Imagine buying your dream home only to find out it's haunted. That's exactly what happened to Dorah and Ted, and their chilling story is at the heart of this episode of Keeping it Real.
Join me, Jacquie McCarnan, as I recount my own ghostly encounter and shed light on the often-overlooked legal responsibilities realtors face when dealing with stigmatized properties. We'll visit spine-tingling spots like Toronto's Keg Mansion and a notorious house in Vancouver, reminding us all why buyer vigilance is crucial, especially in for-sale-by-owner situations.
Stay tuned as we follow Dora and Ted's emotional rollercoaster—deciding whether to stay in their beautifully restored Victorian home despite its supernatural inhabitants. From consulting psychics to performing cleansing rituals, their journey offers a fascinating glimpse into the intersection of real estate and the paranormal. As they connect with the spirits of past residents and even move forward with new renovations, their story adds a spooky yet heartfelt layer to our exploration of haunted homes in Canada. Don’t miss my personal anecdotes and a special shoutout to a local community event that brings it all full circle.
Imagine buying your dream home only to find out it's haunted. That's exactly what happened to Dorah and Ted, and their chilling story is at the heart of this episode of Keeping it Real.
Join me, Jacquie McCarnan, as I recount my own ghostly encounter and shed light on the often-overlooked legal responsibilities realtors face when dealing with stigmatized properties. We'll visit spine-tingling spots like Toronto's Keg Mansion and a notorious house in Vancouver, reminding us all why buyer vigilance is crucial, especially in for-sale-by-owner situations.
Stay tuned as we follow Dora and Ted's emotional rollercoaster—deciding whether to stay in their beautifully restored Victorian home despite its supernatural inhabitants. From consulting psychics to performing cleansing rituals, their journey offers a fascinating glimpse into the intersection of real estate and the paranormal. As they connect with the spirits of past residents and even move forward with new renovations, their story adds a spooky yet heartfelt layer to our exploration of haunted homes in Canada. Don’t miss my personal anecdotes and a special shoutout to a local community event that brings it all full circle.
Hey everybody, welcome back to Keeping it Real, the Vancouver and area residential real estate podcast that has no gatekeeping, yeah, so basically anything you want to know about real estate here in British Columbia. I'm going to tell you straight up my name is Jackie McCarnan and I am your host for Keeping it Real. I'm very excited to be bringing you the 24th episode of Keeping it Real. We are almost halfway to a year. The reception to this podcast has been pretty amazing. We've had over a thousand downloads and I'm very pleased with the feedback that I get. But one thing I will say is you guys have made it very clear what kind of podcasts you want to hear.
Speaker 1:
When I started this, I thought that my listeners would want to hear stuff about you know how to buy a house or what the mortgage rates mean or all that sort of thing, but apparently that is all a little bit too boring for my listeners. So you've shown me that what you really like are stories. To that end, I am going to endeavor to always include stories in my podcasts, and this week is no different. I probably don't need it this week, but I'm going to throw my little disclaimer in here anyway, just to make my manager happy. Anything you hear on the podcast is my opinion, based on facts that I've researched and my experience. There are lots of different opinions, lots of different experiences and you're going to get all kinds of different information from different realtors, but in this particular case, for this particular subject, I don't think you're going to get a bunch of different opinions. Maybe I don't know. I think you really ought to buckle up for this one. Here we go. All right, I won't keep you in suspense any longer.
Speaker 1:
A couple of months ago I did an episode on stigmatized properties and I did the episode on murder that took place in Tweed, ontario. It was by far the most downloaded episode of Keeping it Real and that got me thinking about what other interesting stories we have here in Canada that might show stigmatized properties and what that means. So have you ever heard of the haunted house stigma? In Canada, a stigmatized property is defined as a property that has been used in the commission of a crime, a house where there's been a murder or a house where it's deemed to be haunted. The only thing is we don't really have a definition of haunted. It's deemed to be haunted. The only thing is we don't really have a definition of haunted. It's difficult to prove that a house has been haunted. Obviously, I think if you asked me on the street if I believed in ghosts, I would probably tell you no.
