Post by Supernatural Empress on Dec 20, 2005 5:06:39 GMT -5
The ghosts at Hycroft House don't mind weddings, but when it comes to moviemaking, they get ornery.
Film stand-in Tami De Shutter was in the house with another female stand-in last Tuesday evening, waiting for the crew to finish filming upstairs so they could wrap up for the night. The two were in a holding area at the top of the stairs leading down to the washrooms and grand ballroom, supposedly the most haunted area of the old Edwardian mansion on McRae Avenue in Shaughnessy.
De Shutter said she headed down to the washroom and was in a stall when she heard something rustling through the garbage. She surmised the garbage bag the film crew had taped to the wall must have slipped and fallen, but when she left the stall, the bag was still firmly in place. "That freaked me out a bit," she said. De Shutter went upstairs and told the other stand-in her story. "I said, 'Something really weird just happened to me in the washroom,' and as I was telling her, she went white."
The woman told her that just seconds after De Shutter entered the washroom, she saw a black shadowy shape follow her into the bathroom.
"She said she thought she was just tired after a long day and was seeing things, but then she got really scared when I told her what happened."
Neither woman wanted to go back downstairs, but that's where the second stand-in had stashed her bag and coat for the day. De Shutter offered to accompany her to retrieve her belongings and the pair headed down, where De Shutter asked the other woman if she'd like to see the place where she had her first encounter with a ghost while filming at Hycroft two years go.
The pair walked through the grand ballroom, where De Shutter had been alone when she was pushed from behind through a curtain, hard enough that she almost lost her balance. De Shutter pulled back the heavy blackout curtain she'd been standing against and realized there was no one there.
On this occasion, on their way through the ballroom, De Shutter noticed several empty water jugs lined up against the wall, in preparation for removal by the film crew.
"We walked over to where I was pushed and I was telling her the story and then we turned around to go back upstairs and one of the water jugs was in the middle of the room. We were both really scared."
At the end of filming, De Shutter told a hairdresser on set what had just happened. The woman told her she was on set there last year when she witnessed a bizarre incident. The hairdresser had just finished fixing the hair of a female actor who was standing at the top of the same stairs, and she backed off to watch the scene. As the director gave the direction to roll, the actor went flying off the top step and tumbled down the stairs into the camera. The actor was hurt badly enough she had to be taken to hospital.
"The actor swears she was pushed," De Shutter said.
Hycroft's film liaison Dennis Baxter said the house, built from 1909 to 1911, has a long history of ghosts - possibly up to seven, both male and female - harassing film and TV crews. Last month, a crew was filming a scene for the movie Cat Woman when a security guard stationed outside decided to take some pictures with his digital camera.
"He took the photos at night and you can see a white mist at the back of the house," he said. "If you look at the mist, you can see a figure and face."
The house, which was taken over by the University Women's Club in 1962, was built by industrialist and war hero Alexander Duncan McRae, who lived there with his wife Blaunche. It's believed McRae still wanders the house in his World War I uniform, while Blaunche, ever the consummate hostess, has been known to frequent movie party scenes.
From 1943 to 1960, the house was a veterans' hospital and convalescent home. The morgue of the hospital was located behind where the bar in the ballroom sits today. Several of the ghosts thought to haunt the house are believed to be the spirits of veterans who died there.
Baxter, who's held the position of film liaison for a year, said when he arrived at work one morning recently, he could hear a woman speaking.
"I thought maybe it was one of the housekeeping staff, even though I was pretty sure I was the first one in."
Baxter said he decided it was probably a radio left on in the house, but the sound stopped after five or 10 seconds.
"I didn't even go and check," he said. "I never really thought about ghosts before I took this job, but now I find myself opening doors in the ballroom because if we don't, the ghosts will open them. The ghosts don't like those doors closed."
Source: Canada .com
Film stand-in Tami De Shutter was in the house with another female stand-in last Tuesday evening, waiting for the crew to finish filming upstairs so they could wrap up for the night. The two were in a holding area at the top of the stairs leading down to the washrooms and grand ballroom, supposedly the most haunted area of the old Edwardian mansion on McRae Avenue in Shaughnessy.
De Shutter said she headed down to the washroom and was in a stall when she heard something rustling through the garbage. She surmised the garbage bag the film crew had taped to the wall must have slipped and fallen, but when she left the stall, the bag was still firmly in place. "That freaked me out a bit," she said. De Shutter went upstairs and told the other stand-in her story. "I said, 'Something really weird just happened to me in the washroom,' and as I was telling her, she went white."
The woman told her that just seconds after De Shutter entered the washroom, she saw a black shadowy shape follow her into the bathroom.
"She said she thought she was just tired after a long day and was seeing things, but then she got really scared when I told her what happened."
Neither woman wanted to go back downstairs, but that's where the second stand-in had stashed her bag and coat for the day. De Shutter offered to accompany her to retrieve her belongings and the pair headed down, where De Shutter asked the other woman if she'd like to see the place where she had her first encounter with a ghost while filming at Hycroft two years go.
The pair walked through the grand ballroom, where De Shutter had been alone when she was pushed from behind through a curtain, hard enough that she almost lost her balance. De Shutter pulled back the heavy blackout curtain she'd been standing against and realized there was no one there.
On this occasion, on their way through the ballroom, De Shutter noticed several empty water jugs lined up against the wall, in preparation for removal by the film crew.
"We walked over to where I was pushed and I was telling her the story and then we turned around to go back upstairs and one of the water jugs was in the middle of the room. We were both really scared."
At the end of filming, De Shutter told a hairdresser on set what had just happened. The woman told her she was on set there last year when she witnessed a bizarre incident. The hairdresser had just finished fixing the hair of a female actor who was standing at the top of the same stairs, and she backed off to watch the scene. As the director gave the direction to roll, the actor went flying off the top step and tumbled down the stairs into the camera. The actor was hurt badly enough she had to be taken to hospital.
"The actor swears she was pushed," De Shutter said.
Hycroft's film liaison Dennis Baxter said the house, built from 1909 to 1911, has a long history of ghosts - possibly up to seven, both male and female - harassing film and TV crews. Last month, a crew was filming a scene for the movie Cat Woman when a security guard stationed outside decided to take some pictures with his digital camera.
"He took the photos at night and you can see a white mist at the back of the house," he said. "If you look at the mist, you can see a figure and face."
The house, which was taken over by the University Women's Club in 1962, was built by industrialist and war hero Alexander Duncan McRae, who lived there with his wife Blaunche. It's believed McRae still wanders the house in his World War I uniform, while Blaunche, ever the consummate hostess, has been known to frequent movie party scenes.
From 1943 to 1960, the house was a veterans' hospital and convalescent home. The morgue of the hospital was located behind where the bar in the ballroom sits today. Several of the ghosts thought to haunt the house are believed to be the spirits of veterans who died there.
Baxter, who's held the position of film liaison for a year, said when he arrived at work one morning recently, he could hear a woman speaking.
"I thought maybe it was one of the housekeeping staff, even though I was pretty sure I was the first one in."
Baxter said he decided it was probably a radio left on in the house, but the sound stopped after five or 10 seconds.
"I didn't even go and check," he said. "I never really thought about ghosts before I took this job, but now I find myself opening doors in the ballroom because if we don't, the ghosts will open them. The ghosts don't like those doors closed."
Source: Canada .com
