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Thanks for visiting with us!

Hi there!

Thanks for joining in on the Carbon Lilies journey! We love having you with us!

The next stage of our journey has taken us to a new website... it is still a work in progress but we would love it if you would visit us there and continue reading about life and our adventures.

When you get there, drop us a line to let us know what you think about our new home. We know that we have a lot of work still to do but your feedback could help us build it into what we want it to be.

Thanks again and we hope to see you at our new digs... https://carbonlilies.com/ 

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54.1 A Brush With the Wild

By Lana Carbon

I have wanted to write about this incident for quite some time but things kept coming up and I just never got around to it. Last week, I finally decided that it was time and as I was recalling the events of that day, it occurred to me that this summer will mark its 10-year anniversary.

If you have been reading along with us, it should come as no surprise that I enjoy going on long drives. This has been the case since I was very young and that love only increased when I learned to drive. Sometimes I still enjoy being in the passenger seat and feeling the freedom to completely let go; to allow the driver to take control and plot our destination. Other times, I prefer being behind the wheel, embracing the sensation that only comes from touring back roads and taking the scenic routes between the small towns that everyone forgets about, as they speed through life's highways.

It was one of these trips that I am writing about now. Long before I had met John (it seems like a lifetime ago to me now), I was married to someone else. The only reason I even bring this up is because she was in the vehicle with me on this particular occasion and also saw what I did.

At that time, I lived in a place called Tweed. It is just a small village about half an hour north of Belleville, Ontario. If memory serves correctly, it was a weekend when we decided to take a leisurely drive north and on the way home, stopped by the old stomping grounds for a bite to eat before continuing home for the night. I can't recall now what made us decide to extend our drive longer than we had originally planned (we may have opted to make it a movie night) but by the time we had stopped in the village, eaten at one of our regular restaurants, we chose to return to the main road as it was just approaching dusk.

Now, this may seem like a bit of a tangent but it really isn't... just bear with me.

The highway south of the village was a fun road to drive, with long sweeping curves and quite a few straight stretches where one could really get their motor running if they were so inclined (not that I would ever... ever do that). However, people knew they had to be careful (the locals at least) because there were also a couple of hills that made great hiding spots where police cruisers with trained radar guns could make a killing issuing traffic offenses. I learned where the favourites of these spots were (don't ask how I discovered them) and always took extra vigilance when it came to my speed in these areas... much to the initial chagrin of drivers behind me.

Now back to the night in question...

There was one hill in particular that I knew I had to really slow down for and on this one evening, 10 years ago now, I'm so glad I did. Just as my vehicle was 3/4 of the way up the hill, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I initially thought it was likely a deer because they were known to cross this road often but what came out of the left-hand ditch was not a deer. To this day, I still can't tell you what it was. The large white and flesh tone creature bounded halfway across the two lane highway. It glanced ever so briefly at us, as if to see if our vehicle was still moving, before leaping the rest of the way across the road. It didn't just clear the pavement however, it made it completely into the foliage which was another 10-15 feet off the side of the road.

I was in awe. It took everything in me to remain focussed on driving. I saw that my passenger was looking off into the wooded area on the right; I hadn't been the only one to see it but I had to ask her just to get validation out loud. She agreed. She had seen... something.

It took me until we were at the bottom of the hill to safely slow down and stop. I turned us around because I wanted to see if we could see any sign of it running along the road. I wanted to see it again (from the safety of the car of course). Unfortunately, we didn't see anything even after several passes. I wanted to get out and look for prints or tracks but, after seeing it, I just wasn't that brave. With nothing left that we were willing to do, we drove home.

So, what did it look like?

First, it was big. I have seen black bears before and this creature was bigger than that but maybe not heavier. It had a lean, muscular build with the front legs seeming thicker and stronger. The face, to me, seemed cat-like (though the ex thought it was more hyena-looking) with white fur in patches around the head, neck, and shoulders, and bare skin everywhere else with tufts of fur almost like it had mange. If it wasn't for the size, I might have thought it was a big cat, like a cougar, but it was way too large for that.

I've driven through the area many times since that day and I always keep my eyes peeled for movement along the shoulders of the road but I haven't seen it since. I have never even heard of any other reports of any sightings... not even of anything similar. If it wasn't for there being two of us that day, I might have thought I was imagining it. Perhaps I will never know what it was that I saw that day but I also will never forget the experience.

I would love to know if anyone else has seen anything from that area. Or, have you had an experience from your own neck of the woods that you would like to share? Please leave a comment here or on Twitter or Facebook.

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53.1 Blogger’s Recognition Award - Carbon Lilies

It's an Honour to Be Nominated...

We were so surprised and honoured when Carbon Lilies was nominated for the Blogger Recognition Award by our dear friend Davina Lytle, who writes about her experiences living with PTSD in the wonderful blog ;I’m Still Here! The nomination came seemingly out of nowhere but couldn’t have arrived at a more opportune time, as Carbon Lilies is preparing for some big changes and this recognition validates the direction in which we are moving. After all, a little appreciation goes a long way.

We had not heard of the Blogger Recognition Award before and so, in doing a little research, we discovered that this is a wonderful way for bloggers to show their appreciation to their peers in putting out an entertaining / informative / creative / educational (insert purpose of your blog here) product and to acknowledge the hard work that goes into putting out an enjoyable, quality blog. There is no voting process. There are no almighty judges to critique every little nuance. There is only acceptance and the love of sharing what we, as bloggers ourselves, enjoy reading. So with that being said, thank you again Davina.