Speaker 1:
But then I remember laying in a tent with my then future sister-in-law now former sister-in-law. So a lot of time has gone by. In 1988 in Byron Bay, australia, we were laying in a tent because we were obviously camping and she started telling me the story about her sorority house in London, ontario. As she was telling me the story of how she and her sorority sisters got out a Ouija board and summoned the fellow that built the house. I guess he built it for his wife and she died before it finished. He finished it and he was destined to haunt the house for eternity. I guess. I guess that's how haunting goes for eternity. I guess I guess that's how haunting goes. Anyway, I would have thought this was kind of a far-fetched story, but the physical reaction I was having was tears were rolling down my face and I had goosebumps and I was just having this very strong reaction to the story, and so I don't know what that means. Does it mean that I believe in ghosts? Maybe?
Speaker 1:
When I started researching this topic. I found out that there are a shocking number of homes in Canada that are considered to be haunted. One of those includes the Keg Mansion in Toronto. I don't know if you've ever been there. I was there in, I think, 2021. And I even went to look for the ghost that's supposed to live in the upstairs ladies' bathroom, but I did not have any luck finding her. If you live in Vancouver, you might even remember that there's a house at the corner of King Edward and Canby. It's actually gone now and it's condos, but it was considered a super haunted house and I'm just wondering the people who live there in the condos that but it was considered a super haunted house and I'm just wondering the people who live there in the condos that were built on that same lot. I wonder if they have run into any sort of paranormal activity. I mean, I hope it was disclosed that. I don't know if you have to disclose it after the house has been torn down.
Speaker 1:
I do know that realtors are required to disclose stigma, whatever stigma is attached to the property that they're selling. The seller is not, so if you are looking around at houses and you ask the seller, they don't have to tell you if the house is considered haunted or not. But if you ask the realtor, the realtor does have to tell you if the house is considered haunted or not. But if you ask the realtor, the realtor does have to tell you. So if you're looking at for sale by owner, maybe this is one of the things that you really need to check on. We have a term here in law called caveat emptor, which means let the buyer beware emptor, which means let the buyer beware. So if you are a buyer and you buy a home from a seller who has not told you that it is a stigmatized property, that it's haunted, then it's buyer beware. But if you buy the home through a realtor and the realtor does not tell you that the house is haunted, then there's a recourse for the buyer if they are freaking out and want to get rid of it. I guess it depends on what happens, which is going to bring me to the story today.
Speaker 1:
Today I'm going to talk to you about the incredible true story of a Canadian family's experience living in a haunted house based on Dora Williams' book Haunted All right. Picture this a charming house in a serene Canadian neighborhood with a lush garden and friendly neighbors. It sounds perfect, doesn't it? But for the Williams family, this dream soon became a nightmare. Our story begins with Dora Williams, her husband and their three children, sarah, michael and little Emily. They were driving through an old neighborhood in their town when they saw an open house sign for this beautiful Victorian home. So they decided to pop in and once they were in the house they felt absolutely compelled to make an offer on it. It was almost overwhelming. This need to make an offer and buy this house which is, in hindsight, maybe might have been a hint. Yeah, so they see the house, they make an offer on the house, the offer gets accepted and a couple of months later they move in.
Speaker 1:
And from the very beginning they felt that something was off. The first signs were pretty subtle, kind of your standard weird stuff going on. But maybe could just be because it's an old place, right. So a chill in the air and a sense of being watched, occasional misplacement of objects Dora the mom, she dismissed these as quirks of an old house, as you would, and when the occurrences became more frequent they realized that they were not in an ordinary house. One of the earliest unsettling events occurred during a home renovation. They were digging up the backyard to build an extension and they unearthed a whole bunch of items like an old inkwell, a button and a cream jar, and these items seem like relics of the past. But this is kind of the beginning of where things went weird.
Speaker 1:
Sarah, the eldest, she, was the first to encounter something really scary. One night, as she lay in bed she saw a dark figure standing at the foot of her bed. She was paralyzed with fear. She watched it as it slowly dissolved into thin air. But she wasn't the only one. Michael, her brother heard whispers in his room, and Emily often woke up screaming saying she saw someone in her room. So weird Doors began to open and close on their own. Lights flickered incessantly, which you know what? That knob and tube wiring. That happens a lot in old houses, but coupled with everything else, I bet you it was really freaking them out. There were also footsteps that echoed through the emptied halls.
