You’d think human beings would be easier to track down than spectres. However, after being (quite ironically) ghosted by my interviewees at the Paranormal Society, I realized that I would have to take my article on hauntings at York into my own hands.
Like the university itself, York’s reported hauntings started with Glendon. The stories had gotten some attention on TikTok and Instagram, so it was no surprise to see it featured during my Google searches for “formal” sources on the matter. According to my research, there had been spottings at the library, the Woods residence and the Hilliard residence. But one spot seemed to have the most variety of activity: the Bruce Bryden Rose Garden. There were stories of a young ghost who plays in a willow tree, an apparition of a lady in white, and an angry spirit in the gazebo closer to the ravine.
In search of a scary scoop, I decided to try my luck at ghost hunting. Did I really think I would find a bilingual ghost? Of course not. I was thinking of other angles I could take with this story the whole ride there. But what happened next shocked me.
I wandered to the entrance of the garden and found myself across from the infamous gazebo. Thinking I saw someone by the entrance, my heart sank, knowing that they might either scare the ghost off or ruin my photos. The figure was very still, and I realized that it may not be a person at all. I took out my cell phone camera, zoomed in, and confirmed that there wasn’t a person, but instead, something I couldn’t quite make out. A post with gold on it, perhaps?
As I walked towards the gazebo, I saw the stairs that some people say they felt a ghost push them on. Stairs that a little girl may have fallen to her death on. Then the pathway towards the ravine that someone may have drowned in.
When I arrived at the gazebo, my heart leapt out of my chest. There was no post. No gold. Nothing that even looked like it. Had that been the ghost?
I walked back to the other side of the garden and was sure I could see the same thing, or at least something similar. The same post with gold on it! I whipped out my camera and snapped a picture. This time, when I zoomed in, I saw without a doubt the floating golden head of a woman with flowing black hair. Jinkies!
This excitement only lasted a few seconds, though. I soon realized that the head was just yellow leaves, and the hair? Just shadows.
Although a part of me was sorely disappointed, I wasn’t surprised. I loved the idea of finding a ghost, but knew the chances of walking into a rose garden on a random autumn day and finding one were slim. While my adventure didn’t yield results, other visitors have had alleged experiences with the paranormal. So, go take a walk in the garden and see what you find…if you dare.
