Maybe it’s just the influence of Hallowe’en approaching, but I have ghosts on my mind. It seems that I’m seeing them everywhere lately.
It started last week in Picton when we drove past an old abandoned military base from WWII.
There were tall, unfriendly fences surrounding the site of boarded-up buildings with even unfriendlier signs warning against trespassers.
I could practically hear The Voices suggesting I sneak in and pay a visit, but on this bone-chilling day, I stayed on the side of the angels and didn’t venture past the NO TRESPASSING signs.
… but I whispered back softly “I’ll return, mes amis”. I promise.
This week we went hiking on a nearby trail I haven’t been on in a couple of years. Has it really been that long ago already?! Time goes by so quickly.
I knew the old abandoned road was there – I had passed by it many times … but on this day I could hear The Voices calling me again to visit.
So, for the first time, we followed the ghost road to see where it ends – with questions swirling around in my head. Does the old road feel despair in its abandonment? Or is it comforted as Nature slowly regains its hold?
The road ended abruptly dissolving into trail ruts. A short distance later, even the ruts ended suddenly … without revealing any of its secrets.
And because things always seem to have a way of happening in threes, I found myself called again by The Voices.
This time I was drawn to the old abandoned house located on a cycling route I travelled dozens of times in the past. It’s been almost a decade since I rode those long hard miles, training for races that now feel like ancient history.
This time I ignored the NO TRESPASSING signs which are now being overrun by the wildness around them.
When cycling alone for hours on quiet country roads, it can be challenging to find places to stop for a bio-break … especially for a woman. The brush behind this old ghost house was one of my favourite stops for few moments of much-needed privacy.
I developed a fondness for this quiet spot.
Nature has been aggressively reclaiming its hold and the old home is starting to show the deep scars of the battle it is losing.
This was not a neglected, unloved home. Since it lay in the path of a planned new federal park, the property was appropriated by the government. It now sits within the 79 square kilometres of the Rouge National Urban Park.
While I approve the preservation and protection of wild spaces which this park represents, I’ve always greeted this old home with sadness.
On this day even The Voices were quiet and subdued with respect.
Maybe you hear The Voices too and see the ghosts around you. They have stories to tell … if you’re listening.
amazing and well done! im an avid urban explorer. it never fails to amazing me how these home seem to talk to you even tho you have so many questions to ask
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I love that expression ‘urban explorer’!
I’ve discovered that once attuned to seeing these ‘ghosts’, they suddenly seem to pop up everywhere and I’m quite fascinated by them. As you said, there are so many questions … if only they could talk.
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[…] Lived Full I See Ghosts Is it that Joanne is a kindred spirit, that she’s simply a fantastic storyteller or my love […]
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Ohh, I do, I do! Here in Italy I often hear, or better feel a kind of undercurrent, but I call it history. 🙂 Some places may be empty but are happening all the same. I love the way this post sounds and speaks.
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Yes, that’s true. Every place I’ve visited throughout Europe, has that ‘echo’ of all the lives that have lived there. it’s almost tangible!
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These images definitely capture the essence of ghosts!! The trail that I’ve recently been walking has an abandoned campground located along it and the roads remind me of yours. It’s interesting that the road ends at nothingness and retains its secrets. Old, abandoned houses seem to hold the most ghosts to me. I’m glad that they were quiet and subdued on the day of your visit. 😉
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My imagination has a way of going a bit wild when I’m around the scars of what used to be 🙂
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Well done, Joanne! Captivating photos and an engaging narrative. I see that you already play “What if?”
You’ve reminded me of images I found when I was researching “road trip” themes for a re-write of one of my lost manuscripts. (That novel is 3/4th finished… one day…) Anyhow, the original Route 66 (USA) has several lost bits of road like the one you showed. I was saddened yet fascinated. It added a whole new aspect to that story.
Maybe you’re right, that it’s the influence of Halloween — things I’ve been glimpsing from the corner of my eye, shadows, whispers… Happy Halloween, my friend. 🙂
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As the daylight gets shorter we probably spend more time in our heads – at least I’ve been told I spend too much time in my own head … but I suspect you know all about that 😉
I just don’t think my muse is as strong as your’s is!!!
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A definite air of melancholy hangs around abandoned places. I see why they are so keen to keep people out of places like the WW2 base – health and safety – but why preserve it if they are not going to do anything with it?
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That’s my thought too. Clearly safety is a concern – there were a few buildings with a collapsed roof – but why just let them mould? I’m certain there are great stories in these buildings. They are part of history.