Speaker 1:
One particular eerie night, dora heard the sound of the piano playing, which wouldn't have been an issue except they didn't actually have a piano. So they were pretty desperate and scared. So Dora decided to seek out help and she reached out to Mary, a renowned psychic known for her work with haunted houses. Mary arrived with a calm demeanor, but as soon as she stepped inside, her face grew serious because she sensed a powerful presence. Mary explained that the house was inhabited by restless spirits bound to the land by the items that the family had found in the backyard. These items were significant to the spirits, possibly items they had cherished in their lives, and she recommended returning the items to their original resting place and performing a cleansing ritual to pacify the spirits. The spirits are not malevolent, but they are lost and confused. Return the items to the earth and their souls may find peace, said Mary. Skeptical but with no other options, the Williams family followed Mary's advice. They reburied the objects in the backyard and performed the cleansing ritual, which included a smudging. But instead of finding peace, the hauntings intensified. Great, I'd be super mad. Like where's my money? Back Mary Jeez Family's encounters with the supernatural grew increasingly violent and one fateful night the activity reached a terrifying peak.
Speaker 1:
It started with the usual cold spots and whispers, but soon escalated to something far scarier. As Dora prepared dinner, the kitchen lights began to flicker violently. Pots and pans clattered to the floor, as if thrown by an unseen force. Pots and pans clattered to the floor, as if thrown by an unseen force. In the living room the children huddled together, terrified as they watched shadows dart across the walls. The house felt alive with energy and if it were me I would be out Buh-bye. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, freaky shit happening in your house. I have a, we had a in our, the walls of our house, and I almost left. I almost moved out, so I would not be tolerating any sort of ghosty behavior.
Speaker 1:
In in dora's book she says it was like the house itself was angry. We could feel the hostility in the air and we had to get out. Oh good, okay, well away, they, well away, they go. In a panic the family gathered what they could and fled the house. They drove away, not looking back, leaving behind the home. They once thought that could be their sanctuary.
Speaker 1:
The Williams family's experience is a powerful reminder of the mysteries that can lie hidden in the most unexpected places. Their story, as told by Dora, is a testament to the profound and sometimes terrifying impact that the supernatural can have on our lives. It's a tale of fear, disbelief and, ultimately, the struggle to reclaim a sense of normalcy. In her book, dora talks about how the telephone in the house would ring all the time and there'd be nobody on the other end of the line and how her husband took it in to get it examined to see if it was functioning properly. And it was. And in the end it was the constant telephone issue that really made like really wrecked the house for her. She just could not stand it and she just did not feel comfortable in the home. Even though they kind of had sort of after a little while they kind of gotten used to all the activity, she just felt really unsafe. I'm going to add a link to the book in the show notes.
Speaker 1:
But in the last chapter Dora and her husband, ted, talk a lot about what they're going to do after. She just can't handle it anymore and even though the kids and Ted are fine, she just finds that she's looking over her shoulder all the time. So he suggests they build a new house and she thinks that's a great idea. She wants a new house built where there are no bodies buried or anything, even though they had spent quite some time renovating this old home that they lived in. She just wanted out and she wanted to be somewhere with absolutely no history, which I could completely understand. But even when the two of them got online to look at the building lots and the new homes that, the new building style homes that were available for that new subdivision, their internet cut out. So the thinking of course, now everything will be related to their ghosts. The thinking was that somebody didn't want them to leave.
Speaker 1:
After ted and door decided that they were going to sell the house, they had a realtor come over and he was super excited because there weren't very many restored Victorian homes available either in their community or even anywhere, to be honest, and they had done such a beautiful job at restoring it that he was. This realtor was super excited because he had clients that he thought would love it. So they walk into the kitchen and as they enter the kitchen the antique telephone starts to ring very loudly and it startles Dora and it startles Ted. The realtor just laughs and when they pick it up there is nobody on the other end Creepy. Another funny thing happened while the realtor was there.
Speaker 1:
Dora started to change her mind about selling the house. She started to get the feeling she had when she walked into the house in the first place of just needing to be there to own that property. And she added to that the fact that she now wanted to figure out where all the paranormal activity was coming from. And so when it came time to sign the paperwork with the realtor, she hesitated, and her husband was super surprised, because it had been her idea to sell in the first place. Despite her hesitation, they allowed the agent's buyers to come and take a look the next day, and these buyers were really specific about moisture in the basement. So they had checked the basement for moisture. Ted and Dora assured them that on super rainy days there was a little bit of moisture, but they were able to get rid of it with a dehumidifier and there's never any trouble. They had never had any water in the basement until the night before the new buyers were coming to take a look.
