TUNNELS OF DARKNESS

 

  Caves and tunnels usually make everyone think the same thing: “I wonder what’s in there?”

 In the daylight, they seem intriguing with a slight air of mystery, like a hidden passageway to take you from point A to be point B (kind of like a cemetery, ha ha). But after the sun has set, and darkness settles in, these areas can produce an ominous feeling of fear.

First of all, they are all pretty much pitch black dark to the point where you can’t even see your hand in front of your face. It is hard to say what you should be more afraid of: the animals and vermin who might have claimed the space for themselves or the even creepier elements of dark abysmal places such as these.

You have no idea what you may be walking into.

Well, we can tell you what is in some of those caves and tunnels around Nova Scotia.                                                        

 York Redoubt is perched atop a bluff overlooking Halifax, Nova Scotia (a redoubt is simply a fort system). It was an active defense post used in WWII and was in use until 1956. Today, as a national historic site, it is open to visitors who are welcome to wander the fort and surrounding walking trails.

Having been there a few years ago, I can attest to the fact that the gorgeous views of the harbor are a stark contrast to the tunnel system running below ground. The passageways are groundy, musty and damp, with the original stonework beginning to degrade. The tunnels stand in darkness, compelling you to step inside, if you are brave enough.

                                                             

Several local paranormal research groups have been there for investigations and recorded clear EVP’s and many high-range hits on an EMF meter, evidence that there is some level of paranormal activity going on in the inhospitable underground.

(EVP: electronic voice phenomenon is when a spirit’s voice is captured on a specific recording device. EMF: electromagnetic field detector, used to pick up electromagnetic radiation emitting from a spirit. Spirits are also thought to sometimes disturb the existing magnetic fields)

There are other documented reports of EVP recordings and orb-like lights around York Redoubt outside of the tunnels, as well. It would be impossible to know exactly how many specters inhabit this locale. But it’s quiet there most of the time, an element spirits tend to be drawn towards.

      If you want to learn more about EVPs, check out our previous newsletter:   Spirit Voices                                              

 The top honor of “deepest darkest tunnel” in Nova Scotia would have to go to one of the many coal mines the province has been home to. In and around Cape Breton, it is not much of a secret that the Ocean Deeps Colliery mine (and museum) in Glace Bay has a history of paranormal activity. Luckily, I was on one of the tours there a few years back, and although educational and interesting, one couldn’t help but wonder what else besides tour groups floated through the continually-deepening caverns.

   Employees and tour guides have openly discussed their resident ghosts; footsteps and doors slamming throughout the museum section, lights already on when the first employee of the day arrives; sometimes the movie shown to tour groups is already rolling.

                                                          

The dark recesses of the mine are sometimes punctuated with disembodied group conversations when no one is down there. There have also been confirmed sightings of a female ghost traversing the mine shafts, her white dress trailing behind her. A legend surrounds her apparition: if you see her, expect bad news.

Eager for paranormal evidence, a team of investigators visited the museum and mine at one point. They did indeed pick up spirit voices and had a conversation with one of the entities, through the use of a ghost-box.

(Ghost-boxes: also called spirit boxes, these are devices that scan multiple channels, allegedly making it easier for a spirit to form actual words.)

                                   

And then there’s the Keith’s Brewery. Alexander Keith bought his famous brewery in 1820 after moving to Halifax, NS and it still stands today. To remain close to his business, he built his house (known as “Keith Hall”) on the next street over (Hollis St.) and for the convenience of keeping an eye on his ale production, he had a tunnel built between his house and the brewery. He died in 1873, although it is speculated he never really left the premises.

                                                           

Footsteps in and out of the tunnel have been heard countless times and  people have also described the sound of squeaky wheels (akin to a handcart) moving through the connecting tunnel.

Would you want to be in there alone late at night and hear a ghostly trolley come rolling through?

Other parts of the brewery are also known to be haunted. Cold, invisible hands touch people, children’s voices come out of nowhere and old Alex K. has been sighted on more than one occasion.

                                                              

If you do not consider tunnels and caves to be creepy, ask yourself these questions: Would you wander through the tunnels of York Redoubt by yourself at night? Even on a dare, would you enter the mine shaft in Glace Bay if the tour guide wasn’t leading the way?

Don’t go without a flashlight.

                                                                     

   Nova Scotia Paranormal Events