A night with Goderich’s ghosts

By: Pamela Clayfield

On Friday evenings in October things get spooky at the Huron County Gaol as they open after hours to hold two ghostly tours.

On October 9 we took one of the tours and what unfolded was an hour and a half of storytelling that brought a few shivers and surprising historical insight; the kind of experience that reminds us why our lakeside town holds so many stories just beneath its surface.

The tour wound through the gaol into all it’s corner with each stop revealing a new tale of unexplained footsteps, lingering spirits or other long-ago stories or tragedies that still echo in the gaol’s legends.

The guide shared tales collected through generations and employee accounts over the 52 years since it opened to tourists from spectral figures spotted in cells, feelings of a presence brushing past, hearing sounds when nobody is around to the alarm going off by itself.

One of the stops along the way into the Governor’s House was a “spirit board” set up for participants curious enough to try their hand at summoning. While most approached with playful caution, the board added a layer of theatrical suspense that had everyone leaning in a little closer.

Whether anyone made contact is up for debate, the crystal I used was being pulled and I could feel it.

The tour didn’t shy away from the darker chapters of the Gaol’s past. We learned about historic hangings which gave reminders of the justice system in earlier eras. These stories grounded the night in real history offering context for the hauntings that have become part of local folklore.

The tours are equal parts education and entertainment and a chance to explore a part of Goderich’s past through a lens that’s spooky, engaging and undeniably fun.