Gilbert Jarvis - Storyteller

Investigating Hauntings at the Anna Templeton Centre, Duckworth Street, St. John's, NL

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 12:08:00 -0330

With a history dating back to the 1840s, originally serving as the Bank of British North America, the iconic Anna Templeton Centre on Duckworth Street is the perfect spot for an exclusive exploration into true hauntings. In partnership with the ATC, the St. John's Haunted Hike hosted two investigations into the building's reported hauntings on Friday, February 13th, 2026, at 7pm and 10pm.

Back around 2009, I had talked with Ashlynn Kenny, who was then a student at the Anna Templeton Center. She claimed not to be the only person who has experienced weird things in the building.

“It was almost the end of the semester and I was in the dye studio waiting for a classmate so we could do our final project together,” says Kenny. “I was sitting in the window doing some embroidery with one earphone in listening to some music so I didn't feel so lonely and I hadn't bothered turning on the lights since there was plenty of natural light coming in through the windows.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Kenny could see the door of the new elevator addition. Suddenly, she saw a figure walk into the room.

“I hadn't heard the elevator doors open or the ding that preceded that, but I didn't even think about that at the time,” she describes. “I looked up to say hi, thinking it was my friend, but there was nobody there. I was so freaked out by that I had to go down to the weaving studio where I knew there were people and couldn't go back up to the dye studio for over an hour.”

A classmate also had some experiences in the dye studio. One day she felt as if someone or something had tugged on her apron. Other students have heard things like shuffling on the tables in the dye studio and the looms in the weaving studio, and even the noises of children.

“I don't really know much of the history of the building so I have no idea of anything that may have happened on the premises in the past,” says Kenny. “I don’t know how much of this is true and my own experience could have been due to an active imagination, but there's no denying the creepy feeling that comes with being alone in the dye studio.”

Other stories I heard before the investigation included references to similar experiences with children's voices and the sound of laughing or giggling, the sound of children playing when none were there, and even of doors locking from the inside on their own.

Our investigators were given an introduction to the history of the building, and a walkthrough of the space. Then, they proceeded to explore the building, and utilize a series of tools in an attempt to make contact with the property's supernatural residents. Over the course of the evening, several things were reported by the investigators:

One participant felt the presence of someone, possibly male, standing behind him on the 2nd floor
Others reported drained camera batteries, or phone apps starting/stopping on their own
One woman reported seeing the Spirit Trumpet “wobble”; one man heard a voice answer “yes” through the trumpet when he asked if anyone was present.
Words and phrases revealed through various means seemed to have an emphasis on financial matters, debts, or losses.
A gentleman who identified as one who has had experiences in the past stated that he felt no negative spirits in the building during his time there.
Several people reported weird feelings or sensations in the former bank vaults: one woman felt she had to push her way through something that didn’t want her there as she moved deeper into the vaults; another experienced a sudden sharp headache when entering the far vault.
Two people, one from each group, took photos in the same room on the third floor that turned out foggy; another captured a short video of an orb moving in one of the building’s stairwells.

More research is needed to futher explore and explain these experiences. To be notified of future possible investigations at this property and others, join the Haunted Hike Investigations email list.

To learn more on the building's history and use see:

Paranormal Investigations at the Anna Templeton Centre, Friday the 13th

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Thu, 5 Feb 2026 18:50:00 -0330

278 Duckworth Street, St. John's

Friday, February 13th

Investigation slots: 7pm-9pm, and 10pm-Midnight

Storyteller and folklorist Dale Jarvis of the St. John’s Haunted Hike will guide investigators through the supernatural history of the site, and then participants will explore its labyrinthine interior and back hallways … in the dark… attempting to document this historic building’s paranormal activity.

With a max of 20 people per group, tickets are extremely limited.

$45 per Investigator +tax and fees

120 minutes

Book at:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/paranormal-investigations-at-the-anna-templeton-centre-2026-tickets-1982461743441?aff=oddtdtcreator

Sold thanks to St. Joseph! A ritual to help you sell your property.

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Sat, 15 Nov 2025 12:45:00 -0330

Statue de St Joseph portant l'enfant Jésus dans l'église St Joseph du Bessillon - image by Fernandes Gilbert, Wikimedia

Originally published in The Telegram, St. John's, NL, 2010

Have you heard of the practice of burying a little statue of St. Joseph in front of your house, in order to help it sell? If you have, or have done it yourself, let me know! dale@dalejarvis.ca

A friend of mine, Karen Moore, has been going through the process of selling her house in St. John’s. A while back, a few people had looked at the house, but there were no firm offers.

“I was helping my mom clean her basement to put things away after Hurricane Igor,” Moore says. “That was the time I put my house up for sale. She has lots of figurines and statues and she said, ‘Oh here, take this, it’s St. Joseph. St. Joseph will help sell your house.’”

St. Joseph, the foster-father of Christ and husband of the Virgin Mary, is the patron saint of fathers and manual workers. He is especially beloved by families, expectant mothers, travelers, immigrants, craftsmen, engineers, and working people in general. Perhaps in part due to his training as a carpenter, he is also highly regarded by house sellers and buyers.

According to legend, a group of Carmelite nuns wanted to purchase a piece of land for a new convent in the 16th century. Lacking the funds to buy the land, they decided to ask for some divine help from St. Joseph. They buried medals imprinted with his likeness in the ground of the desired property, and they managed to get the property at a price they could afford. Today, the practice has evolved into using tiny figurines of the saint instead of medals.

