The images below were submitted by Stephen following a discussion that took place in the comment section of my blog post Haunted Locations of Victoria, Vancouver Island. The first two Images are from Ross Bay Cemetery. Stephen says that these were taken on a clear night. Ross Bay Cemetery is believed by many people to be haunted by the spirits of David Fee and Isabella Ross. Apparently, the apparitions of an elderly couple have also been seen.
The final image is from Hatley Memorial Gardens. This cemetery doesn’t have the same reputation of being haunted as Ross Bay Cemetery or Pioneer Square Cemetery does. There are other images which have been posted online, however, from another individual who believes he captured an apparition (link).
Stephen says this photograph was taken on a foggy night. Despite the fog, he does say he can see images in the picture.
I should mention here that, in general, cemeteries are usually not believed by professional investigators to be haunted. This is because the location’s not where the person actually passed away. There was an informative post by PSICAN founder Matthew James Didier on this topic where he made a strong argument against cemetery hauntings – which has also been supported by years of first-hand experience.
Many people do go to graveyards to ritualistically speak with dead relatives or to honour the dead. Could a spirit follow them there? Could it choose to stay? Like everything paranormal, the more I read the more uncertain I become. I certainly don’t have any of the answers. I still question my own experiences constantly. There are more graveyards in the world, however, believed not to be haunted than there are reputed to be haunted. That’s indisputable. This is something to keep in mind.
Over the last year, there’s been a lot of traffic to my Haunted Victoria and Haunted Vancouver Island blog posts. I’ve received a lot of messages and comments – but these are the first pictures that anyone’s actually shared with us. Stephen’s only request has been that others provide feedback – as to what they see – before he shares what he believes he captured. Having had the time to look at these in detail, he says that he noticed the images are clearer on certain monitors.
As always, I ask that all comments be of a community-spirited nature. Whether you believe in spirits or not – or agree with what the photographer believes he captured – is irrelevant. Any point can be made in a respectful manner.
I would also like to inform any new investigators who may want to try capturing images, as well, that there are certain rules you should follow as an investigator. You should never trespass on private property without permission, and should adhere to times posted at any historic location, cemetery or park. It’s never a good idea to go alone either. It can be considered both unprofessional and dangerous. You should always bring at least one other person with you. Also, always be respectful, to both the living and the dead!
Thank you Stephen for the images, and thank you for your comments!
I saw a male shadow figure by the end of adye rd. Right in front of a mailbox or something there. By Hatley memorial before 8 pm after 7 pm.
Man early lage 30s my quess. This one looked like a living person besides the darkness to them. But felt sketchy. Started walking toward’s and figure disappeared. No photos didn’t know it was a spirit.
This is great thank you! I’d never heard a personal account of a shadow figure on the road there. Very few accounts from the cemetery itself, but I can’t help but feel it would be related — as you must have.
A cemetery would have strong emotional vibes maybe lingering, and that’s what attracts spirits. Was a rumor long ago that rituals were performed in Ross bay cemetery,.&..that might attract some stuff too…
Went to ross bay last night after dark with my friend and captured quite a few orbs and felt eyes watching us. Looking forward to our return at sun down tonight to see what other things we can experience. Was wondering if there is a optimal time of going to the cemetery?
Sorry for the late reply! Was far from cell service this weekend, which was pretty nice. Makes for a late answer though…
Did you go back to the cemetery? The best time to go to a cemetery would be the last hour before it closes. That’s when I would go anyways. The place is still open so you aren’t trespassing, and the grounds are more likely to be quiet with lesser people. If you’re trespassing in an attempt to capture evidence anything you find will probably not be taken seriously. I recommend the guidelines set out by PSICAN. They’re very simple and straightforward, and will make you appreciate what you’re doing a lot more! Looking forward to hearing what you find 🙂
Oh my, I had a similar experience at Ross Bay Cemetery around 10 years ago. I was walking through around dawn and saw this iridescent smokey glow under one of the trees there. I thought maybe it was just a small fog patch light up by a street light however there was no street light at that exact spot and the “fog” seemed to be moving around quickly almost like dancing on the spot. It was weird and I RAN!!! lol!
