If I Was a Ghost

Good day one and all. My name is Shiela Stewart. I am a paranormal romance author with a love for the things that go bump in the night. I’ve written several tales of ghost, haunting and spirits that cry out for help. And it got me thinking. What would I do if I was a ghost?

I think I would want to tour the world rather than stick to one place. Sure, fine, I can understand some entities not wanting to let go of their home or possessions, but why can’t you have both? It would be hard to leave the ones you love, the home you spent the majority of your time in, but death doesn’t have to be a bad thing. You could still see your loved ones, spend time in your home, haunt the old haunt so to speak and also travel.

I think if I was a ghost, restless and unable to go to my peaceful afterlife, I would want to have it all.  I would want to do things I couldn’t while I was alive. And I would have fun with it. Think of all the people to spook. LOL

So where would I travel to if I could go anywhere in the world?

I’ve always wanted to go to Scotland. I’ve always had a thing for castles. They’re so spooky and old and have so much history. I think I would love to haunt a few castles, rattle some chains, move some furniture about. And I think it would be fun to make people wonder why I was stuck there, why I wasn’t able to move on. It would be so much fun.

Another place I would like to haunt would be New York. Can you imagine having the freedom to do whatever you wanted, go anywhere you want with no consequences? There are so many places I could haunt in New York. The Statue of Liberty for one. Not only would I have a ball giving the patrons a little scare but it would be fun to listen to the conversations. I think it would also be interesting to meet up with other spirits.

But then I got to thinking. I’m from Canada, there must be some cool places to haunt in Canada. And so I went on a search for haunted spots in Canada and I found some pretty interesting places.

Alberta-Banff-Banff Springs Hotel- The Missing Room, 873: Rumor has it that a family was killed in room 873 and guests regularly see the ghosts.  No matter how many times the maids cleaned the mirrors, a young child’s fingerprints would always appear. Finally having had enough of the complaints, the hotel decided to board up the room and the employees were forbidden to speak of it.

Burnaby, BC- Central Park- Many ghosts have been seen lurking the lake, stadium and forest. A Ghost was caught on camera, walking in the forest one night in October. People have reported seeing a little boy playing by the lake at night, then disappears before he can be approached.

BC-New Westminster- 12^th Street: People have spotted a girl about the age of 13 who reports state had committed suicide on that spot one night in 2002. They say she walks up to Burnaby, which is north of New Westminster. In 2008 a team of amateur investigators went to the scene to see if they could find the girl. They claim to have seen a girl wearing blue jeans, a red hoodie and a backpack. When they drove up to her, they claim she stopped dead in her tracks and turning, looked them right in the eyes. Her face was completely white and her eyes were black. They drove away from her and as they turned to look back, couldn’t see her any longer. After several trips around the block and no more sightings of her, they gave up.

Manitoba-Winnipeg-The Walker Theater: Reports have stated mysterious applauding in tiers of seats which are unoccupied.  A well known psychic investigated the Theater, setting up a tape recorder for several hours. When it was played back they heard loud banging and hammering as well as footsteps coming toward the recorder and a voice whispering, “please” The suspected presence is said to possibly be an acting team that died in 1914 less than a week after performing at The Walker.

New Brunswick- Bathhurst- Baie des Chaleurs: A ghost ship has been seen to haunt the waters of Bathhurst N.B.. Legend tells of a boat of settlers which was set on fire by the British army. Year round you can see strange lights at sea. Some people have even seen the boat from close up and have seen people burning on deck. But as they try to get closer to the boat, it disappears.

Ontario- Niagara Falls-Fort George: The fort is reported to be so haunted that they do ghost tours about the different ghosts that inhabit the place. People have seen cannons and their crew, soldiers at the windows, doctors carrying buckets of limbs as well as hearing voices calling from the well.

These are just some of the haunted places in Canada. And now that I’ve read up about all these spooky places my mind is filled with new ideas for the next novel.

I’ve always been a lover of the paranormal, haunted houses and spirits and all. Having grown up in a haunted house might have something to do with my curiosity for the paranormal. If there is a movie out about a haunting whether it be a home, cemetery or person, it is almost guaranteed I will watch it. I’ve watched some of the greats such as The Shinning, 1408, Amityville Horror but my all time favorite is House on Haunted Hill. Not the old version with Vincent Price but the more recent one. I LOVE that movie and can watch it over and over. Sixth Sense is another of my favorites and not just because Bruce Willis is a cutie. I loved how the little boy is schooled on how to talk to the dead by a ghost who doesn’t even know he’s dead. I hope I didn’t just ruin it for anyone.

Maybe someday I will be able to tour all the wonderful haunted places I’ve read about, but in the mean time I’ll make do with creating my own stories and hope the readers enjoy reading them as much as I did writing them.

Website: www.shielasbooks.ca

ShielaS