“I took this little two inch, 30-40 year old statue of St. Joseph and went to my house and put it feet side up, head side down, feet facing towards the house, I believe, and I buried it,” Moore says. “And the very next day I had an offer.”

“From what I understand, if you have St. Joseph pointing in the wrong direction, you will help sell someone else’s house, and not your own,” she says. “I knew nothing about it. My mom and dad knew all about it, and of course I went to the fabulous Google.”

The world wide web, of course, is full to its virtual brim with information, much of it contradictory. And what Google reveals to us about selling your house with the aid of St. Joseph is no different. Depending on which sources you believe, you need to dig a hole for the saint in your back yard. Or possibly the front yard. Live in a condo? Easy, just stick the saint into a flowerpot. In Moore’s case, she had a downtown row house, with no front yard.

“But there was about a half an inch of dirt where weeds would come up in the summer time,” she describes, “so I dug up the weeds, and stuck it in as far as I could!”

Most agree poor Joseph should be head down in the dirt, but then great controversy rages over whether his saintly feet face east, towards the home, or pointing towards the seller’s new house. If you get confused, don’t worry about that either. You can go online and buy a do-it-yourself St. Joseph kit, with your own figurine and handy instructions.

One thing sources agree on is that when the property sells, you must dig up the statue, clean it, and carry it with you to your new home.

“When I buried it, I actually did have a house offer, and I kept it in the ground until I got the cheque in my hand,” says Moore. “I didn’t have a key to the house, so I just went over and dug it out of the weeds.”

Moore tells me this story with a bit of a laugh, but that doesn’t mean she doubts the saint’s effectiveness.

“We are going to be selling another house, because my fiancé and I are both selling each of our houses to get a new one,” she says. “Soon enough, I will bury this St. Joseph in front of my fiancé’s house to help him sell that one, once we move into our new house.”

Three Paper Plays with The Kamishib’ys!

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Thu, 9 Oct 2025 22:03:00 -0230

What do you get when a storyteller, a musician, and a graphic artist squeeze their brains into a tiny rectangular space? You get The Kamishib’ys, of course!

Wednesday, October 15, 2025 7–8pm | LSPU Hall – Cox & Palmer Space Tickets $10

Kamishibai (Japanese for "paper play") is a form of street theater and storytelling, where narrators set up a miniature wooden stage, revealing a series of colourful illustrations as the tales unfold. The Newfoundland version is The Kamishib’ys: performed by storyteller Dale Jarvis and musician and percussionist Jaehong Jin, with art by printmaker Graham Blair. Sit down in front of their portable storytelling stage as they share a three-course feast of family-friendly fables.

The Mermaid Sisters of Beachy Cove.

In a crystal cave below the sea live two sisters: one good; one bad. Find out what happens when they meet a curious fisherman.

Open Open Green House.

Maggie has a problem - her would-be boyfriend is trapped in a haunted house by an evil witch. What’s a girl to do?

The Legend of Bennett’s Grove.

An old pirate returns to St. John’s to claim a hidden treasure, but only its ghostly guardians (and a psychic cat) know for sure where the gold is buried.

The Kamishib’ys: a blend of mid-century-inspired art, traditional Newfoundland storytelling, and contemporary Korean folk music! Presented with support from ArtsNL.

Reserve your tickets now!

https://www.showpass.com/st-johns-storytelling-festival-2025

The Kamishib’ys are:

Dale Jarvis, storyteller, author (he/him) - Clarke’s Beach and St. John’s

Graham Blair, printmaker, graphic artist (they/them) - St. John’s

Jaehong Jin, Nongak performer, percussionist, photographer (he/him) - St. John’s

Perfect health is above gold

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Sun, 27 Jul 2025 15:42:00 -0230

Perfect health is above gold; a sound body before riches. (Solomon)

What do you long for most of all?

A beautiful painting on your drawing room wall?

Exquisite jewels in a setting rare?

A graceful slender Chippendale chair?

Things of beauty are these to treasure?

Unless unkind fate may dim your pleasure,

If perfect health is not your lot

What value are these things you’ve got?

You’d exchange them all for the glow of health

You must surely agree this is greater than wealth.

Solomon, great wisdom gained with his many years,

Compounded truths in this vale of tears,

Perfect health, he said, is above gold.

And we question not this saying of old.

Down through the ages its truth is proved,

And though all our gold be from us removed

If perfect health is our companion today

This priceless gift we’ll not cast away.

A sound body is before riches, Solomon said

And though this wise man has long been dead

This truth endures, and always will

Through aches and pains may irk us still.

Accumulation of riches may give us a glow

But sound bodies are not purchased this way we know.

Bank accounts and palatial homes

Are not a cure for all aching bones.

A sound body is before riches

Ah! — how wise was he

Who passed on this wisdom, to such as we.

- Amy Eunice (Cruickshank) Jarvis, February 1952, taken from Amy - the folk poetry of Amy Cruickshank Jarvis

Ebook links released for Haunted Houses of Newfoundland and Labrador!

