The Cultural Centre
75 William Street North N7M 4L4 Chatham, ON, Canada

Today the Chatham-Kent Museum remembers Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott... Born in Toronto to an affluent Black Family, Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott was the son of Wilson Ruffin Abbott and Ellen Toyer Abbott. He received excellent education on account of his families prosperity. Abbott attended both public and private schools, including the Buxton Mission School. He went to Oberlin College in Ohio and graduated in 1857 from the University of Toronto with a degree in medicine. In 18...61, Abbott received a license to practice from the Medical Board of Upper Canada. This made Abbott the first Canadian born Black doctor. In February of 1863, Abbott applied for a commission as an assistant surgeon in the Union Army, but was denied. Undeterred, he re-applied as a medical cadet in the newly formed U.S. Coloured Troops, all Black regiment and was hired as a civilian surgeon. From June of 1863, to August of 1865, Abbott served at the Contraband Hospital (later known as the Freedmen’s Hospital). He was then transferred to hospital in the Arlington Virginia. He received numerous commendations during his time in service. Abbott was one of only thirteen Black surgeons to serve in the Civil War. During his time in Washington, Abbott developed a friendly relationship with President Abraham Lincoln. When Lincoln was shot, Abbott was one of several doctors in attendance while the President was fighting for his life. Following Lincoln’s death, in appreciation for his attempt to save the President’s life, Mary Todd Lincoln, the President’s widow, presented Abbot with a plaid shawl that Lincoln wore during his 1861 inauguration. Abbott resigned from the hospital in Arlington in 1866, returned to Toronto. He married Mary Ann Casey in 1871. The couple moved to Chatham, where they raised their three daughters and two sons. In Chatham, Abbott not only continued to practice medicine but also was appointed the coroner for Kent County in 1874. By 1878, he was elected president of the Chatham Medical Society and Literary and Debating Society. In 1890, Abbott and his family relocated to Toronto. In 1892, Abbott was elected a member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic and was one 273 Civil War Veterans in the in Toronto to wear the badge of the fraternity. In 1913, at the age of 76, Abbott passed away in Toronto and was buried in the Toronto Necropolis. Lest We Forget.

For our final Halloween inspired Imagination Station Craft-urday Saturday, we're making a Halloween paper plate silhouette. Supplies required: Paper plates... Construction Paper Yellow & orange paint Glue Stick For directions please visit The Pinterested Parent #happyhaloween #MuseumAtHome #halloween https://thepinterestedparent.com//halloween-paper-plate-s/

Today, the Chatham-Kent Museum remembers Corporal John Arthur Art Shreve Alexander The son of Arthur Alexander and Ethel Shreve, Corporal John Arthur Art Alexander was born on April 3rd, 1918 on Six Nations Reserve. Before the war, Alexander worked as a railway porter. On December 30, 1942, eight months before he began his military service overseas, Corporal Alexander married his wife Jean in Chatham, Ontario. On July 20, 1942, Corporal Alexander enlisted in Brampton, On...tario. Once in England, Alexander was posted to the 1st Batallion, Queen’s Own Rifles in 1943. On June 6, 1944 D-Day, Alexander was on the first Canadian ship to land on Juno Beach. Upon landing on the beach at Courseulles-sur-mar, Alexander’s first job was to blow up some of the barbed wire entanglements. Of the 33 men who were in his company that landed on the beach that day, only 11 survived. During an attack on Boulogne, France, Alexander was wounded in the wrist after being struck by a piece of shrapnel. After recovering, Alexander returned to his regiment prior to the Rhineland campaign. Following his return, he was promoted to rank of Corporal. Alexander was wounded for the second time during the fighting at Mooshof and again while engaged in battle at Steeg, Germany. The extent of his injuries did not become evident until after the war. According to Alexander’s wife Jean, his daughter Pam, whacked her Daddy on the bum. Following the whack, Alexander was in immediate pain as it drove a piece of shrapnel that had been lodged in there since he was wounded into his hip joint. During the war, Alexander hadn’t been x-rayed, so no one knew that the shrapnel had been lodged in there. In 1952, following an x-ray, they also found a piece of lead in his right lung. Because of the placement of each fragment, the doctors made the decision to not remove them. Alexander returned home a decorated war veteran. Corporal Alexander was featured in Maclean’s magazine in 1984 and in 1994. Corporal Alexander passed away on October 21, 2002. Lest We Forget.

