Sask Hauntings

Batoche if you don't know is a historic site in Saskatchewan. A beautiful, scenic and historic location. If you live in the Saskatoon area then you have probably been taken there on a field trip or two along with its neighbor Fort Carlton. However if you haven't heard its also apparently the site of a ghost or two. Some history on batoche: " In 1870, The Northwest was brought into Canada as a new territory. The Métis people were a half native, half French group of people who lived in these lands with no formal government or laws. They immediately reacted to the arrival of Canadian authority by challenging that authority and declaring that they should only be brought into Confederation as a province with recognized authority and representation. Louis Riel led this movement and the birth of the Province of Manitoba was the result. The Métis did not end up with the retention of the freedoms they valued and many moved further west into the Saskatchewan areas as Mani...

Plains Health Centre, April 1993. Pat Pettit (Regina Leader-Post) The Plains Hospital, also known as SIAST Wascana Campus in Regina. This beautiful 11 storey brick building was built in 1970-74 for 9 million dollars. It served as both as a hospital and was used as a university training hospital. It has large private patient rooms and was known for its architecture. It handled all the major branches of surgery and medicine but was recognized for its training centre. In 1987 is started to slow its training program and its support for sugery's. In 1992 it was slated to close and in 1998 it was decommissioned at the cost of 21 million and converted into SIAST (Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology) which it is still today. This hospital may not have been open long but it had many patients, many of which passed away in this building. Today it is a bustling school - a school that I attended for 2 years. During the day with so many students around the schoo...

As most of you may know Fort San Sanatorium has been demolished.. for the most part. There is a chunk of the main building remaining but it is boarded and both pasqua and mission lodge wings have been demolished. All the nursing houses, extra buildings, power plant and other buildings are gone as well. Of course there were many other pavilions back in the day that have been gone for many years. I suppose your wondering why I am telling you this? The topic of "tainted land" arises when a building is demolished. If a building is demolished, do the ghosts disappear? This leads to the question, do ghosts haunt the building or the land? I used to believe that ghosts were attached to the building, this changed after spending time in Weyburn Mental and Fort San. Both are major facilities were many people lived together and stayed until they died. Fort San of course had many more deaths but both locations have a long history in this province until there demolition. I can re...

Oh the cedar church.. where do I start? There is a small rural church in this province that is completely cedar inside (smells like a sauna). That is why i call it the cedar church as I will not disclose its real name. I have visited this church twice - once during the day and once a night. I have had the same thing happen to me twice. All was well pulling up to the church, then I walked up to the church and opened the door. I got the instant feeling of being watched. It felt like I was not welcome in the church by whatever was inside. With a first step in the church I was instantly sick to my stomach - so much so that i had to back out and sit down. A terrible feeling from nowhere - when I was outside i was fine. It took some time but i did go inside, sick again ... I pushed forward. The little church is beautiful inside - pews still in line, some decor remains and the woodwork is fascinating! However I could not kick the feeling of being watched. I was uncomfortable the entire ...

Clifton hall is a large mansion located on Clifton Ave. This historic mansion is very historic and apparently has more residents than just the living. The most common hauntings is that of a girl in white. She can be seen on the balcony, looking out the window or outside standing on the balcony and looking very pale. The story is told that she passed away in the home – however there is no evidence to confirm that. Other occurrences in the home include chairs moving, cupboard doors opening and lights shaking and turning off and on. Clifton hall is a private residence.

Bienfait Saskatchewan is a small town located in southeast Saskatchewan. Now I know I have posted an article on the Estevan Mines being haunted and you may be thinking since Estevan and Bienfait are beside each other that they are the same. They are not the same, they were many many companies in the are that ran many types of mines - after the years the mines began to merge and all the smaller mines began to disappear being consumed by a large one. The haunted mines around Bienfait take place in the various underground coal mines in the area. There are many legends and stories that relate to workers of the mines and accidents that happened. Many people died in these mines from collapses, gases and sometimes even fights. It is no surprise that these mines are haunted - unfortunately since all the mines are now filled in or mowed over by the new mine it is hard to find these. If you know where to look you may be able to find an old entrance to one of the mines.. and who knows mayb...

The Estevan area is in the southeast corner of the province. It is known for its industrious coal mining and oil industry. Today there are two giant mines that mine use what is called strip mining. They have stripped most of the landscape to mine coal and created many new hills from the mining. Years ago it was a very different scene. Mining for coal was done in underground coal mines and they were all over the place. People could start up there own coal mines and there were different styles of them. They were everywhere, around Estevan, Beinfait, Taylorton, Roche Percee and surrounding areas. Eventually they were covered by the new strip mines, others collapsed and in the past few years they have filled in the rest because teenagers have gotten into the mines and died from the gases inside. There were very dangerous places and that is why you will not find them around anymore. Along with most history, especially in areas that date back before Saskatchewan was a province there are ...

The Senior Drop In Center located in Warman Saskatchewan is anything but boring. This location is not only a senior drop in center but also a historic site. This location is actually an old railway station that has been saved and converted but still holds original architecture of the old station. Here is some history... "The heritage value of the Warman Senior Drop-In Centre lies in its association with the development of the railway and the establishment of Warman. The community, located approximately 25 kilometres north of Saskatoon, exists due to its strategic location at the intersection of the north-south Canadian Pacific Railway and the east-west Canadian Northern Railway (CNR) line established in 1904 (which became part of Canadian National Railway (CNR) after 1919). The station was used by CNR until 1942 when it was moved from its original location near the intersection of the two rail lines. The heritage value of the building also lies in its architect...

