Located in the
outermost part of Southwestern Nova Scotia, in Yarmouth County, is a place called Seal Island. An
island which is not only home to one of the oldest wooden lighthouses in
Canada, it is also home to a ghost named Annie.
Before anyone
lived on Seal Island, shipwrecked mariners lucky enough to have reached its
shores alive often died of starvation and exposure during the harsh winter
months. By the early years of the nineteenth century a grim spring tradition
had evolved, as preachers and residents from Yarmouth and Barrington came to
the island to find and bury the dead.
There was much
concern about the loss of life (on one occasion 21 people were buried in
shallow graves in a single day) and in 1823, two families, the Hichens and the
Crowells settled on the island in the hopes of assisting the unfortunate souls
cast ashore during the winter storms.
 |
| Seal Island c1930 |
Annie’s story
begins on October 31st 1891, when the newly built steamer SS Ottawa, was on
voyage from London, England, departed Halifax for Saint John, New Brunswick.
The night was
dark, with drizzling rain, and blowing a strong southwest gale, with heavy head
sea all the way along the coast. Apparently the electric light became
disarranged, and this is supposed to have altered the deviation of the compass,
and although the Seal Island light had been in sight for about an hour, the
Ottawa ran aground.
The steamer
struck Blonde Rock at 5 a. m. on Sunday November 1st, at low tide. As
soon as she struck, a large hole was pierced through her bottom in the engine
compartment, and the steamer began to fill with the rise of the tide. With the
starboard side being broadside to the sea, with a strong list to starboard, the
sea became worse and broke heavily over the ship.
With her stern
submerged, the lifeboats were launched, and in one of those boats were three
men, and Mrs. Annie Lindsay, the ships stewardess. When the boat was about two
ship's lengths from the steamer a tremendous wave overturned the boat, throwing
its passengers into the sea, trapping them all underneath the boat, except for
one man who managed to climb on to the keel. After a few minutes the mate also
managed to climb on to the keel, leaving the stewardess, Annie Lindsay and the
other man trapped under the boat.
Strong tides and
waves made it difficult for the other lifeboat to rescue those in the water,
but as their boat drifted in the heavy sea, the waves turned the boat up right
again, and the two men got back in the boat. Surprisingly, the man that was
trapped under the boat managed to survive, but Annie was dead. After seven
hours' hard rowing against the wind and sea, the crew of the ill-fated Ottawa
made it safely to Seal Island.
Mrs. Annie
Lindsay was buried beside the East End church, and her grave was marked in
later years by a concrete headstone made by the family of the light keeper.
Some believe that when the coffin was later disinterred, it showed evidence
that she was buried alive. Legend has it, her spirit still haunts the Seal
Island villages.
Is Annie fated to
relive that fateful day over and over again? With so many lives lost on Seal
Island, Annie is likely not alone.
Have you had any
ghostly encounters of your own? We would love to share your story!
Sources:
Nova Scotia
Museum
wrecksite.eu
Nova Scotia
Lighthouse Preservation Society
Photo credit:
Nova Scotia
Lighthouse Preservation Society
this is cool
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