Washington Irving and the Haunted Hudson Valley

IN THE SPIRIT OF WASHINGTON IRVING, AND HIS PORTRAYAL OF THE HAUNTED HUDSON RIVER VALLEY -

WE SHARE A LITERARY PROVENANCE WITH ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST ACCOMPLISHED FOLKLORISTS - MUSKOKA HAS ITS HAUNTED SIDE AS WELL

     Each autumn season, as a literary promise I made to the memory of legendary American author, Washington Irving, and Canadian Postal Authority, (Historian and Literary Critic, in his spare time) W.D. LeSueur, who named Bracebridge, Ontario, after the title of Irving's 1833 book, "Bracebridge Hall," I take the time from Thanksgiving to Hallowe'en, on this blog site, to write stories having an embedded paranormal / supernatural theme. These aren't invented stories, and all have foundations in the history of our region of Ontario. These haven't been prepared to scare the bejeebers out of readers, or as a tactic for gaining more readers; because it is the case, and it shows in the daily readership, I can get more readers by writing about ghosts and assorted hobgoblins, than about local history. I work on these stories, which are attached as folklore, just as Washington Irving got his inspirations from old Dutch legends, as passed down in stories from the original settlers of New York, such as inhabited his Sleepy Hollow, the haunts of the Headless Horseman. While I haven't heard any stories passed through the ages, about headless horseman, in Muskoka, there are many other folk tale remnants that have survived, which have their place amongst the stories composed by the likes of Washington Irving.
     In 1864, when the citizens of Bracebridge wanted to open a post office, in the fledgling hamlet, in South Muskoka, they submitted the title "North Falls," to the federal postal authority, William Dawson LeSueur, who, as part of his job, was to name new offices opening in small settlements in the hinterland, being opened for settlement at the time, by the federal government. LeSueur, as he did in Gravenhurst, two years earlier, (the village post office was named Gravenhurst, after a book written by British Poet / Philosopher, William Henry Smith), denied the townsfolk the name they had selected, and instead, granted the title "Bracebridge," which he borrowed from Irving's book, actually the second part of his most popular text, "The Sketch Book," circa 1819, which first published the name "Bracebridge," in regards to the family of "Squire Bracebridge," of the english manor house he ruled over. Reference to the name "Bracebridge" appears in two major Irving books.
    While many of Irving's titles were being reprinted and circulated, to an even wider international audience, by 1864, there is no positive proof that LeSueur took the name from one book over the other. As a literary expert, and Canadian man of letters, as well as revered book critic with numerous publications, he could have just as easily borrowed the name from "The Sketch Book," as from "Bracebridge Hall." I think it would be neat, if I could ever prove, LeSueur had taken the name from "The Sketch Book," instead, because it contains his most popular work, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." For the purposes of a Hallowe'en connection, by golly, this is good, meaty stuff. I've tried for years to inspire the business community, and service clubs in the Town of Bracebridge, to take advantage of this literary provenance, and host a Hallowe'en event in the spirit of Irving's "Headless Horseman." The town has the right to celebrate this important connection. I have never been able to explain the town's indifference, so each year, as the researcher who wrote the book on the matter, in 2000, my site hosts this revisitation to Irving's story, and takes a glimpse back at our own folklore in this region, and recognizes Hallowe'en the old fashioned way. Story sharing by pumpkin light!
     While it has been under-researched in this regard, it certainly isn't the case, Muskoka is void of folklore, and tales of haunted waterways, by phantom boats, and canoes, and so much more; including a railway worker, in Falkenburg, who lost his head, after falling beneath the wheels of a moving train. There are still stories told about the occasional sighting of him walking along the rail line in that area, swinging a kerosene lamp, looking for his missing noggin. I've collected bits and pieces of these old stories, of resident enchantments, touching on the paranormal, and supernatural, and this, for me, is the perfect time of year to bring them to the forefront, in the spirit of Washington Irving, a master story teller; who gave us a name to be proud of, and, of all things, to be joyfully celebrated, for the rich cultural, and literary connection, to some of the finest, most compelling stories ever told.
     Please join me, during this last part of October, up to and including Hallowe'en, for an opening of the Muskoka archives, to once again release these interesting tales for the benefit of curious readers. I suppose there are folks here who don't believe there is any lore worth repeating. And if you don't fully appreciate the intricacies and potentials of the paranormal, or believe in ghosts, thinking of them as only figments of the over-active imagination, these stories will probably be unsuitable. If, of course, you like this type of story-line, you're in for a treat. Muskoka is a more haunted, and storied place than you might suspect. I want to change your opinion. Please join me if you can weather the chill of some spirited tales, based on handed-down information from reliable sources. And if you have some personal stories of hauntings in your neighborhood, you're welcome to share them with us. Publication is up to you.