A Haunting We Will Go, Opera House Ben

A HAUNTING WE SHALL GO - IT'S NOT SO BAD, RUNNING INTO GHOSTS NOW AND AGAIN

     THERE HAS LONG BEEN A CLAIM OF A GHOST HAUNTING THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE. HIS NAME IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN "BEN" OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND IN LIFE, HE HAD WORKED FOR THE TOWN, TO SOME CAPACITY, AND MAY HAVE, IN SOME WAY, DIED THE RESULT OF AN ACCIDENT ON SITE. RIGHT NOW IT'S KIND OF A TALL TALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, WHO DO SEEM MILDLY INTERESTED IN KNOWING MORE ABOUT THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, GRAVENHURST STYLE.

      I KNOW THIS IS PLAYED-UP AT HALLOWE'EN TO ENHANCE THE MOOD, FOR THE YOUNGSTERS WHO ATTEND THE CELEBRATION AT THE OPERA HOUSE. ALL IN GOOD FUN. NO PROOF OF THIS SUDDEN ON-THE-JOB DEMISE, BUT A GHOST NAME "BEN" ANYWAY. I HAD THE SAME GHOST-THING HAPPEN AT WOODCHESTER VILLA AND MUSEUM, IN BRACEBRIDGE, WHEN FICTION OVERWHELMED ANYTHING THAT MAY HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED TRUTHFUL, HISTORIC AND OF SENSIBLE PROPORTION TO WHAT SOME WRITERS WERE CLAIMING.

     THE FACT THAT WE HAD SOME OVER-ZEALOUS STAFFERS, ONE SUMMER, GOT THE BALL ROLLING, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY STARTED PLAYING WITH A OUIJI BOARD. I TALKED TO A PARANORMAL HOBBYIST ABOUT THIS, AND SHE WARNED THAT THE RECKLESS USE OF A OUIJI BOARD CAN INVITE ALL KINDS OF WAYWARD SPIRITS TO HEAD INDOORS FOR A LITTLE SUPERNATURAL PARTY. I KNOW IN THE CASE OF THE OPERA HOUSE, THE PROFILE OF "BEN" IS MUCH MORE FICTION THAN THOSE WHO PROMOTE it, WOULD WILLINGLY REVEAL. IT IS A GHOST THAT IS PARTICULARLY CONVENIENT TO HALLOWE'EN, BUT THE PROBLEM IS, THE STORY DOES ATTRACT CONSIDERABLE INTEREST, AND GOES A PRETTY FAIR DISTANCE WHEN IT IS PRESENTED. SUCH IS THE CASE WITH THIS BLOG, THAT WILL BE PICKED UP BY FORMER AND RE-LOCATED GRAVENHURST RESIDENTS (FOR BUSINESS ETC.) AROUND THE WORLD. SO WE NEED A LITTLE MORE SUBSTANCE ABOUT BEN, AND SOME SERIOUS DOCUMENTATION FROM GHOST HUNTERS, AND A MEDIUM OR HALF DOZEN, TO PROVE AN ENTITY OR NOT.

     THE PARANORMAL SITUATIONS OUR FAMILY HAD AT WOODCHESTER VILLA, WERE NEVER DONE DURING THE TIME IT COULD HAVE BEEN USED AS A MEANS OF INCREASING ATTENDANCE. IF I HAD WRITTEN THESE STORIES, WHILE EMPLOYED AS THE SITE MANAGER, THIS WOULD HAVE CLEARLY, THEN, BEEN AN ATTEMPT TO IMPROVE THE GATE, BY USING SPIRITS AS PROMOTION…….AND THIS WAS NOT THE CASE. WE DID, AS I EXPLAINED EARLIER, HAVE A COUPLE OF ROGUE TOUR GUIDES, WHO THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NEAT TO BRING A GHOST TO WOODCHESTER……AND ANNOUNCE THIS TO THE PRESS, AND THEN, SUGGEST THAT THE SPIRIT WITHIN, WAS THE VICTIM OF A GRUESOME MURDER. AS A DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM, AND THE EDITOR OF THE PAPER INVOLVED IN THE INITIAL REPORT, YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT DAMAGE CONTROL…..SEEING AS THE ENTIRE BIRD FAMILY, FOUNDERS OF THE OCTAGONAL ESTATE, AND MY FRIENDS, HAD JUST BEEN OFFENDED. THE STUDENTS EVEN FOUND ENOUGH TIME TO, IF YOU CAN BELIEVE THIS, SCOUT OUT THE FAMILY PLOT, TO FIND WHO WAS MISSING…..AND WHEN THEY FOUND AN EMPTY SPOT ON THE ENGRAVED STONE, THEY DECIDED TO FILL IN THE BLANKS THEMSELVES. MURDER AT WOODCHESTER VILLA, REPORTED THE LOCAL TELEVISION STATION, AND THEN MY PHONE BEGAN TO RING THROUGH THE NIGHT AND THE NEXT DAY.