How Did Carbon Lilies Start?

John and I found out quite quickly after we met that we enjoyed going on long drives and creating little adventures for ourselves. We had some unique interests (at least we thought so anyways) and some odd things happen in our lives. We decided it might be cool to write about our adventures just for us and then thought other people might be intrigued enough to read along as well. We wanted to write anonymously, so we created the pseudonyms Lana Carbon (the guy) and John Lilies (the gal). In October of 2014, Carbon Lilies was born with our first post entitled...Our Inaugural Journey – Part 1.

Our Advice

First and foremost, write about something that interests you. If you can write passionately about a topic, your readers will feel that passion and respond to it. If your readers are engaged and entertained, your blog is sure to grow.

Secondly, follow other bloggers, podcasters, or simply people interested in the same topic as your blog. It is a great way to share posts, come up with new ideas and, best of all, meet some cool people who may just turn into lifelong friends.

We Nominate

Outta

;I’m Still Here!

Legends, Myths and Whiskey Podcast

Chris Medina

The Big Séance Podcast

In My Sacred Space

Talking Boards Historical Society

The Paranormal Guide

Mysterious Planchette

Stuffed Suitcase

Obscurities Off Beat

The World Up Closer

Paranormalogistically

Barrett Bites

Imagine Spirit

The Rules

For those who wish to accept our nomination, here are the rules.

Thank the blogger that nominated you and provide a link to their blog

Write a post to show your award

Give a brief story of how your blog started

Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers

Select 15 bloggers you want to give this award to and comment on each blog to let them know you nominated them providing a link to the post you created

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Light side or dark side...May the 4th be with You!

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Who knew May 3rd was such a special Day?

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[carbonlilies]

52.1 Shadows in My Sleep…

By John Lilies

I’ve been talking to Lana recently about my dreams.

For a long time, I’ve been experiencing something within my dreams that leaves me unsettled even when I reflect on the feeling.

After having the experience again last night and talking about it with Lana today, I mentioned that I feel like I could really use some help and insight into what this occurrence might be. So, we decided the best thing would be for me to write about it and ask our friends to connect with us and provide us with your serious and thoughtful opinions.

After reading this, please reach out to us via private message on Twitter or Facebook to let us know what you honestly think this might be and/or connect us to someone who might have an answer.

This is a more serious article than what we would typically write so please don’t be surprised by the lack of joking around. I really do feel somewhat plagued by what I am about to describe.

Perhaps about 10 years ago or so, I started noticing that every once in a while I would wake up from my dreams and realize that I hadn’t been alone in them. When I say “every once in a while” I mean every night for a few nights, or a couple of times a week, or once a week for a few weeks, and then nothing for a while. Sometimes it’s a dream within a deep and sound sleep, sometimes it’s during a restless and fitful sleep, and sometimes it’s during a bit of a daydream or even being in a trance-like state during meditation. It doesn’t always have to be a bad dream, either. Often it happens in a normal and boring or wonderfully happy and exciting dream.

Essentially, at some point in my dream I will become aware that someone is with me – some sort of presence. I say “presence” because it isn’t really another person. I am aware that I am dreaming and I am aware that someone else is with me watching my dream play out. They aren’t a part of my dream. 

My dream always continues on as it was, but I am acutely aware that I am watching my dream and that someone else is watching it with me. It doesn’t feel good but it doesn’t feel like a horrible presence either. Not mean but not friendly. The more aware of it that I become, the more uncomfortable I become and the stronger that presence feels. It’s as though it’s an energy feeding off of my discomfort and fear. I am increasingly aware that I am watching my own dream take place in front of me while working hard to understand what this presence is, why it is there, and if I should really be afraid. The more aware I become, the more awake I become, and eventually I wake up completely.

Many times, when I wake up, I can still feel the presence with me for a while… sometimes a few seconds, sometimes a few minutes, and sometimes an hour or more. It never makes me feel anything but uncomfortable, even thinking back on it. That energy feels thick and heavy – different from anxiety. It’s like a heaviness on my chest that makes me have to work harder to breathe but again, not like anxiety or even fear. It’s a different feeling.

This is not sleep paralysis – sadly I have experienced that before. In these specific dreams, I can wake up and am immediately aware of my surroundings and am conscious.

What I cannot figure out is 1) is this other presence actually me – am I somehow aware of myself in the dream in a different manner? Can my consciousness essentially split like that? Or 2) is this an external energy that is, for whatever reason, visiting to hang out with me? 

Or… is there another option?

Sometimes, mostly when I think back on it, I can almost see a face attached to the presence/energy… and it isn’t a comforting face. I don’t know if that’s just my brain trying to give it an identity though, or if it is actually an image that I am seeing from this energy. I feel like it may just be my brain trying to make sense of what I’m feeling.

Adjacent to this, when I’m in a semi-sleep state, I often see shadows or figures rising within my ‘dreams’ or partially aware/partially asleep state. These sometimes do have faces and often don’t. Again… is this my brain or my consciousness creating these figures or are these actually something else? It happens quite a bit actually – if I wake up in the middle of the night and have a hard time going back to sleep, I eventually realize that I am falling asleep but these figures are rising within the sleepy images or dreams that I’m having… so I wake up again. I have to work hard to switch my thinking and imagery to something else and it usually takes a while for those figures/energies to disappear (or for me to stop noticing them and just go to sleep).

