Medicine Hat, I must admit I'm impressed. I have a large number of stories from southwestern Alberta but I haven't looked much further east than Taber. But recently friends from Medicine Hat have suggested I come there and collect some stories from the Hat for the book. So I decided to look on-line to see what sort of stories are being told about Medicine Hat and whether it would be worth the drive.
When I started looking around at sites, I could not believe how many places in Medicine Hat had stories connected with them. I thought there were lots of haunted places associated with Lethbridge, but this completely blew me away. Why do you have so many ghost stories? Any theories?
Reading through some of the places said to be haunted, not at all surprised that there are stories associated with the POW camp, especially considering the murders there. But why the Stampede Grounds? Why Connaught School? What are the stories behind these places?
I'm only going to be in Medicine Hat for one day (hopefully a Saturday in November) so which ones do you consider the very best? Which stories do I absolutely have to track down? Who are the best people in Medicine Hat to talk to?
Any help is appreciated.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Guardian Spirits
September may be my favourite time of the year but October is certainly one of my busiest so sorry for not posting anything for a while. I have in the meantime been able to conduct several interviews with people who have ghost stories of southern Alberta and I have heard some amazing ones.
I have found a ghost (well, actually, two ghosts) with purpose!
When I started collecting these stories I knew that I wanted to take a folklore approach -- write them down so they're preserved for future generations, write them down so people can see if changes have been made to the stories, write them down so there's an understanding of southern Alberta through the stories we tell.
In order to do this respectfully and properly, I read many folklore studies done in other parts of the world. And one thing several writers in Europe notes is that the "purposeful ghost" seems to be on the decline. Hundreds of years ago a lot of ghost stories were about ghosts that came back for a reason -- revenge, to help someone right a wrong, to show someone where the treasure was and so much more.
But the stories of the past 100 or so years were more about ghosts that didn't seem to have any more purpose than to just be -- to hang around, to startle people, etc but not to "DO" anything.
One of the people I interviewed last night said that two of the spirits of the Galt Museum (the old Galt Hospital) were there as "guardians" to protect the building and make certain it was taken care of. She said they had a true affinity for the building and wanted it protected and preserved.
As a historian and a person who thinks historic buildings are among our greatest assets, I am so glad to think that this building, and maybe others?, have guardian spirits.
I have found a ghost (well, actually, two ghosts) with purpose!
When I started collecting these stories I knew that I wanted to take a folklore approach -- write them down so they're preserved for future generations, write them down so people can see if changes have been made to the stories, write them down so there's an understanding of southern Alberta through the stories we tell.
In order to do this respectfully and properly, I read many folklore studies done in other parts of the world. And one thing several writers in Europe notes is that the "purposeful ghost" seems to be on the decline. Hundreds of years ago a lot of ghost stories were about ghosts that came back for a reason -- revenge, to help someone right a wrong, to show someone where the treasure was and so much more.
But the stories of the past 100 or so years were more about ghosts that didn't seem to have any more purpose than to just be -- to hang around, to startle people, etc but not to "DO" anything.
One of the people I interviewed last night said that two of the spirits of the Galt Museum (the old Galt Hospital) were there as "guardians" to protect the building and make certain it was taken care of. She said they had a true affinity for the building and wanted it protected and preserved.
As a historian and a person who thinks historic buildings are among our greatest assets, I am so glad to think that this building, and maybe others?, have guardian spirits.
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