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 19:44:00 -0230

All aboard, ebook readers! Digital versions of Haunted Houses of Newfoundland and Labrador now available from these retailers:

Kobo

https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/haunted-houses-of-newfoundland-and-labrador

Amazon

https://www.amazon.ca/Haunted-Houses-Newfoundland-Labrador-Jarvis-ebook/dp/B0DHDF5SVX

Apple

https://books.apple.com/ca/book/haunted-houses-of-newfoundland-and-labrador/id6695760223

Barnes and Noble

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/haunted-houses-of-newfoundland-and-labrador-dale-jarvis/1146307985?ean=9781774572153

Haunted Airwaves: Dale Jarvis talks about his most recent book

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 13:29:00 -0230

Master of the macabre, Dale Jarvis, Storyteller and Author, was recently featured on the CBC St. John's Morning Show, speaking about his new collection, Haunted Houses of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Listen here:

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-56-st-johns-morning-show/clip/16094755-folklorist-dale-jarvis-released-newest-book-haunted-houses

We will have details on the launch of Haunted Houses of Newfoundland and Labrador coming very soon . . .

The Ugly Stick's Australian Cousin – The Lagerphone

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 21:56:00 -0230

The Ugly Stick's Australian Cousin – The Lagerphone

by Dale Gilbert Jarvis

photo: Item 3390 - National Capital Development Commission, Australia

We in Newfoundland and Labrador might be able to claim the name “ugly stick” as a local invention, but similar percussion instruments were known in Europe as far back as the 1500s. The French Foreign Legion marching band had a similar instrument called a “Chinese hat” - while British Army marching bands used a stick covered with bells called a “Jingling Johnny.” Today in England, folk musicians still play a version of the ugly stick called a mendoza or a monkey stick. Other names include thunderstick, Ompa-stick, gazunkaphone, pogocello, and clad-hopper.

Mike Madigan of The Sharecroppers is a well-known Newfoundland musician, entertainer, retired educator, and ugly stick enthusiast. The first time Mike saw an ugly stick, or something like one, was around 1975. He and a fellow teacher had gone off to Europe, backpacking. They found themselves in the little town of Hamelin, Germany, the same town made famous by the Pied Piper of yore. In the centre of Hamelin there was a kiosk, and inside of that was a Bavarian band playing music. Mike remembers,

This guy had this thing on a stick. It didn't have bottle caps, but it had washers of some sort. It had a horn on it, and it had a bell that he would ring. It didn't have a boot on the bottom, and it was much taller than the average ugly stick, it was probably seven feet high. He was just banging that and keeping the beat with a stick.

The German musician that Mike Madigan saw in Hamelin might have been playing the “Teufelsgeige” - the ominously named “Devil's fiddle.”

If any place matches the fiery passion we have for the Devil’s fiddle, it must be Australia. There, it is known as a “lagerphone,” after the beer or lager bottle caps used in its construction. There are also similar Aboriginal instruments made using shells instead of lager caps. Bush bands playing Australian folk music have been using lagerphones since the 1950s.

Legend credits one of the first lagerphones to a nameless travelling rabbit-poisoner (rabbits were introduced to Australia, and a menace to local species). Our friendly rabbiter showed up at an open-mic Red Cross fundraiser in New South Wales in 1952, bringing with him a broom handle adorned with old bottle tops. With piano accompaniment, he rattled himself up a prize and vanished into the night. One audience member was so impressed that he made his own, paired up with a button accordionist, and started a band. The rest is history!

Bewitched in Grand Bank - of witches, houses, and horseshoes.

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 11:00:00 -0230

Newfoundland and Labrador is a safe place. This is what we tell ourselves and the tourists who visit. There are still places in the province where people do not lock their doors at night, comfortable in the knowledge that they have little to fear in the way of nocturnal intruders.

But just imagine if that safety was just an illusion. Imagine a supernatural terror stalking the night, an evil so powerful that locks and latches, bolts and barricades were not strong enough to keep it out. What would you do to keep your loved ones safe from that type of evil?

If you had lived in Grand Bank a hundred years ago, you might have gone looking for horseshoes.

On College Street in Grand Bank stood a small house with a peaked gable roof. It hasda dormer window above the main door, a central chimney and a quiet sense of dignity. The building was constructed around 1890, and for the early twentieth century was owned by a man named White.

A number of years ago renovations were done on the house. Much to the owner's surprise, when one of the front windows was taken out, twelve horseshoes were removed from the window frame. The horseshoes had been nailed up inside the wall of the house around the window box, and had never been visible.

The practice of nailing a single horseshoe over a door is fairly common, and countless sheds, net lofts and stores across the province boast a horseshoe hanging from a nail above the entrance. Depending on where you are from, the horseshoe can be nailed in place with the ends pointing up or down. Some folks believe it must point up or the luck runs out, while others believe it must point down so the luck can pour onto you.

No matter which way you nail it, the single horseshoe is recognized today as a good luck charm.

One hundred years ago, a single horseshoe meant something different, and twelve horseshoes together was probably pretty rare. Twelve horseshoes nailed up inside a wall where no could see them is more than rare. Indeed, it may point to something bordering on the sinister, as horseshoes were used as a form of protection against evil.

The lowly horseshoe was once used as an amulet against malicious spirits, the Devil, fairies and, most importantly, witches. Nailed over a doorway it was believed to prevent evil from crossing the threshold, since no witch would pass under it. One placed in the chimney could even prevent a witch from entering from above, like a creepy version of Santa Claus.

