If you’re not into dressing up in costume or attending Halloween parties, if curling up on your couch haunted by a good book is more your style, here’s one for the season: Muskoka’s Most Haunted.
Author Andrew Hind explores the haunts and history of more than a dozen locations across the region— from Hill House at Muskoka Heritage Place, Grandview, Inn at the Falls and Gravenhurst Opera House to RMS Segwun and Bracebridge Public Library— enlivened by several dozen historic images.
Here is a bit from Hind about Hill House:
“The Hill House is the one-time residence of Reverend Norton Hill, who breathed his last in 1895, aged 70. Hill House defies the iconic image of the haunted house: it’s a charming home, lavishly furnished in rich period detail, obviously the residence of someone cultured and refined.
“And yet, the house is most definitely haunted. Footsteps can be heard when there is nobody else in the building, the beds look as though someone has been sitting on them, people feel as if they are being watched, and doors swing open of their own accord. Reverend Norton has made appearances, even showing up in a photo of a Hill family reunion at the village.
Staff members are not shy about sharing their experiences. One example I recount in Muskoka’s Most Haunted:
‘On another summer day, a costumed staff member working in the Hill House heard the front door creak open and then close shut. Heavy footsteps made their way toward the drawing room. The footfalls were slow and loud, as if made by a large man who was either old or tired. When the footsteps reached the drawing room, they suddenly stopped. The staff member, in the kitchen at the time, poked her head into the drawing room, prepared to greet a guest. She was surprised to find no one in sight. The Hill House was empty. A shiver ran down the woman’s spine as realization sank in that the footsteps had been spectral in nature.‘”
Hind had a fascination with ghosts and monsters as a boy. “I remember devouring books on the subjects and enjoying being scared witless by stories my older brothers would tell me. It’s therefore been a thrill to be able to write a number of paranormal books during my career—they use different creative muscles than I use writing my history and travel books, so it’s fun,” he told Huntsville Doppler.
He has been writing about Muskoka’s history for 20 years so Muskoka’s Most Haunted came about organically for him. “I’ve been writing about Muskoka history for two decades, during which people have often shared ghost stories with me. Too fascinating to keep to myself, I wanted to in turn share these eerie tales with the public. Ghost stories have an entertainment value, naturally, but since many ghost stories have a historical foundation and so they can serve an educational purpose as well,” according to Hinds.
Muskoka’s Most Haunted was published in 2021. It’s available at a variety of Muskoka locations, such as Artisans of Muskoka, Birchbark in Bala, and Rosseau General Store. It’s also available for purchase from Amazon.
“I’d like to thank the many people who came forward to share their experiences. You can’t write a book like this without eyewitnesses, so in a very real way this book is a collaborative effort. That’s why I feel a responsibility to tell the stories accurately and without sensationalism. I like to think it’s a fun book with something for everyone. If you like ghost stories and want some chills, it’s in there. If you lean more towards history, there’s a lot of that as well.”
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