Spirits Of Muskoka and How Not To Exploit Them

THE SPIRIT(S) OF MUSKOKA - THE HAUNTED, MAGNIFICENT ENCHANTMENTS OF MUSKOKA

OR: HOW I'M NOT GOING TO EXPLOIT GHOSTS FOR PROFIT

     I WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO SOLICIT ONE DIME FROM ANY OF MY READERS, BY INVITING THEM TO BUY TICKETS, TO JOIN ME ON A GHOST WALK OF OUR MUSKOKA COMMUNITIES. YOU SEE, I DON'T TREAT THE SPIRIT-KIND, OR ANY OF WHAT I CONSIDER PARANORMAL QUALITIES AND QUANTITIES, AS IF THEY ARE INMATES OF A ZOO. I WOULD NEVER FEEL COMFORTABLE, PUTTING THEM ON DISPLAY, AND MINDFULLY DEMANDING THAT THEY PLAY OUT A PUBLIC DEBACLE FOR MY PAYING CUSTOMERS. YOU KNOW, THROW A FEW ORBS AROUND, PERFORM A LITTLE GHOSTLY DANCE FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHERS IN THE CROWD, OR EXPECT OF THEM, TO ENGAGE A BLOOD CURDLING HAUNTING, JUST TO, WITHOUT A SHRED OF SHAME, POINTEDLY STAGE INTO THE CAPITALIST INSPIRED PROGRAM OF HOB-GOBLIN EXPLOITATION. IT JUST DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY FOLKS. I'VE COME ACROSS MANY STRANGE SITUATIONS IN MY YEARS AS A WRITER, INTERESTED IN THE PARANORMAL, BUT IT'S JUST NEVER DAWNED ON ME, TO TRY TO PROFIT FROM THEIR EARTHLY MEANDERINGS, AND ALLEGED REGULAR APPEARANCES. IT'S JUST LIKE US MORTALS TO TURN EVERYTHING UNIQUE AND CURIOUS INTO A SIDE SHOW FOR PROFIT.

     IF MY CRITICS WERE TO ARGUE, THAT I PROFIT FROM THIS BLOG SITE, AND ITS COMMERCIAL ATTACHMENT, I WOULD ARGUE SUCCESSFULLY BACK, "NO, I HAVEN'T SOLD OUT GHOSTS FOR A PAY CHEQUE. I'VE NEVER RECEIVED PAYMENT SOLELY WRITING ABOUT GHOSTS AND THEIR KIND!" IN FACT, IT IS THE ONE REASON I HAVE DECIDED, TIME AND AGAIN, TO AVOID ANY FORMAL PUBLICATION, BASED ON THE WHOLE PUBLICATION / INVESTMENT / PROFIT AND LOSS SCENARIO. THERE ARE CIRCUMSTANCES AND PROJECTS THAT I HAVE BEEN HIRED TO RESEARCH AND COMPOSE INTO A FORMAL MANUSCRIPT. THE PARANORMAL ISN'T ONE OF THOSE PROJECTS. I HAVE HAD MANY READERS ASK WHY I DON'T OPT TO PUT TOGETHER A BOOK OF MUSKOKA GHOSTS, AND EACH TIME, I AM COMPELLED TO SUGGEST THEY JUST TUNE INTO MY DAILY BLOG, WHICH IS RELATIVELY FREE….IF YOU DON'T COUNT THE PRICE TO PURCHASE A COMPUTER, AND PAY FOR INTERNET PRIVILEGES. EVERYTHING ELSE IS FREE, AT LEAST TO READ MY BLOG. I DON'T LIKE THE THOUGHT OF CUTTING DOWN A FOREST TO PUBLISH A BOOK. I GREW UP THINKING THAT WAS OKAY, AND I DO SELL OLD BOOKS……IT'S JUST THAT I DON'T WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO DESTROYING THE WORLD'S FORESTS TO SUPPORT MY NEED FOR SELF EXPRESSION. BESIDES, I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF MY RESEARCH AND WRITING BORROWED BY OTHER AUTHORS, WHO HAVE DONE THEIR OWN FOR-PROFIT BOOKS….WHICH WHILE MAKING ME ANGRY THAT THEY DIDN'T SEEK MY PERMISSION FIRST, JUST SEEMS A POINTLESS EXERCISE OF A BIG EGO. I SUPPOSE I SHOULD BE HAPPY TO BE QUOTED SO MUCH, AND MY IDEAS BORROWED. IT MUST MEAN I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK. I DO THINK, HOWEVER, THEY BELIEVE ME TO BE DECEASED, AND UNAVAILABLE TO GIVE INTERVIEWS, OR AT THE VERY LEAST, PERMISSION TO QUOTE PASSAGES OF MY WORK. IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO AFTER ALL. I JUST WON'T BUY THEIR BOOK FOR FACE VALUE, OR PARTICIPATE IN THEIR GHOST WALKS. I WILL BUY ONE OF THEIR BOOKS ON THE REBOUND, CURSE A BIT, BUT SATISFY MYSELF THAT THEY'VE AT THE VERY LEAST MENTIONED MY NAME AS A SOURCE.