The belief in horseshoes as protection against witchcraft goes back to the Middle Ages. In 1584 Reginald Scot wrote the following in his book, The Discoverie of Witchcraft:

“To prevent and cure all mischeefes wrought by these charmes & witchcrafts... naile a horse shoo at the inside of the outmost threshold of your house, and so you shall be sure no witch shall have power to enter... You shall find that rule observed in manie countrie houses.”

One hundred years after Scot wrote this, the custom was still firmly in practice. Around 1686, James Aubrey wrote,

“A Horse-Shoe nailed on the threshold of ye dore is yet in fashion: it ought... to be a Horse-shoe that one finds by chance on the Roade. The end of it is to prevent the power of Witches, that come into your house.”

If one horseshoe would provide protection against witches, the twelve found in the house in Grand Bank would have been even more effective. The number of shoes was probably no mistake. The number twelve is one of those magical numbers, like the number seven, that constantly reappear in folklore and folk beliefs. There are twelve months, for example, and the number has several religious connotations, one example being the number of Christ’s disciples.

Were the citizens of turn of the century Grand Bank terrorized by witches? If they were, there is certainly little in the historical record to prove it. Twelve horseshoes built into the frame of a house was most likely very rare, perhaps even unique in the province. A traditional charm against evil, repeated a mystical number of times, and hidden inside a house frame, this was probably an isolated example of a highly superstitious homeowner.

Or was it?

A short distance away on Evans Street is another house, constructed around 1906. When renovations were done on that property in the early 1990s, copies of the Holy Bible were found placed around the inside of one of the windows. They had been hidden from view for years and there were exactly seven of them.

Again, the number of items is probably not a coincidence. According to the Cassel Dictionary of Superstitions, “the number seven is associated with the supernatural and will bring success to any project connected with it.”

When the Bibles were found, the popular explanation was that they had been used for insulation. It seems a little unusual that books would be used for insulation around a window when there are other materials that would be more effective. Even if books, for some reason, had been seen as a good form of insulation, it seems remarkable that the Bible would have been chosen. Likely, the use of the seven Bibles would have had some specific mystical meaning, possibly related to the protection of the property.

One of the Bibles was placed on display at the George C. Harris House museum in Grand Bank. Unfortunately, the remaining six, due to their poor condition, were placed in the garbage.

Interestingly, a hay fork was also found in the same window. It was believed to have fallen from the attic and gotten lodged between the walls. However, much like the tradition of horseshoes, there are traditions of protection involving knives, scissors, and the like. Scissors could be thrust into the door (or into a ship’s mast) for protection, or opened to form a cross-shape and laid on the threshold to prevent evil from entering. Knives, and other iron items, were believed to ward off witches or even the Devil himself if they were hidden beneath a windowsill.

One occurrence in a Newfoundland community of this type of protection from evil would be intriguing. Two is downright spooky.

It is possible that in the late 1880s, some of the good citizens of Grand Bank may have honestly felt a need for protection from witches. While Newfoundland certainly never suffered through the same witch hunt craze that swept through Europe or the Boston States, a belief in the malevolent powers of witchcraft certainly did exist. In 1997 folklorist Barbara Rieti reported that the Memorial University Folklore and Language Archive held several hundred accounts of witchcraft from all across the province.

What is also known is that witches, or at least people believed to be witches, were known to be at work on the Burin Peninsula in the recent historical period. As late as the 1950s stories were circulating the Burin Peninsula about "black stick men", men who had entered into a dark pact with Old Nick. In return they had been given a short, slender piece of burnt wood with which they could force the winds and tides to do their bidding.

Were there witches in Grand Bank in the late 1800s? If there were, they themselves have left no traces behind. There is little in the written historical record to suggest they had much impact, if they existed at all. But obviously, something was creeping around in the shadows. Whether it was a witch, some dark spirit, or the Devil incarnate, it was frightening enough to have two different homeowners seek a little supernatural protection for themselves and their families. Who knows what other secrets are hidden away in the walls of historic Grand Bank?

An earlier version of this story was published as "Bewitched in Grand Bank" in Downhomer, April 2004, Vol. 16(11), pp. BP21-BP24.

A Digression Both Winding and Overblown on the Origins of Windgap Road, Flatrock

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Fri, 5 Jul 2024 14:16:00 -0230

A Digression Both Winding and Overblown on the Origins of Windgap Road, Flatrock

By Dale Gilbert Jarvis published 5 July 2024

The toponym “Windgap” occurs in several places in in Atlantic Canada. There is a Windgap Brook in Kings, New Brunswick, and a Windgap Tarn in Torngat, Labrador. There are also references to a Wind Gap or Windy Gap near Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove.

The name may originally have meant a path that winds through a hilly or rocky spot. An article in the Newfoundland Quarterly from 1935 describes such a entranceway to the community of Perry’s Cove, Conception Bay:

Through a “windgap” the road leads down the side of the valley, past pretty little lakes and scattered houses, and trees all green or russet and gold, until the river is crossed as the road to Perry's Cove turns off to the right.

This sense of the word is conveyed in a report by the Newfoundland Hiking Club, who made a trek from Rennie’s Bridge to Pouch Cove and back (in an admirable 9 hours and 5 minutes) in 1932:

After stopping here [Pouch Cove] to buy refreshments we carried on to Flatrock and had tea at the top of the Windgap which we made by 5:10.

