Whether you believe in the paranormal or not, you can't deny Chatham-Kent has history, and it is going to include some that can't be explained.
Author Sheila Gibbs, a resident of Chatham-Kent, is one of three who conduct ghost walks as part of The Kent Historical Society that showcase Chatham-Kent's rich paranormal history.
"The appeal of a ghost walk is you're seeing the place where something happened whether you believe it or not, presented by people who see you, you're seen, you're heard, it's a very personal exchange," said Gibbs.
Gibbs's first of three books on the paranormal, "Ghosts of Chatham-Kent", came out in 2004, and she's been telling and collecting ghost stories for over 20 years. The ghost walks are running this summer, and continue to be extremely popular.
"When you hear someone who has been changed by the experience talking right there in front of you, it's not someone from far away, it's somebody that lives in this town or vicinity it's much more meaningful, and that's why people keep coming back," said Gibbs.
As for a popular place in Chatham-Kent for spirits to reside, Gibbs has a few examples.
"That area over by The Cultural Centre, Milner House, Armoury, Tecumseh Park the river, and two of the earliest homes dating to 1845 in Chatham are also located there. That is probably one of the most haunted areas," said Gibbs. "It only makes sense when you stop and think about it. Where did people settle when they first came to this new world, they settled along the river cause they were farming to survive, and where is the best land to farm? Close to the river."
"Over 200 years of existence, of people living in all those areas in the core of Chatham... that's where there have been all of these human emotions built of anger and jealousy, hatred, bitterness and suspicion. And all those human emotions give rise to accidents, fires, and even murders. And that's when you have those spirits returning from the land they were familiar with," she added
The Cultural Centre
Gibbs explained the area around the Cultural Centre is rich in paranormal activity. Still, the one story that stands out and continues to be told is that of a woman who died in the centre with the cause of her death remaining undetermined.
"She was either murdered and a fire set to cover up the murder, or she fell from the second floor," said Gibbs. "Since then they've actually held seances there as far back as 1968 to try and free the spirit. but people who have been working in there, particularly in the art gallery on the second floor and the Kiwanis theatre behind the stage, say there is something there."
On the walk, Gibbs shares collected stories from people who have had experiences with The Cultural Centre spirit. To get these first-hand accounts Gibbs, who is also a War of 1812 re-enactor, originally started by listening to experiences her fellow re-enactors would tell her. It then became an advertisement in the paper asking for people to share their experiences, and then people would just approach her with their ghost stories.
"The people I have spoken to for these stories I always feel are sincere and they want to tell someone because they don't understand what happened," said Gibbs. "And they feel vindicated when they are finally able to tell the story."
The Milner House
As for the Milner House, a former resident haunts this location, with the theory being that the young lady tripped and fell down the back stairs and died. It is believed she is now the one haunting the house.
"Various curators have said they would leave for the night, lock the doors, check the windows, set the alarm system, and leave," said Gibbs. "And then perhaps they would come back for something at the cultural centre, and find all the lights on. And they would go in and everything would still be locked but somehow the lights would be on, they couldn't figure out how that happened."
The running theory behind that perhaps the spirit who haunts the house is trying to save someone from the same fate down the back stairs.
The Capitol Theatre
Gibbs said there are lots here too, specifically the story of Charlie McGregor, a projectionist who worked there for many years when it was a movie theatre. While the theatre was being renovated and restored, the spirit of Charlie caused a bit of a ruckus.
"It was one of the supervisors of one of the crews hired to do the restoration work that told me about Charlie McGregor and all the things that happened as they were trying to do things. Tools being left in one place and being moved to another place," said Gibbs. "
Or how a radio would switch from one station to a jazz station while someone was working alone.
"It happened so often they would say 'Charlie turn it back to the regular station' and they would hear it go back to the right station," Gibbs said.
It seems even the spirits themselves are entertained by the stories Gibbs is sharing. She has an interesting perspective from someone who attended one of her walks and is attuned to spirits and could see the ones she was talking about.
"That blew me away," said Gibbs.
For those interested in hearing more stories from Chatham's haunted history, the next ghost walk takes place Friday, July 26, with the following on Friday, August 23.