THe Muskoka Lakeland Landscape That Conjures Up Paranormal Thoughts and Images

THE LANDSCAPE OF THE MUSKOKA LAKELAND THAT CONJURES UP THOUGHTS AND IMAGES OF THE PARANORMAL

BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, IF NOT PROVEN BEYOND DOUBT, A LEGITIMATELY HAUNTED REGION?

     As a child, if you were like most youngsters, you knew there was a malevolent being, positioned amongst the dust bunnies, under your bed, waiting for your parent to switch off the light; before it, whatever it was, would slide out into the open to cause you harm? What about the closet? The wardrobe? Remember the story, "The Witch and the Wardrobe," by C.S. Lewis, an expert by the way, on what constitutes the natural and supernatural?
     Did you ever give a second thought to the Boogey Man? Vampires? Werewolves? Zombies? What about aliens, like the Venus Men, and Martians? Oh come on! The whole culture of childhood depends in part, on story-book depictions, fairy tales, old and dear stories, of adventure and intrigue, such that should "Peter Pan" and "Captain Hook" drop by for a visit, you'd know exactly what to do; and if you heard a "tick tock," from a corner in your room, you'd have to watch for the crocodile, that wants the rest of the bad captain for dinner. He got his hand on his first try. Keep in mind, that uncut fairy tales can be pretty gruesome all told. We have the censored versions on the market today. If you have ever tuned into televisions shows today, like "Grim" and "Once Upon a Time," you'd know just how gruesome fairy tales can become, with creative enterprise and high tech special affects.
     The emigrants to Canada, and in the case of Muskoka, from the late 1850's, to the turn of the century, probably read some of those same fairy tales, as told to them, while nestled in their bedsteads. Is it so hard to believe, that the Muskoka backdrop, and the wild nature of the landscape at this time, as it cradled close around those log shanties, situated beneath tall pines, wouldn't have caused an unspecified amount of transplanted story-line, at least in the creative minds of youngsters; in what some of the senior settlers called a "God Forsaken Place". There is a considerable amount of evidence, of these overviews, of what others were calling a "faery-land" setting. I would love to know what some of these adapted folk tales, and fairy tales, might have reflected of the new place these emigrants called home.    
     On another matter. If nine out of ten visitors to a house, not previously known as being haunted, reported to the owner, that they saw the spectre of an old woman, standing at the top of a staircase, it would be somewhat expected, either someone was playing a practical joke, a inhabitant being dressed-up to prank visitors, or there was an intruder the owner wasn't previously aware. A ghost? That's a distinct possibility if you believe in such things. Having nine visitors out of ten swear to having seen the old woman, would be an exceptionally high statistic to deal with, that would, to a paranormal investigator, suggest the need for a more thorough survey of the house in question. You still couldn't claim it as being the result of something supernatural, until all other details were reviewed, and theories explored. Getting forensic, as far as you can go, makes sense; if, that is, the owner of the subject house is worried about such things, as apparitions on the staircase. Maybe not. I'm pretty sure though, real estate agents wouldn't want to know this, as it probably would cause potential buyers to decide against buying a potentially haunted house. I'm not sure about this, but you might even have to make a declaration as such, on the listing documents, if you do strongly suspect a haunting, and know there are witnesses who would attest to a sighting.
     What I've been playing around with, for the past few blogs, is a more natural / historic / cultural way of looking at the premise of haunting; not so much to prove that ghosts and faeries exist, but to suggest that the Muskoka landscape, by its picturesque "faery-land" appearance, cultivated certain folklore adaptations that left an imprint. This of course, implies that these settlers, had acquired knowledge of the ghosts of old literature, before they found themselves emigrating to Canada and then homesteading in Muskoka. The District of Muskoka was characterized in early descriptions, dating as far back as the 1860's, as having a "faery-land" appearance, because of certain natural attributes. Such as the mist shrouding a river basin, as produced by the cataract of, say for instance, the Great Falls, as written about, by Muskoka first historian, Thomas McMurray, in his 1870's Settlers' Guidebook. I believe the scenery of Muskoka, and the folklore that arrived with the emigrants, in the early years of the Free Land and Homesteads period, actually helped conjure-up a revitalized opinion about what caused those "bumps in the night," amongst other unexplained events around the pioneer encampments.