So… what are your thoughts? I am open to all honest and thoughtful theories. Is this my imagination going wild on me? Is this something weird happening within my own consciousness as a result of anxiety, fear, and stress? Or, is there another explanation?

Please reach out and private message us – those of you who know us well and those of you who don’t… I just keep wondering what this is and I feel like I won’t be able to put an end to it until I understand it, but am at a loss as to what it really could be.

Facebook: Private message us on our Lana N John page Twitter: Private message us @carbonlilies

Thank you dear friends, as always.

[carbonlilies]

51.1 The Creature of Credit Valley

Being Canadian, it has recently come to our attention that we have our very own mysterious cryptid roaming around our backyard, so to speak. When you think of these unknown species, you often think of forested areas or in deep lakes and oceans but not usually do these reports come from suburban centres. The Credit River stretches 90 km from north of Orangeville, Ontario flowing south into Lake Ontario at Mississauga.

Over the years, multiple sightings of a strange creature have been reported not far from the river’s banks, mostly at the southern half of the water system. It has come to be known as the Creature of Credit Valley.

Witnesses describe the being as having a lean, wiry but muscular frame with a long ringed prehensile tail that it uses to wrap around its prey so it cannot escape. It is bipedal, standing between 4½ and 5 feet tall. Fur covers its shoulders, forearms, shins, pelvis, and chest while the rest of its torso is bare flesh. Its head is similar to that of a lemur with large ears, eyes and snout. The fine hair covering its face is patterned almost like a mask. The creature is an omnivore, eating berries as well as any small animals it can catch; nearly every report seems to catch it in the act of eating. It is believed that in this suburban setting, it is responsible for many missing pets as well as ridding the streets of strays and rodents. Fish is a delicacy and the majority of the sightings are in parks around the river (especially Meadowvale Conservation Area). It is unknown if the creature would ever attack a human but we would caution parents to be wary of allowing their children to play near the rivers alone after dark (that is probably good advice anyways).

Artist rendition of the creature based on eye witness report.

While most sightings are fleeting glimpses of movement in the trees or of glowing eyes in the darkness, through our research we did dig up a couple of more detailed interactions to share with you.

“I was out for a walk in the park after work as usual. I enjoy walking by the river. This particular evening, just after the sun had went down and I was returning to my car, I heard some splashing at the river’s edge just around the bend in the path. I thought maybe someone had caught a fish at first…there were often people fishing in the more quick running waters. As I came around the bend though, I saw something I had never seen before. It was about 5 feet tall, muscular and wiry and had this long-ringed tail. It must have heard me because it looked up from the fish it was tearing into with its long sharp teeth and claws and snarled before taking off across the river into the brush on the other side. That was enough for me. I raced back to my car and have never went back to walk there again.”

  “About 20 years ago I think… I was living with my parents and their backyard had a deck with this beautiful wooden trellis with built-in sections of latticework. They had grapes growing up and along the roof of the trellis… A number of vines and A LOT of grapes. Every summer, as the grapes would ripen, the raccoons would appear and we normally wouldn’t even hear them out there; in the mornings, we would find the grape skins on the floor of the deck and know the raccoons had been around.

One night though, when I was alone at home with our dog, I went to let our dog out in the backyard and as I was opening the back door I realized the raccoons were above us on the top of the trellis, munching on the grapes. I quickly closed the door because I didn’t want our dog to have an encounter with the raccoons. I went up to my parents’ room because their bedroom window was in line with the top of the trellis, and I thought maybe if I sprayed some water through the window screen at the raccoons, they would take off. I went to the window and opened it, started spraying through the screen and making noise to try to scare off the raccoons. I realized there was only one raccoon… I could see its ringed tail but thought it was much skinnier than I’d ever seen on a raccoon. Its back was to me and I thought it must have been sick because it had hardly any hair on it. Its form was strange too and as I was staring at it, trying to figure out what to do and why this raccoon looked so odd, it turned towards me; I think it was annoyed by the water spray.

As I saw its face and body form, I wanted to scream but was too scared. I honestly thought I was seeing the figure of a man… but he had a tail and patches of fur… and his face. His face was not human nor was it raccoon. As I stared and quickly closed the window, I realized he had this animal face! Like a lemur or something!! I watched a lot of The Crocodile Hunter back then and he would show lemurs a lot. I loved them and I swear this creature’s face was like a lemur! Which would explain why the tail was skinnier than I’d expected when I thought it was a raccoon at first… but it was ringed like a raccoon.

The lemur/person-creature started making these loud noises I could hear through the glass but I have no idea how to describe the sound. Unlike any animal or human I’d ever heard. Clicking mixed with… what? Oh, I don’t know. It was so strange it just gave me goosebumps. I felt like I was frozen in place.

The creature finally started to move off but not before eating some more grapes. I waited for maybe 5 minutes after it left, before leaving the window and going outside with my dog. I was terrified to be out there and made my dog hurry. After running him back inside, I was pacing in the kitchen, trying to figure out what to do. I didn’t know if I should call Animal Control, to report…what? In my head I was replaying what I saw and I suddenly remembered being a kid and hearing about this strange creature. Our parents would tell us this story about this ‘thing’ that would eat our pets if we weren’t vigilant and if we went into the woods alone or down to the river alone, we would find this gangly man with a ringed tail and animal face, with claws and fur… 

We all thought it was nonsense. Stories our parents told us to keep us from doing stupid things in the woods; the same way they’d use Sasquatch to scare us when we went camping. So if I call Animal Control, what do I say? Some mythical creature from my parents’ folk tales was in my backyard eating grapes? I decided not to do anything. I figured no one would believe me and I didn’t even know if I believed myself, honestly. We’d had coyotes in the area a number of times and someone had even spotted a wolf at one point, but this? What was THIS?

