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| Near Ancaster, Ontario is the ruins of a old mansion that is thought to be haunted by it's last owner and the ghost of a forlorn lover |
The Hermitage was built in 1865. A few years later, it was purchased by an English officer named Otto Ives. He moved there with his wife Magdalene who brought her niece along as a companion. Over time, a coachmen that drove the Ives around named William Black, fell in love with Magdalene's niece and wished to marry her. However, Otto forbade the marriage since William was just a coachman.
Upset over the fact that he could not marry his love, he hung himself from a tree on the grounds of the mansion. Some dispute that it was the barn where he hanged himself, but there is substantial records indicating that a distraught lover hanged himself from a tree. Ives, quickly buried William on the grounds at the intersection of two roads.
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| William Black hung himself from a tree |
The Hermitage changed hands several times over the following century and then ended up in the ownership of Alma Lauder who loved the estate dearly. One night in 1934 however, the mansion was totally destroyed by fire. Alma, not wanted to give up her beloved estate, built a small house within the ruined walls of the mansion and lived out her days. However, some say that she never left. Visitors and workers at the site have claimed to see the dark cloaked figure of what appears to be and old woman wandering the grounds. She has become known as the Ghost of Woodend.
Regardless of ownership or occupants, many strange occurrences have been seen at the mansion over the years. The spot where William Black was buried is at what is today the intersection of Sulphur Spring's Road and what has become known as Lover's Lane. The story of the lover's tragedy spread over the years and became well known and is today legend. Hence the name Lover's Lane. At this spot, some claimed to see the apparition of a man walking back and forth on Lover's Lane, while others have heard footsteps behind them and turned to find nobody there.
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| The ruins of the Hermitage is host to a couple of torrid spirits... as well as the mansion itself! |
A park employee was walking the grounds on day and swears he came across a body hanging from tree by a noose. However, in a few brief moments, it was gone. It was only later that he learned that it was on that very spot that William Black had hanged himself.
One of the wildest things that has been witnessed was by several who claimed to have seen an apparition of an actual mansion standing on the sight of the ruins as if it were lived in and occupied. However, as they approached the ruins to investigate, the phantom mansion would disappear.
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| Nighttime tours of the Hermitage ruins are given by Haunted Hamilton via Ghost Walks: www.ghostwalksofhamilton.com |
The Hermitage is now under management of the Hamilton Conservation Authority. It is a park that is open to the public but only during daylight hours. There are Ghost Walk tours given that take you through the Hermitage property at night if you want to get a spooky thrill! For more information visit http://www.hauntedhamilton.com/ghostwalks/hermitage.htm