     WOODCHESTER VILLA WAS A HAUNTED HOUSE. MANY FOLKS HAD LEGITIMATE EXPERIENCES. I HAD THE SAME ONES, SO I KNEW THEY WEREN'T FIBBING. A LOT OF HOUSES ARE "OCCUPIED" BY SPIRITUAL ENTITIES, COMING AND GOING, BUT NOT IN THE HOLLYWOOD SENSE. I HAD YEARS AND YEARS OF VISITORS, WHO WOULD TELL ME THE SITE WAS HAUNTED, AND PARTICULARLY THE VICTORIAN-DECORATED CHILD'S ROOM AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS, ON THE SECOND FLOOR. I HAD GUESTS RUN OUT THE FRONT DOOR, AND NOT LOOKING BACK, WHO CLAIMED THEY HAD FELT SOMEONE TOUCH THEM, WHO WASN'T ALL THAT VISIBLE. ANOTHER TOUR GUIDE SAID HE WAS TOLD TO "GET OUT OF THE HOUSE," WHILE HE WAS COMING DOWN FROM THE ATTIC. WELL, HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THERE, AND MAYBE DEEP IN MY MIND, I WAS SENDING HIM A MESSAGE…..COMMUNICATING WITH HIM, TO GET BACK TO WORK. WE ALL HEARD THINGS IN THAT HOUSE; IN THE CURATOR'S OFFICE, IN THE BASEMENT KITCHEN, ON THE WINDING STAIRCASE, AND EVEN ON THE PORCH. SUZANNE, THE BOYS AND I, SPENT SO MUCH TIME THERE, THAT WE WERE BEING SPOKEN TO, A LOT OF THE TIME……ABOUT THE WAY WE SHOULD CONDUCT OURSELVES IN SOMEONE ELSE'S HOME.  IT HAD A POWERFUL SPIRIT WITHIN, AND FROM WHAT I KNOW OF THE COMMUNITY-LEADING BIRD FAMILY, IT WAS AN INTENSITY THAT WAS IMBEDDED THERE FROM THE BEGINNING…..BUT WE NEVER WENT SCREAMING OUT OF THE PLACE, BECAUSE WE HEARD A STRANGE FOOTFALL ON THE WOODEN STAIRS LATE AT NIGHT. IT WAS JUST ONE OF THE FAMILY RETIRING TO BEDLAM. NO MOVIE SCRIPT HERE. IF I HAD GOT SPOOKED BY THE NOISES AND ODD THINGS THAT HAPPENED AT WOODCHESTER, I'D HAVE QUITE IN THE FIRST YEAR OR SO.

BEN IS JUST A NAME, AND A HUNCH, AND MAYBE A PROMOTION MORE THAN A SPIRIT

     As Suzanne and I, and both boys, are highly sensitive to such weird things that go bump in the night, we should have run into Opera House "Ben" before now. For all the times we've been in that building, at all times of the day, working on shows or attending them, we have never made his acquaintance, and frankly, we find that odd. I'm not suggesting that there was never a fatality in that building, because I'm sure, at some point, a patron may have suffered a sudden illness, and in fact, never made it out the front doors alive. Stuff happens. Death is kind of like that…..not always giving a warning. From the historian's perspective, I would like to find some corroborating evidence, in hard copy, such as a newspaper clipping, that identifies an opera house, or town hall employee, since the building's opening, who died as a direct result of an accident in or around the building. It's just one of those necessary research tools……having something that is documented, to fan-out to different areas of research. It doesn't mean that Ben didn't exist, but seeing as we have put a name to this wee haunting, we should also be afforded the necessary proof, that it isn't just a slick marketing campaign, each Hallowe'en, to draw a crowd of wide-eyed youngsters. This stuff has a way of getting into the history books, and let me tell you, it's not easy to get rid of it, once legend takes over from what was just a lark, inventing a harmless ghost like Casper. You know, Casper caused a lot of collateral damage in his day, and he was always getting into one mess or another with his associate spirits. I would like to talk with anyone who can provide this evidence, from which to launch a proper search, to determine if there is any meat on these bones of a story.

     I'm sure you're asking yourself, how it is possible, to write about Woodchester having its haunted-side, but disbelieving the same could be true of our swell Opera House. Well folks, I was more intimately involved with Woodchester, than most staffers with the Opera House. As we had a faulty alarm system, that could produce as many as three to four false alarms a week, and every one of them requiring a room to room search in the wee hours of the night…..sometimes with an officer, and most often alone, I got a chance to see the house in all kinds of circumstances and all kinds of moods. We got along for the most part. But the ghosts of Woodchester, were run of the mill, as far as I was concerned. Some patrons scared the crap out of themselves. The ghosts, if there really were any, probably couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about anyway. The paranormal of Woodchester was just what it was……a moodiness that prevailed in often mysterious ways, upon those who visited and who worked there. There is much more information on Woodchester, and its spirited side, in my Muskoka and Algonquin Ghosts blog, if you would like to archive them. But never once, did I use a ghost recollection, to drum up business. Even if I had done this, all I was offering was "Casper" strength paranormal activities……and not the Amityville Horror. Not that the Opera House ghost, Ben, is a parallel to horror, but unfortunately, he's being used to create a buzz, and that's not cool with the spirit community.

     Tell me honestly that you've never heard your name called out, and turned around to answer, and found no one in the vicinity; let alone, someone who would beckon you in this fashion? Do you recall moments in your life, when you felt a presence that you couldn't explain….a sudden chill in the air, in an otherwise warm room, or heard footsteps up a wooden staircase, at a time when you were alone in the house? What about the times when you swore that the light was turned off when you went to bed, yet when you awoke it was….brightly glowing in a room that should have still been dark? Saw your deceased grandmother sitting on the edge of your bed? Ghosts? The paranormal? Why not for gosh sakes? Just because you don't believe in ghosts doesn't mean they don't exist. Me thinks, they just try harder to get your attention.

     For more ghost chats, join me again for tomorrow's blog. Thanks for joining me today. And by the way…..as I've stated many times before, "I have never met a ghost I didn't like." Seriously. No fear here. I'd like to meet Ben face to spirit.