I never told anyone about that until now and though I’ve never forgotten it, I still don’t know if I believe it and yet… I know what I saw.”

Roughly a month ago, our friends The Hunters of the Unknown  were holding one of their fantastic contests, which I (Lana) usually enter (if you haven’t yet checked out their page or found them on Facebook, you really should). This particular competition was to come up with an idea for their next contest. My idea (which was the winner) was to put everyone’s creativity to the test and come up with an original cryptid, including a back story and/or eyewitness accounts to flesh out the story. Of course, we wanted to take part but we also didn’t want to vie for a win in our own contest idea. We decided instead, to design our own cryptid but to leave the results here in the pages of our blog and not as a part of the contest. The above tale was our creation and we do hope that you enjoyed it.

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50.1 We’re off to see the...Scarecrow?

[Lana] Towards the end of summer 2016, Brother Carbon came to us with an idea for a family trip. He had read about this town called Meaford, which was holding their 20th Annual Scarecrow Invasion through October. He thought it would be a fun adventure to go look at the scarecrows and grab some lunch...just a nice day to spend with the family and we all agreed.

Now, obviously it couldn’t be just as simple as that, could it? Well, it probably could have been but when my brother and I get together, we tend to become quite the pair of jokesters. One thing led to another and, the next thing you know we were talking about the Wizard of Oz and imagining which characters each member of the family would correspond to, if we were to be in the film (excluding the Scarecrow, since Meaford was already supplying that character, of course).

Starting with the wholesome Ma Carbon, we knew she had to be Dorothy. Brother Carbon, the man who probably has the biggest heart out of all of us (even if he doesn’t want to admit it), was chosen to portray the Tin Man. We stepped slightly outside of the norm for John. We always tease her that she brings rain with her everywhere she goes, so as an extension to the obvious weather-controlling abilities that she possesses, we made her the tornado that brings Dorothy to Oz in the first place. That leaves yours truly. I was bestowed with the role of the Cowardly Lion. I really don’t know what they (Brother & Ma Carbon) were trying to imply with this suggestion.

To my surprise, the idea grew more and more serious as Brother Carbon and I began brainstorming some simple costume ideas. Suddenly, we were buying supplies and creating our outfits. This was really going to happen.

[John] I have no idea where I was for all of this… I remember being entirely in for the trip and then I remember coming home from work one day, to discover that costumes would be involved. Lana has quite the mischievous grin and snicker when he is up to something and this time, with Brother Carbon involved, I must admit that I was a bit concerned. I was wondering just what my tornado outfit would look like, but left it all to the capable and creative hands of Lana, Brother Carbon & Ma Carbon.

[Lana] The day finally came; Brother and Ma Carbon picked us up early in the morning so that we could all make the scenic two-hour drive together. We even had another character join our crew for the day... a rather over-sized ‘Toto’. Puppy Carbon made for a cramped car ride but none of us could have even imagined leaving her home alone for the day. Little did I know that she would be my saving grace. I am a coffee drinker and for some reason, on this day, we did not have our morning coffee. We also didn’t fill our travel mugs with coffee like we are often apt to do when we are taking a road trip. Brother Carbon had even warned us ahead of time that we wouldn’t be making stops along the way to buy coffee. When we pulled over at a park to let our ‘Toto’ relieve herself at a park that was only a short walk to a Tim Horton’s, I took my opportunity to make the dash over and get my caffeine fix. Thank you, ’Toto’!

[John] Puppy Carbon is truly not a puppy in the real meaning of the word, however she is remarkably playful and puppy-like (for me, all dogs are puppies). She is also large and not entirely aware of her body, and had a hard time finding a comfortable position between me and Lana in the back seat. She was a great sport however, and was just so happy to be in the car with us. We are always happy to have a puppy around, so it really wasn’t so bad having her plant her elbows or feet or bum on our laps… a smidgen painful at times perhaps, but not so bad.

[Lana] As we pulled into Meaford, I didn’t really know what to expect. In my mind, I was picturing a few storefront scarecrows and maybe a small section of houses with a scarecrow in the yard. The reality of it was so completely different. It truly was like an invasion. They were everywhere. There were scarecrows in the park. There were scarecrows in the stores. The scarecrows covered the bridges, lined the sidewalks and hung from the lamp posts. Scarecrows were everywhere, which we explored much more closely after stopping for a delicious lunch at a small but very busy Captain’s Corner Fish & Chips restaurant.

[John] Holy scarecrows, Batman! It was unbelievable to see the number of them around and the extent to which some people went in creating them. Some wore poodle skirts, some carried instruments, some were as individuals and others in groups. Many had pumpkin heads and others more ‘human’-like faces, and still more represented celebrities. As someone who has never made a scarecrow, I can definitely say that I was impressed with the efforts made and the community involvement. For those of you who may be Gilmore Girls fans, this event had me thinking a bit of Stars Hollow and their town festivals. (It made me smile.)

