Burgar/Glasgow/Fortner House
Welland, Ont
March 25, 2017
The sky was gloomy as the team made their way into the town of Welland. The almost 2 hour ride was filled with lots of laughing, talking and an impromptu rest stop. As we made our way through the one way streets, we finally reached our destination. As we looked out the vehicle windows, the building was definitely much larger than we had anticipated. Our host for the evening, Stacey, greeted us outside and with that, we parked and made our way into the building.
Built around 1859, the three story, 8000 square foot building has had numerous owners. George H. Burgar was the original builder and owner of the house. George and his wife Jemina had 8 children, however five of them never made it to the age of 10. Three of them had passed away in 1871, perhaps of Scarlett Fever. The family opened up the home to a family member, Dr. William E Burgar, who used the house to open up his medical practice in 1878. 11 years later, the property was sold to Dr. Sinclair H. Glasgow and his wife Nancy. Sometime later the house fell into the hands of Nancy’s sisters. Later on, the home became a commercial property and served as a well known restaurant in the area. Upon closing, the property fell into disrepair until the current owner, Stacey, purchased it and began to restore it to its former glory.
We gathered in the front room to the left of the entrance. This room was set up as a small dining area. It was also decorated in an African theme. In this room, we unpacked our equipment and listened to Stacey tell us about the activity being experienced in the house. We decided it would be a good time to do a walk through before we lost the light of day. Stacey gave us the grand tour of the house. It was beyond anything we could have ever imagined. The rooms where massive in size and the ornate wood that adorned the stair case and back room was absolutely astounding. As we walked around and visited each floor, we could not help but imagine what this place would have looked like over 200 years ago. We returned to the front room and immediately turned on the Ovilus. It wasn’t long before it began to speak – ‘Africa’, ‘Foliage’, ‘Zoo’, ‘Trap’, ‘Glance’, ‘Sold’, ‘Ours’. It was very interesting to hear the first three words as they described the room we were sitting in. As we discussed where we would investigate first, a loud crashing noise was heard coming from the living room area. Sean went to investigate and found the playpen that was standing up had suddenly crashed to the floor without any warning. No one had been near it, and it had been put up for a while. Could this be a precursor for what we would experience later on that night? We gathered our equipment and made our way to the third floor to begin our investigation.
Built around 1859, the three story, 8000 square foot building has had numerous owners. George H. Burgar was the original builder and owner of the house. George and his wife Jemina had 8 children, however five of them never made it to the age of 10. Three of them had passed away in 1871, perhaps of Scarlett Fever. The family opened up the home to a family member, Dr. William E Burgar, who used the house to open up his medical practice in 1878. 11 years later, the property was sold to Dr. Sinclair H. Glasgow and his wife Nancy. Sometime later the house fell into the hands of Nancy’s sisters. Later on, the home became a commercial property and served as a well known restaurant in the area. Upon closing, the property fell into disrepair until the current owner, Stacey, purchased it and began to restore it to its former glory.
We gathered in the front room to the left of the entrance. This room was set up as a small dining area. It was also decorated in an African theme. In this room, we unpacked our equipment and listened to Stacey tell us about the activity being experienced in the house. We decided it would be a good time to do a walk through before we lost the light of day. Stacey gave us the grand tour of the house. It was beyond anything we could have ever imagined. The rooms where massive in size and the ornate wood that adorned the stair case and back room was absolutely astounding. As we walked around and visited each floor, we could not help but imagine what this place would have looked like over 200 years ago. We returned to the front room and immediately turned on the Ovilus. It wasn’t long before it began to speak – ‘Africa’, ‘Foliage’, ‘Zoo’, ‘Trap’, ‘Glance’, ‘Sold’, ‘Ours’. It was very interesting to hear the first three words as they described the room we were sitting in. As we discussed where we would investigate first, a loud crashing noise was heard coming from the living room area. Sean went to investigate and found the playpen that was standing up had suddenly crashed to the floor without any warning. No one had been near it, and it had been put up for a while. Could this be a precursor for what we would experience later on that night? We gathered our equipment and made our way to the third floor to begin our investigation.