Old wives lake seemed like any other lake in the province until I inquired about the name. Hearing the tale about the lake and how it got its name I did some research to find out if it was true and to my surprise, it is an accurate historic tale. So if you don't know the tale let me share with you..... A group of Cree were camping on the edge of lake and were discovered by a party of Blackfoot. The Cree who were with families could not get to safety before the Blackfoot returned with a larger party. Since they figured the Blackfoot would return in the morning to attack with a larger group the elderly Cree women offered to stay behind and be decoys as the younger people escaped during the night. Sure enough the Blackfoot attacked in the morning and finding that only the elderly woman remained they killed the "Old Wives."  It is said today that the spirits of the women inhabit Old Wives Lake and you will here there laughter that mocks the Blackfoot. I have drive pas...

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...

Weyburn Mental Hospital, Saskatchewan Hospital, Souris Valley Extended Care - whatever name you call it this hospital was a large mental institution. Built in the kirkbride architecture style this building was one of the largest in the commonwealth when it was built in 1920. The hospital officially opened in 1921 and had room for 900 patients and 120 staff. The hospital was self sufficient with houses for nurses, power plant, main building, farming, water tower, etc. This building is rich in history both good and bad. The use of LSD testing and treatments like lobotomy, electroshock and hydrotherapy were controversial.  People admitted here were of any age that had mental illnesses but at one point they started accepting people that maybe did not want to deal with their relatives of any age, maybe because they had a stroke or something else not related to mental illness - this lead to overcrowding at the hospital. With this much history and hundreds of people living in ...

Garden of flowers & headstones Old road down the Cemetery I lived in Moose Jaw for a while and loved the history in the town. While I was there I discovered the Historic Heritage Cemetery. The cemetery was established in 1889 and in the middle of it there is an old chapel made of brick, stone & stucco-clad chapel that was built in 1911. T he heritage value of the Moose Jaw Cemetery lies in the architecture of the Milford Funeral Chapel. Built in 1911, the chapel was designed by local architect R.G. Bunyard who also designed many of Moose Jaw’s commercial, institutional and public buildings between 1906 and 1929. The chapel exhibits Gothic Revival elements such as buttresses and a steeply pitched gable roof. This roof overshadows a small, but prominent hip roof bell tower that surmounts the gable roof of a porch. Upper portions of the chapel feature mock half-timbering and stucco typical of the Tudor Revival style. The chapel also has basement racks ...

Nokomis is a town in this province that when it comes to the paranormal has been attached to the haunting of an old hospital. I had always been curious about this location as there is the same story posted all over the net. They say that there is this old hospital called "100 doors" that is haunted. The building is said to be in the middle of a field, have a spiral staircase and a trap door to get into the basement. It is said that there was a young girl tortured here and you can hear her scream at night. I have been out to Nokomis many times and have looked for this building and come up with nothing. After doing some research on the town I found out there was a hospital many years ago outside of the town with one doctor. The "hospital" would have looked like a house because it was not meant to have very many patients. If there is indeed a trap door it would have just been an entrance in the floor into the basement, probably used a storage. As for the spiral stair...

There is a stone house located just off the Trans Canada highway about 3 miles east of Indian Head known as "the screaming house". This house can easily be identified because it's two windows facing the tracks have been closed off. This home was built by a family in the 1800's. According to the legend they say that one of the families children wandered onto the tracks and as the mother looked out the window she watched her child get killed by a passing train. The mother was so upset by this tragedy that her husband blocked  up the window's facing the tracks hoping to help cope with the event. It is said that the mother still relives this terrible tragedy and if stand in the downstairs room in the late evening when a train is going by on the tracks you can hear her screams. Of course this is just a local legend and no one knows what really happened for sure. But people continue to visit the home and some claim to feel the presence of a woman and children.

Sinnnett was established in 1905 and consisted of the merging of 4 school districts. The first business was a blacksmith shop in 1915. Also in this year the telephone company was formed. In it's finest moments Sinnett had 2 elevators, 2 grocery stores, elementary and high schools, garage, post office, parks, rink and even an oil station. Sinnet also had the first credit union in the area. The last business in Sinnett was closed in 1969. Today there is nothing left of Sinnett except a small plaque commemorating its existence. The town of Sinnett may be long gone but it's apparent that not all residents have left. The road in front of the Sinnett Catholic church and cemetery has become legendary. The road seems to be home to a ghost car. If you drive this road you may see headlights come towards you, but as you approach the hill and get on the other side you will see nothing. This has  been seen by countless eyewitnesses. Was this an old resident ...

Before I tell you some of the tails at this old Sanitarium let me clear up some common misconceptions about Fort San... Fort San is an old hospital for tuberculosis patients, not a mental hospital. It was home to many patients with Tuberculosis, people ranged from children to elderly people.  Many people died at Fort San as with most sanitariums but there was no crematorium.  The building at the back of fort san with the giant brick stack is part of the power plant, as is common with institutions this age - It is not part of crematorium. If anyone has seen a crematorium the stacks are quite tiny and much wider. The site does have an old morgue which was turned into the kitchen for the conference center. The bodies from fort san were removed through the back door by the morgue.  Fort San was opened in 1917 when tuberculosis infections were increasing in the province and there was no cure. It was a self sufficient facility including a power house, gardens, livest...