The "Ghost House" was a 19th-century,, reported, haunted site in Eastern Passage, documented by Helen Creighton. It was known for violent poltergeist activity, including, the forerunner of, three knocks, signifying, a, death, and, the, apparition, of, a, "white lady",. The home was, reputedly, constructed from wood salvaged from local shipwrecks.
So Ofcourse, we needed to know more! Digging in, we contacted the Helen Creighton Folklore Society, and we chatted for a while about this house. They generously provided us with the information provided below as well as Cindy Storyteller!
Read on to learn a bit more of one of many spooky maritime stories!
**** Info provided by Cindy Campbell-Stone and Helen Creighton Folklore Society with sources provided below!
The Ghost House
By Cindy Campbell-Stone, Storyteller
cindystoryteller.com
In 1928, Helen Creighton went looking for songs from Enos Hartlan at Hartlan’s Point. She took along a friend, Helen O’Connor and they set off in Helen’s car. They followed the Eastern Passage road until they could go no further by car as the road was full of ruts. She continued along by foot until they came to a clearing in the woods on top of a hill at the Point. There was a cluster of houses surrounding a derelict, abandoned house at the centre.
Mrs Enos Hartlan was home as the men were all out fishing, and it was the men who could sing the songs, so they visited with Mrs Hartlan for a while. Helen already knew Mrs Hartlan because she used to bring market produce to the Creighton family home in Dartmouth. The conversation turned to the abandoned house in the centre of the houses.
“That’s our ghost house”, said Mrs Hartlan proudly. She stated that in the past, she experienced hearing eerie knocks and spectral footsteps coming down the stairs when there was no one else in the house.
She went on to explain that the Ghost House was made of the wood washed ashore from wrecked ships. The souls of drowned sailors were said to inhabit the wood of the house because where there was a sudden death, there was often a return of the spirit.
It was a haunted place where there were terrifying experiences of violent poltergeist activity like bedclothes being ripped off the sleeper night after night. Often, the forerunner of three knocks, were heard which would soon be followed by a sudden death. There were sightings of scary apparitions and witches to the point where the haunted house was abandoned.
Protections were made against the supernatural, such as in the Hartlan’s own house, a board was nailed above the front door that had nine reversed letters carved into it representing a passage from a German Bible: ”And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”. With these words, a witch could not enter the house.
Helen was fascinated by the Ghost House and took a photo of it. The Ghost House was the first ghost story Helen collected and the first story in Bluenose Ghosts.
Sources :
Bluenose Ghosts, 1957. Nimbus Publishing 2025;
A Life in Folklore: Helen Creighton, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1975;
Helen Creighton: Canada’s First Lady of Folklore by Clary Croft, Nimbus Publishing, 1999.
Follow Cindy Storyteller online at
https://cindystoryteller.com/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPku_dleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR5TbN38gyN89WTfPXEv92RE2HlNtypKs2APhwa77OMFaOtUavnNf0ohn2tSog_aem_n_sXEbu52Cq8NNlonQwI4Q
Follow Helen Creighton Folklore Society on Facebook here
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In The Spotlight
The "Ghost House" was a 19th-century, reported, haunted site in Eastern Passage, documented by Helen Creighton. It was known for violent poltergeist activity
We were looking around the ol' internet when we came across a little piece of spooky, but intriguing, history right out of a Hollywood horror movie! But the really scary part is, it happened right here in HRM!
The "Ghost House" was a 19th-century,, reported, haunted site in Eastern Passage, documented by Helen Creighton. It was known for violent poltergeist activity, including, the forerunner of, three knocks, signifying, a, death, and, the, apparition, of, a, "white lady",. The home was, reputedly, constructed from wood salvaged from local shipwrecks.
So Ofcourse, we needed to know more! Digging in, we contacted the Helen Creighton Folklore Society, and we chatted for a while about this house. They generously provided us with the information provided below as well as Cindy Storyteller!
Read on to learn a bit more of one of many spooky maritime stories!
**** Info provided by Cindy Campbell-Stone and Helen Creighton Folklore Society with sources provided below!
The Ghost House
By Cindy Campbell-Stone, Storyteller
cindystoryteller.com
In 1928, Helen Creighton went looking for songs from Enos Hartlan at Hartlan’s Point. She took along a friend, Helen O’Connor and they set off in Helen’s car. They followed the Eastern Passage road until they could go no further by car as the road was full of ruts. She continued along by foot until they came to a clearing in the woods on top of a hill at the Point. There was a cluster of houses surrounding a derelict, abandoned house at the centre.
Mrs Enos Hartlan was home as the men were all out fishing, and it was the men who could sing the songs, so they visited with Mrs Hartlan for a while. Helen already knew Mrs Hartlan because she used to bring market produce to the Creighton family home in Dartmouth. The conversation turned to the abandoned house in the centre of the houses.
