By Andrew Mrozowski
Content warning: this article contains mentions of suicide
What if I told you that you are living in a haunted city? Hamilton has had a long history with ghosts dating back to hundreds of years, so naturally, there are claims of specters still roaming the city.
With All Hallows Eve quickly approaching, paranormal activity is reaching a new high. Once the sun goes down, an eerie feeling fills the crisp cool air as darkness seeps through every corner and alleyway in the city.
This means good business for Stephanie ‘Spooky Steph’ Dumbreck, founder and owner of Haunted Hamilton. She has been leading ghosts walks and tours across Hamilton for nearly 20 years and has a passion for Hamilton’s haunted scene.
“It has evolved [since] I first started Haunted Hamilton… The paranormal wasn’t even looked at the same. All along [Haunted Hamilton] has been a passion for local history for me and what better way for that than a good ghost story,” explained Dumbreck.
Originally starting off with her spine-chilling tour of downtown Hamilton, Dumbreck has since launched a variety of different tours from her haunted cruise along Hamilton’s harbor to a haunted bus trip taking you on an overnight paranormal investigation.
“Hamilton is extremely haunted, it’s just a matter of where you look and how you look because anywhere can be haunted. Hamilton has such cool historical landmarks and locations,” said Dumbreck.
[pjc_slideshow slide_type="whitehern"]
[spacer height="20px"]One stop on Spooky Steph’s downtown tour is Whitehern Mansion. Located right behind Hamilton City Hall, Whitehern is one of the only period mansions remaining within the downtown core and has since been turned into a historical museum.
What many do not know is that Whitehern Mansion is haunted by the ghost of Issac McQuesten. This fact is eluded to by the house’s staff who reportedly sign a contract during their employment stating that they will be terminated if they mention the ghost.
Calvin McQuesten was a famous industrialist who helped build the Queen Elizabeth’s Way, Rainbow Bridge and the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington. Three years before his death in 1885, he moved his family from Boston to Hamilton and entrusted his son, Isaac McQuesten, with his business and family fortune.
McQuesten never had the drive his father had to run the company and ended up destroying the business. This caused him to turn to alcohol abuse and drive up a crushing debt. Afraid of the social repercussions of seeking help in his own city, McQuesten ended up spending time in an asylum in Guelph.
[pjc_slideshow slide_type="whitehern-2"]
[spacer height="20px"]On one grueling night in 1888, McQuesten kissed his six children and wife goodnight and told them that he was going to work in their parlor. At midnight, his wife woke up to check up on him and found his body laying still on the floor. The remnants of a sleeping draught made from a mix of sleeping pills and a generous amount of alcohol were in a cup on his desk.
McQuesten took his own life at Whitehern that night. His body was laid to rest but a superstitious belief dictates that if a life is taken before its rightful time then the soul will be stuck in purgatory. McQuesten’s spirit is in a state between death and the afterlife, forever trapped on earth.
Fast forward to present day Hamilton, two employees of the Whitehern Museum were closing up for the night. One staff member went upstairs to ensure that no spectators were still roaming the house while the other swept the outside of the front door.
As she made her way downstairs to leave, she felt somebody push her. She braced herself against the wall to avoid tumbling down the stairs. Suddenly, she caught sight of a grey and shadowy human figure in front of her.
She watched him run down the stairs and as he attempted to reach the front door, the figure disappeared as quickly as he appeared.
According to Dumbreck, the incident is proof that Issac McQuesten is trapped within the house and every time he attempts to leave it, he is forced back inside.
This amongst other chilling tales have spooked Hamiltonians in the past and present, with new encounters surrounding the supernatural occurring in the shadows of some of the oldest parts of the city.
Whether you are a believer or a skeptic, Hamilton is a fascinating place for indulging in rich history, but you also never know what might be peeking at you from the darkness, waiting to make its move.
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Truthfully, I have no taste.
I eavesdrop conspicuously on every ANDY meeting, sitting not-so-silently from my desk, trying to acquire some artistic and cultural knowledge by osmosis.
But so far, it has not been successful.
