Bluenose Ghosts

Summary

On a song-collecting foray seeking Mr. and Mrs. Enos Hartlan in the community of Hartlan’s point on the eastern side of the Halifax Harbour, Helen took notice of Mrs. Hartlan's interest with a deserted house near their property. She explained to Helen “That’s our Ghost House,” created from the wood of old shipwrecks, and haunted with strange knocks and footsteps. This tale became the inspiration for over two decades of ghost story collecting in the Maritimes, one of her first published explorations outside of the chronicling of folksongs, for which she is best known.

Creighton not only recounts the experiences of others, but her own encounters with the supernatural, from her experiences with forerunners such as death knocks, to her own helpful spirits and premonitions. She attempts to write without judgement of the stories, admitting that some may be a result of imagination, but also that there are those with unquestionable authenticity. She does not compare them with similar stories from other parts of the world, explaining that "this book is devoted to the thinking of our own people."

Chapters

Cultural Themes

Nova Scotia’s rocky shoreline has been the cause of many shipwrecks throughout the province’s colonial history, spanning to the present day. Unpredictable weather, some of the busiest shipping routes in the world, the rocky coastline, and its strategic location during wartimes has meant the demise of hundreds of vessels along the province’s coast. Tales of buried treasure, restless spirits of deceased sailors and pirates, and phantom ships are intrinsically linked with this history. Creighton’s stories explore this link between the supernatural and tragedy, making note of ties to significant historical events such as the Acadian Expulsion.

Cultural Influence

Bluenose Ghosts quickly became a best seller reaching a far larger audience than Creighton's previous work collecting and publishing folk songs. The book was notable for giving attention to women's stories, respecting the voice of the storytellers and for providing some context for the setting of storytellers. The book made Creighton into a speaker in demand at gatherings such as the Canadian Author Association and social events around Nova Scotia. Creighton followed the pattern with a similar book in 1968, Bluenose Magic. The stories she collected became regional classics and inspired many similar storytellers and ghost tours.

The Bluenose Ghosts Festival

One event inspired by Creighton's book is the Bluenose Ghosts Festival, whose goal is to preserve the cultural heritage of the Halifax Regional Municipality. In the present day, stories are still being collected in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in honour of Helen Creighton's extensive work on the subject. The Festival offers school programs and activities as well as cemetery tours, haunted houses, and other related events.

Criticism

Bluenose Ghosts and Bluenose Magic have been criticized by the Canadian cultural historian Ian McKay for exaggerating the extent of occult belief in Nova Scotia and creating a false picture of a people united by superstition. McKay also claims that Micmac and African Nova Scotian stories in the book relegated these cultures to the periphery and promoted racial stereotypes.