Today the Chatham-Kent Museum remembers Nursing Sister Gertrude French Born in Dresden on January 1, 1884, Nursing Sister Gertrude French enlisted on September 26, 1914 at age 36 in Quebec City, Quebec. She set sail with the 1st Contingent of the Canadian Army Medical Corps on October 3, 1914. She was first assigned to the No. 2 General Hospital, CAMC. Nursing Sister French served in France for nearly two years at the No. 3 General Hospital at Le Treport, France. In 1916, s...he returned to Canada for a three month furlough to convalesce. In September, she was again overseas, as she deemed Fit for General Service. For her service, Nursing Sister French was decorated by King George V with the Royal Red Cross. She also received the Mons Star. Lest We Forget.

Today the Chatham-Kent Museum remember Corporal James Pelletier... In January of 1952, Chatham native James Pelletier joined the Royal Canadian Regiment. By April of 1953, Corporal Pelletier was on the front line with the 3rd Battalion RCR near Ochon, Korea. On the evening of May 2, Pelletier and his comrades were in a trench when the communist troops made a raid on the line. In his memoir, Pelletier described the events of that night: All was quiet until 2220 hours when I h...eard the sound of small arms fire coming from the Northeast of our position. Then, an intense enemy bombardment hit our position. A bomb landed in my bay and with a great wumpf I was thrown from the bay and tumbled nearly to the wire. I quickly belly crawled back to my bay and the shelling stopped. There followed an ominous silence and suddenly the east gap lit up as though a giant chandelier had been turned on. A figure appeared on top of my position. He was not helmeted and obviously enemy. I aimed between his shoulders and fired. He sagged like he was suddenly deflated. I quickly moved two paces to my right and a second figure appeared. Same shot, same reaction. I then moved to my left about six feet. I immediately drew fire and a bullet went through my right thigh. There was no pain. It just felt like a finger poking me and then warm blood running down my leg. I did not move and a figure appeared near my bunker facing the light. I shot him. Another figure was outlined on the top north corner of my section. When I shot him he twisted slightly and dropped. (Then) there was a slight pop and a grenade went bam under my left shin. I was splattered with bits and pieces of shrapnel and had one thumb-sized hole in my lower leg. No great pain, just stingingsensations. I thought then that I heard a voice above me. I turned my head and stared into the bore of a burp gun held by an enemy soldier. He spoke Lay down you arm and follow me quigly It was over. " Corporal Pelletier was taken along with ten other Canadians to the Chinese trenches where they were hit by friendly artillery fire. Pelletier was wounded again. He was taken by ox cart and truck to a POW hospital overlooking Manchuria. He remained there until the armistice and became the first Canadian POW released following the conclusion of the Korean War. Lest We Forget.

Today the Chatham-Kent Museum remembers Lieutenant Lt. Chester Halstead A Bell Telephone manager from Ridgetown, Lt. Halstead was one of the original 186th officers. He was awarded the Military Cross for capturing two enemy machine guns and 77 prisoners at Passchendaele. On November 6, 1917 Lt. Halstead was gassed and admitted to St. Johns Ambulance Brigade Hospital in France. He was treated at the hospital until April of 1918. Following his release from the hospital he returned Witley Camp in England where he was given light duty until July of 1918. Returning to the 1st Battalion in France, he was killed in action in October of 1918. Lest We Forget.

We will conclude our Chatham-Kent Haunting series in the same manner in which we began, discussing a place in which Chatham-Kent Museum staff work The Milner Heritage House. Built in 1894 by Robert and Emma Milner, the house is a beautiful representation of the Queen Anne Style architecture. Robert a successful entrepreneur who operated Milner’s Carriage Works and Emma, an award winning prominent artist raised seven children together. Following the deaths of Emma in 1936 an...d Robert in 1941, their children donated the property to City of Chatham. For over 45 years, their former residence served as the site of the Chatham-Kent Museum. Sadly, the Milner’s experienced a tragedy during their lifetime when their eldest daughter Blanche died during her adolescence. Former staff who worked at the Heritage Home have claimed to have felt the presence of an unseen entity. It is believed by those staff and visitors who have toured the home that Blanche to this day haunts the premises. Moreover, former staff have shared that while preparing to leave for the night, they would turn off of all the lights. But when they returned the next day to reopen the sight, a light or two would be turned on. We hope you have enjoyed our Chatham-Kent Haunting Series. Do you have a tale regarding a ghostly encounter in Chatham-Kent that we didn’t include and would like to share? We invite you to comment below with your own experiences. #museumathome #ghoststories #halloween

