Ghost Stories for 2022
Spooky season is upon us and while, I’m 99% ready to start decorating the house, I’m 100% in the mood to start collecting your ghost stories for special Halloween programming on the radio.
If you have a story about something that happened to you that you could not explain, something with a ‘paranormal’ vibe to it, I want to hear it!
There are a few ways for you to share your stories:
Your voice tells your story best: I can call you through my laptop & record our conversation (there are a few ways to do this including Skype, Teams, Zoom, etc.) OR you can record yourself telling the story, and don’t worry about messing up, I will be editing all stories (audio only) for air.
Your story in your words: If you would prefer to tell the story in text, that works too. Send me an e-mail and we’ll go from there.
Happy Haunting: Midsummer Night's Scream at Saunders Farm
The spirits are waiting for you at Saunders Farm; some are friendly while others are - well, ... see for yourself during their Midsummer Night's Scream event: tonight and tomorrow ONLY. Your 35$+tax ticket includes admission to the Opening of Fright Fest, Sept. 24th!
The spirits are waiting for you at Saunders Farm. Some are friendly while others are - well, ... see for yourself during their Midsummer Night's Scream event: tonight and tomorrow ONLY.
Your 35$+tax ticket includes admission to the Opening of Fright Fest, Sept. 24th!
I visited the 200 year old barn last night. This was one of many visions I had while making my way through the parlour, into the laboratory, cellar, library and - wait! what was that? did you hear something? If you did, it could have been Saunders Farm’s architect of fright Ayden Harvey.
Happy Halloween 2021: Yer Ghost Stories
A collection of spooky tales from the people who lived them. Ghost stories, UFO sightings, paranormal experiences… Things that cannot be explained but were certainly felt by those who’ve shared their stories with me this Halloween.
A few years back I was rushed to the hospital because I had a very bad allergic reaction to medication.
I was admitted overnight for observation and was hooked up to some IVs. While I was sleeping, I rolled over and my dad was sitting there reading the newspaper. He told me to “go back to bed, everything would be OK”, so that is what I did.
When I woke up in the morning I looked over where he was sitting and I saw the newspaper folded on the table.
My dad passed away in 1996… years prior… He, obviously, was watching over me that night and came back to visit.
- Lisa
A couple of weeks ago, my two year old kept saying “Papa! Papa!” while pointing to the corner of her room.
I let it go as my father in law had just come for a visit. Later, while I was rocking her to sleep with the lights off, she pointed to the corner again and said, “Hi Papa”, then she smiles and says, “Papa hiding!” At this point, I felt a breeze of cold on my arm and a sudden chill.
I decided to show her some pictures.
A picture of my father-in-law: no reaction. A picture of my grandfather: no reaction. A picture of my step-dad: no reaction. Then I showed her a picture of my biological father and she said, “Papa! Mommy’s daddy!”
I never refer to my biological dad. Ever. My kids know my step-dad as my dad. My biological dad passed in 1996.
To say the least, I bought white sage and am going to smudge the house.
- Heather
I was 11 years old when grandfather passed. About 2 weeks after his death, my father kept asking me who I was talking to. I answered, “Gug”, but dad says, “He passed away”. I said, “I know!”
What happened was, I woke up ‘cause there was a weight on my feet and there was my Gug! Sitting on the end of bed! So I said “Hi Gug”, and he said “Hi Karl. Don't be scared, I'm in a good place and doing fine. Don't worry, you will be here with me later”, and you know what? I think I will be with my Gug again, but not for a while I hope. I'm 62 and I will see my Gug again!
My mom loved tulips. Adored them. Especially the red ones. But she would only look at them in magazines or on other’s properties as she would joke she “couldn’t take care of flowers to save her life.” So she never planted anything.
She passed away on sept 1,2001. On sept 11th there were the attacks on the world trade center.
I was still at her house sorting out her things and I really needed to get some air with everything happening. I went outside into her backyard and in the corner, by the cedars, was a big beautiful red tulip.
Freaked me out. But then made me smile.
