(Original headline: Brighton’s ‘ghostly’ secrets )
A group of paranormal seekers who search out the dead as a favourite pastime claim Brighton’s historic Proctor House has ghosts, and several after-life spirits roaming the halls and grounds of the building.
A crew of four was drawn to Brighton after hearing rumours that Proctor House was paying any visitor $300 if they could spend the night in the house.
Brightonites know ghosts and the historic site are often lumped in the same sentence.
Calling themselves the Paranormal Seekers of Ontario, the group travels to suggested haunted spots confirming or disproving the presence of the supernatural. Dedicated to seeking out ghosts and hauntings, the group deals with poltergeists, strange happenings and legends as well as the unexplained on a daily basis.
Brenda Montgomery, who led the Proctor House investigation, confirmed there were numerous ghosts in the house after taking the tour.
In the maid’s quarters on the second floor, she saw three girls standing in front of her. Current SOHO President Roy Rittwage began telling a story of how one morning he came into the room and found a blanket on the floor and didn’t know how it got there. Instantly, Ms. Montgomery heard a voice talk to her.
“We had to cover the body; that’s why we moved it,” the voice said. Ms. Montgomery said the lady was standing next to her.
In the gallery, Ms. Montgomery would not open the door to the closet. She sensed a heat coming from the closet door and feared someone was behind it. At the same time, she saw a man with a broken neck walking within the room.
Mr. Rittwage confirmed that Pelltiah Proctor, who lived in the house, broke his neck when he was 36 years old after being thrown from his horse outside the residence.
Charlie Proctor died of a heart attack in the front hall of the house, and while Ms. Montgomery had no prior knowledge of that death, she confirmed feeling something wrong in that hallway.
“As I walked into the hallway, it felt like my blood went cold,” said Ms. Montgomery. “It felt like I had died. I knew someone had died there right in the spot where I was standing.”
The paranormal seekers cited close to a dozen ghosts on the trip, including the bitter sweet aroma of cigars being lit in the sitting room, the spirit of a woman staring out the front windows waiting for someone’s return, an old woman in grave sorrow in the belvedere and the movement of chairs in the kitchen.
Ms. Montgomery also confirmed an old habit of Mr. Proctor’s.
“I could see the area in which Mr. Proctor himself paced back and forth,” she said. “I was feeling all kinds of abdominal pain while standing in one particular spot in his bedroom.”
Classifying herself as a psychic, Ms. Montgomery says she can see, sense, hear and talk to as well as embody the pain and feelings of ghosts and spirits. She can also touch inanimate objects and tell the history of the item.
“I’ve had this ability since I was born and all three of my kids have it.”
Originally from British Columbia, Ms. Montgomery comes from a Native background and has been through shaman training.
“I can’t really explain it,” said Ms. Montgomery. “I just know what I see, how I feel and how I communicate with the dead.”
She met Rachel Cross, who claims she can also sense the dead, while they attended Durham College. The two formed the group last September. Since then, they have visited haunted landmarks such as the old Whitby Psychiatric Hospital, Henry House in Oshawa, and the Centennial Building in Whitby.
They videotape and shoot several rolls of film to document their trips, and compile the evidence for their own personal entertainment. The paranormal seekers consider their explorations a hobby.
The group also visited Mount Hope Cemetery to see the resting place of the Proctor family. Although there were no Proctor dead walking amongst the stones, a vindication of a haunted house down below helps preserve Brighton’s history.
