No solution found to mystery of west coast’s ‘haunted house’.
Victoria, B.C. – (BUP) – The ghosts of Glamis Castle and the Tower of London would be hard-pressed to match the mysterious happenings at the home of Col. T.C. Evans. Doors open mysteriously. Footsteps are heard in the halls. Windows swing open and rocking chairs rock. yet no human being can be seen.
Evan’s rambling cottage, a remnant of colonial days, has attracted ghost experts and de-bunkers from all over the world. None have yet been able to give a satisfactory account for the strange goings-on. John Tod built the bungalow in 1851. He was a power in the Hudson’s Bay Company, and a member of the council of Vancouver island. During his 31 years residence, Tod carried seven brides across the threshhold of his home.
Some 20 years ago, one of the owners of the house was clearing out the basement and found a pile of human bones stuck away in a corner. Still later, Evans was installing an oil tank in the front lawn, and found more human bones. No one has explained how they got there, or whose remains they were. There is one particularly ghostly room in the house. During the war, some RCAF boys spent the night in it on a dare. In the morning they reported they heard people walking around the house, and their bedroom door mysteriously opened and shut on its own accord.
A fine New Year’s party was held a few years back. The guests watched a biscuit jar in the kitchen swing back and forth on a hook for 35 minutes. Evans got fed up of seeing a lovely old colonial rocking chair in the living room sway mysteriously when nobody was occupying it. He moved it into the hall. Now and then he finds all the hats from the hatrack strewn on the floor, and the chair still rocks of its own accord. “There’s one thing about it,” said Mrs Evans. “You’re never lonely in the house.”
A front window periodically flies from its position and lands on the floor, shattering the glass. Even a change of catches has failed to put an end to it. The door leading from the kitchen to the cellar opened for no good reason, until the Colonel put a new bolt on it.
The strange visitations have a strong effect on the Evans’ social life. More than once, guests have packed up and left the haunted house long before the rest of the household is awakened. The Evans don’t exactly blame them.
So-called “experts” in the field of ghosts have come up with many solutions to the problem. One observer points to the possibility that one of Tod’s wives was unhappy in the house, and her spirit has returned to find some of the happiness it missed.
Crossfield Chronicle, 13th July 1951.