- Mike
When I was twelve years old, me and a bunch of girls played Ouija board. We ask for signs and the typical stuff! I was sitting with the bay window behind me and when I asked for my dead grandpa to give us a sign that bay window exploded behind me! He was an alcoholic and many years ago, on a drunken night, he broke the bay window in my dad’s childhood house! Never EVER played that game again!
- Marie
My mom used to work at this boutique in Mexico that was owned by a cousin. I used to drop by and help move things, and do things for my Mom that she couldn’t do. I came in one time and just before going to lunch, my Mom said, “There’s this one door at the back of the store that I cannot open, I was told to put extra boxes there; can you help?” So we go to the back and there’s the door, behind another door. So, I give the knob a twist and… it opens!
I said, “What are you taking about? It was unlocked!“
We open the door and find this room, which looked more like a corridor, and it’s really really long. Me being me, I want to go see how long it is. We start down the corridor and it goes on and on... We stop after a minute walking and turn around and the door where we came in looks really, really small, so we decided to head back. Fast. And, finally, we get out.
After that experience, I decided that that corridor seemed too long. I’m wondering if it’s even possible. So we go outside the building and count steps along the block to the street behind and determine it’s around 175 steps or so to the end of the street.
Armed with this new info, we go back inside and this time, with a flashlight just in case, we start walking into this corridor. We count up to 200 steps… and there’s more… that’s when we stop and literally run back to the entrance door and close it.
We still talk about it in our family. As for the door? The next day we summoned up some courage and decide we are walking to the end! Well, we could never open that door again and the landlord had no interest in investigating saying, “it didn’t matter because it was not part of the rented premises.”
I still get goosebumps thinking about it, and still look at old building entrances with apprehension.
- Pepe
About twenty three years ago I decided to go on a little trip across Canada with my best friend at the time. We were eighteen and had no plans but to hang out and party for a month straight.
We stayed at my friend's father's house which was in the middle of nowhere Alberta and very old .
My friends grandmother (at the time) was quite ill and my friend Mike was sad and worried that something bad would happen. On my third night there I decided to go to sleep before Mike. He was still in the living the room listening to the radio .
You know that point when you start to fall asleep and you’re kinda awake but kinda dreaming at the same time? Well, I was about there when I heard a strange voice say, "Don't worry Mike, she will be ok." I passed it off as my brain just running wild, until a second later… Mike came bolting into my room asking me, “Did you just hear that? Did you hear somebody tell me she was going to be ok? That came from the speakers!!!"
I sat up and realized that I was not dreaming. We both heard the same thing.
Needless to say, we were freaked out and we ended up crashing at the camp up the road. The next day, we spoke to Mike's dad and kinda mentioned what had happened and he said that most people who have slept there have had something odd happen.
The only other thing that happened to us while there was not half as scary but odd non the less. We could stay in the house for days straight and nothing would happen but the second we both left, we would always come back to all the breakers tripped in the fuse box. If we left together ten times in one hour, we would have to reset the breakers ten times. If we stayed in and didn't leave, there was never an issue.
I am not a true believer in this stuff but I can't explain it. Never happened before the trip and in the twenty years since, I have not seen anything else like it… that I could not explain.
- John
I had been working at a local community hockey rink; working hard shoveling and flooding the ice.
I was in the washroom and had just finished washing my hands. I had literally just turned off the water in the sink and still had my hands on the hot and cold water taps when the hand dryer behind me turned on.
Every hair on my body stood up with fear. I was covered in goosebumps.
This was an air dryer that you had to push the knob for it to work. My hands were still wet and in the sink.
Frozen, I said a loud "Thank you!" turned around and dried my hands.
That was a little frightening.
- Ben
We had just moved into a new house when my daughter was two and we were shopping in a store that gave out free samples. The sample lady told us that,
“Your daughter can see things. She can see THEM. If they bother you, tell them to Go Away".
Weird, right? So we left the store.
A couple nights later, I wake up at around 2 AM because I’d heard something. Turns out it was my daughter walking down the hallway (she just graduated out of the crib into the bigger bed).
I follow her down the hallway, say her name and she turns to look at me. I noticed that she looks totally out of it; eyes wide open, but not really looking at me and she says, in the creepiest voice I've ever heard,
"This child should not be here."