     IF I WAS TO TAKE YOU GOOD FOLKS ON A GHOST WALK, IT WOULD BE COST FREE, AND BE MORE OF A COUNTRYSIDE STROLL, THROUGH THE HINTERLAND, THAN IN ANY WAY URBAN. THERE ARE LOTS OF URBAN GHOSTS AND THEIR STORIES MAKE UP A BULK OF WHAT IS WRITTEN ABOUT THE PARANORMAL THESE DAYS. MY RELATIONSHIP WITH SPIRITS, MORE SO THAN MY CONTEMPORARIES, INVOLVES THE NATURE OF MUSKOKA ITSELF…..NOT JUST AS A BACKDROP FOR THE TOP TEN REGIONAL HAUNTINGS. I DEAL MORE INTIMATELY WITH FOLK TALES, AND RECENTLY, I'VE BEEN TOLD BY SEVERAL HISTORIANS, THAT MY SOCIAL / CULTURAL WORK HAS INFLUENCED THEM, TO GIVE MORE EMPHASIS TO THE CHARACTER TRAITS OF LOCAL HISTORY-MAKERS, THAN HAS BEEN AFFORDED THEM IN THE PAST. I'M EVER SO DELIGHTED TO HEAR THIS, BECAUSE THE PURSUIT OF MUSKOKA HISTORY, HAS FOR THE MOST PART, BEEN BLACK AND WHITE, AND WITHOUT MUCH IN THE WAY OF PERSONAL BIOGRAPHY. YOU JUST CAN'T IGNORE THE CHARACTER TYPES WHO BUILT OUR COMMUNITIES, AND PROGRESSED THEM TO THIS MODERN ERA. THERE IS A LOT MORE TO HISTORY THAN DATES AND OCCURRENCES.

