ositeam.com/fortsask1.html

April 16th - 17th, 2010
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent
Barometer: 101.46kph falling
Temperature: Approx. 10 degrees celcius
Humidity:   61%
Time: Approx. 10:00PM - 3:00AM

Location History:

The Fort Saskatchewan museum and historical site is steeped in Alberta history. Located just South of the banks of the North Saskatchewan river, the land was originally settled in 1875 by a group of 20 pioneer mounties. They erected the fort, only the second mountie outpost of it's kind at the time, and by 1885 after the Riel rebellion, it became known as "G" division headquarters. By 1899 a small town had grown substantially just east of the fort itself and Fort Saskatchewan was officially incorporated as a village. By 1913 however, the outpost was relocated to Edmonton and the original fort was demolished. In 1914 the jail began it's operation on the site and only closed it's doors as recently as 1987. Over it's decades long life span the jail was witness to more than 20 executions by hanging. The first in 1915 and the last in 1959. The only woman ever hanged for murder in Alberta was on this site as well. Her name was Florence Losandro and her story is a tragic one that can be found here.

The sentences for these crimes were handed out in the courthouse which stands on the site to this day. The courthouse itself was established in 1909 and operated regularly up until 1960. After 1960 the building was home to periodic court sessions up until 1970 when it officially closed it's doors and became a historical building.

There are several other buildings on the grounds including two old schoolhouses, a small church, a blacksmith shop, an old vehicle garage, and two other family households. Our investigation focused primarily on these two family households and the courthouse, as they were the buildings with the most substantial reports of paranormal activity. The two houses are known as the Dr.Thomas Henry House, and the Kulak House.

The Kulak house was the home of the Kulak family from 1905 to the 1960's. The family of dairy farmers built the home and raised 9 children within it's cramped walls. The Kulak's were well known for their volunteer work and hard work ethic. A work ethic that can be seen by a visit to the old house and perusing through the old style items used for cooking and cleaning.

The Dr.Thomas Henry house was built in 1913 and purchased by the doctor in 1918. The doctor and his wife, Rose Marie, raised one son, Thomas William Edward Henry Junior (affectionately known to locals until his recent passing as Twe.Jr.) until she tragically died in 1931 while giving birth. This child also sadly passed away. The Doctor and his son lived in the home alone together until 1939 when Dr.Henry was remarried to his new wife named Cora.   The family then lived their lives in the home until the 1960's at which point only Twe.Jr, remained as the doctor and his second wife had passed on. The property then saw renters move through it's doors until the 1990's when the home was donated as a historical building to the town.

Experiences:

The experiences individuals have had on this site range from feelings to the full body apparition of a little girl. One particular summer employee was frightened of the Dr.Thomas Henry house so much that she would absolutely not work in the building alone. She did mention to other staff that she had seen faces in the window while walking past the house on several occasions. In the Kulak house a different female volunteer employee witnessed an item of clothing start to move of it's own volition in an upstairs bedroom as it hung from an old style hanger attached to a closed door. This witness only had this one experience and is very credible according to the staff on site today.

The bulk of experiences do seem to be centered around one particular former employee by the name of Darlene. Darlene worked on the site for several years and seemingly has the attention of the resident spirits. Her experiences range from finding a Christmas tree moved from one room to another room in the Kulak house, to witnessing the apparition of a little girl in the courthouse. Darlene is known for being upbeat and was involved in coordinating events at the museum. At one such event she photographed what she believes is the figure of a woman with a little girl behind her. This same evening herself and a co-worker witnessed a bathtub light up from the inside while it was covered with plywood for renovations in the courthouse building. This story can be found in Barbara Smiths Haunted Alberta series from Lone Pine Publishing,in the Edmonton Journal at this link, and has appeared on an episode of Creepy Canada, found here.

Aside from these few isolated incidents the reports from guests and other employees are primarily that of feelings of not being alone.

