This may not be everyone’s cup of tea but this blog is for the people like me, the ones who love a scary story around a crackling fire under the moonlight. People whose imaginations tend to go a little wild when a figurine falls off of the shelf and no part of them cares to look at the science behind why it fell. Something that I’ve learned about islanders is that many love to share a good story among friends, whether it be ghosts, history or what their Aunt Maureen did after a few too many cocktails at the family Christmas party.

Growing up I loved the adrenaline rush of a good scare. All of our childhood sleepovers involved scary stories, homemade ouija boards made out of paper and saying “Bloody Mary” three times and then staring into the bathroom mirror in the dark. These sleepovers would often lead to at least one friend calling their mom to come pick them up because they were scared but we just couldn’t help ourselves. Today I have become a bit more mild but I still love cozying up on the couch with some snacks and sticking on a horror film.

With Halloween coming up I thought it would be fun to share some good old fashioned PEI Ghost stories. Some classics and some maybe a little less known. So cozy up with a nice drink, light some candles and shut off the lights. It’s time to begin.

 

Have you ever heard about the murder of Annie Beaton? Annie Beaton was a 41 year old woman who lived on Queens Road with her brother Murdoch and her one year old infant on a fifty acre farm. On May 12, 1859, Ann had visited the neighbours a mile up the road to sip on some tea as they chatted about the tea cloth that her neighbour was weaving for her brother Murdoch.

After tea Annie decided it was time to make the short journey home as the sun was beginning to set. There was a lot of discussion around being cautious and being sure to stay on the main road on her way home. It wasn’t a far walk, only about a mile, but a woman travelling alone could be dangerous and it was best to stay in clear sight.

It is unknown what her exact route was, but it is believed that Annie had cut through the Hallow where she was brutally assaulted and murdered. Her body was found at the back of her brother’s farm, in the hallow formed by the Montague River. After Annie’s murder, the site was renamed Goblin Hollow.

It is now said that many who have entered the hollow report experiencing an unnerving feeling. There have been reports of hearing a woman crying, screaming and wailing when entering Goblin Hollow as well as people experiencing an eerie and abrupt silence that has been enough to turn them around.

Although beautiful, it has been said that within the woods of the Glen lives a terrifying creature called the Wookalark. This creature is said to be half man, half pig and his eyes glow red in the trees. Many locals have had parties in the woods of the Glen and have claimed to hear noises, seen red eyes glowing in the night or have had parts of their cars stop working, only to start working again once they made it out.

One local shared a tale of her younger years in the Glen. She was leaving a party around 3:30am when she looked back and seen what looked like a set of glowing red eyes staring at her from within the woods. She sat there frozen in fear for two minutes, studying the eyes and trying to make them make sense. They weren’t at the height that an animal would be at, it was more the height of a human. The thing is humans eyes don’t glow red. She sped out of the Glen with her doors locked and didn’t look back. Was it a human? Or was it a half man, half pig watching her from the distance? I couldn’t tell you but I will say that I paid a visit to the Glen by myself not long ago and knowing these stories was enough to freak me out and have me checking my back every time I heard a crunch in the leaves. Let’s just say I was thankful to make it out of there with my car in one piece.

On the Road where Bayfield and Rock Barra meet there have been numerous sightings of a ghost who is known as the Swamp Lady who lives in woods.

One of the first encounters with the swamp lady was made by a man named Alec “Little Johnny” MacDonald who resided in Bayfield. One night he was travelling past the swamp on his horse and buggy and when he looked to his side, a woman was there accompanying him. He continued on his travels and when he looked back to the seat beside him, the woman had vanished.

In the late 70’s Donald and Elaine MacGregor tied the knot and together they lived in Bayfield, PEI. MacGregor had lived in the East Baltic his whole life and was unfamiliar with the ghost stories about the swamp lady.

One hot Summer evening Elaine was playing cards at a good friend’s house in Rock Barra and Donald decided that he wanted to join. His wife had the vehicle so he decided that he would walk and meet her there. He headed out as it was only a ten minute commute on foot.

As he was nearing the halfway point of the big swamp, Donald noticed a ghostly looking woman off in the distance. She was dressed in a long white dress and stood very still as she watched Donald make his way towards her. Donald did not sense that the woman in the white dress was dangerous but at the same time he still had an unnerving feeling. The second he passed her he ran as fast as he could to the neighbours house and didn’t stop until he made it inside with the door shut behind him.

He leaned against the door, trying to catch his breath. Elaine told him that he looked like he was as pale as a ghost. Donald responded with, “I think I’ve just seen one.” When Donald calmed down the neighbours told him the stories of the swamp lady who lived in that area and he had known that was exactly who he had met on his travels.

 

The story of Peter MacIntyre is a story that has been passed down by word of mouth since the day it happened. It was late October when a group of men sat together in the little country store cabin. They shared scary stories and mysterious events that they had heard of in the warmth of the little store.

Peter MacIntyre arrived, he was a big man and the other men made room for him to join as they continued to chat. Ben Peters began to tell the story of the ball of fire that he had seen in the old French burying grounds at Scotch Fort. He described it as a giant ball of fire that danced across the graves and lit up the whole cemetery. Peter laughed at this story, he didn’t believe in this ball of fire that Ben Peters had spoke of. In fact he decided that he would walk through that churchyard that night to prove it to them. He claimed that there were more devils to fear among the living than the resting place of the dead.

A bet was placed with the prize of a pound of tobacco. It was decided that Peter would have to enter the cemetery alone and plant a hay-fork into a grave to prove that he had been there. It was late and as Peter began his quest, the rest of the men headed home eager to hear about his adventures in the morning.

The next morning came and there was no sign of Peter anywhere and his livestock appeared to have not been fed. This was not normal for Peter so the men set off in search of him, not telling the others about the bet. As they came up to a grave there was the hay-fork sticking out of the ground with Peter laying dead around it. The hay-fork stabbed right through the tail of his long black coat.

Captain Kidd was one of the most infamous pirates of his time, born in Scotland in 1645, his name is well known on the island because of the story of his buried stolen treasure. Captain Kidd ordered his crew to take over the Quedagh Merchant, a 500-ton Armenian ship that was carrying gold. The ship was poorly protected and it was very quickly taken under control of Captain Kidd and his crew.

Captain Kidd was hung on May 23, 1701 when he was found guilty of piracy. He was hung in a cage over the River Thames for all to see. It is said that the Captain sensed that his death was a likely possibility so he had arranged to have all of his precious treasure buried before he was killed.

They say that his riches were buried at Bay Fortune, PEI. Over the years many treasure hunters have searched for Captain Kidd’s treasure but no one has come out lucky despite the name having the word Fortune in it. It is said that these claims aren’t completely out of character for the mysterious Fortune area which has been known to have a history with the dark and unexplained.

Ghosts have been known to haunt the dark woods of the area and Charles Coghlan’s floating coffin managed to find its way to the shores of Bay Fortune. Cape Abel was even named after a murder that took place between Patrick Pearce and Edward Abel in 1819.