A field guide to Ontario's forgotten places, weird destinations, folklore, legends, and curious history.
I found a book with photographs and history of Ontario cemeteries and graveyards. There must be some difference between the two, I will look it up later. The book is by Jennifer McKendry. She is a history enthusiast in Kingston, Ontario. On her site she has written about antiques, architecture, old houses, and researching historic properties.… Read the rest
What, or who, were the giants, old or prehistoric skeletons found, which are at least seven feet tall? I’ve heard they were redheaded or blonde and described as white/ pale skinned by the native Indians who encountered them in their history.
Could they have been Vikings, certainly we know Vikings did make it to (what is now) Newfoundland in Canada.… Read the rest
This house I only photographed from the road. The access to it was on private property, not abandoned at all. I’m kind of shy and like many people this past year, I’ve been feeling less than social and exuberant at the idea of being friendly. So I didn’t take photographs from the driveway at the house of the property owner.… Read the rest
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. I think this was taken in the 1950’s by my Grandfather, Bill Scherle.
Likely this was taken from the mountain, or what they call a mountain in Hamilton. It is a nice view. Some of these type of houses can still be found in Hamilton. The house my Mother grew up in is still there.… Read the rest
There are haunted house attractions around Halloween. There are old houses which people claim to be haunted and run tours in them. But, how do you find a real haunted house?
Start by just searching online for local ghost hunters, paranormal researchers, paranormal societies, and anyone offering tours of your city or town. You might find a local ghost walk or haunted tour, if your town or city is big enough to have some tourist businesses.… Read the rest
People think of haunted houses because they want to think every abandoned house is haunted. But, really, I think the real danger of an abandoned house is the actual house itself. Has anyone ever thought to make a game where the house is falling apart and you are exploring in the wreckage? With the addition of possibly meeting other people (living, not ghosts) who would not be happy to see you.… Read the rest
How many scantily clad women have been abandoned this way? I found this photo via Flickr (the urban exploration group I moderate). Here are these women, posing in bikinis for their photo to appear on the cover of a publication. Is it something relevant to women in bikinis? Not so likely. But there it is… thrown out, discarded and forgotten about.… Read the rest
Your camera is packed, you head out the door with a planned destination. You plan to go far, far up that is. High into the atmosphere where it will be colder, windier and a bit dangerous (more dangerous the higher you go).
Make sure you have charged up the battery on your camera. There is nothing quite so stupid feeling as to finally get to the top of the building, passing security measures, daring yourself to open that door and face the elements… then realize you can’t take more than one damn photo because your camera battery is all but completely dead.… Read the rest
I have a fair weather hobby, rural exploration. I take photos of abandoned farm houses here in Ontario. I moderate (somewhat) a group on Flickr, called Ontario Rural Ruins, if you would like a look at the photos from myself and others. Many people look for spookiness and creepy ghostly hauntedness in the houses. People take the photos and add elements to them to bring out a feeling of spookiness even.… Read the rest
The CopySix blog has a really great post about urban exploration, the end of civilization and why those things interest some people, like myself. I wrote a comment, trying to put into words why I like the old, abandoned farm houses so much.
… Read the restFor me it’s something about the people who built the places and how they had so much promise, hope, potential and now are left to the elements.