Alison, Jessica and Rachel decided to do a little EVP and P-SB7 session in the room that was currently being used as a bedroom. Sean went to another room to conduct his own session. As we set up the equipment and got comfortable, the REM pod activated. It was so quick that Rachel still didn’t even have her camera set up to record yet. The ladies waited, but the REM pod never re-activated. The Ovilus spoke again – ‘Change’. It was true. We had changed locations within the house. The three discussed who could possibly be with them and what their course of action would be for the evening. The Ovilus spoke again – ‘Count’, and then again shortly after – ‘Mommy’. This triggered Rachel to discuss the families that had previous lived in the house and how many children each had. It wasn’t long before Sean returned to the room with a quizzical look on his face. “Can a recorder pick up music from outside, inside the house?” he asked. “Well no, not from up here,” replied Rachel. “Well she said they don’t like music,” added Alison. “Listen,” Sean said as he held his audio recorder up to Rachel’s ear. What she heard was impossible. Playing loudly in the background is what sounds like old fashioned music. “Umm, that is really loud,” stated Rachel. Sean shared the recording with everyone. “No, they don’t play music in here because it gets turned off,” stated Alison, shocked over what she was hearing. A large clunking noise was heard at the back of the room. “Did you hear the clunk over there?” she asked. “Yeah, I did,” replied Sean. “I just got a really creepy feeling down my back, “added Jessica. The Ovilus spoke- ‘Every’. Rachel then continues about the history of the house. The Ovilus spoke again – ‘Cleansing’. “Well she is downstairs cleaning,” comment Rachel. It was true. Stacey had left them to finish her cleaning on the first floor. The group continued to talk about the strange things going on within the house and how the house seemed to have its own heartbeat. It was at this point in time that the Stacey returned to the third floor to introduce us to her fiancé. The second they entered the room the Ovilus spoke – ‘Different’. The group talks about what has been going on and Sean offers up his recorder to let them hear the EVP he had captured earlier of the music. Both Stacey and her fiancé were quite astounded over the sound of music and state that they didn’t have any playing, nor was there anything playing like that outside. The Ovilus spoke again – ‘Vase’. Since we were getting words fairly quickly through the Ovilus, we decided it was now time to conduct a P-SB7 ghost box session.
“How many spirits are here tonight?” asked Alison. The group listened but no audible response was heard. “Can you tell us what your name is?” Rachel asked. A male voice is heard – ‘Hi’. “What is your name?” Rachel asked again. The Ovilus spoke – ‘Classic’ and a male voice is heard over the ghost box – ‘Work’. “Did you work here?” asked Alison. No audible response. “Is this the worst room?” asked the home owner’s fiancé. No response was heard. “I wouldn’t say it’s the worst, but it’s definitely uncomfortable. We heard a few strange noises and our equipment went off,” added Alison. “Were you the one playing music?” Sean continued. “Did you knock the crib over?” he continued. But no response. “Do you want us to go away or stay here? Do you like the way we renovated the house,” asked the fiancé. A male voice is heard – ‘No’. “Why don’t you like the changes to the house?” Alison asked. It was at this point that it was noted that the word ‘Fuck’ was coming through a lot. “Can you tell us how many ghosts and spirits are in the house with us tonight?” Alison asked. A male voice is heard – ‘Help’. “Who needs help?” asked Rachel. A male voice is heard – ‘Me’. The group then hears a loud knock. “Are you knocking for us?” Sean asked. No response. “Okay, that was a clear knock,” stated Jessica. “It is,” agreed Sean. A male voice is heard – ‘No’. “Is that you?” asked Sean. But no response is heard. “Do you like us here? We’ve come a long way,” said Alison. Again, no response was heard. Stacy and her fiancé decided it was time to let us have some space and told us if we needed them that they would be on the main level. Sean also left the group to conduct a solo EVP session in the side room. “Can you tell us your names please?” asked Rachel. A male voice is heard – ‘Ed’. “Ed, are you here? Who else is here with us tonight?” Alison asked. Nothing. “I need to know someone’s name. Can you tell me what your name is?” Rachel asked. The Ovilus spoke – ‘Decimal’. “Dot?” Rachel questioned, jokingly. “I heard Sarah,” stated Alison, in regards to a response from the ghost box. “Well there may have been one here. George’s sister’s name was Sarah,” stated Rachel. “How many kids are here?” Rachel asked next. A male voice was heard – ‘Six’. “That would make sense,” confirmed Rachel. The Burgar families had six children that passed away at young ages (George Burgar had 5, Dr. William had one). Keeping on the topic of children, Rachel began to ask questions to see if she could get an intelligent response. “Can you tell us what the twin’s names were?” she asked. The group intently listens and before long, a male voice was heard – ‘Net’, ‘Nellie’. This was astounding to the group. George and Jemina Burgar had twin’s born on March 18, 1868. Their names: Nettie and Nellie. Unfortunately Nettie passed away in 1871 at the age of 3, along with 2 other siblings (aged 8 and 5). The Ovilus spoke – ‘Multiple’. Not knowing what the children could have died from, Rachel did a quick Google search on epidemics in the area in 1871 and found that Scarlett Fever was running rampant. Shortly after her search, a voice was heard over the ghost box – ‘Help’. “Who needs help?” Rachel asked. But there was no reply. “George, if you’re here can you tell me the names of the two other children that died really young with Nettie?” she continued. The Ovilus spoke – ‘Sultry’. No response was heard through the ghost box. “To the man that is here with us, I need to know your name. It can be your first or last,” Rachel continued to ask. This time a male voice is heard through the ghost box – ‘William’. Rachel continued to ask questions but no answers were heard. “Is there a place we should go in this house?” Rachel asked next. The Ovilus spoke – ‘Descend’. “Do you want us to go to the second floor?” she asked. A male is heard through the ghost box – ‘Yes’. “What room do you want us to go to?” questioned Alison. But there was no response.
