Deseronto Public Library
Deseronto, ONt.
February 29, 2020
The sun was shining but the air was frigid as the team stood outside of the little building in downtown Deseronto. It must have been a strange sight for the locals to see a group of people dressed in dark colours, standing outside with cases on a quiet, cold street. Our lovely hosts for the evening soon let us in and we were suddenly surrounded by the quietness of the library, or so we thought. We had arrived and it was now time to set up and begin our investigation.
Deseronto can be traced back to a period just after the American War of Independence, when the British Government obtained land grants from the natives. These land grant where given to Loyalists who were fighting for the British and felt the need to leave America behind. In 1889, Deseronto was incorporated as a town. Its beginnings were very industrial. A lot of factories where in operations and the First World War brought in the Royal Flying Corps to town. Young pilots were coming to Deseronto to learn how to fly. As a result, there were numerous plane accidents causing death (the final resting places of these pilots can be found at the Deseronto Cemetery).
Deseronto can be traced back to a period just after the American War of Independence, when the British Government obtained land grants from the natives. These land grant where given to Loyalists who were fighting for the British and felt the need to leave America behind. In 1889, Deseronto was incorporated as a town. Its beginnings were very industrial. A lot of factories where in operations and the First World War brought in the Royal Flying Corps to town. Young pilots were coming to Deseronto to learn how to fly. As a result, there were numerous plane accidents causing death (the final resting places of these pilots can be found at the Deseronto Cemetery).
The original building on the property was once called the Deseronto House Hotel. As with many Hotels at the time, it was a place to stay, eat and room in. When the Deseronto Mechanics Institute was established in 1885 it is said that the Deseronto House Hotel Proprietor, George Stewart, secured a couple of rooms in his establishment for the use of a library for the Institution. Over the next few years, the library would remain for members only (Members were only men at that time) and would move to a new location. In 1895 a change in the laws resulted in the library being converted to free, public use. The Library would move locations a few more times before settling into its current location in 2001. Before the library took up residence, the building use to house a Bowling Alley.
We began the investigation by touring around the library. Being a small town, the library was not exceptionally large. There were 2 main rooms, a couple of smaller rooms and bathrooms. The two large rooms housed the main library and a computer room, the smaller rooms consisted of a staff room/kitchen and an office in the back that was full of archives and historical treasures. As we walked around the main library, it seemed as if it was full of messages – every time one of us would look at a shelf, we would find a book with a paranormal title. As we drew closer to the back room, a few team members felt the energy change. This was not a very welcoming energy. It was if someone did not want us in their space and was trying everything they could to keep us away. We would continue to feel this way through out the investigation. During this time, Lisa began to pick up on the individual who was causing these feelings. She described him as a man who did not like women. He was very vulgar and proud of the horrible things he had done to women during his lifetime. He was not from the library, but the area. She placed him around the late 1800s, early 1900s. He was being very rude to her and refused to give out any more information. Jay was also picking up on this energy and described him as quite an arrogant man. This man was not happy that we had come to talk to him and wanted us to leave. Soon, this energy retreated to the back room and other energies began to come forward. Lisa was able to connect with energies of loved ones of previous volunteers and library employees. She connected with a previous volunteer who spent many hours at the library and continues to do so. This made the staff quite happy and welcome her continued visits. Lisa and Jay also felt the energies of a couple more people enter the room – women and children. However, neither could get any information as it seemed that the man who inhabited the back room would block them from communicating. During this time, Jay was describing things he was seeing. He was certain they were tombstones. A giant, Celtic style cross. Some with circles in the middle. He didn’t know where they were, but figured they were important to the area (See photos below of what we found at the Deseronto Cemetery, a short jog away from the Library!) . It was then decided it was time to conduct a ghost box session.
The team gathered in the middle of the open space in the main room. We decided to sit in a large circle so that we each had a view of the room. The staff joined us and we began to discuss what was about to happen and the equipment we were going to use. “Someone is playing with my hair already,” Lisa exclaimed. “Time to get down to business,” added Rachel. Alison began to relay a message to the staff. “If Lisa runs, we all should run,” she said jokingly. Lisa agreed. “Yes. If I’m running, you all should be,” she added. “I don’t like it. Every time I’m on an investigation they touch it,” Lisa said, in regard to someone touching her hair. “That’s cause they know it gets your attention,” added Alison. The room was quiet for a moment before Lisa broke the silence. “Who had their leg amputated?” she asked. It was then told to us that a past employee of the library had a relative who had recently had surgery to remove the limb. The Ovilus 5 spoke – ‘Disaster’. “What?” asked Rachel. “Disaster”, Alison replied. “Ohhh. I thought it said ‘Thigh Master’,” laughed Rachel. Lisa began staring off towards the door that leads to the back room. “There is a man at the door, but not really,” said Lisa. “He’s not a nice guy. He won’t touch you or harm you guys so don’t worry,” she added. “I can smoke in the back room,” Lisa stated. Jay agreed as he could see it as well. “Do you know if that is where the fire started?” Lisa asked. The staff did not have an answer, although it is well known that there were devastating fires that destroyed buildings in the early history of the town. “Someone is standing on my left, by the books,” Jay stated. “I also see something standing by the woman’s washroom,” he added. “That’s where I heard ‘Knock Three Times’,” Lisa said, as she sung the chorus for the song. It was revealed that the staff had been hearing weird knocking noises that would originate from the woman’s bathroom but could not find the source of the unexplained noise. Soon, Jay was sensing that the arrogant man has returned to keep an eye on us. “I don’t like that guy,” Jay stated. Lisa agreed. “He’s very bold. Overpowering everyone else here right now,” he added. “The guy at the door or the back room?” asked Lisa. Jay confirmed it was the back room he was talking about. “Ya. He’s like the boss here right now,” Lisa said.
It was then decided that we should turn on the P-SB7 ghost box and see if we could get any answers to our questions, or if someone had something they wanted to say. Rachel turned the ghost box on and immediately, before anyone could ask a question, a male voice was heard – ‘Leave this place.’. “Did you just hear ‘Leave this place’?” questioned Rachel. Everyone agreed. Lisa began picking up on a little girl, that seemed to come and go. “Does anyone know the little girl’s name?” she asked. “Laura? Lauren? Laurel?” she questioned. “Is there a little girl here?” Rachel asked. A woman’s voice was heard through the ghost box – ‘Run’. At the same time, the Ovilus 5 said a word – ‘Run’. “That girl, does she have curly/wavy, dirty blonde hair?” asked Jay. Lisa replied that she did. But as soon as they were getting close to describing her, the man once again intervened. “He’s taking everything right now,” stated Jay. “Who’s with us right now?” asked Rachel. A male voice is heard – ‘You’. “Thanks for answering my question,” Rachel said sarcastically. The Ovilus 5 spoke – ‘Paranormal’. A couple members of the team began to discuss how they were sure they were seeing a shadow move back and forth by the front door. This was validated by a couple more team members and staff members agreeing that they had seen the same things as well. “Is there a man or woman here with us right now?” asked Rachel. “Can the man tell us his name?” she continued. But there was no response. “What is the woman’s name?” Rachel asked next. Again, there was no response. “There’s a device on the floor over there. It won’t hurt you. Can you make it go off?” Rachel asked. The Ovilus 5 spoke – ‘Joke’. “Oh, he thinks it’s a joke because we are sitting here trying to talk to the dead, but he’s answering,” Rachel stated. “What’s your name?” Lisa asked. “I’m hearing Victor,” Jay replied. “Is your name Victor?” questioned Rachel. “I hear him saying its “VEC-tor”. Like it has an accent,” Jay replied. Alison and Rachel questioned if it was Russian, but no one could come to a conclusion. “Do you not like women?” asked Rachel. “I heard a really strong ‘NO’”, said Jay. As the girls from the team asked more questions, it was only through Jay that we could get any kind of response. “Asked what is his victim’s name?” Lisa questioned. “As soon as you asked, I heard ‘Cynthia’,” responded Jay. “I’m seeing a black silk. Like and old tie,” added Jay. “He feels like he is very distinguished,” Lisa added. “I think he was a banker at the local bank,” she continued.
It was at this point that Lisa began scanning the room and was taken aback when she caught a glimpse of someone walking down the street. “I was seeing a lot of dead people over there and then BOOM! There’s a live one,” she joked. “Is there a child here?” asked Paula. The Ovilus 5 is heard – ‘Shove’. “Who else is here with us right now?” asked Rachel. A male voice is heard over the ghost box – “Ed”. “Do you have a message for us?” she continued. A similar male voice is heard over the ghost box – ‘Yeah’. “Tell us the message you have for us. What is it?” questioned Rachel. It wasn’t heard at the time, but a male voice was captured through the ghost box. His message was not very nice – ‘Get the F@&* out’. Shortly after this, Jay felt as if his lungs were burning. It seemed this energy was trying to do anything and everything to get us to leave. “Is there a George here?” asked Lisa. “The guy who owend the hotel was George Stewart,” Rachel replied. “I hear ‘George something, The Third,” added Lisa, with an emphasis on ‘The Third’. (It is quite possible that he is a third generation with the same name. His father was also a George Stewart). “Something is really close to me because I’m freezing”, Lisa stated. “Is there a James in your notes?” asked Alison. “Yes, there are a few,” replied Rachel. “Ooh, I got chills when you said that,” said Alison.
It was at this point that Lisa began scanning the room and was taken aback when she caught a glimpse of someone walking down the street. “I was seeing a lot of dead people over there and then BOOM! There’s a live one,” she joked. “Is there a child here?” asked Paula. The Ovilus 5 is heard – ‘Shove’. “Who else is here with us right now?” asked Rachel. A male voice is heard over the ghost box – “Ed”. “Do you have a message for us?” she continued. A similar male voice is heard over the ghost box – ‘Yeah’. “Tell us the message you have for us. What is it?” questioned Rachel. It wasn’t heard at the time, but a male voice was captured through the ghost box. His message was not very nice – ‘Get the F@&* out’. Shortly after this, Jay felt as if his lungs were burning. It seemed this energy was trying to do anything and everything to get us to leave. “Is there a George here?” asked Lisa. “The guy who owend the hotel was George Stewart,” Rachel replied. “I hear ‘George something, The Third,” added Lisa, with an emphasis on ‘The Third’. (It is quite possible that he is a third generation with the same name. His father was also a George Stewart). “Something is really close to me because I’m freezing”, Lisa stated. “Is there a James in your notes?” asked Alison. “Yes, there are a few,” replied Rachel. “Ooh, I got chills when you said that,” said Alison.
