General's Quarters Door

The Olde Angel Inn

The Olde Angel Inn is located in Niagara-on-the-lake at 224 Regent Street, in the former capital of Upper Canada. (The town was then known as Newark). According to an information paper that is available at the front desk of the Angel Inn, it is believed that the original building located on the site was called the Harmonious Coach House (circa 1789). During the War of 1812, the Inn was badly burned during the retreat of the American Invaders on December 10, 1813 (along with most of the town), but was rebuilt by John Ross in 1815 as the Angel Inn. Over the years The Inn was used to occasionally “billet” British Officers on Colonial duty in Upper Canada and is believed to have hosted famous guests such as John Graves Simcoe, Alexander Mackenzie, Prince Edward and Thomas Moore, to name a few.

When entering the Inn, you will be greeted by courteous and helpful staff and you will feel the charm of the historical lodging, visit the English Style Pub and Restaurant. The rooms are comfortable and charming and you can feel the history of the place as you walk on the floorboards dating back to 1815. For more information visit their website at www.angel-inn.com

The Ghosts of the Angel Inn

Legend has it that the Angel Inn has been haunted for several hundred years. Some journal excerpts said to be written by a member of the New York Militia, were discovered in the archives of the Angel Inn. One being dated November 10, 1813 says:
“The Harmonious Coach House is situated on Market Square in the center of Town, and provides a comparatively safe haven during the daylight hours. We are cautioned against visiting the tavern after dark due to possible enemy activity. The townspeople would also have us believe the Inn is haunted. With our nerves already frayed, we prudently avoid the Inn at night.”

Another local legend dating back to the 1820s is of a Canadian militia officer by the name of Captain Colin Swayze who was reportedly killed in the cellar of the Inn during the Invasion of the Americans. As yet, we have found no evidence that a Captain Colin Swayze was part of the militia; however there were three militiamen with the surname of Swayze (sometimes spelled Swaze, Swazie, or Swazy) listed on the rolls of the militia, all of whom survived the War of 1812. It is said that the Captain still haunts the Inn to this day.

*References: - Information paper from the lobby of the Angel Inn
- Soldiers of the King, the Upper Canadian Militia 1812-1815,
Author: William Gray, Publisher: Boston Mills Press (1995)

Angel Inn Investigation Notes
March 10, 2005

Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent (6.1% full)
Solar X-Rays: Active
Geomagnetic Field: Unsettled
EMF Base-line Readings: nominal (0-1 Gauss)
Inside Temperature: 17.2 C
Outside Temp. -3 C ranging to -5 C overnight
Weather Conditions: light snow overnight
Humidity: 71% ranging to 84% overnight

Margaret and Wendy from Amateur Spirit Seekers, along with Donna M. and Donna L., stayed overnight at the Olde Angel Inn in Niagara-on-the-Lake March 10 - 11, 2005.

Margaret and Donna L. arrived at the Angel Inn around 2:40 p.m. They took base-line readings of the General’s Quarters using an EMF detector and a Digital Infrared Thermometer. Still pictures were also taken, showing no apparent anomalies.

While waiting for Wendy and Donna M. to arrive, Margaret went down to the lobby to ask if someone could turn on the heat in the rooms. Graham arrived and solved the heating problem. Donna L. was reading a book while Graham was working on the heater. Shortly after Graham left the room, the book that Donna was reading was knocked out of her hands by an unknown force which sent it flying across the room. This was to be the beginning of a very interesting night! Needless to say, Margaret and Donna were both a little taken back by this incident.

Margaret’s husband arrived around 5 pm and Wendy arrived at 5:15 pm. Margaret and her husband went down to the Pub for dinner at 5:30 pm while Wendy and Donna L. waited upstairs for Donna M.’s arrival. While they waited, and shortly after Margaret and her husband had left the room, once again the book that Donna L. was reading went flying out of her hands and hit the wall. This occurred at approx. 5:45 pm. It would seem that when someone left the room, strange things would happen to those who remained behind. Both Donna L. and Wendy heard the sounds of a door opening and closing in the main bedroom many times and sounds were also coming from the far bedroom area. They had also seen shadows and sounds coming at one minute intervals for about 4 minutes. Wendy saw a tall dark shape between the end of the bed and a table in the corner. The shape disappeared almost as soon as Wendy saw it.

Donna L. and Wendy came down to the Pub at approx. 6:10 pm. Margaret’s husband left the Angel Inn at around 6:30 pm. Shortly afterwards, Donna M. arrived. Donna M. went upstairs to drop off her overnight bag and change her clothes, then came down to the Pub.