It’s Candy Time for our History of Halloween series! As mentioned in our earlier post regarding the history of Trick or Treating, children participating in earlier versions of the Halloween custom generally collected pieces of cake, fruit, nuts, coins or toys while out on Halloween. It actually wasn’t until the mid 20th century that the treat of choice to hand out swapped to candy. This was due to the fact, that candy manufacturers began to market their goods as the best opt...ion to be distributed. And as trick or treating popularized further, candy became more and more affordable and seen as the only convenient treat to be given out. It wasn’t until the 1970’s, however, that factory made candy that was wrapped became the norm and were seen as the only acceptable candy to be handed out. This was due to the growing fear that unwrapped candy could be potentially tampered with. To close out today’s post, let’s examine the history of three popular Halloween treats! Rockets, originally called smarties (and still are in the United States), were invented in England by Edward Dee following the conclusion of the First World War. Dee used a repurposed gun powdered pellet machine to make the candy. In the 1940s, Dee moved production of the candy to New Jersey and two decades later, the company started to manufacture the popular candy in Toronto in 1963. In 1988, operations moved to Newmarket, where currently over one billion candies are made a year. According to candy lore, the origin of the delicious and sticky candy apple dates back to 1908 when candy store owner William W. Kolb was experimenting with cinnamon Christmas candy and had the ingenious idea to dip apples in the mixture. The treat quickly became sought after and were sold at circuses and along the Jersey Shore. Caramel apples, on the hand, were invented in 1950 when Dan Walker, a Kraft Food employee, dipped apples in leftover melted caramels from Halloween. And the rest is Candy History! #MuseumAtHome #Halloween #Candy

For our final look into the world of Victorian oddities, we are exploring spirit photography. This type of photography began in the mid 19th century when some photographers started to experiment with new effects such as stereoscopic images and double exposures. Some deceitful photographers soon realized that these techniques could be manipulated in order to make a profit. Perhaps one of the most infamous photographer involved in this scheme was William Mulmer. He first came t...o notoriety after capturing the ghost of his deceased cousin in a photograph. Once people caught word that Mulmer had this gift, the once amateur photographer soon became a professional with a lucrative business. His enterprise was fuelled by families searching for a connection with those loved ones they had lost during the American Civil War. Although he had his following of devoted clients, there were also those were quite skeptical of his gift but more importantly his motives. Famed showman P.T. Barnum believed that the photographer was simply taking advantage of grieving families. There were also accusations that Mulmer had broken in to homes of families with lost loved ones in order to fabricate the images, or that some supposed ghosts of Civil War veterans that miraculously he captured in a photo sometimes turned up alive. Mulmer was ultimately put on trial for fraud. However, despite incriminating evidence he was acquitted. Due to the publicity surrounding the trial, his career in spirit photography was essentially over. The most famous photograph that Mulmer took during his time as a spirit photographer was of the widowed Mary Todd Lincoln. In the photo that Mulmer captured, you can see her deceased husband President Abraham Lincoln standing behind her with his arms resting on her shoulders.

For today's Chatham-Kent Haunting, we are sharing a quick terrifyingly puzzling story regarding Wesley Hall, the hall that was attached to the former Park Street United Church. According to two janitors that worked in the church that the author of Ghosts of Chatham-Kent spoke to, a strange occurrence took place, when they witnessed a tall man dressed only in black run through the hall at night. Moreover, a teenager who was playing hide and seek in the building additionally experienced the bizarre event, when he was startled by the same tall man in black running through the building at night. What is also strange is the fact that the motion detector which were set up in the hall on occasion were prompted to go off from time to time by the ghostly figure. Until next haunting... #MuseumAtHome #halloween

