Bonnie Milner and the rest of the Ghost Hunt Alberta team have been to the Edify office a couple of times to investigate things that go bump in the night. We asked Bonnie about some of her most hair-raising encounters. Here’s where she recommended you should go if you want to have a ghostly encounter. Or two.
East Coulee is found along the Red Deer River, near the Canadian Badlands.
The “big” school opened in October 1930 with four classrooms for Grades 1 through 5. Four more classrooms were built in 1934.
But, by the ’70s, East Coulee became a ghost town (no pun intended). Businesses failed. The school closed.
However, in 1985, the school reopened its doors as the restored East Coulee School Museum. But, by illuminating a light on the past, has the museum become a magnet for spirits?
This building is full of artifacts donated by the community from the past 200 years. Some of these artifacts are from the 140 mines in the area including clothing and tools recovered from individuals who lost their lives in mining accidents. All the artifacts and history of the area are what makes this location extremely paranormally active.
In the past 10 years, Ghost Hunt Alberta (GHA) has investigated here and documented a lot of evidence of the spirits of East Coulee.
GHA has documented and seen apparitions, shadow figures, objects moving, phantom knocks on command and heard voices, sounds of children playing and electronic voice communications throughout the building. They’ve interacted with child spirits, miners and a caretaker in the furnace/boiler room.
GHA recorded singing in the miners room and a male voice saying “doll face” to a GHA team member. Also, GHA filmed a shadow mass in the basement at Halloween time in 2018.
359 2nd Ave., East Coulee
This is a historic house built by a Freemason Robert James Johnston (known as “Dr.Bob”) in 1911.
Dr. Bob and his wife, Blanche, had two children — Robert Jr. and Marjorie — and they lived in the house until a tragic gun accident took the life of Dr. Bob on Oct. 10,1936. The incident happened in the carriage room beneath the front porch.
This house has a well-documented history of paranormal activity. This has included the opening and closing of doors, phantom footsteps and full-bodied apparitions. The daughter, Marjorie, has been seen here. She died after a lengthy illness at the age of 14, just three years after the passing of her father. Dr. Bob communicates to the current owner and restorer of the building, Justin Bolin, on a regular basis.
Bolin does guided tours and paranormal investigation in the home to fund the upkeep of this beautiful historic home.
Ghost Hunt Alberta has seen and documented shadow figures, phantom voices, sounds of footsteps, movement of objects and unexplained EMF (electromagnetic field) readings.
375 3 Ave. E, Drumheller
Mellon House was built in 1922 and is the only house is Fort Edmonton Park that is near to its original location. The house was occupied by farm workers for most of its time. The Mellon family owned the home and the land but did not reside here for very long. Ghost Hunt Alberta has had exclusive access to investigate while training parks crew for their paranormal tours.
Paranormal activity experienced and documented in the home has included electronic voice phenomenon (EVP), a chain barrier swinging on its own, phantom footfalls and feelings of being watched.
One of the best EVPs ever recorded by GHA was “careful” in a strong male voice while a female team member ascended the stairs. There were no men in the building or area when this was recorded in this house. Also recorded in the dining room was a conversation between a man and woman, sounding like an argument over the man’s drinking — while no one else was in the house.
7000 143 St. NW
Longview’s Twin Cites Hotel was built in 1938 by Red Dutton, Paul Thompson and “Tiny” Thompson — all NHL stars. “Tiny” and Dutton are enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The hotel quickly became a hot spot. It was said to be a spot for gambling and prostitution. All this, plus the more recent death of “Bruce,” and some other bar regulars who have passed, mean the building is rich in paranormal activity.
The bar and restaurant on the main level are in areas that have been renovated many times over the years but the upper level where the hotel is the same as it was when it opened in 1938. These small, authentic rooms are full of residual energy from years gone by. This leads to regular occurrences of phantom footsteps, shadows and voices up and down the hall. Each room seems to have its own energy and activity.
Ghost Hunt Alberta has experienced and documented EVP’s (electronic voice phenomenon), disembodied voices, footsteps and mysterious sounds throughout the hotel.
A voice saying “kill her” was recorded in the upstairs hallway during an investigation while everyone was downstairs. Another voice of a resident that passed away in the building has been heard and recorded many times and verified by the locals as being the resident’s voice.
GHA has also documented shadow figures, EVPs and tables moving in the bar area. The night that the table moved was especially thrilling, as the table rose off the floor and rotated 360 degrees before members of the GHA team and guest’s eyes.
Locals have told stories of seeing apparitions of members of the community that have passed on, sitting in their usual seat in the bar. They also report strange voices, sounds and unexplained door/lock malfunctions throughout the hotel. Several times individuals have booked a room for the night but have left long before morning because they were too afraid to sleep in the room — after encountering some paranormal activities.
105 Morrison Rd., Longview