The group made the same hike again in 1936, with one participant writing:

This afternoon’s long trek brought us through Pouch Cove and Flatrock, and up through the Windgap, the origin of which name set us speculating. While climbing that tortuous ascent awinding its way up towards its gap in the hills we decided upon its meaning; but on meeting the gale that charged down on us as we entered the gap, we wondered whether it meant “Winding Gap” or “Windy Gap.”

A 1982 article in Decks Awash notes, “‘Wind’ is still pronounced in the old way, to rhyme with ‘find.’” Folklorist Lara Maynard, who grew up in the area, told me the name is pronounced “Wind as in wind up. But the d is hardly pronounced. So ‘Winegap.’”

There are print references to both “Wind Gap” and” Windgap” for Flatrock (or “Flat Rock”) in the 1830s, and there are also early references to a “Windgap Route” in the location of the current roadway. By 1833, work had begun on opening up a pathway along this route. The Journal of the Legislative Council of the Island of Newfoundland for 1833 notes the following for Flat Rock Road:

The Road between Flat Rock and Torbay has been opened, but no part of it has yet been made; it is, consequently, in a very rough and imperfect state. On approaching Flat Rock from the Torbay side it will be impracticable to follow the old line. At the top of the hill which overlooks Flat Rock, it will be necessary to keep further from the shore, and to sweep the high ground which, immediately to the South and West of this Settlement, joins the Pouch Cove Road to the North and West of the Cove. To trace out and level this part of that line only, the sum of £200 will be required, and until this shall have been done, the whole line of Road beyond Flat Rock to Pouch Cove will be comparatively unavailable for Horse and Cart work.

In 1841, a petition to the House of Assembly was made by Michael Wade (who had settled in the area around 1838), James Burke, and other inhabitants of Flatrock, “praying the house to grant such sum as may be necessary for making a road from Flat Rock to Torbay.” The path at that point was described as “partially opened” and it was noted that the line “which has been marked and opened passes through private property. The Journal of the Assembly went on to state:

At Flat Rock it is difficult to bring the road convenient to any of the Rooms of the Inhabitants, except by the line of road which has been made by Mr. Michael Wade. His would be the most level line to Flat Rock ; but it would much increase the distance for those persons resident on the North side of Flat Rock, in Pouch Cove, &c. Mr. Wade has made a tolerably good road here at his own expense.

Several calls for tenders were made in the 1840s, funds were allocated, and work progressed. In 1846, another petition to the Assembly was made by William Bulger and others of Flatrock, “praying for a grant to repair and complete the roads from Windgap to Gallows Cove pond, and from Flat Rock to Windgap in said settlement.” That year, £30 were disbursed for construction along the Windgap section of the road.

Trouble, however, was brewing.

The Wade family had been involved in the early construction of the road, but were apparently unhappy about the allocation of funds. In 1851, they had their case presented to the House:

Mr. Parsons, with consent of His Excellency the Governor, presented a Petition from Michael Wade of Flat Rock, and the same was received and read, setting forth,—That in 1845 he opened a road from his farm to Wind Gap, about two hundred and seventy-seven perches, a considerable portion of which had, since that time, been used as the public road. That it had been surveyed by the Road Surveyors, and the cost thereof estimated ; and praying that he may be indemnified for his outlay, in accordance with that estimate.

The petition was put to a vote, and was declined. The decision did not sit well with the Wades. In protest, they built across the portion of the road that traversed their property, blocking access.

In 1852, things had escalated to the point where another petition was presented to the government of the day. Traffic along the route was described as “proportionably great,” due to the numerous settlers living along the line, so interruptions were a serious matter. The road, “in every point of view is the most important bye-road within the district,” stated the Journal of the House of Assembly. Notice was brought to the House by Mr. Parsons, who,

…presented a Petition from Thomas Dee and others, of Flat Rock, Torbay, and Pouch Cove, setting forth,— That a part of the main line of road extending from Windgap to Waterman House, near the beach at Flat Rock, has been claimed by a resident there as his private property, and the public prevented using the same as a public road ; and praying that such proceedings maybe adopted as will enable them to have the benefit of this road.

Local oral tradition presents a more colourful version of the dispute. As Decks Awash reported in 1982,

After they had completed their road, the Wade brothers built a house across it with a gate. The first winter, they freely let local people pass, in order not to arouse any hostility in the town, while they waited for some authority figure to happen by. One summer day, the Anglican priest from Torbay came along on a sick call to Pouch Cove. They had their victim, and the boys refused to let him pass. After loud protest, the priest turned back, vowing to have James Wade arrested by the British authorities on the man-of-war anchored in Torbay harbour. When Wade appeared before the captain of the man-of-war, he claimed that he owned the road because he had built it, and would only open it as a public thoroughfare if he were paid back the money he had spent on it. The captain thought this a reasonable point, and after receiving Wade's promise that the house and gate would be removed if payment were received, he reimbursed the settler, adding that the King of England certainly did not expect his people to work for nothing.

The official website for the Town of Flatrock tells another version of the history, stating,

After a period of time a Michael Wade obtained permission to build a road but when he wasn’t paid for it he built a house across the road and refused to allow anyone to pass. When the government finally paid him, he removed the house. Great difficulties were met in building the new road which is called Wind Gap today.

Michael Wade continued to make petitions for funding for various projects till the 1870s.

