Vernon Oickle’s new book, More Ghost Stories of Nova Scotia, offers up a new collection of stories of things that go bump in the night.
Oickle, a well-known journalist and author from Queens County, has written over 30 books during his career. This latest collection of supernatural stories is a follow-up to Ghost Stories of Nova Scotia.
Several of these new stories take place on the South Shore, but over the years people from across the province have contacted him to share their spooky encounters.
“Many of these stories are rooted in actual events, usually some tragic activity and over time the story becomes a legend that is passed along,” he said. “People will often retell these events, maybe as a way to make sense of things.”
Whether it’s spooky happenings in room 303 of a popular Lunenburg inn, a bell ringing on a Christmas tree in Halifax, mysterious sounds at a museum in Wolfville, or special bonds between twins, people across Nova Scotia seem eager to share stories of their brushes with the supernatural.
Oickle added that early on, he was inspired by Helen Creighton’s classic book Bluenose Ghosts.
“Our province is steeped in this rich storytelling tradition, as the early settlers didn’t have much in the way of entertainment so they often told stories to pass time,” he says.
Tragedies were often recounted as people looked for explanations, and reassured themselves about the world beyond what can be seen, or touched.
“My favorite of the paranormal stories are the forerunners, or warnings,” he said. “These premonitions usually foretell an event. They are comforting in one sense, as someone reached out to a loved one. But they are shocking as well. People are left wondering if they actually saw what they thought they saw.”
He added that while Hollywood usually portrays the supernatural as a frightening or destructive force, most people he interviewed eventually found comfort in the encounters with the beyond. He added that initially people may be shocked and surprised by the supernatural, but eventually accept the encounter and are comforted by the idea there is more beyond the life we know and understand.
“I don’t not believe,” he said. “I think many of have had experiences, we’ve seen things that are unexplainable. There is an energy and sometimes things happen with no explanation. I try to always keep an open mind when someone tells me a story, I try not to judge.”
Oickle will be sharing his new book across Nova Scotia. He will be signing copies of this new collection in Kentville on Oct. 24, when he joins forces with Kentville author Laura Churchill Duke and Jerome the Grave Keeper for a spooky evening of supernatural tales. The two authors will be on hand promoting their new books and offering readings, as part of a special Ghostwalk.
Oickle will be signing copies of More Ghost Stories of Nova Scotia at the Main Street Station (Cornwallis Inn) from 6:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. Then Jerome the Grave Keeper will be offering his ghostly walk and talk around Kentville’s usual haunts starting at 7:30 p.m. At 9:45 p.m., the evening continues with dramatic readings by Oickle and Churchill Duke.
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