Strange noises, No one will say for certain, but like many other small towns on the prairies, <strong>Cochrane</strong> has its fair share of ghost stories. 40 | alternate routes - the cochrane guide Story: Kelsey Hipkin / Photo bottom right: Laura Leyshon
lights turned on by an unknown presence and a ghostly horseman are just a few of the mysterious occurrences rumoured to take place in the <strong>Cochrane</strong> area. The stories began a few generations ago, and even today, there are those who swear that they’ve seen something. Or did they? After the sale of the historic <strong>Cochrane</strong> Ranche in 1888, <strong>Cochrane</strong> continued to grow as a community. Becoming a village in 1903, a year later a hotel was constructed to accommodate continued growth. Since medical facilities were yet to be established in the village, Cochranites were attended to by a roaming physician who, it was said, would use a room in the hotel to aid those in need, whether they were delivering a child or had been thrown from a horse. When one lived the rough and tumble life of a prairie village like <strong>Cochrane</strong> was, death was a harsh reality – whether it was as simple as dying of old age or the more extreme result of a good old fashioned gun fight. Whatever the malady, it’s entirely possible some of the dearly departed stayed put after passing on. West of town, Ghost Lake is home to, some might say, the oldest ghost in the area, if not the entirety of Alberta itself. Chief White Eagle of the Stoney people was a famed warrior. Legend has it, after a defeat by their enemies the Cree and Blackfoot, White Eagle led his people to the Morley area where he was injured in a later battle against those same enemies. Wanting to be buried at the peak of nearby Devil’s Head Mountain, the Chief’s burial caused some stones to loosen from the mountain and tumble away killing the attacking enemies and securing revenge for White Eagle and his people. Shortly after, and to this day, it’s said that the Chief can be seen astride a great white horse, wearing white robes and tailed by a white dog in the Ghost Lake area surrounding Devil’s Head Mountain, patrolling the land of his people for marauding enemies. Near the lakeshore patrolled by White Eagle, on an old dirt road once traveled by settlers, there exist stories of ghostly wagons, figures with lamps and a ghost with a penchant for beer and cigarettes. Then there’s the old story of a man staying at a cabin owned by a friend just outside of <strong>Cochrane</strong>, who was constantly barraged with knocking on the walls and unexplained lights left on. After consulting his friend, the man was told that the building was once used by a carpenter who had since died. The cabin owner told the man he’d experienced the same phenomena so left the apparition a beer and cigarette as a peace offering and was immediately left alone. The man did the very same, and the strange occurrences immediately stopped. Kick up your heels & raise your spirits! By Karrie Peace Heavenly Outhouse & Poor David’s When I first bought the store, the real estate agent legally disclosed that there was known paranormal activity in our building. My business partner put her tail between her legs and ran but I did the opposite: I boldly announced, "Hey guys, I'm here for the party!" And low and behold, that’s exactly what it’s been! I have hired a few readers to come and tell me what is going in the unseen world, because things randomly fall off shelves, lights go on and off by themselves, and when I am there alone working into the wee hours, oh I just know I am not alone! The readers all say the same thing: the spirits are benevolent - they are attached to this place because they want to dance. Now for a long time, I did not know why the word "dance" always came up in these readings, but in speaking to my darling landlord Ruth, I found out this building used to have a dancehall on the second floor! These are goodtime ghosts! Folks would come from all around to listen to bands and dance into the wee hours... Sometimes things would get rowdy and one of those crazy cowboys would ride his horse right up the stairs off Main Street and onto the dance floor - what a party! We hear customers say everyday that the place has such a happy feel - good times here and hey, why not whoop it up a bit before you cross over? Some business names have been omitted out of respect for the current business owners. We gratefully appreciate all who have shared their spooky stories with us. No ghosts have been disturbed in the writing of this article. The appeasing of haunted spirits with alcoholic spirits also has some merit within <strong>Cochrane</strong> said founding <strong>Cochrane</strong> Historical and Archival Preservation Society member, Bernice Klotz. Klotz told of the historic Bell-Irving home, at the top of Pope Ave. and William St.. The daughter of the original owners strongly believed in ghosts and would borrow the neighbour’s cow bell and run around the house ringing it to ward off any spirits who may be lingering. To further keep mysterious presences away from the house, the young woman would leave a glass of something strong on the gatepost for them. While it isn’t known if any ghosts took advantage of the alcoholic night cap, Klotz did say an old <strong>Cochrane</strong> character by the name of Rattlesnake Pete would take advantage of the spiritual offering for his nightly drink. Which begs the question - what do you believe? cochrane-tourism.ca | 39 cochrane-tourism.ca | 41
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