Today the Chatham-Kent Museum Remembers Lt. Stewart McKeough Born in Chatham on September 2, 1893, Lt. Stewart McKeough received his education at CCI before attending medical school at the University of Toronto. Well known in Chatham during his youth, McKeough was an outstanding athlete as well as an officer in the local militia. During the war, McKeough was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 18th Battalion and fought at St. Eloi and Mount Sorrell. In the early morning hou...rs of the September 15, 1916, the battalion was making preparations for an attack at Courcelette. Lt. McKeough and another officer were directed to clear the enemy out of the front trenches with hand grenades. Though wounded in his leg, McKeough was still able to lead his men over the top. Sadly, he only made it a few yards before he was fatally struck by a bullet in the heart. Lest We Forget,

Today the Chatham-Kent Museum remembers Sergeant Major Abram W. Shadd... Born in 1844 to Abraham D. Shadd and Harriet Parnell Shadd, Abram (Abraham) W. Shadd moved with his family to Buxton, Ontario in his youth. It was in Buxton that Shadd received his early education. Prior to the Civil War, Shadd taught school. Once Black men were able to fight in the Union Army, Shadd enlisted and served in the 55th Massachusetts Regiment. He began the war as a private, however, by the e...nd of the war he had been promoted to the rank of sergeant major. Following the war, Shadd returned to Buxton where continued to teach at School Section # 4. Shadd eventually moved to Detroit, opened his own photography business, and studied law. He moved to Washington D.C. and attended Howard University. In 1871, Shadd graduated with a degree in law. Following his graduation, Shadd would eventually practice law in Washington County, Mississippi. It was in Mississippi where Shadd was elected clerk of the circuit court. In 1878, Shadd died in Mississippi Lest We Forget.

For our final history of Halloween post, we are exploring the history of ghost stories. Ever since the ancient period, stories regarding ghost hauntings have played a prominent part in the folklore of many cultures. These tales have told the stories of how queens, politicians, writers, gangster as well as every day, ordinary people have returned from the dead to haunt a place they once resided or a place that was important to them in life in someway. As early as the first cen...tury CE, the Roman author and statesman Pliny the Younger wrote about the appearance of a ghost in his famous letters. He recorded the tale of a ghost of an old man with a long beard, rattling chains in his house in Athens. Throughout history, one of the most reported ghosts to be seen dates back to 16th Century England. The ghost is none other than Anne Boleyn. The former wife of King Henry VIII and the mother of Elizabeth I. Anne was executed in May of 1536 at the Tower of London. Her spirit has been spotted at the tower as well as Cleaver Castle, her childhood home. Do you have a favourite famous ghost story? Stay tuned for our final Chatham-Kent Hauntings tale this Friday! #museumathome #ghoststories #halloween

Today’s History of Halloween is exploring the history of Trick or Treating. The precursor to this custom is thought to be the Middle Ages’ practice of mumming. Where people in Britain would dress up like demons, spirits and other wicked creatures in exchange for food and beverages. By the 1000 CE, the Christian Church had designated Nov. 2 as All Souls’ Day, a time for individuals to honour those loved ones that had passed. The celebrations in England were quite similar t...o the festival of Samhain, as it included bonfires and masquerades. During the evening on All Souls Day, people would visit the homes of the more affluent residents to receive pastries called soul cakes. In exchange for the cakes, the people would promise to pray for the souls of the homeowners deceased loved ones. Souling as this practice was called, would later be taken up by children who would visit the homes in their community and ask for food, ale or money. In Scotland and Ireland, children took part in guising. During the evening, they would dress up and sing a song, recite a poem or perform a trick in exchanged for a treat. The treat they received was generally nuts, fruit, or coins. In North America, the practice of trick or treating started when Irish and Scottish communities revived their older traditions of guising and souling. Where or when the term trick or treating originated from is unclear. However, by 1951, it was depicted in a Peanuts comic strip and one year later, a cartoon titled Trick or Treat was produced by Disney. #museumathome #halloween

Happy #Thanksgiving from the Art + Culture Team!

Today the Chatham-Kent Museum remembers Fred Stonefish Born on April 28, 1880, Private Fred Stonefish sailed overseas on June 13, 1917. Proceeding to France with the Canadian Forestry Corps. During his service he was promoted to Corporal. He returned to Canada in April of 1919 and was discharged from the military. Lest We Forget.