Walkthrough:

All the buildings are structurally sound and even though they are old, are kept in great shape by the staff. Our EMF readings of all three buildings to be investigated showed nothing unusual. The readings themselves remained well below 1 milligauss on average. No temperature fluctuations were noted at the time of the walkthrough. Doug did however have an experience on his initial visit to the site which took place several days before the investigation. Immediately after entering the Dr.Henry house his arm hairs stood on end and a wave of emotion and shivers came over him. It can best be described as a feeling of extreme happiness and/or belonging by Doug. It only lasted a few seconds but it was extremely intense to the point that he could feel his eyes welling with tears. This isn't the first time Doug has had this type of experience, but this was the most intense. It should be noted that neither one of us is sensitive and this is not something we walk into a room looking for or expecting to happen. In this case Doug was just getting historical information and taking his first tour of the site.

The Investigation:

The investigation itself took place between the three buildings mentioned previously, the Kulak house, the courthouse, and the Dr.Thomas Henry house respectively. First we investigated the Kulak house, moved to the courthouse, then the Dr's house, and then we repeated the process in the same order. This allowed us two individual sessions in each place while our infra red night vision equipment remained running in the empty buildings.

The most significant events of the evening took place in the courthouse and the Kulak house.

At one point around midnight a loud bang was heard in the courthouse by ourselves, and our guide for the evening Bill, a local correctional officer. We were investigating upstairs in the courtroom and Bill was waiting on the main floor at a computer desk. Both parties attributed the noise to one another until further discussion revealed that no one had made the noise but we had all heard it. Bill noted he was actually worried we may have dropped our equipment or accidentally knocked over a display or something along those lines. We investigated the courthouse all over where the noise may have come from but to this day are baffled as to what it could be. This was picked up best on our digital audio recorder and can be heard in the video and audio footage at the bottom of the page. We also captured what appears to be the voice of a little girl playing or talking on an EVP from this session as well which is also included in our footage at the end of this page. This EVP is especially interesting considering a little girls apparition has been reported in this building.

The next experience worthy of note took place in the Kulak house in the form of a knock as a response to a request for just such a thing, and can also be heard in the footage provided at the end of the page.

The Evidence:

It should first be noted that at all times only Doug, Melissa, and Bill were present on the investigation site throughout the investigation. All buildings remained secure and watched at all times to prevent contamination or potential tampering of any sort. All audio clips have been cleaned up as best as possible for clarity but it is still recommended that speakers or headphones be used.

The first portion of the video package below contains footage from the Courthouse. As mentioned earlier the courthouse is rumored to house the ghost of a little girl, and the bathtub was reported to have emitted a glowing light from inside itself. All video clips were shot with our infra red security camera amd mini DVR placed in the display room between the courtroom (the door on the left) and the main landing (the door on the right) leading downstairs and towards the upstairs washroom. It is in this washroom area where we believe the loud, unexplained bang occurred. As mentioned previously we searched the area but could find no cause or reasonable explanation for this very obvious disturbance. All of the orbs, light anomaly footage, and audio footage, have been heavily scrutinized and have been reviewed by the staff at the museum. We can guarantee what we have included in our video is not bugs or dust. Nor are these reflections as we have studied and reviewed what all of these things do to our equipment. It should also be said that several clips include something with definite substance appearing for only a split second at certain points in the area. We will try our best to provide a brief description of what to watch for, and when to watch for it, with every clip.

The second portion of the video package is from the Kulak house and was shot with our HD camcorder and SONY infra red night vision attachment. Again a brief description of what is happening will be provided. The camera was set up in the entrance to the home facing the kitchen and living room area, where the Christmas tree was reported to have moved from room to room when no one was in the home, and without a single decoration being disturbed. In this area we were able to get several light anomalies as well as what seems to be a response to a request for a knock. A strange groan, that was not heard during the investigation itself, was also picked up by both the video and audio equipment set up in the home.

The final portion of the video package is from the Dr.Henry residence and was shot with our second infra red security system. The video footage is split between the master bedroom upstairs and the main floor. The main floor shows the entire living room area as well as the dining area and french doors leading to the hall. Again we can guarantee what you are seeing is not bugs, dust, or reflections. This footage has also been reviewed multiple times and has been shown to museum staff. We did not have any personal experiences in the home during the course of the night.