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I have to admit that I don’t hear voices/Voices like this but your photos are certainly haunting. But I often wonder about the stories behind abandoned buildings. Maybe that’s somewhat the same. I have had a feeling that I should go to to the thrift store or Half Price Books before, even when I’m trying to not go there and when I have, I’ve always found something I needed. 🙂
janet
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There! You do hear The Voices!! 😁
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Your pictures do feel a bit haunted, Joanne. Maybe it’s the brooding skies and brittle weeds. I’m glad the house was once loved, even though it looks lonely now. I often hear voices… it’s why I want to visit castles someday. 😀
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I can see how your imagination would go wild in an ancient castle!
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The last house definitely has a few ghosts…. Don’t go back there at night!
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My exact thoughts. Daytime only… and from a distance! – Marty
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… and with a friend. Always with a friend!!
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I don’t go anywhere at night if I can help it … especially old abandoned buildings!!! 😱
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You’re not alone hearing voices when in old places abandoned, or just old. The house does look sad and lonely.
Trespassing…I’ve been known to do it for the shot, but am more respectful of those signs since …well I’ll tell you that story when a bit more time has passed. 6 years doesn’t feel like I’d be in the clear. 😉
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Gaaaaah – now you HAVE to tell me!!!!
For the most part, I’m very respectful of No Trespassing signs – especially if it’s private property which Camp Picton is. I know my intentions are benign but that doesn’t make it any better – especially if I ultimately get hurt in some way. Call me risk-adverse 😉
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I don’t know if you will be able to receive this message, but I’m trying anyway. Since cancelling my blog on WordPress, it has been difficult to comment on my favourite blogs. Please let me know if you do get this message! 😄
Your photos from Picton are great! I live a 3 minute drive from there. If you come back – let me know and I will take you into the camp. The “No Trespassing” signs are mostly for show. I wander around the camp often. I’d love to show you around!
Hope you are well – Hope this message gets through…
All the best, Connie Collins (formerly of BasildonKitchens)
>
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Hi Connie! How nice to hear from you … yes, obviously I did get your comment and I hope you get this reply!
I was actually thinking about you when we were walking around Picton. I wondered how far away you were. I will definitely schedule another trip (Picton is such an interesting location!) and contact you to meet up. A walk through the camp would be amazing … as would a trip to the Lake on the Mountain. You were the one who piqued my interest in it. Until you posted about it, I had never heard of it. Now I’ve discovered it is in the book 150 Unusual Things to See in Ontario.
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This post reminded me of my visit to Auschwitz Birkenau II in Poland…
It’s incredible what human kind is capable of.
Seeing these photos, looks like an amazing place, but after knowing the story and the use given to this place, mark it as an horror story…
It’s a shame.
I liked the photos!
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You and I had the same thought. I too visited Auschwitz Birkenau and the guard towers in particular reminded me of that visit. Rather chilling actually.
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This gave me goose bumps because I do hear the voices when in this part of the country I see a deserted farm house or barn. I am always wondering what the story was, who lived there, how large was the family, what kind of crop or livestock did they keep. That WWII area is pretty well preserved, and I’d be thinking about all those young men and the families at home anxiously awaiting their return. You take care when you are out there alone cycling.
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It’s been nice to hear that others, like you, also hear The Voices 🙂
Abandoned spaces seem ripe for a ‘haunting’ and my imaginations runs wild in these places.
All my cycling is being done indoors on a trainer now. It’s not quite the same as having the wind in my face but it’s certainly a lot safer 😉
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Your post, Joanne, raises some very chilling ghosts – the consequences of institutional actions that are never properly faced or seen through; a sense of agendas beyond our control and not for the general good. Those moody photos certainly do disturb.
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An overcast day with gloomy skies can certainly set a mood 🙂
It does bother me to see things abandoned like this … almost always in the name of ‘progress’.
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Seeing abandoned houses always makes me sad too. Either tear them down, or fix them up, but don’t leave them in limbo like that. It’s kind of like purgatory for homes. When we drive through the country, I’ll point to a run down house and say “haunted!” Perfect timing for this story!
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I agree, Karen. Tear them down or fix them up. Letting nature slowing seep the life out of it seems so wrong.
Camp Picton in particular bothers me. I appreciate that the maintenance of these old structures can be very expensive, but this is a piece of history and there are stories here to preserve. Sadly, I noticed a few of the buildings now have a collapsed roof.
