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Union Cemetery

Our Experience :: History :: Past Activity

 

Location: Oshawa, Ontario
Date: September 23 & 30, 2007
Members: Amanda,Jay,Rachel and Donny
Equipment: 2 Digital cameras

Our Experience

Amanda, Donny, Jay and Rachel decided last minute to go to Union Cemetery on a Sunday night. We had been there the previous year for their annual "Doors Open" Tour. As you enter the old cemetery gates there is a small building to the left which use to be a church, and is now used as an office. Straight in front there is a large Mausoleum with a marble interior where many of the McLaughlin family are incased. The cemetery has many 19th century monuments. We only brought our cameras, a notepad and one audio recorder. Unfortunately right before we were about to begin the audio recorder died on us and would not work!

 The beginning of the night felt very light with paranormal activity. Cemeteries aren't usually filled with high activity because when you think about it, why would anyone really want to stick around there after they die? And as many see it, a cemetery is a place of rest.  As soon as Amanda got there she was greeted by the ghost of a small Greek woman. She is described as having grey hair tied back in a bun, large around the waist, aged at about 70 years old, around 5 feet tall, with a dress that was just past knee length and slippers on her feet. She also had an apron tied around her waist. She had a very motherly feeling about her and was widowed. The lady was rambling on in her native tongue and Amanda could not make out anything she said!

 At this point Jay had to leave, but the rest of us continued on in our mini-investigation. We decided this time to start off to our right and head down and around.   As we walked through the old stones, Amanda started to feel a little threatened. Her ear started getting warm and her ear drum felt as though someone was screaming right in her ear. There was a very unpleasant presence that was yelling and saying harsh, degrading remarks. It was similar to a drill sergeant or abusive husband. She felt as though a man was shot in the head. We didn't realize but we were near the War Veterans burial site.

 Amanda also picked up on another man who had large glasses, balding, medium build, wearing a dress shirt with a pocket, dress pants and was a kind spirit. He seems to be a family man; he said he loves his wife and that his heart gave out on him. For some reason Amanda could hear a rhyme or song "Roger was a simple man he lived on Loris Lane, he went to church...".

 Some of the names she got in the cemetery were McCormick, an Irish name like "McGregor", Paulina, Stewart, and Chadwick. Due to the fact that we were there after dark and had no flashlights, It would have been impossible for Amanda to read the writing on the stones.  We are planning to go back during the day.

 The second time we went was the week after and again last minute! Jay was able to go and we wanted to see what we could pick up on together. This time, instead of heading to our right side, we decided to head towards our left.  As we walked towards the back of the Cemetery we came to a stop. We all started to feel threatened and anxious. Jay saw a shadow figure down the pathway. We decided to start walking again, but after a couple of strides, Amanda stopped in her tracks. Amanda and Jay both could hear a spirit who was calling out to us to come towards the back. Both Amanda and Jay felt that  it wasn't such a good idea. To both of them, that spirit was having intentions that were not as friendly as it perceived it to be. All three of us (Amanda, Jay and Rachel) decided it would be best to head back towards the front and take the other path.

 As we headed back to the front of the Cemetery, both Jay and Amanda picked up on the same spirit. A woman with brown hair in a blue summer dress, bent over one of the graves crying. Her husband was rather young when he died and the grave was a light grey colour, and rather large in size. We believe it has an emblem on the front of the hand pointing up and the name is of Scottish- Irish decent.

 As we stood around the front under the street light talking about where to venture next, Jay and Amanda began to pick up on a man with a military background. We believe this to be the same threatening voice from the last visit. Jay picked up on the same man and that he kept saying "Come here, I want to show you something" We feel that this man, being part of the military and seeing what war can do, returned home and faced the tremendous burden of  "shell shock". Shell shock was experienced by many soldiers after the trauma of war. They cannot comprehend what has happened and become mentally unstable. Amanda thinks that he may have done something which shamed him, like killing someone he wasn't supposed to.

 Rachel began to feel uneasy, and stated that for some reason, they should stay within the front section of the cemetery and not venture into the dark towards the back.  She didn’t know why, but something just didn’t feel right.

 We all felt a little uneasy after our experience and decided to head out but not before we were greeted by a raccoon! I don't know who was more frightened, us or the raccoon!  We figured it was a sign that it was time to leave, and promptly we did.

 

Information

 You can visit the Union Cemetery anytime as it is a Public Cemetery. We would also like to note that we are disgusted by anyone who would destroy grave stones or any part of the cemetery (including flowers and monuments). Please respect your cemeteries!

 The main entrance to the cemetery is on the north side of King Street (Highway #2) just east of Thornton Road in Oshawa.  There are also two other entrances that are on the East side of Thornton Road.