     I INDICATED THAT WELL KNOWN WRITER, SYLVIA DUVERNET, A FAMILY FRIEND, HAD ONCE SPOKEN TO ME ABOUT MUSKOKA'S STRONG SPIRIT……SAYING THAT THE DISTRICT WAS "A VERY SPIRITUAL PLACE," THAT HAS GIVEN ARTISTS, WRITERS, MUSICIANS AND PHILOSOPHERS THE INSPIRATION TO CREATE. SHE HAD NO INTENTION THEN, OF EXPLAINING THIS IN DETAIL, BUT RATHER, SUGGESTED I DO MY OWN EXPLORATION OF THIS INHERENT, IMBEDDED SPIRITUALITY. FOR MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS, I HAVE PURSUED THIS LIKE A TREASURE-HUNTER SEEKING OUT SUNKEN TREASURE. I HAVE PUT MYSELF IN MANY ISOLATED AND WILD PLACES, OFFERING IDEAL VANTAGE POINTS TO WATCH SUNRISES, AND SUNSETS, OVER LAKE, RIVER, FOREST, MOOR AND HILLSIDE. I'VE STAYED AT ABANDONED HOMESTEADS ON BITTER WINTER NIGHTS, THINKING ABOUT THE LIVES PLACES LIKE THIS HAVE GIVEN REFUGE…..THE CELEBRATIONS, MILESTONES, AND TRAGEDIES EACH HAS HAD OCCUR WITHIN ITS HOUSEHOLD RESPONSIBILITY. I HAVE NEVER HELD THESE VIGILS, IN THE HOPE OF SEEING A SINGLE ORB LEVITATING ON A GROWN-OVER PATHWAY, OR A LIGHT SUDDENLY GOING ON IN AN UPSTAIRS BEDROOM, VISIBLE THROUGH THE BLOWING SNOW OF A WINTER STORM. I HAVE NOT ANTICIPATED THE SOUND OF FEET IN THE SNOW, OR EXPECTED A SHADOWY FIGURE, OR SUDDEN MIST OUT OF NOWHERE, TO REMIND ME WHAT A HOLLYWOOD HAUNTING IS ALL ABOUT. THIS ISN'T HOLLYWOOD. TO EXPECT THAT IF THERE ARE SPIRITS, IN THESE LONELY, FORGOTTEN PLACES, THEY WILL PUT ON A SHOW FOR THE VOYEUR, IS AN EXPLOITIVE ERROR IN GOOD JUDGEMENT. I DON'T HAVE TO SEE EVEN A THIN VAPOR, OR A GYRATING ORB, TO KNOW A PLACE IS SUPERNATURALLY ENHANCED. FOR ANYONE WHO IS LEGITIMATELY ATTACHED TO RESEARCHING THE SPIRIT-WORLD, VISUALS AREN'T THE ONLY SOURCES OF VALIDATION….THERE ARE SPIRITS NEARBY. THOSE WHO HAVE CROSSED, HAVE A MUCH MORE SUBTLE, EFFECTIVE WAY OF MAKING CONTACT…..AND THERE'S NOT NEED FOR ANY VISUAL EXHIBITION. IF IT HAPPENS, IT HAPPENS. I STILL WON'T BE TAKING YOU ON A GHOST WALK.

     I'D LIKE TO RETURN NOW, TO WASHINGTON IRVING'S TALE OF "THE STORM SHIP," IN THE HUDSON RIVER VALLEY, DATING BACK TO ITS EARLIEST SETTLERS, MANY OF WHO WERE FROM THE NETHERLANDS. MY FAMILY OF VANDERVOORTS MAY HAVE BEEN IN THIS SAME SETTING, OF WHICH IRVING IS WRITING ABOUT. MAYBE IT'S WHY THIS STORY IS SO ALLURING TO ME. BUT I DO FIND A RELEVANCE TO THE SPIRIT-PLAY IN MUSKOKA, AND MANY SHORELINE RESIDENTS HAVE CLAIMED TO SEE PHANTOM BOATS, SAIL BOATS, AND CANOES, ESPECIALLY DURING THUNDERSTORMS….WHICH SEEM SO ENCHANTING WITHIN THEMSELVES. CANADIAN LANDSCAPE ARTIST, TOM THOMSON, WAS PROFOUNDLY INTERESTED BY SUCH WEATHER-EVENTS, INCLUDING THE MAGIC OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS, WHICH HE CAPTURED ON PAINT BOARDS MANY TIMES, PAINTING IN THE WILDS OF ONTARIO.