The road was eventually completed, though it seems the 19th-century Wade family had acquired a taste for property-related drama. The Evening Telegram newspaper reported the following in 1888:

A DISPUTE between two brothers named Wade, belonging to Flat Rock, about their respective rights in certain property, was a subject of investigation before Judge Conroy this morning, and he settled the quarrel by sending one of the two to prison for two months. But does this settle it? Some say it tends to make bad worse. Both are sons of one of the most respectable pioneers of the suburban villages—the late Michael Wade, of Flat Rock.

Sources

“About Us - The History of Flatrock.” https://townofflatrock.com/about-us/

“A DISPUTE.” Evening Telegram, 1888-12-12 P4

“Flatrock.” Decks Awash, vol. 11, no. 01 (February 1982) Page 8-9

“Flatrock.” Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 2 [Extract: letter F] Page 210

“Flat Rock Road.” Journal of the Legislative Council of the Island of Newfoundland 1833. Page 95

“Down the Trail.” Daily News, 1936-11-07. Page 14

Journal of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland 1841 (6th session) (With Appendix). Page 79, 185

Journal of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland 1846 (4th Session) Page 15, 136

Journal of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland 1851 Page 64, 299

Journal of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland 1852 (4th Session) Page 61, 234

Journal of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland 1865 (5th Session) Page XXX

Journal of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland 1866 (1st Session) Page XXXIV

Maynard, Lara. Personal Communication. 5 July 2024.

“Newfld. Hiking Club.” Daily News, 1932-06-08. Page 6

“Tenders.” Patriot, 1844-05-15 Page 3

An Urban Legend from Baie Verte, Newfoundland

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Sat, 8 Jun 2024 10:39:00 -0230

I wouldn’t turn down $150, but I’m not sure I’d return from the great beyond to watch over it.

When I hear a story about a ghostly guardian protecting some kind of treasure, it is usually about a chest of gold or something of substantial value.

The community of Baie Verte, just to be contrary, has a local urban legend about a cheap ghost haunting the old Roman Catholic cemetery on Barn Hill.

Children in the town were told to stay out of there because it was haunted by an old man who was buried there years earlier with $150 dollars in his pocket.

It was claimed he haunted the place to protect his money.

- Dale Jarvis

Listen on TikTok

Ghosts of the Majestic

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Wed, 15 May 2024 19:13:00 -0230

Tell us your tale!

A local landmark, the Majestic Theatre has a colourful (and possibly supernatural) history. The Majestic opened in 1918 as a movie theatre, and later was one of the first to play talking pictures. It was also the birthplace of a famous political riot of April 1932, when two thousand people gathered there to march on the Colonial Building.

Said to be built on haunted ground, visitors to the building have reported poltergeist-like activity, sounds of screaming, and objects moving on their own. Employees have left items in one place, only to find them in another when the building was unlocked the next morning.

“We used to hear people running around upstairs when no one was up there and the toilets would flush on their own,” one former worker stated on Reddit in 2023.

We want to hear your stories! Did you work (or party) in the building? What strange things did you see or hear there? Have you had an encounter with one of the Majestic’s resident spirits? We are dying to find out….

Share with someone who knows the building, comment here, or answer anonymously with our Ghosts of the Majestic questionnaire!

https://forms.gle/CH3MtP5krph7CMma7

Photo of the Majestic by Leona Rockwood Photography, courtesy TerraBruce Productions.

Cressie of Crescent Lake - Robert’s Arm, Green Bay, the Loch Ness of Newfoundland

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 11:44:00 -0230

The monster surfaced, its skin shiny and slick under the summer sun. Water poured from its gaping mouth. It was long, about twenty feet in length, and it swam silently across the top of the lake before diving down into its cool depths once more. A passenger in a passing car shrieked at the driver, and the two of them watched in amazement as the creature vanished from sight.

The amazing part of the story is that it actually happened in July of 2003 in the community of Robert's Arm, "The Loch Ness of Newfoundland." The creature, known as Cressie, is a long-time inhabitant of Crescent Lake

“I was just screaming, We saw Cressie, we saw Cressie!” the eyewitness later told radio reporters.

The 2003 cryptozoological sighting was only the most recent in a long list of reports, as sightings of Cressie date back to the start of the twentieth century. One of the first residents of the community, a lady remembered today as Grandmother Anthony, was startled from her berry-picking by a giant lake serpent.

The monster seems to have been fairly active in the late 1990s. In the late spring of 1990, a resident of Robert's Arm saw a slim, black shape rise five feet from a patch of churning water before sinking out of sight. On July 9, 1991, Cressie was spotted once more, and then again on September 5 of the same year. There were several sightings in 1995, and while a summer student crew was working on the boardwalk around the lake in 2000, they too spotted the local wonder.

In a 2003 interview CBC Radio, Robert’s Arm town clerk Ada Rowsell noted that reports of monster sightings had been flooding in over the first week of that August.

“I've had several reportings of sightings - people sighting some kind of a huge monster or sea serpent or some kind of a fish," Ada told CBC radio, following the well publicized July 2003 sighting.

Locals described the creature as looking long and shiny, and having a fish-like head. It was reported that one man even hit the monster with his boat. Cressie, apparently, chose not to retaliate.