“How many spirits are here tonight?” asked Alison. The group listened but no audible response was heard. “Can you tell us what your name is?” Rachel asked. A male voice is heard – ‘Hi’. “What is your name?” Rachel asked again. The Ovilus spoke – ‘Classic’ and a male voice is heard over the ghost box – ‘Work’. “Did you work here?” asked Alison. No audible response. “Is this the worst room?” asked the home owner’s fiancé. No response was heard. “I wouldn’t say it’s the worst, but it’s definitely uncomfortable. We heard a few strange noises and our equipment went off,” added Alison. “Were you the one playing music?” Sean continued. “Did you knock the crib over?” he continued. But no response. “Do you want us to go away or stay here? Do you like the way we renovated the house,” asked the fiancé. A male voice is heard – ‘No’. “Why don’t you like the changes to the house?” Alison asked. It was at this point that it was noted that the word ‘Fuck’ was coming through a lot. “Can you tell us how many ghosts and spirits are in the house with us tonight?” Alison asked. A male voice is heard – ‘Help’. “Who needs help?” asked Rachel. A male voice is heard – ‘Me’. The group then hears a loud knock. “Are you knocking for us?” Sean asked. No response. “Okay, that was a clear knock,” stated Jessica. “It is,” agreed Sean. A male voice is heard – ‘No’. “Is that you?” asked Sean. But no response is heard. “Do you like us here? We’ve come a long way,” said Alison. Again, no response was heard. Stacy and her fiancé decided it was time to let us have some space and told us if we needed them that they would be on the main level. Sean also left the group to conduct a solo EVP session in the side room. “Can you tell us your names please?” asked Rachel. A male voice is heard – ‘Ed’. “Ed, are you here? Who else is here with us tonight?” Alison asked. Nothing. “I need to know someone’s name. Can you tell me what your name is?” Rachel asked. The Ovilus spoke – ‘Decimal’. “Dot?” Rachel questioned, jokingly. “I heard Sarah,” stated Alison, in regards to a response from the ghost box. “Well there may have been one here. George’s sister’s name was Sarah,” stated Rachel. “How many kids are here?” Rachel asked next. A male voice was heard – ‘Six’. “That would make sense,” confirmed Rachel. The Burgar families had six children that passed away at young ages (George Burgar had 5, Dr. William had one). Keeping on the topic of children, Rachel began to ask questions to see if she could get an intelligent response. “Can you tell us what the twin’s names were?” she asked. The group intently listens and before long, a male voice was heard – ‘Net’, ‘Nellie’. This was astounding to the group. George and Jemina Burgar had twin’s born on March 18, 1868. Their names: Nettie and Nellie. Unfortunately Nettie passed away in 1871 at the age of 3, along with 2 other siblings (aged 8 and 5). The Ovilus spoke – ‘Multiple’. Not knowing what the children could have died from, Rachel did a quick Google search on epidemics in the area in 1871 and found that Scarlett Fever was running rampant. Shortly after her search, a voice was heard over the ghost box – ‘Help’. “Who needs help?” Rachel asked. But there was no reply. “George, if you’re here can you tell me the names of the two other children that died really young with Nettie?” she continued. The Ovilus spoke – ‘Sultry’. No response was heard through the ghost box. “To the man that is here with us, I need to know your name. It can be your first or last,” Rachel continued to ask. This time a male voice is heard through the ghost box – ‘William’. Rachel continued to ask questions but no answers were heard. “Is there a place we should go in this house?” Rachel asked next. The Ovilus spoke – ‘Descend’. “Do you want us to go to the second floor?” she asked. A male is heard through the ghost box – ‘Yes’. “What room do you want us to go to?” questioned Alison. But there was no response.
