When I saw the title of this book, I couldn’t resist as Edmonton is a city I know very well. But while I expected to be familiar with many of the locations, it never crossed my mind one of the stories would have a personal connection *.

Sooo…do you believe in ghosts or are you a skeptic? It doesn’t matter where you fall on the spectrum as the contributors represent both sides. They may not always agree but it’s clear they respect & accept each others’ views. The stories are related by Rona Anderson who is a paranormal investigator & psychic medium. Then author Rhonda Parrish digs in, examining the evidence by combing through archives & anecdotal accounts. The book has an interesting format with each story broken down by location, its history & what happened there.

I’m not sure what I believe but I really enjoyed reading the history of these locations & some of the stories will definitely stay with me. The grieving nurse who haunts the corridors of a university building that was an infirmary during the influenza outbreak in 1918. A WWl soldier who visits the former home of an Alberta premier to court a young maid. Edmonton’s “Bluebeard”, a man who confessed to killing 9 of his 18 wives (WTH!!). And did you know there are more ghost cats than dogs?

Another thing I learned was spirits seem to be drawn to hospitals & schools. The old Charles Camsell Hospital in particular is a popular source for many creepy tales & if I lived in the area, I’d be giving it a wide berth.

Spooky, disturbing, funny or sad…there’s a little bit of everything. It’s a great book to pack along on your daily commute as It reads like a collection of short stories. You can dip in, read a couple then carry on with your day. And maybe ponder how you’d react if you crossed paths with one of these colourful characters.
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* Years ago, I spent a lot of time working on our family tree with my Dad. It was our thing. His people settled in eastern Ontario near the Quebec border. He told me many stories & one concerned Aunt Agnes, his father’s oldest sister. Agnes married a man named Arthur Scott who built horse carriages with his father. In the early 1900’s, they packed up & moved to Edmonton, a bustling city on the edge of the wild west.

When I saw one of the stories took place on the site of the old W.J. Scott & Son Carriage Building, I just about fell off my chair. Decades later it was a bar & there were reported sightings of a well dressed man in old fashioned clothes who would stand at the railing overlooking the first floor, clearly unimpressed with the patrons’ shenanigans below. They nicknamed him Dapper Dan which struck a chord as I remember my Dad saying his father always described Arthur as a “dapper man”. Could it be? All I know is if I ever pass that address again, I’ll be sure to stop & give a wave.

( https://occult-world.com/haunted-canada/the-guilty-martini/ )

Although Agnes was a prolific letter writer, she never returned east so there was a lot her siblings didn’t know about her life. Her youngest sister, my great Aunt Elizabeth, told me she & Arthur never had children & were buried somewhere in Edmonton. Many years later I was in the city & decided I would try to find their graves. After much searching, I learned they were buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery (also featured in the book). No other family member had ever visited so I thought I should stop by & introduce myself. On one simple stone, I found their names…plus 2 others. It turned out they did have children. I was stunned that no one knew but then I took a closer look at the dates. One little girl died the day she was born & the other only lived a week. For whatever reason, Agnes & Arthur decided to grieve privately & not share their heartbreak with the family that lived so far away. ( )

More than just a guided tour, this book took me right into the heart and soul of the city and the people who have lived there. I geek old buildings so this was perfect for my interests, and the photos were like icing on a cake. Canada and ghost stories, what's not to love?
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Dundurn via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )