Ghost Stories and Legends of Prince Edward Island

by Julie V. Watson, John C. Watson (Photographs)

Swathed in mist, surrounded by the secretive sea, wind wailing like the lost souls of sailors around its shores, Prince Edward Island is the ideal setting for the strange and incredible, even the supernatural. Islanders have handed down, from one generation to the next, legends and ghost tales of phantom ships, Indian curses, buried pirate treasure, sea serpents, and ghostly apparitions. In this book, Julie Watson has collected a wealth of "true tales"; many were told to her by those who experienced them, or knew someone who did. Others are culled from old newspapers and books; to add to their charm, the author has copied these exactly as written, including the sometimes quaint spelling and punctuation. And, strange as most of these stories are, who dares to doubt the veracity of the sailors who met a phantom schooner, the fishermen who fled a sea monster, or the countless Islanders who have dug for pirate gold, only to be terrified by something uncanny, into abandoning their search? Perhaps you will visit West Point Lighthouse in the dark of the moon, or watch the drowned spectre of Holland Cove, trailing sea-water across the floor, or, like the doomed Peter McIntyre, venture into the cemetery at Scotch Fort at night, never to return. On the other hand, you can curl up with this book on a dark night and find yourself transported into the haunting legends, delightful yarns, and spine-tingling ghost stories of the magical and mysterious Prince Edward Island.

Genres: Nonfiction, Canada, Adult, Thriller, Paranormal

177 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1988

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe I should perhaps consider a higher rating than just one star for Julie V. Watson's 1988 Ghost Stories and Legends of Prince Edward Island, as there are indeed two stories I have in fact really enjoyed, namely how Watson writes about the Ghost Ship of Northumberland Strait and the hauntings reputed to be occurring at the West Point Lighthouse. However, liking two stories out of the entire collection contained in Ghost Stories and Legends of Prince Edward Island (more than fifty tales) is not in my opinion something at all positive. And indeed, what I have not liked and in particular with regard to Julie V. Watson's writing style and her general author attitude in Ghost Stories and Legends of Prince Edward Island makes me not just frustrated but actually also rather hugely furious, rather majorly textually angry.

For one and first and foremost, how Watson writes about the Mi'kmaq (about the First Nations tribe who were and still are the original inhabitants of Prince Edward Island) is (at least in my not so humble opinion) hugely patronising, is simply oozing with implied White Anglo Saxon Protestant superiority, and as such, EVERYTHING Julie V. Watson pens in Ghost Stories and Legends of Prince Edward Island about the Mi'kmaq and their culture just feels textually tainted and is therefore making me cringe. For how Mi'kmaq culture and lore is featured and shown in Ghost Stories and Legends of Prince Edward Island, this is not only not OwnVoices but is ridiculously on the surface and also comes textually across as though Watson is in a way ridiculing or at least finding the Mi'kmaq silly, superstitious and laughable, something that also kind of shows up a bit when Julie M. Watson recounts stories about the Acadians (about the French) in Ghost Stories and Legends of Prince Edward Island. But yes, Watson's deep down negative and condescending attitude towards First Nations is to and for me considerably worse, is much more pronouncedly superior and critical than her approach towards the Acadians, and this also thus makes the Mi'kmaq legends, culture etc. that are presented by Julie V. Watson in Ghost Stories and Legends of Prince Edward Island read at BEST as tedious, as uninteresting, as really annoyingly penned and at WORST representing the words and the thoughts of a coloniser poking deliberate seeming fun (which is unacceptable, inexcusable and is also offensive, and not to mention as an addenda that in 1988, why would Watson think it acceptable to include in Ghost Stories and Legends of Prince Edward Island a tale about a ghost dog named the N-word, why would she not change the name and mention for what reason).

And for two, well, even for those stories in Ghost Stories and Legends of Prince Edward Island that are not about the Mi'kmaq (and to an extent about the Acadians), while Julie V. Watson's tone of author voice is not so annoyingly and uncomfortably denigrating and condescending then, sorry, but except for the above mentioned tales regarding the Ghost Ship of Northumberland Strait and the reputedly haunted West Point Lighthouse, Watson's writing in general, how she presents themes, contexts and contents in Ghost Stories and Legends of Prince Edward Island is draggingly tedious, has not at all been a reading pleasure for me for about ninety percent of the presented texts, so that yes indeed, author arrogance and a holier than thou and denigrating attitude towards in particular the Mi'kmaq combined with a to and for me majorly subpar and no reading interest retaining penmanship and which is definitely making me stand firmly regarding only rating Ghost Stories and Legends of Prince Edward Island with just one star. And that Julie V. Watson also has no sources being acknowledged, that she shows no bibliographical materials whatsoever in and for Ghost Stories and Legends of Prince Edward Island, this most definitely bothers me (and is also kind of the ugly and vile tasting icing on an already quite massively horrid and sour tasting reading cake).

[Marielise · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of historical and ghost stories of Prince Edward Island. I can't wait to visit the sites of some of the sightings related in this book!

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was like reading a manual or a statement of facts in a boring university course. I had to take two breaks, but I have finally finished it

[Qin Zhang · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wayyyyy oversimplified Mi'kmaw folklores and made them plain and boring.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Forget about scary, this was never even atmospheric. Odd creative choices here.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun little book, full of historic tales and spooky stories. As we are planning a trip to PEI, I’m glad to have read it. Parts of it were more compelling than others, and I think it was missing an overall contextual cohesiveness, but it was a good way to embark on my PEI travel research!

[✨Veruca✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

That moment when you read a collection of ghost stories and expect it to be way scarier than it is.

[Aaron Badgley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. Besides the fun ghost stories, you find history and First Nation stories of Prince Edward Island. Ms. Watson does an excellent job of research and her son's photos really add an ambience to the book.