Today, the CK Museum remembers Private Victor George Pyne.. Private Pyne , also known as, "The Adopted Son of Ridgetown" moved from England in 1907 at the age of 14 with his brother who was 15 following the death of their father. They immigrated to Canada in order to live and work at the Smith's Farm in Ridgetown. There he thrived in his new life. At the time of his enlistment in August 1914, Pyne was living in Chatham and working at the Bell Telephone Company. In June of 191...5, during the Battle of Givenchy, Pyne was seriously wounded in the thigh, shoulder, scalp and abdomen. After 52 days in the hospital, he was deemed Fit for Duty and was released from the hospital on March 2, 1916. On July 9, 1916, Pyne, along with twenty-nine other Canadians were killed at Mount Sorrell. He was only 22 years old. Lest We Forget.

Today’s haunting tale from Chatham-Kent’s past involves two former nursing homes in Chatham. According to staff who worked at the first home, during the nightly rounds, staff wouldn’t want to turn on the lights in the hallways or the rooms of residents in order not to disrupt their sleep. So, instead of turning on the lights, they started to use flashlights to light their way. As a result, all of the hallways were dark and generally empty at night. At least, that is what the...y hoped. As the story goes, coworkers cautioned an employee who had recently started at the home that during the night, a man in a top hat would occasionally be spotted in the hallway. The man dressed in a top hat and a fine suit would be seen roaming the halls when a resident was near death. Believing that the story related to her was simply an attempt to get one over on the new girl, she brushed it off as a sort of initiation practice. Then one evening, while she was doing her nightly rounds, there he was. A shadowy figure dressed to nines and wearing a top hat. As she hurried to catch up to figure, he vanished as he made his way around the corner. When she recounted what she had seen, she was shocked to learn that indeed a resident had passed away that evening. According to this particular staff member, this was not the only time she encountered the man in the top hat. Another local long term care home is said to have had some ghostly sightings as well. On the property where this particular home was built used to be an orchard where a little boy fell from an apple tree and sadly died from injuries. It is his ghost that people believe haunted this long term care home. This young boy is said to be a prankster and on several occasions has made his presence known to the residents. Apparently, he has been known to turn the lights on and off incessantly, as well as, blow on the face of an unsuspecting resident. Until next haunting. #MuseumAtHome #GhostStories #Hauntings #Halloween

Most of our followers will be familiar with Glitters’ Fun Eatery and probably many of you have dined at this popular spot in the past. Well, are you aware that there have been some paranormal happenings that have transpired within its walls. For today’s Chatham-Kent Haunting, we shall be exploring two of these occurrences. One such incident occurred after all the patrons had left for the night and a server was inspecting the upstairs bathroom and tidying it up by pushing all... of the chairs under the counters located near the sink. When she turned around and looked back at the counter space, to her disbelief one of the chairs that she had pushed in only moments before was sitting in the middle of the room. Staff were not the only ones who witnessed the strange happenings at the restaurant. One evening, diners at a table were flabbergasted when they saw a receipt that had been left on the table opposite them float into the air and hang there for a moment before it slowly descended back to the table. Shaken by what they had seen, they inquired with their server if it had simply been a figment of their imagination. The server didn’t ease their mind when she attested that she had seen the exact same thing and then went on to say oh it’s just the ghost Until next haunting... #museumathome #hallowen

Have you ever wondered where the custom of carving pumpkins for Halloween came from? Well, today for #NationalPumpkinDay let's explore the long history jack-o’-lanterns have being associated with Halloween. Though, it might come as a surprise that the first of its kind was actually carved out turnips, potatoes or beets. The origin of the practice comes from the Irish myth of Stingy Jack A trickster, it is said that upon his death, instead of entering the after life, Jack wa...s sentenced to roam the earth for an eternity. With only a burning coal to light his way, Jack decided to place it inside a carved out turnip. And from that moment on, he was referred to as Jack of the Lantern. Over time, this moniker was shortened to be simply Jack O’Lantern. To keep the soul of Jack away as well as other wandering souls that roamed the earth, the Irish began to carve demonic faces out turnips and place them in their windows or outside of their doors. Overtime this custom would start to accompany the other methods that were used to scare off spirits during the festival of Samhain (Halloween’s predecessor). It wasn’t until the tradition of Halloween came to North America that jack-o’-lantern started to be carved out pumpkins. #MuseumAtHome #Halloween