At this point I am obviously freaking out. I walk over to her, pick her up and bring her back to her room, put her in bed, turn around to leave and find that her door is closed behind me.
I walk over to the door and grab the handle when I hear this blood curdling scream coming from behind me. I turn around and my daughter is sitting up in her bed screaming and pointing at the door. I go over to console her for a few minutes and she finally calms down and I go back to bed.
When I get back to bed, my wife asked “What's going on?” I explain everything and she says, “Yeah, I heard a bunch of noise and I have to work in the morning so I came and closed the door behind you.”
Scared the living hell out of me. Only reasonable explanation is that my daughter was sleepwalking or, at least, I hope she was sleepwalking.
- Jaret
ANONYMOUS TEXTER: “I don't know if this is much of a ghost story. But when I was a child I was playing with a first choice play set. I remember so clearly, I was sitting down and look at the wall and my shadow stood up and waved at me. I freaked out and went to my parents but got shrugged off. I'll never forget that day.”
What's Your Favourite Ghost Story?
Spooky tales from The Amy Volume Show on KiSS 105.3. A mix of calls from listeners, text messages and Facebook comments all from people who’ve been visited by spirits. Some kind, some not so kind.
Like most of you, I’ve been watching The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix. I love a good ghost story, so I asked the question: “what’s your favourite ghost story”? It could be a television show, a movie, a legend or maybe a more personal experience.
As they say, ask and you shall receive…
The above audio is a collection of stories from The Amy Volume Show on KiSS 105.3 from October 19th, 2018.
More stories were shared via social media but due to privacy restrictions, I am unable to embed the original post. However, you can CLICK HERE to be taken to the thread filled with ghostly movie suggestions and personal tales, like these:
“One Halloween weekend at the cottage a group of us hired a medium to come and do our readings. During his last reading the medium looked out to the balcony and asked my friend ‘who is the man standing there looking at the roof with his hands on his hips’ I’m seeing an apparition! She said that’s the owner’s father who built the cottage, he was always inspecting the roof. The medium was so spooked that he left right away without saying goodbye to anyone!”
“I was living in a farm house east of the city and one night as I was about to fall asleep, with my eyes closed I saw a super bright light in front of me then as I tried to get up I felt pinned down. It happened twice. Needless to say I ended up leaving the lights and radio on all the time.” - Matt
"In the delivery room giving birth to my first child. The nurse that looked after me looked just like my Nanny who had passed away just before my daughter was born. The labor and delivery were difficult, and I had serious complications. The same nurse stayed by my side even in the delivery room and kept telling my husband and I everything will be alright. My daughter is born, and she was beautiful and healthy. We wanted to thank the nurse (who looked just like my nanny) for taking care of me and our baby. We asked staff members if we could speak to nurse Louise (my Nanny's name) and staff told us there was no Nurse Louise on the unit!"
"I have a scary story about me and my friend... [We went] to her cottage for the weekend and we were bored and found an unopened Ouija board, we started playing and it worked! We were really scared. There was a person we contacted... It was a girl and she was sixty-one and we were asking how she died… The pointer went straight to ‘goodbye’ and we kept hearing noises outside... It was a very scary experience." - Katie
“I was with my mother a few years ago at her house and we were having a conversation in her kitchen. My mother keeps her utensils in a jar on the counter, then one day when [we] were standing on the other side of the kitchen, her potato masher lifted out of the jar and flew across the room all on its own. It was SUPER creepy!” - Nina on Facebook
“An old apartment of mine in Kemptville is haunted. I lived there for over a year and I was getting really sick. I kept going to the doctors and had so many tests done. We couldn't figure out how or why I was throwing up, up to 15 times a day, sometimes more. Eventually I got fed up and went to a psychic. Turns out, I wasn't welcomed where I was living.
I have seen all my cupboards fly open. I was laying in bed once, no fan no window… Everything closed. And a little figure (child like) was coming out of my curtain from my closet, just standing like a child would wearing a sheet to be a ghost.