Speaker 1:
Dora went down to the basement to get some chicken out of the freezer and, fyi, why would you have a freezer in the basement of your haunted house where you would have to go and get stuff? I absolutely not, nope, I'd rather order in. I absolutely not, nope, I'd rather order in. But anyway, as she stepped off the last step of the basement stairs, she stepped into water, cold water. So even though we don't have the details of the year that this happened. They talk about having to call the agent's office and have him page. So it was a long time ago, anyway.
Speaker 1:
So they tried to call off the showing that was supposed to happen the next day, because these buyers were very specific about not wanting to live in a home with a leaky basement. They weren't able to get a hold of the realtor before the showing, so Dora went through the house, made sure it was spotless and then, just before she left, she said out loud please be good, just let these people come through the house and see it today and stop making this mess in the basement. I know you don't want us to leave, but you can't do things like this. She had nothing to lose, she said, and she didn't know what else to do. She got in the car and told Ted what she'd said and his response was I bet that was a big help. So at least they kept their sense of humor through this whole thing. When they got back to the house there was a note on the kitchen table and it's it was from the realtor and it said thank you for allowing me to show your beautiful home. They really loved it and I think it's exactly what they've been looking for. I will call you in a few days. They rushed downstairs and big shock I know right, you're going to be surprised. The basement was bone dry, not a drop. So I guess her little speech did work.
Speaker 1:
So now Dora and Ted were faced with the notion that, or the idea that these buyers were really interested and the realtor was asking them if they wanted to still sell. And Dora just couldn't make up her mind. So she sought the help of some psychics and it was suggested that maybe they smudged the house with white sage. So even though Ted was not like 100% down with all of this, he decided that he would help her and they sent the kids off to play at the neighbors and they walked through the house and when they'd found the items in the backyard and reburied them, she felt a little bit of ease. But after the smudging she felt considerably more at ease and started to think about everything. On the whole, the compulsion to buy the house in the first place had a feeling that the spirits that were in that house really, really wanted them there to be, their family, or even them, dora and her family, to send them on their way. So she felt quite a great relief after smudging the entire house with white sage. After doing the smudging and feeling that sense of peace and calm in the home, she was cautiously optimistic and decided to wait and see if things remain that way before deciding one way or the other whether to sell.
Speaker 1:
A couple of months went by, no more haunting. She was pretty excited that things had settled down. So they decided not to sell. But what they did decide to do was put a pool in the backyard, which to me sounds dumb, because you've already found a bunch of shit in the backyard. Sorry, you've already found a bunch of stuff in the backyard and it created a bit of havoc. So I don't know, I probably wouldn't be digging around back there. But hey, dora and Ted wanted a pool for their kids.
Speaker 1:
One of the things I forgot to mention was that they, dora, felt that the spirits that inhabited the property had gifted her a rosebush that flowered more than any other rosebush she'd ever seen. So when they dug this big hole for the pool and there was a great big pile of dirt, they started to find a bunch of artifacts in the dirt and they quickly realized that it had been the site of a fire and one of the things they found was a notebook, a school like a I don't know a notebook, a notebook notebook like any other notebook, I guess and on the front of it it said botany. And she got a big shiver down her spine because now there is a connection between the flower bush, the rose bush and the previous owners of the home. To be respectful to the previous residents, they took all the items they found in the pile and they buried them next to the angel bush, which is the rose bush that they felt was gifted to them by the spirits. So in the end, dora and Ted and their family stayed in the haunted house that they had renovated and they felt that they had sent the spirits on their way through smudging and through a ritual that was suggested to them by psychics. And I guess that's kind of the best outcome, because if they felt that the house was haunted they would have had to disclose that to any potential buyers and I guess the buyers maybe would have had to start over again and go through all the same stuff. I mean it's great that these spirits had Dora and Ted as their people because and maybe they chose them because they had that overwhelming feeling to purchase the house in the first place.
Speaker 1:
Who knows? Anyway, do you believe in ghosts? Is the question. Who knows? Anyway, do you believe in ghosts? Is the question.