Last Sunday we explored the tradition of the ghost light in theatres. Keeping with that theme, today we are taking a look at the Macbeth Curse. One of Shakespeare’s most enduring and recognized play, Macbeth has a bizarre and dark history that has plagued the play from its initial performance. In 1606, on opening night, the actor cast to portray Lady Macbeth fell ill and died. One would assume that that was enough for the legend of the Macbeth Curse to stem from, but from... this first tragedy the causalities and horrid incidents just continued to pile up. In 1672, an actor portraying the role of Macbeth stabbed another actor with a real dagger, committing murder on stage. In 1721, after an audience member interrupted the play, the band was so upset that following the play it burned the theatre to the ground. In 1775, the actress who was cast at Lady Macbeth portrayed the character so well that the audience members truly believed she was a murderer and chased her out the theatre in order to exact justice. Then in 1849, a riot that started during the play’s performance ended with the death of over 20 people. This misfortune that was associated with the play continued into the 20th as injuries to and the deaths of cast members continued to occur. In 1937, when Sir Laurence Olivier played the lead role a weight that hung above the stage somehow became untied and fell within inches from where the star stood. Five years late, in 1942 three cast members died during the play’s run. In 1947, an actor was stabbed on stage during the swordfight that occurs at the conclusion of the play. Lastly, Charlton Heston took on the lead role in 1953 and had his legs severely burned after his tights were mysteriously doused in kerosene. The misfortune that swirled around Macbeth seemed to have been mimicking the tragedies that took place during the play. So much so, that its reputation for mishaps, deaths and murder led to the superstition that forbids the use of the name Macbeth unless during a performance. Instead, it is referred to as The Scottish Play. If however, the name is spoken, steps must be taken immediately to ward off the curse. This usually includes leaving the room/ theatre turning around 3 times to the right, spitting on the ground, then knocking and asking to be let back in. #TheatreAtHome #MuseumAtHome

Today's Imagination Station's Crafturday Saturday is the ever adorable yarn pumpkins! To make a yarn pumpkin, you will need 21 pieces of orange yarn, cut to 36 inch lengths 2 ounces of white glue ... 1 balloon (12 inch size), blown up half full 1 brown pipe cleaner and 1 green pipe cleaner https://onelittleproject.com/yarn-pumpkins/

For this week's Imagination Station Craft-urday Saturday let's make a Bobble Ghost. For this craft you will need the following materials: White Card Stock x2 Paint or Colouring Pens/Pencils/Crayons... Yellow & Black Marker Pen Scrap Strips of Card Scissors Glue Stick Googly Eyes For the directions please visit Arty Crafy Kids! #MuseumAtHome #Halloween

What if your home was being pelted by rocks, but no one was outside to have thrown them. Imagine, your windows smashed, mysterious fires being set and water pouring from the ceiling with no known source, or your entire house feeling as though it was being rocked. Well this is exactly what is said to have transpired in the Scottish Settlement of Baldoon, near modern day Wallaceburg. What would be a Hauntings of Chatham-Kent series without including the infamous Baldoon Myste...ries? In the fall of the 1829, one evening John and Nancy Macdonald were startled awake when they heard footsteps in their home. Over the next while, the footsteps and other unexplained activities continued and only seemed to intensify. They would be awoken to what sounded like an army marching in their kitchen. The couple witnessed their infants cradle violently rocking, while also seeing soap being flung about the room as if on its very own. Not surprisingly, these incidents terrified the young couple and all those who witnessed the paranormal activities. Frightened the young family left their home and moved in with John’s father who resided in another house on the farm. Leaving their home did not help the situation, as following their departure, perhaps in retaliation the family barn was burned to the ground. Moreover, the manifestations just followed them to their father’s home. As the paranormal activities within the home intensified, so to did their neighbours’ curiosity and they visited in hopes of witnessing the spirit that taken up residence. A local preacher was brought in to perform an exorcism in hopes of cleansing the house, but it was to avail. A ghost hunter from Michigan failed in his attempt to remove the spirit as well. Believing that his family had been cursed, John, accompanied by a minister, set out to visit a witch hunter named Dr. John. F. Troyners. It is said that Troyners daughter was clairvoyant and advised John that she saw an old woman who lived in a log house who desired to drive his family away. According Troyner’s daughter, the old woman possessed the power to transform herself into a goose and that the only way to rid them of her was with a silver bullet. After hearing this, Macdonald believed that he knew exactly who the old woman was and he recalled seeing a strange goose around his farm. It is said that upon his return home he made a bullet out of silver, went in search of the strange goose and shot it in the wing. Accompanied by some men from his community, Macdonald the ventured to the log cabin he suspected to be the old woman’s and found her inside nursing an injured arm. From that point on, there were no further paranormal incidents on the Macdonald farm.

