The Hermitage (Ontario)

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The Hermitage was a large residence situated in Ancaster, Ontario which now exists as ruins and is part of The Hermitage and Gatehouse Museum maintained by the Hamilton Conservation Authority. The location is a popular destination for hikers and people interested in the paranormal.

[edit] History

The Hermitage was originally built in 1830 by Reverend George Sheed. Upon his death, the property was sold to Otto Ives. Along with his wife, the Hermitage was also home to Otto's niece. Unfortunately, the young woman happened to fall in love with the servant of another family. After being denied permission to marry the young woman, he slipped into the gatehouse and hanged himself.

The property changing hands several times over the following years, during which time tragedy is said to have struck again. A Colonel Otto Ives ( 1804-1835) was the third land owner. He was an Englishman who had fought with the Greeks for the war of Indendence. He had met the daughter ( Magdalen) of a Governor of an Aegean island. The two of them fell in love and eloped to Ancaster in the spring of 1833. They had brought her niece with them to act as a companion for the bride to be. It was here that Otto Ives purchased the Hermitage from the heirs of Rev. George Sheed. Otto Ives had hired a scottish coachman by the name of Mr. William Black. Mr. Black was also a tutor in the English language. Mr. Ives had the coachman teach his wife's niece to speak and write the language. It did not take too long for the coachman and the niece to fall in love. So Mr. William Black went to Otto Ives and asked for his wife's niece's hand in marriage. Mr. Otto Ives was very upset by the thought of the coachman and niece to wed. He rejected the proposal made by Mr. Black. The next morning Mr. Ives and his wife (Magdalen) were to go out for the day, yet the coachman was not at the front door with the carriage as planned. Mr. Ives went out to the barn to see why the coachman did not bring the coach around. It was there that Otto Ives made the discovery of seeing Mr. William Black's body dangling from the rafters in the barn around the first Hermitage.

Finally, in 1880, family life was set aside and the Hermitage became a hotel known for its mineral springs. (Hence the location - Sulphur Springs and Mineral Springs Road)

A pair of fires forced the hotel to close in 1910, and a final fire in 1934 left the site in ruins.

[edit] Hauntings

Home to tragic love affairs and a trio of suicides, it's really no wonder the Hermitage is said to be haunted.

Visitors have reported hearing the sounds of a man sobbing. A pair of apparitions have also been spotted. The first is a dark, shadowy figure of a man, seen wandering the grounds. The second is that of a woman.

Reports of footsteps, whispered voices, and a feeling of being watched are also common.