Speaker 1:
I actually found it kind of emotional to record this episode because I don't know that I believe in ghosts, although I have often felt a benevolent presence in my own home. But that might just be because I know the children of the people that own this, that passed away, that used to own the home that I'm in, and they're very lovely people. So maybe there's a connection there. I don't really know. I know that my own father passed away in a bedroom that I sleep in when I visit my mom and I feel I don't feel any presence there. Um, I guess maybe some ghosts want to hang around and some don't. I guess that's the whole point, isn't it really? I always thought too that, remember I don't know if you know this or not, it depends on the age of the person listening but Harry Houdini always said that if there was any possible way to cross over and come back and make his presence known after his death, he would do it, and no one has ever seen him. So it seems to me that if some guy, like, says out loud that he's going to work really, really hard to get back and show you that the afterlife is a thing and he doesn't manage to do that, then maybe it's not a thing. It's kind of where I sit.
Speaker 1:
So just quickly circling back to the idea of stigmatized properties, in Canada, if you are looking at a property and you are not using a buyer's agent and you ask the seller's agent if the property is stigmatized which is all you can, really you can ask that. I don't even know if they have to give you the exact thing reason that it is stigmatized, but you can ask the agent if it's stigmatized, and if they say no and you find out later that it is haunted or that a murder has occurred there or that the home was used for some sort of nefarious illegal activity, then you have recourse. If you buy it, then you have recourse if you buy it. In a couple of weeks, I'm actually going to do another podcast. That is, a true crime podcast, not murder, but about gang violence and buying the home, where a whole bunch of illegal activity happens. That's not fun. One thing I'll say, though, is that, as far as stigmatized properties go.
Speaker 1:
I do think that there is often a market for haunted properties, whereas hardly anybody wants to buy a house where illegal activity happened. But sometimes people are pretty interested in living in a haunted house. I have a couple of friends. Robin, if you are listening to this, I think that you would probably love to live in a haunted old Victorian home. It would be right up your alley and they would love you. The ghosts would absolutely love you. Well, that's it for haunted, stigmatized properties and for this story. I hope you enjoyed it and if you did, please leave me a comment. I would love to hear what you think and whether you have any ghost stories of your own. Definitely want to hear about it, and if there's something you want to hear on the podcast, I'd be happy to research it and present that.
Speaker 1:
This is the part of the show where I talk to you about something interesting going on in the neighborhood or in North End, squamish anywhere really that I think that my listeners would be interested in, and I'm very proud of a young friend of mine. His name is Kai Bacon, he's only 20 years old and he has put together a pickleball tournament happening on June 22nd in Squamish and the money from the tournament goes to the Sea to Sky Hospice, squamish. And the money from the tournament goes to the Sea to Sky Hospice where his amazingly lovely uncle lived out the last of his days after being diagnosed with cancer. And Kai is a great guy. I've known his dad since high school and I was just so proud of him for creating this event, was just so proud of him for creating this event. So if you are a pickleballer, like I am, I'm I'm almost inching toward intermediate pickleballing. Um, check out the Squamish Pickleball Tournament benefiting the Sea to Sky Hospice and I will put a link in the show notes.
Speaker 1:
All right, do you watch Shorzy or did you watch Letterkenny? I'm not sure I'm the demographic for either one of them, but oh my gosh, do I like these shows. I love them so much I probably even talked about them already. I've probably talked about Letterkenny. I even say a boot when I talk about it. Just, they're super fun for me. Moot when I talk about it. They're super fun for me. I grew up in Ontario in a town that had hicks and skids and hockey players, and it really resonates with me. So if you grew up in Ontario or well, anywhere in Canada, really. Maybe Alberta would be another good one. You might really enjoy the show Letter Kenny or Shorzy, and there's some undertones there that might be missed by people, but I really find it fun. That's it for me for this week. Thank you so much for once again joining me on Keeping it Real.
Speaker 1:
You can get Keeping it Real anywhere. You get your podcasts, including Spotify and Apple podcasts, and you can also get it at NorthVanHomeSalescom slash podcasts. And, speaking of NorthVanHomeSalescom, there are tons of things on there that are really helpful. There's a bunch of blog articles. Each week I add a new article and I send that out with my High Five Friday newsletter, which is oftentimes where people link to the podcast from. So if you are looking for any information and you don't want to talk to a realtor yet, go and check out the blogs on there. There's lots of cool stuff and there's a great buyer's guide and a great seller's guide. Thanks again for joining me. See you next week.