For today’s Chatham-Kent Haunting, let explore the tales of ghostly encounters that occurred within the Chatham Collegiate Institute (CCI). According to some teachers and support staff that worked at CCI three different spirits have been spotted within the school over the years. Staff that worked in the school’s cafeteria saw two of the ghosts. Some mornings as the staff began to prep for the day, they would see the ghost of a teenaged girl who was dressed in 1950s era attire.... Intrigued by what they had seen, they decided to scour old yearbooks in order to identity the young girl. It turned out that girl they were seeing had come down with a fever in the 1950s, and sadly due to her illness became comatose. She remained in a coma for a few years before passing away. A boy also visited cafeteria staff from time to time. By his size, they deduced he was likely in grade 9. The workers stated that the boy who was dressed in a plaid shirt, was often spotted standing in line waiting to have his order taken. Unfortunately, this time staff were unable to identify the boy using yearbooks. And lastly, a few years before CCI closed, according to some teachers on the third floor, the sound heels could be heard clacking down the halls as well as the jingling of keys when there was no one in the hallway to make these noises. To these teachers, it was believed that this was the spirit of a former long-time English teacher named Norma Stevens. Stevens who had retired in the 1950s decided to take a trip to Europe to celebrate. Unfortunately, however, Stevens passed away tragically on her trip after being involved in a traffic accident. The sounds that were heard that had no visible source were always made in the area outside of the classroom that she taught from for so many years. That’s it for today’s tale. Until next haunting #MuseumAtHome #Halloween

Did you know that during the Victorian period there was a real fear of premature burial? This anxiety, known as taphophobia, was very common. These fears were spurred on by the horrifying tales of presumed dead individuals trying to claw their way out of their coffin. This led many to look for methods to allow an individual to signal to that they were still alive inside their coffin. Including our topic for today, the safety coffin. This particular coffin was designed with e...xpressed purpose to allow an individual that awoke inside their coffin to escape, breath and signal for help. A coffin designed by Franz Vester in 1868 featured an air inlet, a ladder, and a bell. According to its patent, this specific model was developed to allow a person upon waking to save themselves. If however, too weak to climb the ladder themselves, the unfortunate soul could ring the bell to alert the grave watchmen that they required help. Other coffin designs simply included placing a ring on the deceased person’s hand that had a line attached to it that ran out of the coffin to a bell at the top of the grave. One more interesting fact before we conclude this post Dr. Timothy Clark Smith, a physician who practiced in the United States was so frightened by the thought of being buried alive that he designed grave that had a 14x14 glass window that looked down a six foot shaft into his coffin. And when he died on none other than Halloween, 1893, he was buried beneath this glass window. #MuseumAtHome #Halloween

Former Chatham resident, Mary Ann Shadd Cary is today's Google Doodle. Today marks her 197th birthday! #GoogleDoodle