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I like how you ignore the no trespassing signs ~ we are birds of a feather on this one.. haha.
What a sad and neglected house no longer loved. Surely they could use it as a nature center, small museum, something… seems so very wasteful.
It’s probavly full of ghosts….
Good ghost story! Spooky spooky spooky
Peta
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I’m actually pretty careful about trespassing. I’m not inclined to ignore a sign when it’s private property – especially when there are large fences with barbed wire involved 😉
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No, Joanne, I don’t hear them voices, and would be scared to death if I did. Very interesting post! I got chills down my spine. Yes, I am a coward… :O
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As long as it’s daylight, I’m good. Once the sun goes down, scaredy-pants here is safely indoors with all the lights on 😉
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🙂
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I need to do a better job of listening for The Voices around me. Beautifully written post!
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Thanks Donna! I attribute it to an overly active imagination 🙂
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Thanks for the great lead up to Hallow E’en.
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My pleasure 🙂 … although admittedly I hate Hallowe’en. Call me a curmudgeon but I’ve never seen the point.
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Couldn’t that beautiful house have been put to better use for those coming to enjoy the Park?
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Good point. In fact there were many houses in this general area that were swept up in the appropriation. This one in particular just sat in a convenient place on my cycling route.
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Oh I wish you had linked pt 1 & 2! Love it!
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Sorry – I thought of it after the fact.
I have noticed though that at the bottom of the post, WP provides 3 ‘related’ links. Two of them are the previous posts 🙂
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Great post! I enjoyed it very much and woukd like to share it on next weeks ” Blogs & Bloggers”
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Thank you – I would be flattered 🙂
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I love this post!
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Thank you so much 😊
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There’s so much life that has gone on before. One day we’ll be imagined voices, too. The photos leave me feeling haunted.
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ha! There are days when I feel like an imagined voice already 😏
The gray gloomy skies we’ve been having certainly helped to create the right mood for this post 👻
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Wow! Chills …
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Thanks – I tried 👻 🙂
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Sometimes I do listen to the voices. But only in daylight. And if someone is with me.
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Very wise!! Thanks to too many horror movies in my youth, I have a deep respect for the dark 😉
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That house is sad. It looks like it must have enjoyed some glory days, but it doesn’t take nature too long to work it’s way in. I don’t want to encourage trespassing, but I’d love to see inside that military base. I’m sure there are ghosts inside those buildings,
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Nature is relentless. There used to be a large barn on the property, but it is now gone. It appears to have been removed because there is no debris left behind, but it must have happened a while ago. The tall grasses and shrubs haven’t been disturbed in a while.
It would be virtually impossible to explore the former military base without detection. I think I might try to approach this again by asking for permission … but in the spring in much warmer weather!
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Good idea. I wish you luck.
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No Trespassing is just a suggestion. I love abandoned sites too. The house might be a little sad, but you gave it some much-needed attention with your pictures.
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I understand the need to restrict access to abandoned sites – they become unsafe, vandalism, etc – but there is definitely an allure to them. I attribute it to the ‘ghosts’ that pique our imaginations 🙂
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A well-told gentle adventure into what was. Love the idea of a familiar old respite. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks Joey. These were stories that wanted to be told.
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Abandoned homes always make me sad. Once there was laughter and joy in there. Now nothing but wind.
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You and me both.
There was one place where I sat on the back deck of the home and could visualize the family dinners. I didn’t understand why so many of these homes were being abandoned. It took me a long time before I realized they were being appropriated.
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A couple of hours from me they “appropriated” farms to make a large dam. It was for flood purposes but it was many years before it all came together and the farms sat abandoned and sad. I too like to imagine the happiness — children playing, dinners getting made, etc. Your house wasn’t in bad condition either.
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It’s remarkable how long it takes these large projects to grind forward. Sometimes decades.
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I think it was 20 years.
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It find it amazing how nature quietly but steadily reclaims everything that’s left untended.
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Nature is tenacious and relentless … I don’t know why I think I can win the battle of the weeds in my garden 😉
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You’re not alone when you hear voices Joanne, sometimes when I explore the abandoned KPPC I hear them also. KPPC = Kings Park Psychiatric Center
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It’s so true, isn’t it? These old abandoned places have such stories to tell.
I’m in awe that you can get as close as you do to the KPPC.
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There are a few little known entry points at KPPC 🤣
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Oooooh, you tell a mean ghost story, Joanne! Love this.
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… and I feel I’m just scratching the surface. The haunting continues 😉
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