Sean ventured back into the room from his solo EVP session in the side room. He told us that he didn’t think he captured anything on his audio recorder; however, the door to the room he was in began to close on him, with no explanation. The Ovilus spoke – ‘Soldiers’ and then ‘Dime’. “So we drove a very long way to come here to talk to you. So we need to confirm who we are speaking with,” stated Alison. Again, no response was heard. “Are there any kids up here with us now?” Rachel questioned. “If you’re a little kid can you tell us your name?” she asked. A little girl’s voice is heard coming through the ghost box, but no one could make out what she was saying. “We hear you little girl. Can you tell us your name?” asked Alison. All was quiet. “Little girl, we hear you trying to come through, but we can’t hear you. Can you be really loud and tell us what your name is?” Rachel asked. But again, nothing was heard. The group continued to ask questions about who was with them, who needed help and what their names were. All that was recorded was white noise. No one seemed to want to answer. The P-SB7 session was ended at that point. The group once again began to discuss the dynamics of the house and what each floor could have been used for, room layouts, etc. “The only issue with it being a Doctor’s office is all the energies needing help,” stated Rachel. The Ovilus spoke – ‘Beach’. The group decided it was now time to descend and investigate the second floor. Before they made it to the stairs, the Ovilus spoke – ‘Short’.
The group made their way to the back of the Second Floor. This area seemed to be separate from the rest of the house, but connected. It had its own staircase as well that lead downstairs to what would be near, or into, the kitchen area. Stacy had told us that previous owners had used this area as their living quarters. There had been a kitchen and bathroom as well. Rachel believed that back in the day this would have been an area used for servants, butlers or maids. It had that tucked out of sight feel to it. Rachel placed the REM pod in the middle of the hallway, and the group gathered in a small room that had a child’s wooden rocking chair and picture book. This looked like a great place to set BooBuddy and record him for a while. As we got ready to begin recording, the REM pod activated. Again, we did not have our camera ready to go. “Can you please make that go off again?” Rachel asked. But the REM pod remained quiet. “I don’t think they like it here,” stated Alison. As the group talked about their plan for the second floor, Jessica felt something on her neck. “My neck is burning,” she stated. “Can you look at the back of my neck? It’s stinging,” she said. Alison took a look but didn’t see anything. The Ovilus spoke – ‘Store’. The group begin to walk the hallways and check things out. “Whoa!” exclaimed Alison. “Something just crashed in here!” she continued. Rachel and Sean begin to make their way towards Alison, who was standing in the hallway, to investigate the unexplained noise. Jessica, realizing she is now all alone in the back room, goes into a panic. “For real! Someone come back! Don’t leave me here!” she exclaimed. Not finding the source of the noise, Alison, Sean and Rachel head back towards Jessica. Rachel rejoined Jessica in the room and they begin talking about BooBuddy and the children that could be hanging around. “If you’re in here little girl, can you come touch the teddy bear?” asked Rachel. “He’s pretty cool. He won’t hurt you. He will just let us know you’re here,” she continued. It wasn’t long before BooBuddy indicated he was feeling a vibration - “HeHeHe that tickles!” Rachel looked and Jessica with a big smile on her face. “That was so awesome!” she exclaimed. “Can you make him warm for us? Just give him a hug,” she asked. But BooBuddy remained quiet and indicated no change. Alison and Sean had now rejoined Jessica and Rachel and it was decided to begin the Facebook Live Video.