[Lana] Since Ma Carbon can’t walk the streets the way that John and I can, the two of us took a stroll through town while the other Carbons went to fill up on gas and drive around. We made it to the other end of the main strip at a leisurely pace, taking photos along the way, before meeting up again with our fellow travellers.

We did stop by some scarecrows that were quite apropos to get a few pictures in our special costumes for the day. One business had Wizard of Oz themed scarecrows outside, in front of which we just had to pose.

[John] In this moment, we discovered just how shy we were in our outfits for the photo. Shy as we were though, we posed and laughed it up the entire time. (Sorry folks… you won’t get to see those pictures!)

[Lana] On the way out of town, we stopped at the true gem of the Scarecrow Invasion display, simply named the Art Show. The scarecrows here were different than those in the rest of town. These scarecrows represented various celebrities of the music industry. Legendary figures from the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix to Michael Jackson and KISS, were all on display. We took a few more pictures and then began our long trip back home.

The town was nothing like what I had expected and I think that was a good thing. Some of the best days can come as a total surprise to us; being able to spend this time with the Carbon family doing something a little different, was a wonderful thing indeed.

[John] It truly was a fun and special day that I will forever treasure. Thank you, Brother Carbon, Ma Carbon and Puppy Carbon, for taking us on a great adventure! Shall we start planning the next one?  

Pssst... Hey! Don’t go yet... have you visited our archive? Have you read our first article? Why don’t you go there now?

[carbonlilies]

49.1 That Exciting Day in February

By Lana Carbon

There is an important day coming up incredibly soon that impacts each and every one of us in some way, whether we choose to celebrate it or not. Some people look forward to this day in hopes of receiving a special message from a dear loved one, while others unfortunately fear the day seeing it only as something to dread. I find that interesting, so I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to delve into the history of the day itself.

Here is the origin of that day in February that everyone knows as... Groundhog Day.

In 1723, the Lenape tribe of the native Algonquin people (known as the Delawares) settled in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, situated halfway between the Allegheny and Susguehanna Rivers. The town name comes from ponksad-uteney, which translates into the town of sand flies. The Lenape considered groundhogs to be honourable ancestors, since according to their creation beliefs their forebears began life in Mother Earth as animals, before emerging to hunt as men centuries later. Wojak in particular, was looked upon as a grandmother of the people. Her name is where we get the word woodchuck from, of course.

Found this beautiful photo taken by Vivi Labo on Google while looking up Candlemas. Check out her other work at her EyeEm account.

When the Germans arrived in the 1700’s, they brought with them the tradition of Candlemas Day, which has its origins in the pagan ritual of Imbolc, the mid-point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. For the Christians, the clergy would bless and hand out candles to be placed in the windows during the darkness of winter. Superstition stated that if the sun came out on this special day (February 2nd) and the weather was fair, there would be six more weeks of winter. In Germany they had used badgers or hedgehogs as the animal that would be watched to determine this fate, but in Pennsylvania a groundhog was used instead.

The first reference to a Groundhog Day came in 1841 in Morgantown, Pennsylvania. The following was found in the diary of store keeper James Morris, dated February 4th of that year:

”Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas Day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.” - James Morris

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The official celebration of Groundhog Day began on February 2nd, 1886 and Punxsutawney Phil (Sowerby is his last name, just in case you were wondering) made his world debut. It wasn’t until the following year however, that he would make his legendary journey to Gobbler’s Knob.

Since its beginning, the celebration has become quite the affair. Phil now brings along his wife Phyllis and their daughter Phelicia, to see whether Spring will be coming early or not, as well as select members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s Inner Circle (if you have ever seen footage of the ceremony, these are the gentlemen in tuxes and top hats), including the President who must attend so that he can translate the prediction from Groundhogese to English. 

While Punxsutawney Phil is the first official and by far the most famous of the weather forecasting rodents, he is not the only one. Some of the other famous cousins include Ontario’s own Wiarton Willie, Alberta’s Balzac Billy, Quebec’s Fred la Marmotte, New York’s Staten Island Chuck, Georgia’s General Beauregard Lee and Colorado’s Flatiron Freddy, just to name a few.

I don’t know how much faith you put into the fortune-telling abilities of our four-legged friends (as of 2016, out of 129 predictions on record, Phil is currently correct 39% of the time) or if you think the whole thing is complete hogwash; what I do know is that for one day out of the whole year, people from an entire country (maybe even a whole continent) that otherwise wouldn’t have paid much attention, are invested in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. That is the power of tradition... and a little Bill Murray movie probably didn’t hurt.

So on February 2nd, whether it be Phil or one of the other furry little prognosticators more local to you, take some time think about our little friends and their celebrations. Who knows, maybe this year one of them will get it right!

Sources:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punxsutawney_Phil

http://www.stormfax.com/ghogday.htm

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48.1 Our Autumn 2016 Haunted Walks

[Lana] As you may have seen from a few of our previous posts, we enjoy our history on the darker side and if that telling takes the form of a haunted walk... that is all the better. In October and November, we had the privilege of going on two separate tours both run by our friends at the The Haunted Walk.

Our first outing for the 2016 fall time, was on October 15th at the Hallowe’en season special tour at Black Creek Pioneer Village in North York/Toronto. You may remember that we went to this locale for Christmas by Candlelight during the 2015 yuletide season; during Hallowe'en, there is an entirely different atmosphere. The buildings, while familiar, take on an ominous quality that is not entirely hidden at Christmas but merely dormant... as though lying in wait for the time of year when the veil between worlds is at its thinnest. 

[John] Lana is right… there is a spooky atmosphere all the time at Black Creek but at Hallowe’en – whether it is our imaginations or not – it is much more intense. 

John reluctantly agreed to a photo...

[Lana] While many tragic stories are tied to the histories of the buildings and the denizens of the area, the majority of the ghostly tales come from the staff (past and present). Even some of the guides from The Haunted Walk, who only have a limited amount of time at the Village, have their own stories and experiences to share. 

I must say, that out of all the buildings we visited that night, one stood out more than the others by far. The Manse had a creepy vibe the moment we went inside. We circled around our storyteller (Claire – who was excellent, by the way) and as luck would have it, John and I were the two with our backs exposed to the only other dark room in the building. I was constantly checking over my shoulder into the darkness behind us, even before the stories began. Multiple passes with our complimentary flashlights revealed nothing in the room behind us but that feeling of being watched was there nonetheless. Then there was the staircase... 

Claire, our tour guide.

[John] *Shudder* That staircase… I didn’t like it at Christmas and I liked it less after hearing the stories of the building.

[Lana] One of the rules put in place by Black Creek Pioneer Village is that no one is allowed to go up to the second floor; determined after a couple of incidents of people being pushed by an unseen force from the top of the stairs. Looking up from the bottom of the stairs, you can see a spot on the wall where an old picture had hung years ago. The stain on the wall looked reversed from what we had expected however...like the fading had happened in the wrong place. Maybe that is just my imagination though. I did remember looking up these stairs at Christmas and feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end just like they were doing at this very moment. Even one of the most level-headed and dare I say skeptical of the Haunted Walk guides, Margo, gets an uneasy feeling at the Manse. She told us she hadn’t had this type of feeling on a tour in quite a long time. It’s nice to know it wasn’t just me. 

[John] Or me. 

The Manse - staircase.

[Lana] I was really glad to have had the opportunity to partake in one of the special Hallowe’en Haunted Walks this season. It is a pleasure to attend those limited functions that aren’t available all year long and I am looking forward to attending more of them in the future.

[John] Same here! Hey Margo… thanks for reconnecting and chatting with us after our tour! It was so great to see you again! 

Black Creek Pioneer Village.

A beautiful night.

[Lana] Let’s jump now to November 10, 2016 and 390 kilometres away from Toronto to Ottawa, Ontario. Although our main purpose for the trip was to witness the Remembrance Day ceremonies (which we will also be writing about so please watch for that upcoming article) in our nation’s capital, we decided to also take advantage of our time there and take in another Haunted Walk. There was only one tour open to the public that evening due to group bookings that night, so we gladly and quickly signed up for the Ghosts and Gallows tour, which is highlighted by a visit to the Carleton County Gaol. This is the same tour we took in 2014 (to read about our first visit, please click here). We knew that we would be revisiting one of the tours we had already taken but what we hadn’t expected was to be guided by Elise again, who was our guide for the same tour on our first night there during our 2014 trip. Knowing that there are hundreds, if not thousands of people that go on these tours, we didn’t expect to be remembered but it was nice to know that our social media interactions were recognized and, by the end of the night through recollections of the experiences we had on our previous trip, we were in fact remembered.

Carleton County Gaol

[John] I’m sure we weirded out Elise at least a smidgen at the very beginning, when we said hello and discovered she would be our guide. She was definitely surprised to see us – and on the same tour as in 2014, no less. Gracious though, and welcoming, Elise was lovely again and we thoroughly enjoyed our time. 

Elise, our tour guide.

[Lana] The tour itself was similar but there were a few minor changes mostly due to it being after the Hallowe’en season. We had time this year to enter the cells and feel the confinement that the prisoners would have felt even if it was only for a few moments for us. I had wondered, and hoped, if we would have some kind of unexplained experience like we did last time, but it was not to be this time.

The shadow of a cell.

[John] Standing in one of these cells brought me a deep sense of empathy for the prisoners. I cannot imagine spending much time in a confined space like that. Touching the walls, I was overwhelmed with a sense of confusion and sadness, as well as a bit of anger. My chest tightened and I really just wanted to scream and cry. I simultaneously felt like running away while also not wanting to leave at all. I wanted to sit down in the cell and close my eyes and connect, somehow, to what I was feeling. Alas, I had to let other tour participants experience the cell for themselves, so I quickly turned and walked back out, trying to calm the feelings swirling inside of me.

As we neared the end of our tour and had time to look at the gallows, with a prop-noose hanging for dramatic effect, I had a strange feeling of fear wash over me. It was similar to a memory, though it felt foreign at the same time, and I felt fear from standing in there with a rope around my neck and the floor about to give way. In my mind, I could feel a wind hit me - a cold blast to my face. My chest tightened again from the anxiety and I had to shake my head and continue quickly down the stairs to meet up with the rest of the group. Be it my imagination or something else, this night met me with more than I had expected.

An uncomfortable feeling.

[Lana] I enjoyed this tour almost as much (if not just as much) as the last time. That is a testament to not only Elise’s ability as a storyteller but also how entertaining these tours are in general. It certainly inspires me to want to go on more haunted walks. There are so many more out there that we haven’t gone on yet and that isn’t even including the other companies that offer dark history tours. It also makes us want to spend a night at the Ottawa Jail Hostel. I, for one, would love a chance to explore that place outside of a tour setting just to see if anything would happen. That is an adventure for another day however.