At the end of the day, I still like bad horror films.
Sure, well-produced, intelligent thrillers are great, don’t get me wrong: I love a good scary movie.
But I adore a bad one. The predictable plots, the clichéd camera trickery, and the truly atrocious acting. For years now, I have been on the hunt for the kitschiest horror film the internet can bring me, and my search has not been in vain. Here, for you, is a list of the best worst scary movies my mind has not repressed over time, scored arbitrarily because I can’t decide what I love most:
(For those of you that genuinely want to be scared, I recommend The Strangers or El Orfanato (The Orphanage), to be watched alone in an empty, darkened house with a cranky heating system.)
The Stepfather (2009) – 12% on Rotten Tomatoes – I’ve-watched-it-four-times
In a misguided attempt for originality, the movie begins by divulging the identity of the killer to the audience. The storyline is, as a result, fantastically predictable and the murders themselves, while varied, are uninventive.
When a Stranger Calls (2006) – 9% on Rotten Tomatoes – 4 out of 10 stairs
Do not run up the stairs. That is never a good idea. The killer can, and will, grab your ankles. Come on.
It (1990) –64% on Rotten Tomatoes – 1 out of 2 parts
One among many Stephen King novels brought to the screen, this was initially released as a mini-series, but I watched It as a two-sided DVD. The scariest part of the movie is an unfortunately memorable make-out scene.
Red Riding Hood (2011) – 11% on Rotten Tomatoes – 3 quarters of a waxing moon
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the director of Twilight. That is all.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) – 15% on Rotten Tomatoes - 5 out of 5 rake-fingers
This remake earned an impressive 80 per cent lower than the original. I can’t decide whether this is because the acting is so bad or because – no. Never mind. I can decide. It’s the acting.
Jennifer’s Body (2009) – 43% on Rotten Tomatoes – 4 out of 5 points of the pentagram
This movie went out to be a film pandering to teenagers, and hit all the marks: a soundtrack of all pop-music, unimaginative humour and moderate necking. Not to mention the plot, which focused on the demonic possession of Megan Fox. Also her cleavage.
Prom Night (2008) – 8% on Rotten Tomatoes – 3 out of 4 wrist corsages
Yet another remake. But this time, not even the original was good. The characters are even less dimensional than actual prom-goers.
The Roommate (2011) – 4% on Rotten Tomatoes – 3 out of 5 stars
Rotten Tomatoes says “The Roommate isn’t even bad enough to be good,” but I wholeheartedly disagree. It is plenty bad enough. Only slightly less scary than an actual dorm experience, but at least it doesn’t last eight months.
Sleepaway Camp (1983) – 70% on Rotten Tomatoes – 6 sleeps out of 10
I don’t want to spoil anything, but this movie may or may not have the weirdest twist ending I have ever seen. To this day, I do not know whether this movie is a good horror movie, or a bad horror movie, based solely on this ending. I am so conflicted.
Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2009) – 20% on Rotten Tomatoes – 1 bird .gif out of 2
That’s right. Two bird .gifs. That is 100% of the movie’s special effects. I guess it makes sense though when you consider they apparently only had enough budget for one camera. And a tripod on rent.
Hannibal (2001) – 39% on Rotten Tomatoes – 4 out of 5 fava beans
A sequel to one of my all-time favourites – Silence of the Lambs – this movie does it no justice. There is a scene with someone eating their own brain though, so that’s fun.
Paranormal Activity (2007) – 80% on Rotten Tomatoes – 7 ghosts out of who knows how many
A bit of a controversial choice on a bad movies list, I know, but bear with me. The documentary style drags the movie to a crawl and the plot is non-existent. The only thing about this movie that scares me is that enough people felt it warranted three sequels.
Children of the Corn (2009) – no score on Rotten Tomatoes – 8 out of 10 kernels
A made-for-TV remake of a movie based on a Stephen King book: going in we know this is going to be good (and by good I of course mean awful). Though both fundamentalists and children are things that scare me, this movie did not. The creators inexplicably added a juvenile sex scene though, which was very unsettling.
