The Ghost of Colborne Street

When I was a kid, I was into ghosts. 

It all started when I read "Some Canadian Ghosts" by Sheila Hervey. The author wrote about ghosts all over Canada, from ghost ships off the coast of New Brunswick to haunted houses in Vancouver. But growing up in Ontario, I was more intrigued by the ghosts in my own province.

Years later, when I moved to London, I remembered that one of the ghosts was said to be here in a house on Colborne Street. Unfortunately, the book didn't say exactly where on Colborne Street, so I couldn't identify it.

Flash forward to the 21st century. Now I'm living on Colborne Street, and once again I remembered I shared the street with a ghost. Back I went to Ms. Hervey's book.

The ghost, it says, haunts a large and comfortable three-storey house on Colborne Street. The spirit's name is Beatrice Simms, "a religious spinster who died in 1967." Beatrice loved her home and wanted to live there forever; unfortunately, she was forced to sell it in 1943 when she couldn't afford to maintain it. But she vowed to her friends that she would one day return to her beloved home. It appears that's exactly what she did after she died in Toronto during the Centennial year.

At that time, the home belonged to a family Hervey calls Saunders (she changed the name). At first, the haunting was mild. Doors creaked, footsteps echoed throughout the house, disembodied voices called from empty rooms. 

Then the haunting became more serious. The family dog became terrified when he looked at the stairs and refused to respond when called. One Halloween night, the dog ran away, never to be seen again. