Early in the history of Halifax, a young British man fell in love with the daughter of a Mi’kmaq chief. She lived with her tribe across the Narrows, a stretch of water in the Halifax harbour over which a bridge was built connecting the British settlement to the surrounding Mi’kmaq territory. In order for the two lovers to meet, the young man had to sneak across the bridge over the Narrows under the cover of night. However, one night the girl’s father discovered the affair, and he went into a rage.
The Curse of the Narrows
In revenge, the chief put a curse on the Narrows that dictated that, from that night forth, three bridges would be built over the waters, and all three would one day fall. True to the curse, the first bridge collapsed under mysterious circumstances. The second bridge suffered the same fate. Will the third and existing bridge, the Angus L. MacDonald Bridge, be able to withstand the curse? While some attribute geological causes or structural faults to the collapse of the previous two bridges, local belief in the curse remains. In fact, Halifax officials requested that a contemporary Mi’kmaq chief perform a ceremony to lift the curse put their by his ancestor. The third and final bridge currently stands strong.
The Halifax Explosion
December 6th, 1917 will go down in infamy as one of the darkest days in Halifax, and Canadian, history. At approximately 8:40 in the morning, the SS Mont-Blanc, a French ammunitions ship bound for Europe, collided into the Norwegian ship Imo . Shortly after, the SS Mont-Blanc caught fire. At exactly 9:04 am, the ship exploded. The explosion - the biggest accidental man-made explosion in history - destroyed everything in its path, flattening buildings and decimating the landscape up to two full kilometers away.
Ghostly Reminder
Among the two thousand lives that were lost in the explosion, one man has left an image of himself after death that serves as a constant reminder of the tragedy. The man had his head blown off during the explosion, and the force of the impact sent it sailing through the window of one of Canada’s oldest Protestant churches, which sits near the centre of the city. Ever since that fateful day, a silhouette of the man’s head can be seen in that same window. No matter how many times the glass itself has been changed, the shadowy image keeps reappearing. The image, which is a favourite photo op for tourists, is clearly visible to passersby from the streets. The church remains one of Halifax’s most famous haunted sites.
The Ghost at the Five Fishermen
Nearby the church stands what now appears to be a friendly and lively seafood restaurant called the Five Fisherman. During the aftermath of the Explosion, however, the building was used as an infirmary to treat the wounded and dying. Staff, locals and visitors to the restaurant now claim it to be one of the city’s most haunted locations. Several unlucky employees have reported encountering the spirit of an angry and sometimes violent ghost of a man who lurks on the second floor.
There are many guided ghost tours visitors can take to see these and many other haunted sites in Halifax. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic also features wonderful exhibitions and displays of the city’s rich history.
Sources:
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic - the Halifax Explosion
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