The group made their way to the back of the Second Floor. This area seemed to be separate from the rest of the house, but connected. It had its own staircase as well that lead downstairs to what would be near, or into, the kitchen area. Stacy had told us that previous owners had used this area as their living quarters. There had been a kitchen and bathroom as well. Rachel believed that back in the day this would have been an area used for servants, butlers or maids. It had that tucked out of sight feel to it. Rachel placed the REM pod in the middle of the hallway, and the group gathered in a small room that had a child’s wooden rocking chair and picture book. This looked like a great place to set BooBuddy and record him for a while. As we got ready to begin recording, the REM pod activated. Again, we did not have our camera ready to go. “Can you please make that go off again?” Rachel asked. But the REM pod remained quiet. “I don’t think they like it here,” stated Alison. As the group talked about their plan for the second floor, Jessica felt something on her neck. “My neck is burning,” she stated. “Can you look at the back of my neck? It’s stinging,” she said. Alison took a look but didn’t see anything. The Ovilus spoke – ‘Store’. The group begin to walk the hallways and check things out. “Whoa!” exclaimed Alison. “Something just crashed in here!” she continued. Rachel and Sean begin to make their way towards Alison, who was standing in the hallway, to investigate the unexplained noise. Jessica, realizing she is now all alone in the back room, goes into a panic. “For real! Someone come back! Don’t leave me here!” she exclaimed. Not finding the source of the noise, Alison, Sean and Rachel head back towards Jessica. Rachel rejoined Jessica in the room and they begin talking about BooBuddy and the children that could be hanging around. “If you’re in here little girl, can you come touch the teddy bear?” asked Rachel. “He’s pretty cool. He won’t hurt you. He will just let us know you’re here,” she continued. It wasn’t long before BooBuddy indicated he was feeling a vibration - “HeHeHe that tickles!” Rachel looked and Jessica with a big smile on her face. “That was so awesome!” she exclaimed. “Can you make him warm for us? Just give him a hug,” she asked. But BooBuddy remained quiet and indicated no change. Alison and Sean had now rejoined Jessica and Rachel and it was decided to begin the Facebook Live Video.
During the live video, the group did a P-SB7 ghost box session in the front room on the second floor. During this time they seemed to get a few answers and a few names through the ghost box. Later on that evening, when the group was attempting to investigate the first level, an exceptionally loud noise was heard coming from the second floor. It had sounded like a plastic cap being dropped. Upon investigating, we found a plastic cap sitting at the top of the second floor landing. We have absolutely no idea how it got there or where it came from. We had just been in that location not even 15 minutes prior to it happening. What made it even better was that the plastic cap had writing on it – ‘DOCTOR TESTED’. We then returned to the second floor to do a ghost box session and see if we could get some answers. After this session, the group headed back to the first floor to investigate and do a ghost box session. To see all of this, check out our video - posted below!
After we finished, Stacey joined us to see how everything was going and conclude the evening. We were told that a previous investigative team from the Niagara area had also investigated and their findings seemed to be quite different than ours. While we found the place to be full of energy and unexplained activity, we did not at all feel that it was negative in any way. Some of the things experienced could be considered unnerving, but there was never an indication of hostility. The house definitely has its own heartbeat. With that, we packed up our equipment and started the 2 hour drive home.
Is the Burgar/Glasgow/Fortner house haunted? We think it definitely has some past owners, and maybe patients, still lurking the halls. We would love to go back and see if we can find out who exactly still calls the location home, or work!
OVILUS WORDS FROM THAT EVENING
After we finished, Stacey joined us to see how everything was going and conclude the evening. We were told that a previous investigative team from the Niagara area had also investigated and their findings seemed to be quite different than ours. While we found the place to be full of energy and unexplained activity, we did not at all feel that it was negative in any way. Some of the things experienced could be considered unnerving, but there was never an indication of hostility. The house definitely has its own heartbeat. With that, we packed up our equipment and started the 2 hour drive home.
Is the Burgar/Glasgow/Fortner house haunted? We think it definitely has some past owners, and maybe patients, still lurking the halls. We would love to go back and see if we can find out who exactly still calls the location home, or work!
OVILUS WORDS FROM THAT EVENING
- AFRICA
- FOLIAGE
- ZOO
- TRAP
- GLANCE
- SOLD
- OURS
- CHANGE
- COUNT
- MOMMY
- EVERY
- CLEANSING
- DIFFERENCE
- VASE
- CLASSIC
- DECIMAL
- MULTIPLE
- SULTRY
- DESCEND
- SOLDIERS
- DIME
- BEACH
- SHORT
- STICK
- STORE
- LENS
- EARTHEN
- NICK
- AUNT
- PICKED
- AFFAIR
- TRAVEL
- MOUTH
- ROSE
- LAST
- BURY
- TYPE
- WASH
- VECTOR
- TRACK
- TIME
- SAW
- FRENCH
- JACK
- SIT
- NEW
- BETWEEN
- DO
- STONES
- YES
- HIGHWAY
- KILLED
- PINE
- CARD
- SEND