Elizabeth Bishop House - Is it Haunted?
Earlier this year we were invited to investigate the home of the famous Pulitzer-Prize-winning author, Elizabeth Bishop. It was a great honor to be given this chance, and to be in the very home that Elizabeth once spent time with her maternal grandparents, William and his wife Elizabeth Hutchinson Bulmer in the 1910s and 1920s.
Formally known as the Bulmer House, the Elizabeth House now serves as a wonderful peace of Great Village history, and will now be providing temporary residence for more than 20 writers from Nova Scotia and beyond this summer.
William and his wife Elizabeth Hutchinson Bulmer
Ever since her death in October 1979, residents of Great Village have welcomed visitors coming in search of Bishop’s childhood home and the village about which she so frequently wrote. Bishop pilgrims have been knocking on the door of the Elizabeth Bishop House since 1980, wanting to experience that sensation of stepping into part of this great poet’s imagination.
There is also an exhibit called "Elizabeth Bishop's Beginnings" and "Echoes of Elizabeth Bishop" gallery at the St. James Church in Great Village, if you happen to be in the area and would like to learn more about Elizabeth Bishop. You can also view it on Facebook here. The site has also recently earned its status as a Municipal Heritage building. Daily News article
According to the History of Great Village, part of the Elizabeth Bishop House originally stood on Mount Pleasant (Scrabble Hill), along the road to Cumberland County. Elizabeth Bishop was told that it had been “an old wayside inn of ‘ill repute’ that my grandfather had moved to the village—about 200 years old.” Exactly when the move occurred is not known, but William Bulmer, Bishop’s maternal grandfather, bought the house on its current site in 1874 from Hibbert McLellan.
Our initial visit to this location took place in January, where we met with Laurie Gunn, a director with the St. James Church of Great Village Preservation Society.
Laurie gave us the tour of the home, and while telling us about the homes history, she also spoke with about their plans for the Elizabeth Bishop House.
As always, our recorder running, and this is what we captured during that conversation.
We had also recorded many other EVPs during our walkthrough as well, and it was always the same female spirit that spoke to us that day.
Investigation
We returned on May 4th, excited about what the night would hold for us! We were joined by Elaine Anderson, a guest investigator for the night, and were met by Laurie at the house.
After getting set up for the evening’s investigation, we headed up stairs and started at the top of the landing, and it didn’t take long before we knew we weren’t alone!
During one of our breaks, Laurie had found a large painting that she had believe was lost, and had asked if I would help her hang it up. Needless to say she was quite excited! (Which I forgot to get a picture of?!)
We often record spirits speaking to us, while we are talking, so they often don’t get posted, but this one is pretty amazing, so we wanted to share it with you. In the following EVP you will hear Laurie and I talking about the painting, and as the female makes a statement about the photo, you will also hear Elaine
and Charlene speaking as well. This is a difficult EVP to hear, but with a set of headphones, you can make it out.
Over the course of the evening, the investigators were touched on a few occasions, and Charlene even felt the presence of a dog in the parlor, which upon further research, Elizabeth once owned a dog named Betsy!
St.James Church in Great Village
When the poet Elizabeth Bishop was five years old, her mother had a breakdown. One day while being fitted for a dress, she started to scream. It is said that “A scream, the echo of a scream hangs over that Nova Scotian village … Flick the lightning rod on top of the church steeple with your fingernail and you will hear it.”
You can see the church from this desk
We recorded many more EVPs in the Elizabeth Bishop House on each of our visits there, and there greatest part about it was that they had all came from the same female spirit!
Was it Elizabeth Bishop herself, or one of the previous owners? Until we get a name, one will never know. What we do know is this, she is a friendly spirit, and one that I believe is just as excited and Laurie to welcome all of the new guests!
Bruce & Charlene
Caretakers Paranormal
For more information on the Elizabeth Bishop House, and the famous poet, check out the following Article and blog written by Sandra Barry.
CTV News also featured the Elizabeth Bishop House, which you can view here.
We are always interested in investigating Heritage Properties, and homes of Historical value, so if you have a location that you would like for us to check out, we would love to hear from you! Contact Us