“That’s our ghost house”, said Mrs Hartlan proudly. She stated that in the past, she experienced hearing eerie knocks and spectral footsteps coming down the stairs when there was no one else in the house.
She went on to explain that the Ghost House was made of the wood washed ashore from wrecked ships. The souls of drowned sailors were said to inhabit the wood of the house because where there was a sudden death, there was often a return of the spirit.
It was a haunted place where there were terrifying experiences of violent poltergeist activity like bedclothes being ripped off the sleeper night after night. Often, the forerunner of three knocks, were heard which would soon be followed by a sudden death. There were sightings of scary apparitions and witches to the point where the haunted house was abandoned.
Protections were made against the supernatural, such as in the Hartlan’s own house, a board was nailed above the front door that had nine reversed letters carved into it representing a passage from a German Bible: ”And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”. With these words, a witch could not enter the house.
Helen was fascinated by the Ghost House and took a photo of it. The Ghost House was the first ghost story Helen collected and the first story in Bluenose Ghosts.
Sources :
Bluenose Ghosts, 1957. Nimbus Publishing 2025;
A Life in Folklore: Helen Creighton, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1975;
Helen Creighton: Canada’s First Lady of Folklore by Clary Croft, Nimbus Publishing, 1999.
Follow Cindy Storyteller online at
https://cindystoryteller.com/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPku_dleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR5TbN38gyN89WTfPXEv92RE2HlNtypKs2APhwa77OMFaOtUavnNf0ohn2tSog_aem_n_sXEbu52Cq8NNlonQwI4Q
Follow Helen Creighton Folklore Society on Facebook here
https://www.facebook.com/share/1F2pXQacBD/
The "Ghost House" was a 19th-century,, reported, haunted site in Eastern Passage, documented by Helen Creighton. It was known for violent poltergeist activity, including, the forerunner of, three knocks, signifying, a, death, and, the, apparition, of, a, "white lady",. The home was, reputedly, constructed from wood salvaged from local shipwrecks.
So Ofcourse, we needed to know more! Digging in, we contacted the Helen Creighton Folklore Society, and we chatted for a while about this house. They generously provided us with the information provided below as well as Cindy Storyteller!
Read on to learn a bit more of one of many spooky maritime stories!
**** Info provided by Cindy Campbell-Stone and Helen Creighton Folklore Society with sources provided below!
The Ghost House
By Cindy Campbell-Stone, Storyteller
cindystoryteller.com
In 1928, Helen Creighton went looking for songs from Enos Hartlan at Hartlan’s Point. She took along a friend, Helen O’Connor and they set off in Helen’s car. They followed the Eastern Passage road until they could go no further by car as the road was full of ruts. She continued along by foot until they came to a clearing in the woods on top of a hill at the Point. There was a cluster of houses surrounding a derelict, abandoned house at the centre.
Mrs Enos Hartlan was home as the men were all out fishing, and it was the men who could sing the songs, so they visited with Mrs Hartlan for a while. Helen already knew Mrs Hartlan because she used to bring market produce to the Creighton family home in Dartmouth. The conversation turned to the abandoned house in the centre of the houses.
“That’s our ghost house”, said Mrs Hartlan proudly. She stated that in the past, she experienced hearing eerie knocks and spectral footsteps coming down the stairs when there was no one else in the house.
She went on to explain that the Ghost House was made of the wood washed ashore from wrecked ships. The souls of drowned sailors were said to inhabit the wood of the house because where there was a sudden death, there was often a return of the spirit.
It was a haunted place where there were terrifying experiences of violent poltergeist activity like bedclothes being ripped off the sleeper night after night. Often, the forerunner of three knocks, were heard which would soon be followed by a sudden death. There were sightings of scary apparitions and witches to the point where the haunted house was abandoned.
Protections were made against the supernatural, such as in the Hartlan’s own house, a board was nailed above the front door that had nine reversed letters carved into it representing a passage from a German Bible: ”And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”. With these words, a witch could not enter the house.
Helen was fascinated by the Ghost House and took a photo of it. The Ghost House was the first ghost story Helen collected and the first story in Bluenose Ghosts.
Sources :
Bluenose Ghosts, 1957. Nimbus Publishing 2025;
A Life in Folklore: Helen Creighton, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1975;
Helen Creighton: Canada’s First Lady of Folklore by Clary Croft, Nimbus Publishing, 1999.
Follow Cindy Storyteller online at
https://cindystoryteller.com/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPku_dleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR5TbN38gyN89WTfPXEv92RE2HlNtypKs2APhwa77OMFaOtUavnNf0ohn2tSog_aem_n_sXEbu52Cq8NNlonQwI4Q
Follow Helen Creighton Folklore Society on Facebook here
https://www.facebook.com/share/1F2pXQacBD/
