Something is spooky at the 108 Mile Heritage Site.
The site restarted their annual string of ghost tours on April 20, which will go on until October. Groups can explore the many buildings with a guide, who speak about the history of the site as well as some of its past occupants, who they say haven’t quite moved on after their deaths.
“It’s really cool,” said Erin Kryschuk, one of the tourists on the first tour of 2019. “Not sure what I think about this stuff. It’s fun to do. I’m having a blast, [but] I’m very much on a skeptic side.”
Kryschuk is from out of town and was visiting her grandparents, who live in the 108 with her English partner, Chris Hull. She didn’t know much about the history of the site until the tour, and was excited to see some of the authentic antiques and artifacts in the houses and schoolhouse.
“That’s what I was under the impression I was doing tonight, a history walk at night … Well, I heard ghost tour, but I thought it was more about the history of the place.”
She did give the tour guide credit for the interesting ghost stories, such as the man who is told to hang out on the catwalk in the barn.
Guides say the man was captured on camera in 2017. Since the photo was taken, the tours no longer allow people on the catwalk or photographs of the area.
Dave Scott, one of the organizers of the tour, said the “ghost” was very unhappy when his photo was taken. One way the guides keep him happy is by leaving a cigarette and flask of whiskey on the steps to the catwalk, he said.
Even though she described herself as a skeptic, Kryschuk said there was no way anyone could have gotten her on the catwalk even if she was allowed.
Scott also said there might be a ghost of a grizzly bear and a little girl in one of the houses.
“We’ve caught everything from photographs to what we call EVP [electronic voice phenomena],” he said. “We have caught everything from a cat to a little girl to other voices who have just been hanging around.”
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Kryschuk’s group didn’t experience much EVP activity, except for readers going off in an upstairs room of the old post office. Tara Spender, a guide on the tour, said the office is also the same house that a photo of an alien was captured in October 2018 after a supernatural convention.
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“This is our third year doing the ghost tour at the 108 Heritage Site, where we use the history and the sports that are around this facility in order to help raise money for the museum,” said Scott. “The museum, of course, is a non-profit organization that has to try and bring any amount of income it can in order to keep it afloat.”
He added that he didn’t know why so many ghosts and spirits are attracted to the site, but he thinks a lot of it has to do with the fact that the site was located on the historic Gold Trail. Many people would stop there on their way up north to gold prospect or mine.
There is also the legend of murderous Agnes McVee, Scott said, who supposedly ran a hotel and store in 108 Mile House. It’s rumoured that she killed miners for their gold, though the rumours haven’t been proven.
“We have had numerous professional ghost hunters from the U.S. and Canada come through here. Each and every one of them has been amazed by the amount of activity that happens here,” Scott said.
As for Kryschuk and her partner Hull, they may remain skeptical of ghosts and spirits, but they are big believers in supporting local events.
“I do think it’s very neat they keep offering this and people should come because obviously, they’re doing great things with the money,” said Kryschuk. “I’m having a lot of fun tagging along and seeing the history and that’s really really great. It’s just good to support local events.”
