Sask Hauntings

I have decided to make a post about a very unique historic cemetery in the province. It is a Jewish Cemetery and what makes it unique is the "grave houses." The cemetery features many old graves dating back to 1902 and has about 60 graves. Some of these graves have grave houses which are rare for Saskatchewan Jewish cemeteries.  This style of graves reflect an Eastern European traditional influence. When I first found this cemetery I was intrigued at first by the houses. I had never seen anything like it and could not believe how many there were and different styles. Some were even updated to modern metal siding. The Jewish families have all moved away in the last 100 years leaving this cemetery the only remains of their settlement. So why grave houses? Well some believe that they were built to keep animals and livestock away, keep the rain off, provide shade, comfort to the dead spirit and providing a home for the spirit of the dead are just some theories. Whatever the ...

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...

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.

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...