| It's a rare community that doesn't have it's share of eerie, unexplainable tales, and Tantramar is no exception. So curl up in a favourite chair and I'll tell you a few... It was many years ago, the Great Depression had the world in its grip and if you were lucky, a cart full of money would buy you just enough bread for supper. And so it was that a group of young teenage boys was making the trek home from a community outing in the Murray Corner area. Despite the hardships of the times, it had been a lively evening as a local fiddler had provided lively entertainment at the community hall. It was a black, starless night and as the boys made their way along the Murray Road a great deal of youthful chatter was going on. Probably because of the eerie blackness of the night, eventually the topic of conversation turned to ghosts and goblins, each boy adding more colourful details to the stories being told. As the lads came to a dip in the road, at one of the more unpopulated areas, one boy let out a screech and began thrashing about as some unknown, small hairy "thing" jumped upon his back, thrusting its cold, clammy hands about the boys' throat. Unable to remove whatever it was that had latched onto him, the terrified young man ran screaming down the pitch-black road, leaving the other boys wondering if their friend was playing trick on them. As the boy, creature clinging fastly to his neck, approached his own home the "thing" gave a low-pitched growl and leapt from the boy, vanishing as mysteriously as it had appeared. Quickly roused from sleep by their hysterical son, the boys' parents found large red marks on the young mans' throat and spent the remainder of the night trying to make sense of the situation. It's been many years since that episode occurred and no logical explanation has ever been found for just what attacked the boy that night. It seems not all malevolent beings take the shape of scary monsters, as a group of men were to find out some years ago. It was the custom for a group of area men to gather on Saturday evenings at an old abandoned shanty for a few hands of cards. As each night progressed the bidding became more reckless as the men became more bold. One particular evening, in the late fall of the year, just as the men were gearing up for another night's poker playing a strange man stepped inside the poorly-lit building. Dressed much like themselves, he was a good-looking man about middle age. After apologizing for the intrusion he smiled and explained he was new in the area, and had heard about the card games, then asked if he could join the group. A jovial bunch, the men invited the stranger to pull up a chair. Throughout the course of the evening the stranger played each and every hand, gradually winning more than his share of the games. As midnight approached he had amassed a tidy sum of money from his winnings - his eyes shining brightly, no doubt enjoying his good fortune. Just as the group began to break-up for the night one of the men accidently knocked a few cards onto the floor. Unseeingly he reached under the table. Feeling about for the lost cards his hand reached out and grasped what he thought must surely be an animals' foot. Jumping up in surprise he let out a holler, which prompted the other men to look under the table to see what had startled their friend. A stunned silence filled the shanty when they realized it was in fact an animals cloven hoof, very much attached to the leg of the stranger! The stranger sat deathly still, his eyes suddenly coal-black and shining as he threw back his head and laughed. The men flew from the table, all thoughts of their winnings lost, and were out of the shanty and racing to their vehicles like the devil was on their tails. Needless to say that was the end of the Saturday night poker games! A couple of Port Elgin area men still shake their heads in disbelief recalling an incident that occurred in their youth. The two were but cocky 16 -year-olds, both with the world by the tail, when they moved into a vacant house in the area, eager to finally be on their own. One evening, after several hours of visiting at a neighbours house the pair were walking the mile back home. As they came upon the house both were startled to see what appeared to be flames at every window! Entering the building they fully expected to face the roaring flames of a fire, but were astonished when the house was once again in total darkness and the contents just as they had left them. Relieved that they had somehow been mistaken the two proceeded to their beds on the second floor, where they soon fell asleep. Sometime later both were awakened by loud clanging noises coming from the kitchen below, sounds resembling pots and pans being banged together. A quick inspection of the first floor revealed no intruders and nothing out of place. In the morning both weary teens moved back home, convinced someone or something was not happy with their living in the house. The early years of this country were filled with much unrest as the native peoples and both French and English battled for possession of this new land. Over the years many "ghostly" tales have emerged from those early years, many vivid, most heart-wrenching. The Missiguash River, the boundary between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, has a history of its own, for the now muddy waters once flowed red with the blood of soldiers battling for control of the Isthmus of Chignecto, and the strong bastion which stood high atop the hill overlooking the river. It was to this river that a lovely French girl stole away one day to meet her English soldier lover, but the pair were unlucky to be captured by a band of Mi'kmaq seeking revenge for the death of some of their own killed in a skirmish with British soldiers. It is believed that on the banks of the Missiguash River the Mi'kmaq, when the tide was far out, drove two stakes, one lower down the steep bank than the other. To the lower stake, they tied the British soldier, his sweetheart fastened to the higher one. The incoming tide soon overcame the soldier and the girl watched in horror as the muddy Missiguash took the life of her lover. Just as the waters fast rose on the girl, French soldiers from Fort Beausejour came rushing to free her from imminent death. Choosing not to live without her love the maiden dipped her head beneath the waters and followed her sweetheart in death. The story is told that on many a night the lovers can be seen along the banks of the muddy river, while nearby can be heard a sinister gurgling sound, like that of the lovers drowning, an unmistakable reminder of that sad event of long ago. Still another ghostly reminder of those tumultuous years, it is said, can be seen near what is now the community of Fort Lawrence, at a place that is called, appropriately enough, Bloody Bridge. Many years ago the bridge was but a small structure over a quiet stream of water, along a road that has long since disappeared. It was at the site of this bridge, during a particularly violent era, that five British soldiers and nine Mi'kmaq braves lost their lives in a bloody battle. When all was said and done, fresh blood dripped through the planking, colouring the waters of the little stream below, and giving the bridge its regrettable name. For many years locals claimed they could hear the sounds of battle and witness the bloody sight as swords and knives found their mark. So many claimed to have come upon this horrific sight that no one would cross the bridge, and so a new road further away was built to replace it and the structure at Bloody Bridge abandoned. Just across the border, the town of Amherst has its share of supernatural entities not the least of which is the now infamous poltergeist incident dubbed "The Great Amherst Mystery". It also has its share of ghosts and other manifestations. Just after the Second World War, a family purchased one of the many beautiful old homes for which Amherst is well known. Although the structure was finished on the outside the rooms inside were only partially complete, those on the second floor were even without walls. The new tenants took possession of the house and the father, a carpenter by trade, spent all of his spare time working on the house. One evening the parents left their children, including two teenagers and a five year-old girl, alone in the house while they visited friends across town. The 16-year-old girl and her 15-year-old brother were playing a game in the large double living room after tucking their sister in bed in her room on the second floor. All was quiet when the pair heard the front door open and footsteps crossing the vestibule. Thinking their parents must have returned home early, they called out a greeting and were surprised when they received no reply. Both then left the living room and upon entering the vestibule found the door wide open and no one in the room. Checking the kitchen and the remaining rooms downstairs, brother and sister decided the wind must have set the door ajar, and so went back to their game as before. Some time passed and once again came the sound of the door opening, footsteps in the vestibule and this time whoever it was turned towards the stairs and began climbing the flight to the second floor. Once again the boy and girl, more than a little nervous now, went to investigate, saw the open door and heard footsteps on the upper floor. Scared that someone would harm their little sister, the two slowly climbed the stairs and together searched all the rooms, including that of their sister, who was indeed sound asleep and oblivious to the mysterious goings-on. Upon further inspection nothing or no one could be found anywhere in the house. |