June 13, 2014
Ottawa (Ont.) – Today is Friday the 13th and Canada Post has issued five stamps that are sure to get the hairs raising on the back of your neck. The collection is the first in a multi-year series telling some of our country’s most inexplicable and popular ghostly tales.
In every region across Canada, there are reports of apparitions, eerie sounds, phantom lights and spirits trapped between this world and the next. The five stamps feature the Maritimes’ Northumberland Strait; Quebec’s Count Frontenac; Ontario’s Fort George; the St. Louis Ghost Train in Saskatchewan; and Alberta’s Ghost Bride.
“This collection of five Haunted Canada stamps brings ghost stories well-known in specific regions to a broader Canadian audience,” says Jim Phillips, Director of Stamp Services. “It is the first in a three-year series bringing fun and entertainment with fascinating believe-it-or-not tales.”
- The Northumberland Strait: The tale has been told by residents for at least 200 years of a vision of a burning ship on the waters between New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. On several occasions, onlookers have tried to rescue the ship but as soon as rescuers come close, the ship disappears into the mist.
- Fairmont Le Château Frontenac: Legend has it that Count of Frontenac, for whom the hotel is named, has been spotted wandering the hotel halls, sitting on windowsills or floating through the ballroom, dressed in his 17th-century garb.
- Fort George: Due to battles of the War of 1812 and their aftermath, spirits are said to still be seen or heard wandering within its stone walls. Cold spots, crying, moaning and the sound of footsteps have all been reported. Tales are told of people having being poked or having their hair pulled, only to turn around and find no one there.
- St. Louis Ghost Train: There are tales of a ghostly glowing light, known as the “St. Louis Light,” in the Saskatchewan River Valley. Those who believe in the ghost train claim it’s the long-dead CNR conductor who literally lost his head back in the 1920s to a passing train while examining the track with his lantern.
- Ghost Bride of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel: Employees and guests have reported seeing a figure with a long, flowing dress descending the stairs. She is believed to be a bride who tripped and fell to her death on her wedding day.
The stamps measure 32 mm x 32 mm and are available in booklets of 10. They were printed by Lowe-Martin Group and designed by Lionel Gadoury. The souvenir sheet of five stamps measures 191 mm x 113 mm. The Official First Day Cover cancellation site is Gorrie, ON. To purchase philatelic products, please visit canadapost.ca/shop.