Did you know that the Victorians were fixated with the idea of death and dying? Each Thursday during the month of October, the Chatham-Kent Museum will be sharing some interesting facts to illuminate of how it shaped their everyday lives. Today’s fact is The 19th Century Spiritualism movement, one of the largest religious movements of its time in began with two young girls with a Canadian connection. Raised for the first part of their lives near Belleville, Canada West, Mar...garet and Kate Fox moved with their family in 1847 to Hydesville, New York. One year later in their new home on March 31st, an event occurred that would change their lives and the Spiritualism movement forever. It was on this evening that the two girls began communicating with a spirit of a pedlar known as Mr. Splitfoot through rapping noises. Neighbours became intrigued by the happenings at the Fox home and came to witness it for themselves. Eventually, the sisters were sent to live with their older sister Leah in Rochester. New York, who apparently had developed medium abilities. The spirit, however, followed the girls to their new home as the rapping continued. At the time, Rochester was a hotbed for reform and religious activity and the girls’ story of being able to communicate with a spirit spread like wildfires and the girls were invited to showcase their abilities on numerous occasions. The girls were asked to perform seances for hundreds of people at a time, filling up halls and theatres. Their shows would ultimately become how they made their living. The publicity that Kate and Margaret received helped to further the spread of spiritualism and it was in Canada by 1850. Kate, accompanied by her mother and quite possibly her sister Margaret returned to Canada on two separate occasions to visit her sister Elizabeth Ousterhout who had remained in Canada West. Their visit to Canada further stimulated the interest in spiritualism around the areas of Consecon, near Belleville and Bloomfield. During her trip, Kate had the opportunity to meet with Susannah Moodie, the famed Canadian author. Moodie was apparently quite taken by Kate’s clairvoyant abilities. Within Canada during this period, Spiritualists were particularly active in Montreal, Toronto, London, St. Catherines, Ottawa and Bloomfield. See more

You walk into the house, there are cobwebs in the corners, the lights are mysteriously off, there are sounds of doors creaking open and then all of the sudden a figure pops out from behind a curtain. Welcome to the world of Haunted Houses. Have you ever wondered where the idea for haunted houses originated from? Well the answer is quite simple Parents - trying to keep their older kids from running amok on Halloween created haunted houses. To keep the kids off the streets, ...they organized haunted house or trails to give them something entertaining to do. You might be wondering what these kids were up to that caused their parents to take action. Well, of course there was the popular pranks such as egging someone’s house. However, these kids took it to a whole other level. In 1879, about 200 boys in Kentucky stopped a train by laying a fake body on the train tracks. In 1900, students studying medicine at the University of Michigan stole a corpse form the anatomy lab and stood it up against the front doors of the lab. In 1933, hundreds of teenagers flipped over cars, sawed off telephone poles and carried out other acts of vandalism across the United States. Adults were outraged by the destruction that occurred to the point that some places even considered banning Halloween altogether. In response to these threats, Halloween activities including Haunted Houses were organized to keep the kids busy and amused. #MuseumAthome #Halloween

How fun does this sound?! Do you have what it takes to be a Butter Sculpting Champion? For the first time in the history of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, the Butter Sculpting Competition is going virtual and is open to all Canadians , from coast to coast.... So spread the word, get your carving tools ready and have fun creating a miniature sculpture from one pound of butter. https://www.royalfair.org/butter/

Today’s History of Halloween takes a look at costumes! If you recall from our first post, we discussed how the during the festival of Samhain, Celts would dress up in disguises in an attempt to frighten away spirits roaming the earth on the eve of the coming Winter Months, October 31st. Many historians point to this as the source of the tradition of wearing costumes during Halloween. In the Medieval Period, this practice continued as people would dress in outfits that repres...ented the dead and went from house to house collecting treats or spiced filled pastries known as soul cakes on behalf of the spirits they were imitating (more on soul cakes in another post). Later in the 15th Century, instead of donning disguises that looked like spirits on October 31st, people began to dress in spooky outfits that personified winter spirits or demons. In North America, as Irish and Scottish immigrants began to arrive, 18th Century Halloween customs came with them and the practice quickly spread throughout. At this time, the norm became to wear terrifying homemade costumes that were comprised of whatever you could find in your home, including sheets, masks, and makeup. According to Nancy Diel, the idea behind dressing up was anonymity, the whole point, she said, was to be completely in disguise. By the 1920s and 30s, the construction of Halloween costumes had become a serious endeavour and some would start planning their attire for that evening, months in advance. Overtime instead of the more frightening costumes, children and adults opted to dress as popular characters. For example, for children some costumes included Popeye, Olive Oyl, the Little Orphan Annie or Mickey Mouse. Today costumes range from scary creatures/ characters and historical/ political personalities to comic book characters and pop culture personalities. What is your favourite Halloween Costume that you have worn? See more

CK Arts + Culture, Chatham Cultural Centre