Mysterious typing, tapping sounds in the the dead of night, ghostly figures of children waving from the window, a nurse in a starched uniform wandering through the halls of the Galt museum, George, the ghost of a patient who died in an elevator malfunction some years ago saying hello to Galt volunteers, haunting native American war drums coming from Indian Battle Park — there is much about the spirit world in Lethbridge we don’t know and therefore much to learn.
Galt Museum patrons will get a unique opportunity to learn a litlle bit more about Lethbridge’s ghosts, Hallowe’en night at the Galt Museum during their Macabre Museum event.
The event, held in conjunction with local artist run centre Trap\door will include several haunting events including artifact readings and guest speakers talking about local ghosts, particularly the ones said to haunt the Galt Museum, formerly known as the Galt Hospital.
“This event will allow people to experience some real paranormal and psychic facets of the Galt,” said Galt Museum special events co-ordinator Lori Harasem, adding she has had some ghostly encounters in the Galt.
“People are drawn to the Galt as being a haunted museum,” she said adding the idea for Macabre Museum resulted from the museum’s cemetary tours, which always result in a lot of questions about ghosts.
“There aren’t usually ghosts in cemetaries or morgues, because they aren’t drawn to those places. People don’t actually die in cemetaries or morgues,” explained Galt volunteer and amateur paranormal investigator, Jeff Small adding he isn’t interested in proving the existance of ghosts — he already knows they exist — he is more interested in finding out why they exist.
“A lot of ghost hunters and parapsychologists use electronic equipment to find ghosts, but I can’t afford that. I’m more interested in why there are cold spots or fluctuating electrical fields,” he said adding there is a really powerful underground movement in Lethbridge of people interested in ghosts
The local amateur parapsychologist not only grew up in a haunted house, but he has had numerous encounters with spirits.
“I grew up in a haunted house. We had a dog who would not go down stairs. He would stand at the top of the stairs growling. And even if you picked him up and carried him downstairs he would start growling, then run back upstairs,” he related.
“We also had a cat. I remember we had closed and locked all the windows, and then we would leave to go out to a restaurant. I remember seeing the cat in the window. But when we got back all of the windows and doors would be open and the cat would be outside. And we didn’t have a doggie door or anything and nothing was taken or disturbed inside,” he related adding his first experience with a ghost at the Galt happened when he was in Grade 4 visiting the learning centre.
“I saw a nurse. I was already interested in ghosts and asked the staff who was playing the nurse. They said they didn’t have anybody playing the nurse. There was a nurse’s uniform on a mannequin, but the nurse I saw didn’t have a mannequin face, she actually turned around and looked at me,” he said.
“So that started me on the path to paranormal research,” he continued adding he has been collecting information and stories about local ghosts ever since and will be sharing some of these stories as well as personal experiences, Oct. 31.