[John] An adventure that I have finally decided I’m definitely up for and looking forward to. I highly expect we will have a fun night of waiting for something to happen and leaving somewhat grateful that nothing (likely) happened and somewhat wishing we had experienced something major. Perhaps I’ll be proven wrong and we will have the night of a lifetime. (If we can make it happen and stay at the Jail for a night, while Lana does his investigating I will likely sit still and quiet, listening to the stories within the silence… trying to be a brave girl.)

Thank you to our friends at The Haunted Walk, for always making us feel welcome and for sharing your stories and the stories of our Canadian history, in a way that truly involves us and excites us… always leaving us wishing for more and looking forward to our next adventure with you.

Carleton County Gaol

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Happy Friday the 13th everyone! Hope it's a great one for you! (Superstitious or not.) To any bikers heading to Port Dover today... make it a safe trip please!! Enjoy the day!!

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Happy New YEAR Everyone! May 2017 treat you well & may we all show one another kindness & empathy no matter the situation. Thank you for your ongoing love and support! Yours, Lana & John

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47.1 Family Christmas Through Decorations

By Lana Carbon

The Christmas season is always a busy time for everyone especially when it comes to visiting family. For us, with our families living 3+ hours away, it is always a little extra special when we get to spend that bit of prolonged time with them and not have to rush back to work. We just wanted to send out a huge thank you to Ma and Pa Lilies, Brother Carbon and Ma Carbon, and Sister Carbon for each hosting a family get together. We love you all dearly.

Since we have chosen to remain anonymous, we can’t really show our family Christmas photos but we do love our decorations and have taken a few pictures of those. So here is our 2016 Christmas through decoration.

Of course, we can’t forget one of our other traditons… the building of the gingerbread homes. This is only my second year in doing this but my excitement only pales in comparison to John’s. She is a one-woman gingerbread construction crew.

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46.1 Our First Guest Blog

[John] This is a bit of a different post for us. Some time ago, we invited our friend, Kat Ward, to write an article for us about her 2016 Hallowe’en Haunted House experience. It has taken us a while to finalize everything and post it for all to enjoy (we’ve had a little bit on our plates as of late) but it is here now, so please join us and tour the haunted house with Kat. (and Kat... please forgive us for the serious delay in releasing your piece!)

A Haunting Adventure in Wainwright, Alberta By Kat Ward

Who doesn't enjoy being terrified at a haunted house during Hallowe’en?

The people in the town of Wainwright sure are no exception. Wainwright is located in the Canadian Prairies, in the Eastern Central part of Alberta. From October 27th to 31st, the people of this quaint town and its surrounding communities gather for the fright of a lifetime. For the past two Hallowe’en seasons, 2015 and 2016, the chosen location for this haunting experience has been the old Wainwright Hotel.

Wainwright Hotel, Wainwright, Alberta, Canada Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

For two months prior to this frightful adventure, volunteers help to set the scene for a blood-curdling time...for those visitors who are brave enough to enter. Mike Comeau is the creative genius behind this creepy funfest. After seeing his imagination come alive, I'm not sure how this man sleeps at night. One thing is certain however; Mr. Comeau is indeed brilliant at making people's terrors become a reality.

Mike Comeau, Creative Genius Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

For five evenings, our volunteers put on their costumes and did their best to frighten one and all. I must admit, we didn't really have to try very hard; most people were terrified before entering the Wainwright Haunted House. Up the road, you could hear the screams from people of all ages. For those who wanted to see the spooktacular building but were too frightened to do so at night, we opened the doors two hours early so they could walk through with all of the lights on. Not only did families with small children take advantage of the not-so-creepy early show, many adults did as well. As soon as it was time for the real show to start, all gloves came off and the true fun began.

We had many costumed volunteers dressed as clowns, jesters, and even a version of Beetlejuice was there to greet our guests.

Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

Jeeves in the dining room, offering hors d'oeuvres. Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

Our Surgical Room was a very creepy place for a lot of people. Many hesitated to enter, for this room held many of their nightmares. The skull on the table was donated to us and was, apparently, a movie prop at one time. We are unsure of which movie it was from, but it was a welcome addition to this room.

The Surgical Room Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

As our guests entered, the surgeon approached them asking if anyone would be her assistant, or perhaps be willing to ‘donate’ a limb or two. No one was willing and in fact, they were quite anxious to leave. On their way out, they were met by the nurse who bid them farewell with a blood-curdling scream and watched as they anxiously exited the surgical room; moving onto the other terrors that we had in store for them.

The Surgical Room Nurse Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

As they continued on, our brave visitors found themselves in the Spider Room. This room was filled with webs, which made it extremely difficult to find the walking path (adding to the fear factor). Giant animatronic spiders each about the size of a small dog, with eyes glowing red, were found in this darkened room. These chittering spiders could be heard as they awaited someone to be caught in their traps for the next meal. People screamed as our arachnids lunged towards their prey.

The Spider Room being created Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

Next came our Torture Chamber, where an unlucky Santa found himself on the stretching rack. His painful wailing of “HO HO HO” could be heard throughout the hotel. I heard one person, in an attempt to alleviate her own fears, tell our Kris Kringle that this was payback for not giving her the toy she so cherished as a child. Nervous laughter followed.