(for some reason I got the feeling it was a young lady/girl but who knows)
I enjoy all the posts you have put up! I personally think the second picture looks like cigarette smoke but the other 2 I can totally see random things! Very cool! Like the pair of eyes in the first picture on the right side
Thank you Tim. I never really noticed what looks like eyes in the one picture. Strange.
Hello Lotus and Shannon; Here goes this may sound strange as my renters were told a few months before hand that the place was haunted, guess they never listened. The first night they were in the house they heard arguing in the hall near to the room that was always cold. Eventhough, stuff did happen through out the whole house; even in the past. I guess one of the guys got pretty scared so his boy friend stayed with him over night and they turned the music up loud hoping not to hear the ghost and telling the ghost(s) it was their home now. Personally the ghost seemed to do weird antics when there was a female and male together mainly in the cold room; but, not always. Personally I thought the ghost may have been a young man possibly around the age of puberty and the tenants shocked and scared the ghost out of the house. No voices to my knowledge had ever been witnessed, especially arguing. The ternants were pretty pissed at me for supposedly not telling them, to which I did.
Thanks for sharing your story! Some hauntings seem to go dormant for a while and then start up again, but then again maybe it really is gone. I guess only time will tell!
Hi again Shannon, Yes I am in the same place; but, the ghost appears to have left. Nearly lost the place in the early 90’s and I rented it out and the renters, scared it out of the house. Long story; but, it now doesn’t appear to be haunted anymore. Tried to find out if someone died in my old up to date miners home, with no success.
Would love to know how your renters drove it out. I’ve heard of renovation work doing this (and also initiating spiritual activity in a residence too). The renters were obviously not frightened, but there are more beneficial ways of moving on an unwelcome lodger.
Interesting photos. I tend to agree about cemeteries and hauntings. Spiritual activity tends more to be attached to places frequented while alive, or to an individual that a spirit is attracted to. I have only once captured an image on camera, and it was quite weird, as the image does not appear on the digital image as saved to camera card or on my laptop. When I uploaded the photo to Facebook a very distinct black and white image of a young woman can be seen over the image of a friend. It was quite eerie. On investigating I discovered that the site where the photo was taken (Adelaide Arcade, Rundle Mall, Adelaide, South Australia) has had numerous reports of spiritual activity. A young woman was murdered by a jealous ex-husband, just outside the arcade over a hundred years ago, and has been seen and photographed in the arcade by paranormal investigators.
Thanks for sharing Lotus! That’s very strange hey? Did it only show up the one time? I have heard of similar experiences with EVPs appearing and disappearing!
Hi Shanon, I thought it was some sort of technical glitch the first attempt to upload, so went through the processes and did it again with the same result. So went back to photo and carefully scanned it to see if there was another face in the photo, but there wasn’t. So for a third time I attempted to upload it, with the same black and white image of a woman’s face appeared with a prompt to name the face. This has never happened before, and there is no logical explanation for it – and I have a healthy dose of scepticism.
This is exactly the same location that the photo was taken – at one of the tables in the cafĂ© in the middle of the arcade : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aJIIahz4Ro
Thank you for sharing Lotus! I’d never heard of the Adelaide Arcade before. There are some beautiful pictures of it on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide_Arcade looks like a good place to visit someday!
Shannon intresting pic. It almost looks like smoke; eventhouigh, it is not. I bought my place in late 1979, in the nanaimo area and it appeared to be haunted; but, it usually only appeared to women. Of course the cat would go crazy once and awhile like something was chasing it about. At one time it appeared in a the bedroom doorway like above, it appeared to be a young man with no head. Were other things over the years that happened; but, usually women seemed to bring the phenomena about.
That’s interesting! Do you still live in the house? There are a number of haunted houses in Nanaimo mostly in the old city quarter. A lot of very old areas though, and so much tragedy.