While the four ladies were having their dinner, Donna L. heard a hissing sound, and sensed that someone was standing behind Margaret. As it turned out, the hissing sound was also picked up as an evp on a digital recorder that Margaret had recording. No-one else had heard the sound. We left the Pub around 8:20 pm and returned to the General’s Quarters.

More EMF readings were taken along with temperature readings and digital still pictures. Several members of our group could hear scratching sounds coming from the bathroom area located beside the sitting area at approx. 8:40 pm. We found that a mirror on the side wall of the bathroom was hung askew. It was hanging straight when we had arrived and shortly before the scratching noises were heard. Margaret left her EMF detector on the shelf in the bathroom and at approx. 8:55 pm, the EMF detector could be heard activating. Donna M. & Donna L. could both hear sliding sounds coming from the bathroom at 8:56 pm.

Video cameras were set up at different locations using night vision and the digital recorders were checked and placed at separate locations. At approx. 9:15 pm Donna L. sensed the presence of a man in the bedroom area and she asked that Donna M. stand in the archway between the bedroom and sitting-room areas. While Donna L. was saying that she felt a cold spot to the rear and left of Donna M., Donna M. had her shirt pulled from the back. One of the video cameras caught this action and Donna M’s reaction on tape. Shortly after the excitement had died down, Donna L. and Donna M., who were now sitting on the sofa, noticed that the pull cord of the blind in the bedroom window was swinging in circles. Margaret turned her video camera to capture the movement and asked that if someone was present they make the pull cord swing faster, which it did. She then asked that the pull cord be made to stop swinging. It slowed down, but did not stop completely. These questions were asked several times and each time the pull cord seemed to move in response to the request. Could there have been an unseen hand at work here? A digital still picture was taken revealing an orb on the pull cord.

The window is located above the heating unit, which was operating and sending out hot air, but it was operating at a continuous speed. How then, could the pull cord seemingly respond to Margaret’s questions? Taking this fact into consideration, the group decided to try table-tipping.

We set up a table in the sitting-room area and began to ask questions. At first we all felt a vibration on the table and at one point felt the table being moved. This action was also caught on video tape with Wendy’s camcorder. We could hear knocks and strange noises coming from within our rooms. We had to stop when Wendy felt that she was being pinched on her shoulder. Margaret took a digital still which revealed an orb on the top of Wendy’s head. After listening for evps, Margaret discovered a child’s voice that said “I’m sorry” after Wendy had said that there must be a better way of indicating a presence in the room. Wendy’s tape recorder picked up a voice that sounded the same as the one on Margaret’s tape recorder. This evp was picked up immediately before the shoulder being pinched, and the voice said, “Enough noise.” Perhaps we were too loud for whoever was speaking.

Wendy and Margaret left to get coffee and donuts at 10:55 pm. While they were gone, at approx. 11:15 pm, both Donnas heard noises coming from the doorway. They saw the doorknob turning. Margaret and Wendy returned shortly afterwards but were nowhere near the door when the doorknob had been seen turning. (Needless to say, Wendy and Margaret opening the door at this point startled the two Donnas.) Interestingly, while Margaret was listening to her digital recordings an evp in a man’s voice could be heard saying “who’s there” shortly before Margaret and Wendy returned with the coffee and donuts. Margaret had left her digital recorder operating in the sitting-room area. Unfortunately, the video recorders were not focused on the door.

Other than unexplainable noises coming from within our rooms, not much else appeared to be happening until the Pub closed and the staff left the building at 2:58 am. Donna L. had gone to bed earlier, so when all was quiet, Margaret, Wendy and Donna M. decided to try a séance. Margaret had relocated her video camera to focus across the sitting-room and into the bathroom area. Donna M. had placed an American flag over the shower curtain rod earlier in the evening. Margaret asked that if there were any spirits present, would they please show themselves or make themselves known to us. We did not hear or feel anything other than being very tired. Unfortunately, we were not watching the video camera screen. Had we been, we would most certainly have continued on with the séance. Donna M. retired for the night into the back bedroom while Margaret and Wendy waited for the video recorders to run out of tape. Shortly before 4 am, we changed the tapes and decided to try and get some sleep.

After reviewing the seven hours of video tapes that each of us had and the hours of digital recordings, we have both discovered some fascinating orb activity and numerous evps.

It was certainly an interesting and thought provoking night at the Angel Inn that none of us will soon forget.

CLICK ON THE DOOR ABOVE TO ENTER OUR ROOM AT THE OLDE ANGEL INN, NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE.