On March 4th 2007 Matthew Didier, Sue Demeter- St Clair, along with a spirit medium and a neutral non-member investigated on-site reports of a very energetic haunting in a private home in Toronto's west end.
We were first contacted by the witnesses a couple of weeks prior to the on-site investigation. They were fed-up, and terrified with what was perceived to be a malevolent ghost. Through counselling over the phone we were able to ascertain the following:
The house is close to 100 years of age. There has been on lengthy habitation by a single family, and two very short ones (haunting related?) and presently the witnesses who contacted us.
When the witnesses first moved in they became aware of mild poltergeist activity, sounds of running when no one was inside, mysterious shadows of human figures playing off the walls where there should not have been, missing items, electrical disturbances (unexplained by an electrician's inspection), appliances opening, and closing, starting, and stopping seemingly of their own volition.
The above continued to escalate over a six month period, until they began to include touching by "unseen" hands, "disembodied" voices, and the appearance of a female apparition described as fairly young, attractive, solid (the witness thought that it was a live woman in his kitchen until she vanished before his eyes) female dressed in the period of the 1940s - 1950s.
Naturally, the witnesses were quite frightened. Over the phone they expressed a desire to be rid of the haunting, and were VERY adamant about it. We made an appointment to visit within two weeks with *Elsie Lynn (please see note below) on house clearing or spirit removal (Lynn charges no fees, and has decades of experience in this as a Pastor of the Spiritualist Church, and through her consultation work with the Anglican Church of Canada).
When the four of us arrived we were greeted by an upwardly mobile couple, in an absolutely beautiful older home. We made mental notes of how otherwise normal this family is despite their actively haunted house. We did note that their demeanour had changed from our telephone conversations.
Rather sheepishly and within minutes of our arrival the witnesses said they had a change of heart, and they wanted to try to live with their ghost. I was personally pleasantly surprised as I have serious ethical questions in regards to spirit removal, but I will save those for a future editorial. It turns out the male of the household who seemed the focus of the poltergeist activity had communicated verbally with this "female entity." Following our advice he had asked her to leave, and immediately felt a strong sense of overwhelming sadness. He also received a message from the visual apparition that she was never a resident of this house, but visited frequently in her youth because this is where her friends were. He was very moved by this.....
The witness also received a name, that I have been attempting to follow up on. For privacy sake we will not list it here.
We remained at the house for a six-hour period. During this time Lynn counselled the family, and taught them some grounding techniques. Lynn confirmed the presence of the spirit, and her name. She also stated that the house was experiencing a second female spirit, but that this one was a historical repeater. We cannot verify Lynn's information in regards.
Of note all six people in attendance watched as the shadow of what appeared to be a woman materialized, and disappeared on a specific wall throughout our entire visit. This was incredibly fascinating as attempts by Matthew, and myself to replicate this shadow, find it's source or uncover potential hoaxery were fruitless. Again we all witnessed this simultaneously, including our neutral observer!
We are on a very strict non-disclosure on this case, meaning unfortunately no photos, tapes etc may be shared with our readers or the general public at this time. Due to their standing within the community the witnesses desire complete privacy, and anonymity. This of course is completely understandable.
We will continue to monitor, and follow-up on this case, and post any relevant updates to this page. Normally when people decide to make peace with their haunting things settle down rather rapidly, and/or end all together in a short time-frame.
When we last touched base with the witnesses they were much more relaxed, and at ease with their situation.
Our thanks to the witnesses for reporting their experiences to us, and opening up their stunning home for us to investigate. This was one of the more interesting investigations I have personally been a part of!
If you have experienced a haunting or suspected ghostly activity in this area please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
*Please note that Elsie Lynn Leyland is not a member of The Toronto Ghosts & Hauntings Research Society, The Ontario Ghosts& Hauntings Research Society, PSICAN nor its affiliates, and we cannot provide you with contact information for her. We do not work with psychics as a front line investigative tool, nor can we provide recommendations for any professional psychic nor their services. Caveat Emptor.