There were constant cold spots. My girlfriend and I were trying to film, in separate rooms, and we couldn't hear each other from 10 feet away. We were screaming and didn't hear one another. We watched the footage and we could hear everything, each other's yelling one another's name, saying come here, etc.
There were two or three suicides in that place and it got destroyed in one of the great fires of Kemptville. I moved out and I haven't been sick since…” - Chelsea on Facebook
“My husband is in the flooring business and has a lot of experience so he has people calling him all the time. This one time we got a call from a friend who needed some help. I couldn't get out of the car… I felt physically sick. I am quite sensitive. Hubby went and came back about 45 mins later. I didn't know his friend had told him something happened that night...
We go back the next day and I forced myself to go in. Huge mistake. I didn't see but I sensed things. One room a man had stabbed his wife to death and then hung himself. Moving along I came a smaller room where a baby died. Freaked out I went into the room where they were working and said I have to leave. They both look at me.
’Why? Are y'all crazy? How can you stay here?’
‘One of the previous owners wants you out he doesn't like that you are renovating his house. He tried to get you to leave last night.’
[Before leaving, I headed down to the basement] another bad mistake on my part. I felt a sense of cold at the top of the stairs. A flash of light from the corner freaked them out and when they turned and looked at me my very long hair was standing straight up. I walked over to a door and said never open it. And took off running I haven't been back and have to idea if they ever opened that door.” - Patti on Facebook
“There’s this place forty minutes outside of Pembroke called Buck Hill on Round Lake Road. I went there with friends one night and I saw the man; the story is his daughter was lost in a snow storm and he searches the bush looking for [her] and when he died, his ghost continues to look... It’s quite the story but I saw the light floating and then he was right outside my truck.”
Do you have a story to share? Contact me any time via e-mail, or join the conversation weekdays from 9AM to 2PM on KiSS 105.3 in Ottawa, Canada.
Aurora's Birth Story
This pregnancy was similar to my last, with little Everett born January 2015. Long, hard and gross. Very gross. I think I was sicker than I've ever been with little R in my tummy. I was hospitalized (briefly) with strep throat and had countless viral infections (mmm... pink eye, multiple times). Happy to say little R made it through and appears to be one happy and healthy babe, but we're skipping ahead here...
Unlike with Everett, Aurora was a planned baby. Ryan and I knew we wanted another child. Our families knew. Work knew. It was thoroughly planned and lucky for us, it didn't take long to conceive. I'll admit it: a planned pregnancy is a little less exciting than an unplanned one! I had been taking the vitamins, laying off the sauce and habitually peeing on sticks for a couple months before the wonderful confirmation came.
Like I said before, the actual pregnancy on me was rough but since baby was doing okay in my belly the doctor thought that attempting VBAC (vaginal birth after C-section) might be a good idea. It is said to lessen recovery time among other things. Though I wasn't super into the idea of VBAC based on what had happened during Everett's birth (emergency C-section/a whirlwind story), the idea of going for it naturally was still somewhat appealing and a shortened recovery time was definitely up my alley. I did have another baby (Everett, 2 years and 2 months) at home, after all.
We had discussed this early on and I had months to do some research and really make an informed decision. All the while, I was working full time. I know, I know. I work on the radio. It's not a physically intense job by any stretch but believe me... When you're exhausted, your brain & mouth don't tend to work as well as they used to and I was exhausted! Sure beat being unemployed though - as was the case when I was preggo with E. That was another level of stress I'm very happy I didn't have to deal with this time 'round.
“Birth is a trip. It’s a mental, physical and emotional journey that is personal to every person who experiences it first hand.”
I stopped working at the end of February. The plan was to schedule a C-section but to be open to VBAC if I went into labour early and things were looking good. Baby was measuring big (85th percentile) near the end which made the possibility of delivering her naturally seem very, very frightening for me. I'm little and she, like her brother, was BIG.
Nearing my C-section date I got very "inside my head" about all the things that could go wrong. I was thinking a lot about death; what if she didn't make it? What if I didn't make it? What if we both died? I was also worrying a lot about how this new addition to the family was going to affect little Everett. My first baby! Our little surprise who quickly became my whole friggin' world; how was he going to react to a new baby? Would I love him less? How could I make sure everyone got the right amount of love and attention?
