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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, August 20, 2015 | 6 Shadows of Erchless Estate appear in Haunted Ontario 4 by Bob Mitchell Oakville Beaver Staff Spotlight "Connected to your Community" S tepping inside the Oakville Museum at the Erchless Estate is like entering the past. For some, they're literally still living in it. So says author Terry Boyle, who features the historic Navy Street property in one of the chapters in his latest book, Haunted Ontario 4, published by Dundurn Press. "People have seen more than one ghost there," said Boyle, a retired teacher, who was born in Hamilton, grew up in Burlington, but now lives in Muskoka where he also conducts ghost tours in Gravenhurst, Parry Sound and Bala (www. entwoodcottage.ca). "Like many of the homes built in the 1800s, when new owners occupy them years later, they nd themselves living there with the original family.... It's like stepping into a time warp." Erchless Estate was built by the Chisholm family in 1858 and remained occupied well into the 1960s when it was turned into the Oakville Museum. The original home was built by Col. William Chisholm, a merchant and ship builder, who founded the Town of Oakville. He bought the land in 1827. His son Robert named the family homestead and grounds after a 12th century Scottish castle. Six generations of the Chisholm family lived on the site spanning 130 years. From what he's learned about the spirits still inhabiting the home and the grounds, Boyle is convinced members of the Chisholm family are still living there in their own time period. "People have seem a woman wearing old-fashioned clothing in front of the house near an iron gate and she appears to be picking owers," Boyle said. Apparently, William's wife Rebecca dropped dead at the same garden gate. "Another spirit has been seen by a group of people in a second- oor window facing the west side of the home," Boyle said. "People have also heard footsteps on the stairs when nobody is there. "Also, a gure has been seen walking down the hallway on the second oor." Locals say staff working in the home have seen Robert inside the adjacent Custom House while Christopher Columbus Lee, a former butler, and survivor of the Underground Railroad, has been seen walking up the steps and throughout the property. The ghosts of the Erchless Estate have been seen in both the day and night, but Boyle encourages visitors to snap photos of the outside of the property at night to see if they pick up any energy elds from the time and place when an event occurred. Although most of the sightings connected with the museum have been benevolent there was at least one unsettling incident several years ago involving an employee, who arrived to open the place around 8:15 a.m. The museum apparently had a complicated alarm system that must be turned off as soon as anybody entered, Boyle said. "When this person opened the door all the lights were ashing on and off and going crazy," said the author. "Then when they were in the lobby a shade fell from the ceiling light and just missed the employee by inches. "There were noises heard upstairs. All the machines in the of ce were also going crazy. Paper was spewing out of the copier and the keys of a typewriter were being tapped. The computers and printers were also going on and off." Boyle once hosted a paranormal television show called Creepy Canada on the Discovery Channel. His latest book is the fourth of a series. He concentrates on public buildings where visitors can go and see the properties for themselves. In fact, he scours Ontario looking for haunted places. "Give me an hour in a place and I'll According to author Terry Boyle, spirits still roam Oakville's Erchless Estate (top left), and the adjacent Customs House. He believes some of nd something," he said. them are members of the Chisholm family, the original owners. Above, left, an upstairs window in which people claim to have seen a shadow. Boyle also hosted the radio show Above, right, the spot where Oakville's founder William Chisholm's wife, Rebecca, dropped dead at the front gate. Discover Ontario on Classical 96 and | photos reprinted courtesy permission by Dundurn Press see Readrs on p.7 OPC Volume 53 | Number 66 Ontario Press Council Defending principles to inspire public trust 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington (905) 845-3824 Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. 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