Hermitage Ghost Walk
Ancaster, Ontario



On Saturday Sept 27th/2003 we had a VIP invitation from Dan and Steph of Haunted Hamilton to attend the Hermitage Ghost Walk. We were pleased to attend this event although we were surprised to get an invite (free of charge) from a group that hates us. Putting this to the side we had planned to just enjoy the evening.

When we first arrived it must have brought some strange looks as we pulled in with our hearse. The one security guard we had seen before was there and we chatted with him for awhile.

We went over and saw Dan and Steph and shook their hand, thanking them for the opportunity to attend the ghost walk. Both Dan and Steph were very polite and it was nice that we could put our political views to the side to enjoy the evening together as a group.

Before the walk started I saw two folks that were just standing by their car watching other folks arriving for the walk. No one had gone over to them and they looked like they were newcomers to the walk. So I went over to these folks and introduced myself and welcomed them to the walk. To my surprise I shortly found out that they were Stephanie's parents.We chatted and they appeared to be very nice folks to talk to.

Standing near the laundry room ruins during the tour, it was explained to the group that the coachman had hung himself on a tree by the stables. And that the branch of the tree that was pointed out always had a wet mark where the rope would have been. (The area we were standing in is what was referred to as the stables by the tour guides.) Dan and Steph did not do the tour themselves. They hired actors to conduct the tour. And from the scripts they were given to conduct the tour, they did a great job.

We had learned some things from the walk and at the end of the tour our friend had asked one of the actors how the Hermitage got its name. The one actor could not answer the question. All he said was, it was not in his script, and to go over to Dan or Steph and ask them...

This prompted us to conduct some deeper research into the Hermitage, for some of the questions we had asked could not be answered. After doing the research we had discovered that there were two Hermitages and we found out that the coachman did not hang himself off a tree by the second Hermitage as pointed out on the tour. (The second Hermitage wasn't even built yet when the hanging took place.)

After we posted our updated article of the Hermitage history, we received an email from Stephanie from Haunted Hamilton. She had claimed in her email that they knew the true history of the Hermitage and they only used the tree for "atmosphere and effect" for the tour. Yet this was never mentioned to the group we were with on the night we went on the Haunted Hamilton Hermitage Ghost Walk Tour. (After we discovered the truth about the Hermitage legends we were glad we did not have to pay the ten dollar fee for the tour.)

The tour itself was very entertaining to say the least. We thought the actors did a splendid job and once again we thank Dan and Steph for inviting us out to this event. Below are some of the pictures we had taken on the tour.




In the above photo you can see the group heading for the back of the gate house where eerie tales would unfold of the historical significance of Ancaster.





In this photo you can see George (one of the actors) relating the story of Ancaster. The other fellow that was down just from George was James. (Another actor that took part in the ghost walk.) Both did a great presentation all through the night.





After the presentation we all headed for the main trail leading back through the woods that would lead us to the Hermitage ruins.





As we proceeded through the forest I remained at the back of the group to take pictures.









This was just a group shot of some of the people that attended the tour standing in front of the Hermitage ruins.





This is the group standing near the laundry room. What seems to be ecto mist is in fact someone's cigarette smoke.





This is where the group was listening to the tour guides' haunted tales. Some even ventured up to share their own stories.





In this photo you can see George and James (tour guides) relating their stories of the paranormal.



The Ghost walk of the Hermitage ruins in Ancaster was entertaining and we enjoyed the walk very much. We were puzzled to get an invitation from the founders of Haunted Hamilton to attend this event. We still do not understand why we got the invite , for these were the folks that called us liars and fakes but with that to the side the evening went well. We wish Dan and Steph all the best with future walks of this historical landmark....



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