So many unanswered questions and I was also freaked out about going into labour naturally and having to experience a vaginal delivery I didn't really want to have but does choosing a repeat C make me lazy? A bad mom? Am I robbing baby of a natural entry into this life? Seriously. These are the thoughts that were going through my mind which is why, nearing her arrival, I blocked out all baby talk. My apologies to those of you whose text messages and e-mails I didn't return.
March 20th... the wait is over.
Ryan and I headed to the hospital for an 8AM check in. While waiting for a room in Labour and Deliv. we bumped into the OB who'd be delivering our baby. Shout out to Dr. Garber, by the way, who was totally right about a scheduled C-section being a wildly different experience than an unscheduled or emergent one. He was on his way to deliver a baby (via C) the hard way. That news kinda helped to calm my nerves. I made it through a difficult C with Everett, so today should be a slice of cake, right?
Velia was the first nurse who helped us out once we made it to the pre-op/waiting room. She is really awesome and I told her about this blog so "HI VELIA - If you're reading this - you were one of the best parts of our journey!" I got a little queasy and had to lay down when the IV went in. Yes, I hate needles. Muchly.
8AM... 9AM... 10AM... we were joined by another couple (separated by a curtain) awaiting their C-section. Knowing other people are undergoing the same scary thing as me has always been something I found calming. I was also watching the clock because I had asked my coworkers at the radio station to put on a special song for Aurora's arrival, scheduled for sometime between 12PM and 1PM.
Shortly after 12PM we were escorted into the OR. Well, I was. Ryan had to wait until the anesthetist said it was okay. I've never WALKED into an operating room before so this was a first! The room was intimidating to say the least but I knew I wasn't the first who'd be experiencing this today. Shortly after hopping up onto the bed, I asked the medical staff to tune the radio to 106.1 CHEZ. You see, during Everett's birth I asked the same and got to rock out to an epic playlist during his spontaneous arrival. I was really into the music and not working for Rogers Radio at the time so it was quite the keepsake when Robin (Harper) and Steve (Colwill) answered my request for the playlist.
You don't see much when you're lying there so it was very nice when Ryan was let in. It was also super nice to know the person heading the surgery! Last time was a major blur - it all ended well, but it was really scary in comparison.
Everything below my breasts was warm and fuzzy and then completely numb. The time between going numb and the countdown to baby's first cry I find the most intense... You know it's ON and your life's going to change within the next 30-45 minutes.
There was a lot of pushing, pulling and talking with the staff. Everyone in there was great and, just like I told them pre-op, I forgot most of their names. Except Heather! Heather was there during E's delivery and she actually remembered me thanks to the radio connection.
Aurora "Rory" Stardust joined the outside world on March 20th at 13:13 weighing 8lb 6oz to U2's New Year's Day.
Her brother, Everett was born January 9th at 11:11 weighing 9lb 6oz to AC/DC's Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap).
The whole procedure was a truly great experience. She came out a beautiful, healthy baby girl and I managed to pull through okay. There might be some scar tissue ickiness going forward with it being my second C-section so this will be my last birthing rodeo. Like - FOR SURE.
Everything I was told about scheduled C-sections was absolutely true. It was a cool, calm and collected experience - POST OP. Prior to, I was anything but cool, calm and collected. Birth is a trip. It's a mental, physical and emotional journey that is personal to every person who experiences it first hand. I dealt with it on my terms this time and am absolutely grateful to the staff at the Civic Hospital, Dr. Garber and his team, Velia (that heated blanket you gave us in recovery is possibly the greatest invention ever) and the staff in the Mother Baby unit who took such stellar care of us.
Friends and family - thank you for the support you've given us over the past several months. Thank you for allowing me to ignore you, to hermit and to have the experience I wanted to have. I put myself (and baby) first and highly recommend you do the same if you are on or planning to begin your own birth journey.
A special shout out to Robin and Jacki from CHEZ for sending me Rory's playlist which you can see by CLICKING HERE.