Moving on, you could find the Witches Den where our cackling hags mixed potions and cast spells for all to watch. Snakes slithered on the floor while candles and skulls could be found on tables. As they continued walking along, a cauldron full of bones was not what our guests wanted to see, perhaps fearing that they might be the next ones to become part of the magical soup.

Our next room was not as large as the others but was still one that many feared. People entered to find many bodies wrapped and hanging upside down from the ceiling. The lady of the house asked of those entering, “What are you doing in my Pantry?” Everyone stopped in their tracks, wondering what they had just stumbled upon. They were told that this was where the ‘meat’ was stored and a few guests uttered that they had made it out of the frying pan of the Witches Den, only to land in the fire of the Pantry. The lady quickly ushered them through to meet the family.

The Nursery was the next stop on our frightful tour. The guests were introduced to the children, who were anxious for a visitor to get closer to the cribs and perhaps have a snack before mealtime. When asked if anyone cared to stay for a while to play with the children, there were no takers and instead they all hastened their pace out the door.

The Nursery Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

The Nursery Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

The Nursery being the last room on the second floor, our guests had the option of either continuing on to explore the third floor or going down to the main floor to seek out the exit. Many opted for the exit but most pushed on to take their chances upstairs. Some claimed this was the worst part of the haunted house; they didn’t know what to expect. Every other room they had experienced, had things jumping out at them and so they expected the same for the top floor. However, here they could hear stories of actual accidents that had happened in the old hotel starting in the early 1900’s. These stories made their imaginations run wild, wondering if they would encounter any spirits who may still reside here.

As our guests approached the end of our haunted house tour, they had to cross a creaky bridge surrounded by trees. This was done with very little light, of course, which helped create a lot of anxiety in our guests. Several did not wish to cross but in order to reach the exit, they had no choice in the matter; this was the only way out.

An undesirable exit Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

Werewolf Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

One of the things that added to people's fears of our Haunted House was the knowledge that the old building itself, the Wainwright Hotel, is supposedly haunted. It was built in the early 1900’s but burned down in 1929 due to a fire that started from mosquito smudging at a livery barn. Smudging is a slow-burning, smoke-producing fire that was used to eliminate irritation and suffering in livestock caused by flying insects. That was a devastating fire for the town; not only was the hotel lost but most of the commercial district as well. The hotel was rebuilt in July of 1929 and this time, instead of a wooden frame, they used poured concrete. Concrete was rarely used due to transportation difficulties and cost; common materials at this time were generally wood or brick.

Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

One tragic story happened before the great fire of 1929. In 1914, a young lady of only 18 years and employed by the hotel, was cleaning her skirt in one of the rooms. She was using gasoline, since it was effective during this time for removing grease. The liquid was in a small tub and the only light source was an oil lantern; the fumes were so great as to put out the lamp. The tragedy started as she lit a match to relight her lamp and she was quickly engulfed in flames. She was brought to one of the hotel rooms where doctors tried to save her but she succumbed to her injuries early the next morning. Some locals recently told me that they saw a white figure in a window of the top floor of the hotel. The building is currently not in use; it is awaiting renovation and so the building is empty. There are no walls, plumbing, or electrical wires inside. No one was in the building at the time. Could this have been the young lady who tragically lost her life so many years ago?

Others, over the last decade or so, have also reported hearing a man's voice telling them to leave, while working in the laundry room located in the basement. No others were present in the moment, but for the ladies doing the laundry. They also claimed to feel as though they were not wanted and that this was not a place meant for them. I’m told even today that they will not go into the basement or to the top floor.

Another resident told me of the time of first arriving in Wainwright. They were living and working in the hotel; everyone was gone for the holidays, so it was only the two of them staying in their rooms. Suddenly, there was a loud banging coming from the entire hall; the sound traveled from one end of the hall to the other. To this day, they are uncertain of what that sound was but it was extremely loud and moved up the hall. Just as abruptly as it began, the terrifying sound was gone.

Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

So you see, the Wainwright Hotel was the perfect place to host the Wainwright Haunted House. As a paranormal investigator, I hope to be able to properly investigate the building and perhaps gather evidence of spirits that still reside in the old hotel to this day. Perhaps I’ll find answers to some of the mysterious experiences people have had over the years.

Kat Ward outside of the Wainwright Hotel Photo courtesy of Kat Ward

I would like to take this opportunity to thank John and Lana of Carbon Lilies, for asking me to be a guest of their blog. I am greatly honoured and am very happy to share a bit about our yearly Hallowe’en Haunted House. It is something Wainwright and surrounding communities look forward to every Hallowe’en.

Also, thank you to Mike Comeau. Without his creepy, twisted, creative genius, we would not be able to have such a successful Hallowe’en every year.

I’d also like to thank Nichole Leitheiser, Executive Director of Buffalo Park Foundation, for letting us have the Wainwright Haunted House at the Wainwright Hotel for the past couple of years. Should anyone like to help restore this magnificent building back to her original glory, please contact Nichole at info@buffaloadventures.ca or feel free to go to the foundation's website at http://www.buffaloparkcentre.ca.

If ever you find yourself in Alberta, Canada around Hallowe’en time, come visit us in Wainwright. We, at the Wainwright Haunted House, will welcome you and would love to give you the scare of a lifetime. 

Love and light to you all.

Kat Ward Paranormal Heart

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John and I would just like to wish everyone a Happy Christmas filled with love and cheer. Be merry and safe over the holidays for you and all your loved ones.