creepy – R&D Gothic Discoveries

Canada has many special legends and myths that were developed through time. More precisely, French-Canadians have a very religious past. Various artists used Quebec’s history and legends to create movies or music. If you do not know about the province of Quebec, then one important thing is that before it was called the “Province of Quebec”, it was known as “New France,” obviously because it was a French colony. Quebec is the only French colony in Canada that kept speaking French, and the population developed a culture of their own, with a rich historical background. Thus, I figured it would be interesting to tell you about some Quebec legends related to fantastic creatures, or frightful ones.

St. Lawrence Gulf’s Mermaids

One day, a school of mermaids were traveling in the direction of the Mediterranean Sea to reach the Red Sea, where their home was. Unfortunately, a group of mermaids got lost on the way there, in the St. Lawrence Gulf, which is situated at the mouth of the St. Lawrence river. Mermaids are known for their irresistible charm. Seamen say that their songs and movements are graceful, and pretend that in the sunlight, their skin looks like it is covered with a film of gold. And so, one day, a mermaid jumped on the deck of a boat to ask a seaman to remove the leeches on her fishtail. He agreed, but fell desperately in love with her, forgetting about his wife and children. Hence, he followed her in the depths of the water, and he was never seen again.

Nowadays, they are lost between Magdalen Islands and Anticosti Island, hoping for a boat captain who would agree to lead them back to their house.

Men Without Heads in the Escoumins

The Escoumins is a little village bordered by the St. Lawrence river situated on the North Shore. It is a site that used to be popular for trade because of its advantageous geographic position. But even before that, it is said that some pirates landed there to bury some treasures since it was an isolated site at that time, and so, it was perfect to hide their gold. However, when they buried their treasures, they were “picking on the short straw” for the one among them who would be buried with the treasure to protect it from potential enemies. The buried seamen had their head cut before they were buried with the treasures. Nowadays, it is said that some of these headless pirate ghosts are seen, still protecting what is theirs. Curiously enough, no one ever tried to find one of their treasures… people probably prefer not to know what could happen to them if they did!

The Trafalgar Tower

This legend comes from the book called “The Trafalgar Tower” or in French, “La Tour de Trafalgar” written by Georges Boucher from Boucherville, in Montreal. The author affirms that he went there himself to attest to the strange, presumably paranormal phenomena that are going on there. Did he invent all of this, or is it true? No one will ever know… The legend goes as follows:

In Montreal, in the district called Côtes-des-Neiges is a small tower, the Trafalgar Tower. One day, Leocadie, a beautiful 17-year-old girl who lived in the district with her aunt, went to the church to do her devotions. While she was there, a young man entered the church to admire it, and he saw Leocadie. He instantly fell in love with her, with a violent and passionate love. He went talking to her, and they started seeing each other as friends. After some time, he learned from Leocadie’s aunt that her heart was already taken by another man to whom she was engaged and about to get married. He thus swore he would take his revenge against the one he once loved so much. The last thing he told her before he left was: “See how red the sun is; it is red like fire, like blood, like the blood that must flow”. The day before their wedding, Leocadie and her fiancé were hiking at the mountain, the mountain where the Trafalgar Tower stood. Then actually went to the tower, and as soon as their feet touched the threshold of the door, a man, whom Leocadie clearly knew, attacked them with a knife. First, he attacked her by stabbing her with his knife, directly in her heart. Wanting to avenge Leocadie, her fiancé jumped on the man. After a violent fight, the murderer finally strangled him. The next day, both lovers were found dead, and the murderer was condemned to a horrible death.

The Trafalgar tower became a cursed place, and people who went there pretend that they saw some blood on the walls and on the door. Moreover, everyone of them swore the fear and anxiety they felt forced them to leave the place. Even more strange is that they all said that while they were running away from the tower, they heard some footsteps right behind them.

Oh well, as I mentioned previously, this legend was first told and then written by Georges Boucher, so who knows, maybe he invented it all. Or maybe not. Anyway, I would probably not test whether his affirmations about the place are true myself. These are just a few legends, but there are many more. If you are interested about Quebecer’s legends, I swear you will not be disappointed!

DelphineC

If you are a travel lover as well as a haunted-place amateur, then keep reading, because I decided to do a list of some places in the world that might interest you.

Čachtice Castle, Slovakia

The Čachtice Castle dates back to at least 1276, but was given around 1575 as a wedding gift from her husband to a Hungarian countess named Elizabeth Bathory. Her husband was a soldier, and so he often was away from home to fight. In the meantime, she hung around the various family properties. Her husband died in 1604, and this is when the real trouble began as she moved permanently back to the castle. The real trigger for the following behaviors is not known today. It may be her husband’s death, or some other unknown event. Still, what follows is quite disturbing. She was aging, and as time passed, she developed an obsession for eternal youth found in the blood of virgins. She was hiring young women to work in the castle, but some doubts were starting to rise in the neighboring villages, due to the young women never returning home. Thus, parents stopped sending their daughters to the castle, but to oppose this change, Elizabeth created a school for young women, which attracted many girls from aristocratic families around the world. In 1610, as the girls were never returning either, the families sent the local authorities to the castle. They discovered injured and dead young women within the walls of the castle, and estimated that around 600 young women were tortured or killed by Elizabeth and her three accomplices. The collaborators were all condemned to death whereas Elizabeth was walled in a tower of the castle for four years where she was found dead in 1614.

Aokigahara Forest, Japan

This forest is found at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan and dates back to approximately 1200 years. This place is also known as the “Suicide Forest” and is one of the world’s most popular suicide locations; in 2003, 105 dead bodies were discovered in it. It is said by Japanese spiritualists that the suicides permeated Aokigahara’s trees, creating paranormal activity and preventing many people who enter from leaving the forest; people entered, but never returned.

Isla de las Munecas, Mexico

In English, this island is called “The Island of the Dolls.” As its name suggests, this island is the shelter of hundreds of dolls, each in a different state of decomposition. It all started when a man named Julian found a little girl on the island, but she was not in good shape; she was drowned. Unfortunately, he was not able to save her and when he looked around, he saw a doll, most probably the little girl’s doll. He decided to hang the doll in a tree to honor the memory of the child. But then, he decided to gather more and more dolls, and it finally developed into an obsession, presumably due to the fact that he was not able to save the girl. It is said that the spirit of the little girl now possesses the dolls since some witnesses reported that they the dolls move their heads, their arms and open their eyes. Moreover, some people said they heard the dolls whispering, and some others said the dolls lured them to come to the island while they were passing near the island on a boat. Strangely, after 50 years of collecting dolls, Julian was found drowned in the same spot where he found the girl many years before.

The Hill of Crosses, Lithuania

The Hill of Crosses is located 12 km north of the county town Šiauliai. The town was founded in 1236 and occupied in the fourth century. In 2006, the number of crosses on the hill already exceeded 100,000. However, no one really knows when or why people started to leave some crosses on the hill, but it is now one of the most popular pilgrimage places in all the country and is a symbol of desire for freedom, national pride and piety. Even though this place is more for religious purposes, it can still be quite creepy to stand in the middle of all those crosses of an unknown signification.

DelphineC

Tag: creepy

Quebec’s Legends

Haunted Places in the World