One eyewitness was reported as exclaiming “Oh my, that's big, that could eat four or five people if they were swimming. I wouldn't trust it around kids, I tell ya - no, not tiny kids. I wouldn't say tiny kids could beat it off. I wouldn't say anybody 10- or 12-years old could beat it off either.”

The Case of Matterface: A legendary ghost story from St. Lawrence, Newfoundland and Labrador

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Wed, 7 Feb 2024 09:00:00 -0330

Legend holds that around 1835, an English clerk by the name of Matterface, working at the Newman and Company’s plantation at St. Lawrence suffered an untimely demise.

Embalming was impossible, so the mortal remains of Matterface were preserved inside a barrel of rum until the body, by that point well pickled, could be taken back to England for burial.

When the barrel was opened, it was found to be drained of its liquor. Locals, unaware of the barrel’s true contents, had been sneaking drinks of the tainted rum.

Some say the barrel, with Matterface still in it, was buried in Little St Lawrence, down in the cove on Turpin’s Island.

Folklore claims Matterface’s ghost haunts the island.

Cousins spending the night in a tent on Turpin’s Island heard something scary circling the tent, round and round.

Suddenly their campfire, which had been left burning, was snuffed out, like someone blowing out a candle.

They all took off screaming.

If you visit today, you might find signs of a rock covered grave. Remember the legend though: don’t go at night. And be careful what you take along to quench your thirst.

The Brass Button Man - an urban legend from Burnt Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Tue, 6 Feb 2024 08:00:00 -0330

By Dale Jarvis

Stalking through the fog near Burnt Islands is a strange figure, with an insatiable, supernatural appetite for a rather ordinary object.

The Brass Button Man is a possibly murderous spirit who haunts the southwest coast of Newfoundland on foggy nights.

If you’re out in the fog he will sneak up on you, tap you on the shoulder, and ask for brass buttons. If you have one – you’re safe. If you don’t, he will snatch you up and take you away in his dory, never to be seen again.

The origins of the Brass Button Man legend are murky. The expression “brass button” referring to a soldier or officer was well-known in North America by the 1860s, appearing in ballads in the 1870s.

In 1935, the Western Star newspaper, Corner Brook, printed a children’s story about a dog named Shadow, who was accidentally abducted by a “brass button man” - the uniformed driver of a passenger bus. At the end of the story, Shadow’s poor little paws were sore and bleeding, and the dog had still not found his way home, ensuring local children were unlikely to trust any brass button men they might come across.

Brass button men are often associated with pirate ghosts guarding their treasure. One northern Newfoundland story tells how Aunt Et repeatedly had a sailor dressed up with brass buttons come to her in her dreams. The man told her there was money buried in a spot called Dane's Bight, and to visit at midnight. When she eventually approached the spot, she was frightened off by the sights and sounds of phantom sword fighting.

In 1990, Newfoundland folk musician Eric West produced his own version of the legend, sending shivers down kids' backs as he sang about a strange fellow lurking on Duck Island.

Another version of the Brass Button Man is found in a ghostly legend from Shalloway Brook, located between the appropriately named Deadman’s Bay and Musgrave Harbour. A local man was surrounded by a whirlwind, when there wasn’t a draft of wind anywhere else. Then, he saw a figure materialize out of the whirlwind: a man with one wooden leg, wearing a uniform with brass buttons down the front. The ghost was wearing a three cornered hat and carrying a cutlass in his right hand, with a great wound in his head.

Old legends fade slowly, and the Burnt Islands story is still told and retold today as an urban legend. If you should be out late in the fog, and come across a man asking you for a brass button, you best be prepared to tear one off your jeans, lest you become the most recent victim of the Brass Button Man.

Haddock: The Fish the Devil Touched

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Mon, 5 Feb 2024 17:59:00 -0330

Would you eat a fish that had been marked by the Prince of Darkness himself? You may have, without knowing it.

Haddock is one of the most valuable food fishes of Europe, both fresh and smoked. The fish has long been popular due to its delicate flake and tender texture. Early cookbooks mention “rizzared” or sun dried haddock, as a popular fare on breakfast tables. After the Industrial Revolution, English fishing vessels travelled far and wide for haddock in order to satisfy a booming demand for fish and chips.

One of the identifying features of the haddock is its large blackish spot above each pectoral fin. Because of this mark, the haddock has the unfortunate reputation as being the fish the Devil touched, a belief brought to Newfoundland with English settlers. This spot is known in Newfoundland as the devil's thumb-print, which the Dictionary of Newfoundland English describes as being “black marks on haddock's back - from a belief that the devil once grabbed the fish, which then got away.”

One version of the legend says the mark was created when St. Peter and the Devil were fishing. The Devil caught a haddock, but St. Peter freed the fish. As it swam away, the Devil tried to grab it. The black mark represents the Devil's fingerprint, and the dark lateral line along the side of the fish represents the scratch marks from his devilish nails as the fish slipped out of Satan’s grasp.

More righteous souls claim that the marks were left by the finger and thumb of St Peter when he opened the fish’s mouth to take out a coin. It is another good story, but the humble haddock is a salt water fish, and could not survive in the fresh water of the Sea of Galilee.

So was the mark on the haddock burned there by infernal powers?

Only the haddock, and possibly the Devil, know for certain.

Hallowe'en Night, 7pm (NLT) tune in to the Haunted Hotline on VOCM with Dale Jarvis

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 15:14:00 -0230

It's Open Line for the Undead!

