Sask Hauntings

What is the Marr Residence you may ask? Well here is some background on the house before I give you the stories relating to it's history. The Marr Residence is the oldest house in Saskatoon still standing on its original site. Built by Alexander (Sandy) Marr in 1884, it was one of the first substantial houses to appear in the original Temperance Colony of Saskatoon. Mr. Marr brought his wife and family west; drawn by the lure of homestead land and a chance to make a living in the new colony. The house and property was acquired by the City of Saskatoon in 1979 and restored to show what domestic life was like in early Saskatoon. Today, the house also features an exhibit on the relationships between settlers and First Nations during the Northwest Resistance of 1885. A second floor bedroom is dedicated to telling the story of the use of the house as a Field Hospital during the Resistance. Taken from http://themarr.ca/ So why am I telling you about this house? Well not only ...

Most people only know about the Woodlawn cemetery in Saskatoon. Others also know about the Nutana heritage cemetery. But most do not know about the other heritage cemetery. The Smithville or Summerdale Cemetery is located west of the city. This heritage graveyard is small in size but dates back to 1901 - maybe earlier. On occasion it is still used but it does not see much activity these days unless you are talking paranormal. I spent an evening photographing in this cemetery for a  project and I have to say it was uncomfortable. There are very few cemeteries in this province that make me uncomfortable but this one did. After talking to some people I found out there are stories attached to it. People have seen lights, heard noises, some voices and some have seen unexplained mists. So why not take a walk around a this cemetery and see for yourself.

Recently in the news they have been talking about Nutana, an area of Saskatoon and how the ground has been shifting. This is one of the oldest areas in Saskatoon which in turn means it has the oldest cemetery. A heritage cemetery that was started in 1903.   The reason I find this cemetery interesting is its history. This cemetery is located on the edge of the river. Of course being on the edge of the river means that the ground shifts and the riverbank can collapse because of water erosion. Not only has this river bank collapsed 3 times but the coffins were floating down the river. Yes, it's true. I have spoken to people that remember the most recent collapse in 1984. The bank collapsed and the graves closest to the river fell into the river. Coffins floated down the river that day. With all this ground shifting again, could this happen again? When something like this happens where there is so much disturbance to the graves, it makes me think that this would upset the spiri...