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The Blue Ghost Tunnel: Making of a Legend Creating an Urban Legend

Creating an Urban Legend

So is the Blue Ghost Tunnel really haunted? What makes a house, a bridge, a tunnel, haunted?

At first, I wrote a lengthy passage here, explaining the conditions under which a place can be designated as “haunted”, but according to Matthew James Didier, co-founder and Director of Torontoghosts.org, the answer is very simple.

“Just what is a 'haunted site'? What is the qualification for that title? How does one 'quantify' haunted or not haunted?” says Matthew James Didier. “There is a simple answer... and some people won't like it... but it's true.”

“What makes a site haunted is if people say it's haunted. One person says so... then another person experiences something, so they say so... and by the time you have three or more unrelated people saying so, the bargain is struck.”

So who said the Blue Ghost Tunnel was haunted in the first place? According to Thorold residents, the chatter started amongst children and their parents who often ventured into the area to use it as their playground. One can imagine being eight or ten years old, happening upon a dark, damp tunnel and hearing strange noises coming from within.

Children often perceive a dilapidated house, or a darken cemetery, as haunted—and the tunnel must have been intensely foreboding and terrifying when underbrush hid its entrance. Some brave enough to explore the tunnel did so in the early days and did not encounter any paranormal activity.

Others, after hearing the tales from other children and their parents, began to experience odd activity at the tunnel.

Some exaggerated their stories to make them more interesting while others forged additional Urban Legends into the tunnel walls. Despite the stories, the tunnel, seemingly uninteresting to most Niagara residents, existed for the most part without many visitors.

In the late 90s, as interest was on the rise in the paranormal, teens in the area began chattering about a haunted tunnel they frequented. Many believed this was simply the efforts of teenagers developing a good campfire story late at night. As the online presence of paranormal enthusiasts began to grow, the chatter about the tunnel reached the Internet. One teen wrote on a message forum:

“Everyone in the niagara area knows about the screaming tunnel, which lyes between NOTL and St.Catharines... the place is freaky and yeah itz a weird place... and oh yeah theres a syco down the street who may shoot @ yah but thers another place that we have come to call the screaming tunnel
and my friends and i beleve that this may be the real one. Anyone who knows Thorold and St.Catharines will know where GM is on Glendale Ave. across the Canal well go up glendale past GM and u'll see a sign that says GATE 12, it'll be on yer left, turn and u'll be behind GM by the loading docks, in front of u is a yellow barrier-gate. go into the gate and go straight, theres a dirt mound go over the mound and continue straight. the road will curev to the rite, follow it, and u will see a decline it'z all rock ther, follow that down and once at the bottow in front of you a bit will be the TUNNEL. go into it, once in ther it gets really really dark, dark enuff that one flash lite wont work... the ceiling is collapsed part way in.. but u can still mange to get thru if u dare. that place is freaky by itself... but heres the story behind it on top of the tunnel used to be a grave yard, now all bodies were supposed to be removed, but apparently the childrens graves were left, or some were left behind... now where the road turns to go to the tunnel there is a traight path... the bridge that is ther is collapsed but u can still get across... across this bridge is a long path that will eventually lead you to the new cemetery... sum frends of mine have seen stuff here... at one point when 2 of my frends were in ther it was pitch black, then when they turned around all of these candles were lit so they took off the cemetery is tied in w/ the tunnel the place is freaky enuff on its own but if u can find it go out ther dress warm for the tunnel is very cold tell me what if any experiences u have w/ this place and venture to the cemetery if u can get across the bridge.”

The young writer had been visiting the tunnel with others for over a year and was correct about the relocation of the Old German Cemetery. His facts were not completely accurate, but how did he know about the cemetery and the removal of bodies?

According to locals, the cemetery now known as the Lakeview Cemetery is haunted. These teens apparently heard the rumors and stories about the removal of the old cemetery to make room for the canal but were mistaken in their belief that the cemetery was on top or near the tunnel. In fact, the cemetery was some distance from the actual tunnel, but the teens made the connection that the desecration of the cemetery was the source of the unusual paranormal activity at the tunnel itself, and this assertion formed the main story of the tunnel for some time. This narrative was gradually replaced when others learned about the train accident near the tunnel, the drownings and the accidents that happened while the canals were being built.

After this posting others ventured into the tunnel and experienced paranormal activity that was similar to the stories they had heard. Russ, the teen who changed the name of the tunnel from The Screaming Tunnel to the Blue Ghost Tunnel, proceeded to enthrall an entire audience of paranormal enthusiasts and thrill seekers. His escapades at that tunnel, and his personal experiences, attracted other paranormal researchers and groups to investigate. Once exposed to a national and then an international TV audience, the Blue Ghost Tunnel became the hotspot in Canada and for that matter, North America.

It is still visited today as a popular haunted destination, even after the Seaway Authority and General Motors fenced the location and began monitoring the area with security cameras.

Some people experience absolutely nothing noteworthy at the tunnel, but a good number who have read or heard about the tunnel, or have seen the Creepy Canada Episode on TV, experience what they consider to be paranormal activity.

So are these people simply feeding into their own imagination? Myself included? Are we simply wanting to believe and therefore characterizing any natural phenomenon as paranormal? Or is there something more to this tunnel?