     "OTHER EVENTS OCCURRED TO OCCUPY THE THOUGHTS AND DOUBTS OF THE SAGE WOUTER AND HIS COUNCIL, AND THE STORM-SHIP CEASED TO BE A SUBJECT OF DELIBERATION AT THE BOARD. IT CONTINUED, HOWEVER, TO BE A MATTER OF POPULAR BELIEF AND MARVELOUS ANECDOTE THROUGH THE WHOLE TIME OF THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT, AND PARTICULARLY JUST BEFORE THE CAPTURE OF NEW AMSTERDAM, AND THE SUBJUGATION OF THE PROVINCE BY THE ENGLISH SQUADRON. ABOUT THAT TIME THE STORM SHIP WAS REPEATEDLY SEEN IN THE TAPPAN-ZEE, AND ABOUT WECHAWK, AND EVEN DOWN AS FAR AS HOBOKEN; AND HER APPEARANCE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OMINOUS OF THE APPROACHING SQUALL IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS, AND THE DOWNFALL OF THE DUTCH DOMINATION," WROTE IRVING, IN THE SKETCH BOOK CHARACTER, OF GEOFFREY CRAYON ESQ. "SINCE THAT TIME WE HAVE NO AUTHENTIC ACCOUNTS OF HER; THOUGH IT IS SAID SHE STILL HAUNTS THE HIGHLANDS, AND CRUISES ABOUT POINT-TO-POINT. PEOPLE WHO LIVE ALONG THE RIVER, INSIST THAT THEY SOMETIMES SEE HER IN SUMMER MOONLIGHT; AND THAT IN A DEEP STILL MOONLIGHT THEY HAVE HEARD THE CHANT OF HER CREW, ALONG THE MOUNTAINOUS SHORES, AND ABOUT THE WIDE BAYS AND LONG REACHES OF THIS GREAT RIVER, THAT I CONFESS I HAVE VERY STRONG DOUBTS ABOUT THE SUBJECT."

     "IT IS CERTAIN, NEVERTHELESS, THAT STRANGE THINGS HAVE BEEN SEEN IN THESE HIGHLANDS IN STORMS, WHICH ARE CONSIDERED AS CONNECTED WITH THE OLD STORY OF THE SHIP. THE CAPTAINS OF THE RIVER CRAFT TALK OF A LITTLE BULBOUS-BOTTOMED DUTCH GOBLIN, IN TRUNK HOSE AND SUGAR-LOAF HAT, WITH A SPEAKING-TRUMPET IN HIS HAND, WHICH THEY SAY KEEPS ABOUT THE DUNDERBERG (THUNDER MOUNTAIN). THEY DECLARE THAT THEY HAVE HEARD HIM, IN STORMY WEATHER, IN THE MIDST OF THE TURMOIL, GIVING ORDERS IN LOW DUTCH FOR THE PIPING-UP OF A FRESH GUST OF WIND, OR THE RATTLING OFF OF ANOTHER THUNDER CLAP. THAT SOMETIMES HE HAS BEEN SEEN SURROUNDED BY A CREW OF LITTLE IMPS IN BROAD BREECHES AND SHORT DOUBLETS; TUMBLING HEAD OVER HEELS IN THE RACK AND MIST, AND PLAYING A THOUSAND GAMBOLS IN THE AIR; OR BUZZING LIKE A SWARM OF FLIES ABOUT ANTHONY'S NOSE; AND THAT, AT SUCH TIMES, THE HURRY-SCURRY OF THE STORM WAS ALWAYS GREATEST. ONE TIME, A SLOOP, IN PASSING BY THE DUNDERBERG, WAS OVERTAKEN BY A THUNDER-GUST, THAT CAME SCOURING ROUND THE MOUNTAIN, AND SEEMED TO BURST JUST OVER THE VESSEL. THOUGH TIGHT AND WELL BALLASTED, YET SHE LABOURED DREADFULLY, UNTIL THE WATER CAME OVER THE GUNWALE. ALL THE CREW WERE AMAZED, WHEN IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THERE WAS A LITTLE WHITE SUGAR-LOAF HAT ON THE MAST HEAD, WHICH WAS KNOWN AT ONCE, TO BE THE HAT OF HEER OF THE DUNDERBURG. NOBODY HOWEVER, DARED TO CLIMB TO THE MAST-HEAD, AND GET RIDE OF THIS TERRIBLE HAT. THE SLOOP CONTINUED LABOURING AND ROCKING, AS IF SHE WOULD HAVE ROLLED HER MAST OVERBOARD. SHE SEEMED IN CONTINUAL DANGER EITHER OF UPSETTING OR OF RUNNING ON SHORE. IN THIS WAY SHE DROVE QUITE THROUGH THE HIGHLANDS UNTIL SHE HAD PASSED POLLOPOL'S ISLAND, WHERE , IT IS SAID, THE JURISDICTION OF THE DUNDERBERG POTENTATE CEASES. NO SOONER HAD SHE PASSED THIS BOURNE, THAN THE LITTLE HAT, ALL AT ONCE, SPUN UP INTO THE AIR LIKE A TOP, WHIRLED UP ALL THE CLOUDS INTO A VORTEX, AND HURRIED THEM BACK TO THE SUMMIT OF THE DUNDERBERG; WHILE THE SLOOP RIGHTED HERSELF, AND SAILED ON AS QUIETLY AS IF IN A MILL POND. NOTHING SAVED HER FROM UTTER WRECK BUT THE FORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCES OF HAVING A HORSE-SHOE NAILED AGAINST THE MAST; A WISE PRECAUTION AGAINST EVIL SPIRITS, WHICH HAS SINCE BEEN ADOPTED BY ALL THE DUTCH CAPTAINS, THAT NAVIGATE THIS HAUNTED RIVER."