Tonight, Hallowe'en Night, 7pm-9pm (NLT) VOCM will open up the Haunted Hotline. Dale Jarvis, storyteller, author, folklorist, and the proprietor of the Haunted Hike ghost tour, will be on the other end of the line. We want to hear your ghost stories!

Listen anywhere on www.VOCM.com

The Haunting of Rohan's Cottage, Harbour Grace, NL

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Sat, 9 Sep 2023 18:14:00 -0230

If you had a horn that could summon spirits from the underworld, would you risk blowing it?

One gentleman in Newfoundland claimed to have done it frequently.

This is the story of Rohan’s Cottage.

Additional investigation times added for the Paranormal Investigations at Cochrane Street

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Thu, 7 Sep 2023 10:18:00 -0230

The Paranormal Investigations at Cochrane Street sold out immediately... so we've added two more nights, Oct 19-20th! Very limited number of tickets available.

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/paranormal-investigations-at-cochrane-street-tickets-705616637357?aff=oddtdtcreator

Paranormal Investigations at Cochrane Street - October 12-13, 2023

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Fri, 1 Sep 2023 14:43:00 -0230

Paranormal Investigations at Cochrane Street
Thursday, October 12th and Friday, October 13th

Investigation slots: 7pm-9pm, and 10pm-Midnight
http://paranormalatcochrane.eventbrite.ca/

Rebuilt after a disastrous fire, the 107-year-old historic Cochrane Street Methodist Centennial Church is the perfect spot for an exclusive exploration into true hauntings.

Your evening will begin with a full briefing on the history and supernatural lore of the building, and its otherworldly inhabitants, presented by storyteller and folklorist Dale Jarvis.

To add to the experience, investigators will be provided with equipment that would have been in use by Spiritualists at the time of the building’s construction in 1916. Dale will walk you through the equipment you will use and the best practices to follow when collecting and analyzing evidence. Then participants will explore under the building’s soaring Byzantine dome… in the dark… attempting to document paranormal activity.

Participants are asked to bring a flashlight, notebook, and their camera or mobile phones to record what they might experience. Following the event, you will be given access to a private Facebook group to upload and share what you found with your fellow investigators. What will you capture?

With a max of 16 people per group, tickets are extremely limited.

$45 per Investigator
120 minutes

http://paranormalatcochrane.eventbrite.ca/

Bio:

Storyteller and folklorist Dale Jarvis is the creator and proprietor of the award-winning St. John’s Haunted Hike. Mixing history, humour, and traditional storytelling, Dale has been winning over audiences and throwing in the odd scare since 1997. He is the author of eight books on Newfoundland and Labrador ghost stories, folklore, and quirky local history, and has been featured by a wide variety of local, national, and international media.

Explore The Fairy Path, with storyteller Dale Jarvis

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 15:00:00 -0230

Along Mount Scio Road, the fairies can still be found. But would you really want to meet them?

Join folklorist and storyteller Dale Jarvis at twilight for an exploration of the darkly magical and at times eerie realms of the fairy folk. Then, set off by lamplight to find your own way home through the deepening shadows of the wooded paths of the Botanical Gardens.

Be warned however! These fairies are the unpredictable, quick-to-anger, child-snatching fairies of legend. Put some bread in your pockets, bring a friend, and be careful which voices you follow into the forest...

Presented by the St. John’s Haunted Hike and MUN Botanical Gardens

Approx. 60 minutes. This is an outdoor event, so dress for the weather, and wear comfortable walking shoes or hiking boots. Fairy lanterns will be provided, but feel free to bring your own flashlight. Suitable for ages 10+

For tickets:

https://mun.jotform.com/232424207104240

Pirate Ghosts in Lolly Cove, Fortune Bay

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 09:00:00 -0230

A strange looking ship entered Lolly Cove, Fortune Bay, crewed by dark, foreign men. Locals watched as they marched to the outskirts of town. There, the men turned upon two of their crew, dispatching and burying them on the spot.

With the grave filled in, they departed, and as they did so their ship vanished away.

Afterwards, the townsfolk could not find the freshly dug grave, finding instead a slight depression in the earth, much grown over, untouched for centuries.

www.hauntedhike.com

Buried treasure at Bay Roberts? A legend from Juggler's Cove

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Sun, 6 Aug 2023 20:56:00 -0230

Local lore says Juggler’s Cove got its name because one would need the dexterity of a juggler to navigate the harbour. Rumours persist of a buried treasure that was excavated here by a man named Locke Thomas, one of the mysteries of Juggler’s Cove, the oldest settlement of Bay Roberts.

The Ghosts of Vinegar Hill

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Thu, 8 Jun 2023 14:28:00 -0230

A magnet for supernatural activity, Vinegar Hill was likely named by early Irish settlers after the failed Irish uprising of 1798 which ended at the Battle of Vinegar Hill. It is home to numerous ghost and fairy stories.

www.hauntedhike.com

Back from the Dead: The St. John's Haunted Hike returns for 2023!

info@hauntedhike.com (Dale Gilbert Jarvis) — Sat, 27 May 2023 09:15:00 -0230

The first St. John's Haunted Hike of the 2023 season is this Sunday, May 28th. We've shifted slightly to a 9pm start, and have tickets available for opening night!

Order here:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/haunted-hike-2023-tickets-615042567877