Advanced copies of The Blue Ghost Tunnel: Making of a Legend have been sent out for review. The first reviews to be published were Sue St. Clair and Matthew James Didier of Psican.org. Below are the reviews as well as the link to their site which has numerous reviews on books concerning the study of the paranormal.

Reviews of The Blue Ghost Tunnel: Making of a Legend, by Canadian author and researcher John Savoie     "When one reads any book, they have a hope that part of that book will resonate within their very being... that a small portion will literally become a part of their essence.  In this case, one hopes the reader of this brief tome will not find that part being a soiled mattress in a drainage tunnel that was said to be, potentially, where a ghostly prostitute plies her trade.  Welcome to the lore of the Blue Ghost Tunnel and the book, The Blue Ghost Tunnel Making of a Legend. Author John Savoie delves into what has been an interesting and often frightening (for all the wrong reasons,) journey through the stories, myths, and legends of the now infamous tunnel and it's environs.  He digs through documents and quite literally knocks on doors finding out the sources of the history (that exists and is glancingly relevant,) as well as the ghostly myths that sprung up around this Ontario haunt... from its many claims of origins to where things stand at the time of his writing. The tunnel, in the Niagara region of Ontario, first came to popular light online in the late 1990's and through the early 2000's gaining a strong reputation for everything from screams being heard from nowhere to the apparitions of women and dogs... and even sexual encounters of a very spiritual kind! Everything from a flooded cemetery, various drownings, to a century old train wreck was blamed for all the events... and Savoie examines them all and the mythos from not only the tunnel itself, but it's surrounding areas. From vandals to teenagers, questionable ghost hunters to potential movie deals, from skewed and misleading television programs to dead hookers, Savoie leaves few stones unturned. This is a very lively book that at some points, both Sue and myself found ourselves in tears of laughter reading... and finding out even our "facts" about the tunnel needed work!  Without question, it is a "must read" for anyone interested in folklore, ghosts, urban legends, or all points in between... especially in Southern Ontario. Is the tunnel bunk?  Is it caused by psi?  Is it the DPH (dead person hypothesis) at work? Savoie excellently goes about making cases for almost all the notions for what's said to be experienced at the tunnel, save for why so many female ghosts end up being named after the months of the year, but overall still leaves the judgment to the reader after all is said and done, The Blue Ghost Tunnel Making of a Legend is a worthy book for anyone to have a "boo" at."   ~ Matthew James Didier     "This is a book that had to be written, and I can think of no one better to sort through so much chaff to get to the wheat or heart of the BGT (Blue Ghost Tunnel) legend than author/researcher John Savoie. Mr Savoie has spent extensive time visiting, and researching the Blue Ghost Tunnel location, and its history. He has exhausted many different sources from long-time residents of the area, to local historians, and archives, canal officials, ghost hunters, demon worshippers, bored teenagers, tour operators, and even found the originator of the term "Blue Ghost Tunnel."    The Blue Ghost Tunnel: Making Of A Legend, includes numerous photos, and maps of the area both historical and current. It explores much of the mythos surrounding the tunnel, and sorts the facts from the fiction with numerous examples and sources that demonstrate the true history and origin of the legend. Both Matthew and I were happy to learn many new things about the BGT.    Savoie also covers different ideas on what may or may not be occurring at the BGT and allows for the reader to make up their own minds on what is presented as clearly speculation, while at the same time giving good food for thought in regards to the potential of actual anomalies.     This book is extremely entertaining, and a worthwhile read for anyone interested in ghosts, ghost hunting, history, urban legends, folklore, and the internet's role in creating, and spreading mythos with break neck speed.  While the Blue Ghost Tunnel became an internet phenomenon it is an excellent example of how urban legends begin, evolve, and how they can endure as folklore that will be passed through generations.   Long after the original BGTers have moved on to other things, younger generations will find this tunnel via Creepy Canada reruns or old internet forums, and long abandoned ghost hunting group's websites. Out of all the thrill seekers, ghost tourists, and people with nothing better to do on a Saturday night who will flock there, there will be one or two with a keen, and sincere interest in paranormal stories and research and Mr Savoie has now provided them with an excellent resource for this location.    Thank you John for setting the record straight on this Southern Ontario haunt.  While it will surely be despised by some, it will equally and more importantly so, be appreciated by the many"   ~ Sue Demeter-St. Clair       For more information please visit the author's blog http://ghosthuntingchronicles.blogspot.ca/ The Blue Ghost Tunnel: Making Of A Legend Facebook Group http://www.facebook.com/groups/240314552666679/     All proceeds of The Blue Ghost Tunnel: Making Of A Legend will go to Dare to Dream Horse Rescue http://www.dare2dreamhorserescue.ca/                   Copyright © 2012 PSICAN - Paranormal Studies and Investigations Canada. All Rights Reserved. Paranormal research "...is beset by True Believers ('They must be, therefore they are!') and True Unbelievers ('They can't be, therefore they aren't!') Rare are those who pursue evidence wherever it may lead, no matter how the results may square with their cherished hopes and dreams. Ironically, both the TBists and the TUists see themselves as champions of objective analysis and critical thinking, when in fact they are defenders of their respective faiths and, not incidentally, their egos." - Karl Pflock While PSICAN welcomes all communications, please note that if you are under the age of fifteen (15) years old, you must ask a parent or legal guardian to contact us on your behalf. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

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