     To characterize Muskoka as being a more enchanted place than other locales in this country, is absurd, and not my point whatsoever. If however, you were to base this faery-land overview, based on those early tutored observations, by writers who travelled through Muskoka, from the notes of Samuel de Champlain's trip on Georgian Bay, including the many poets who participated in the famous Muskoka Assembly in the 1920's and 30's, there is little doubt, some saw our region as possessing an unspecified, "enchanting" atmosphere, that made it seem "fascinating". It's this aspect, that continues to be a highlight for tourism, and I dare say, the same, for cottagers throughout the lakeland. It is a beautiful place. No doubt about it. It has crowd appeal. Just as it did for anglers and hunters in the days before full-scale homesteading commenced.
    When tourism was seeded, after the initial round of homesteading on the free land grants of the district, the Muskoka experience was being sold as a "healthy" retreat for the city-weary. You can find thousands of references local hotels and resorts used, since the 1880's, to sell potential guests, on the healing qualities of the clear, chilled Muskoka atmosphere. It must have been compelling, because it was one of the reasons Gravenhurst became the host community for numerous tubercular sanatoriums. The air was clear of city pollution, and it gave patients a better overall environment. This included being bundled up, and exposed to the cold Muskoka air, when it prevailed. This was also part of the healing protocol. The point of including this reference, is that it was part and parcel of the Muskoka environmental experience, in all its dimensions, over the four seasons. It had many natural assets, including the fact it was a visually appealing and stimulating place to visit and reside. Unless you were a homesteader having to rough it, in this picturesque heartland, which also had natural obstacles to bypass. In these cases, yes, the bright, welcoming environs, could become sinister under the right conditions. Hardship and starvation can do that kind of thing to a settler in the wild woods. It's why many homesteaders gave up on Muskoka early on, deciding that being picturesque was less important than being a district with arable land, and kindly seasons. Muskoka had thin agricultural soil, thinly layered upon a rock shelf, and a lot of water, and lowland, not to mention huge rock outcroppings, and thick stands of white pine. Then there was the short growing season. It all added up into a rather inhospitable location for poorly prepared homesteaders, who had lived in European cities prior to accepting the invitation of the Canadian Government at the time, to re-locate to the colony, for free farm land.
     If you pay a couple of bucks, possibly you can get a guided tour of local haunts; commercial and public buildings, and private residences, said to be occupied by something paranormal. Ghost walks are a big deal these days, although I refuse to have anything to do with them, or start my own, even though I know the same alleged haunts as the guides do, but having a better grasp of local history. To me it's all run-of-the-mill, and popular in centres all across North America. It's a novelty, orbs or ghost sightings witnessed or not. Seeing as I rather like ghosts, and have never had a truly frightening experience with one, in many documented encounters, it just doesn't seem all that interesting, to follow along as an enthralled sightseer, while speculation runs rampant as it must, to fill the alloted time of the walk-about. For me, I'd rather take a drive through the Muskoka countryside at various times of the day and night, during the four seasons, to experience what I think is the oldest and most significant haunting of all. The inherent enchantment authors have been writing about for centuries, in this "neck of the woods;" and what has inspired creative minds from the earliest days of settlement, and community development, is far more appealing for a folklore hunter like me. I like living and working in an enchanted lakeland, and never give up, on the possibility, of one moonlit evening, stumbling upon a Faerie circle, in full revelry, visible in-between the ferns of the woodland. I have no reason not to expect this, but I would feign being surprised anyway.
     To me, Muskoka's inherent enchantments, which I have benefitted from for long and long, visual, or more deeply ingrained, gives the creative mind all the fertility it needs, to manifest in interpretive art, whether in the words of a song, the shape of a sculpture, the colors of a painting, the words of a poem or short story. Muskoka is a fertile region in so many ways, just as it is haunted in many other ways.