“Oh! There’s a portal,” stated Lisa. “A what?” questioned Rachel. “A portal,” replied Lisa. “Oh, I just got a cold breeze,” Rachel said. Alison agreed. “Yeah. Rachel and I just got blasted by cold,” she said. “Ya. There’s a portal. Over there,” Lisa said, as she pointed towards the door that lead to the “basement”. “I closed my eyes and I could see it,” she added. “Someone opened it. Someone brought a board,” she continued. “A Ouija board?” Jay inquired. “Yeah. That’s what I saw. Before it was a library,” Lisa added. “I’ve been avoiding that corner the whole night. Makes sense now,” Jay stated.
“Is there a dog? A black dog? Almost like a Lab,” questioned Jay. Lisa was inquisitive as she had not sensed the dog yet. “Like a medium sized dog. Walking around us. I keep seeing his tail,’ Jay added. “Ohh. That’s not good,” exclaimed Lisa, who was now tapping into this energy. Rachel then felt a cold breeze go over her hand and on her legs, as if something has brushed past her. “I get it’s a male dog. Has a tail,” Jay reiterated. “It’s a drooly kind of dog,” he added. Rachel, Alison and some of the staff begin to describe house they keep feeling cold drafts go across their legs and around them. “I’m freezing now,” Jay stated. “It’s just my knees,” he added. Lisa then begin to feel the cold. “It’s the dog,” she stated. “It’s like a jumpy dog. He likes to jump,” Jay described. “He’s not a nice dog,” added Lisa. Rachel was beginning to put things together. “I feel like it’s someone trying to be nicey nicey, but it’s not,” she said. Lisa agreed. She mentioned that she feels like this is the energy from the man in the back. He was showing himself as a nice dog to Jay, but to her he was an aggressive dog. The team asked a few more questions, but no replies were heard or captured. It was then decided to take a few minutes to decompress, grab a quick drink and see if we could dig up any information about the Male energy.
After our break, the team reconvened and decided it would be a good time to conduct a live video. Watch the video below to see what happened during the second part of our investigation!
“Is there a dog? A black dog? Almost like a Lab,” questioned Jay. Lisa was inquisitive as she had not sensed the dog yet. “Like a medium sized dog. Walking around us. I keep seeing his tail,’ Jay added. “Ohh. That’s not good,” exclaimed Lisa, who was now tapping into this energy. Rachel then felt a cold breeze go over her hand and on her legs, as if something has brushed past her. “I get it’s a male dog. Has a tail,” Jay reiterated. “It’s a drooly kind of dog,” he added. Rachel, Alison and some of the staff begin to describe house they keep feeling cold drafts go across their legs and around them. “I’m freezing now,” Jay stated. “It’s just my knees,” he added. Lisa then begin to feel the cold. “It’s the dog,” she stated. “It’s like a jumpy dog. He likes to jump,” Jay described. “He’s not a nice dog,” added Lisa. Rachel was beginning to put things together. “I feel like it’s someone trying to be nicey nicey, but it’s not,” she said. Lisa agreed. She mentioned that she feels like this is the energy from the man in the back. He was showing himself as a nice dog to Jay, but to her he was an aggressive dog. The team asked a few more questions, but no replies were heard or captured. It was then decided to take a few minutes to decompress, grab a quick drink and see if we could dig up any information about the Male energy.
After our break, the team reconvened and decided it would be a good time to conduct a live video. Watch the video below to see what happened during the second part of our investigation!
As our investigation ended, we were still left with some unanswered questions. Who was the man? Where did he come from? What is his story? We vowed to find out more and bring closure to that little piece of history. The Deseronto Library is a unique space, filled with happy times and amazing pieces of literature. There is nothing to be afraid of at the Library. Unless you do not like scary stories!
**UPDATE**
The following week, the team returned to the Library to present their findings to the community. It was during this time that team attempted to clear the negative energy from the back room. As much as it was a fight to make the energy move out, the team was able to get it to do so. The back room seemed to be much lighter and had a sense of calm to it.
DISCLAIMER: We normally do not provide the service of removing or cleansing locations. The reason for this is because we cannot guarantee that it will work or remain working. We only attempt this type of activity if we believe that it will help the location retain its calm and balance.
**UPDATE**
The following week, the team returned to the Library to present their findings to the community. It was during this time that team attempted to clear the negative energy from the back room. As much as it was a fight to make the energy move out, the team was able to get it to do so. The back room seemed to be much lighter and had a sense of calm to it.
DISCLAIMER: We normally do not provide the service of removing or cleansing locations. The reason for this is because we cannot guarantee that it will work or remain working. We only attempt this type of activity if we believe that it will help the location retain its calm and balance.