     THERE ARE STORIES, IN MUSKOKA, ABOUT STRANGE LIGHTS OUT ON THE LAKE, IN THE MIDDLE OF EVENING STORMS, THAT BELONG TO NO KNOWN BOAT. THERE HAVE BEEN THE DULL DRONE OF ENGINES, OF BOATS, THAT NEVER ARRIVED AT ANY DESTINATION. SIGHTINGS OF STRANGE SAIL BOATS ALONG THE HORIZON, THAT SUDDENLY DISAPPEAR, AND TRAVERSING CANOES, THAT SEEM TO VANISH JUST ABOUT THE TIME THEY APPEARED CLOSE TO TOUCHING AGAINST THE SAND SHORE OF A MISTY LAKE. THERE MAY BE THE SOUND OF A PADDLE AGAINST THE WATER, WITHOUT ANY CANOE IN THE VICINITY, OR THE SENSATION ON AN ISLAND SHORE, THAT YOU ARE BEING WATCHED BY SOMETHING, OR SOMEONE; WHEN NOT A LIVING SOUL, OR LARGE ANIMAL IS IN THE VICINITY. THERE IS DEFINITELY A SENSORY INVIGORATION, SITTING BY THE RUINS OF AN OLD COTTAGE OR COUNTRYSIDE HOMESTEAD, FEELING AS IF THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ONCE, ARE STILL BEING PLAYED OUT IN FRONT OF THE WATCHER……DESPITE THE FACT NARY A MIST OR SHADOW CAN BE WITNESSED. YET THE KEEN VOYEUR KNOWS IT IS A HAUNTED, SPIRITUALLY POWERFUL PLACE.

     PLEASE JOIN ME FOR MORE ABOUT THE WASHINGTON IRVING'S "THE STORM SHIP," IN TOMORROW'S BLOG. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME TODAY. I'M GETTING WOOD SET OUT, FOR MY WINTER-TIME FIRES, AND WILL AGAIN REPORT FROM HEARTHSIDE, THIS COMING FALL AND WINTER SEASON……FROM THE WARM BOSOM OF BIRCH HOLLOW, IN THE ENCHANTING EMBRACE OF SOUTH MUSKOKA.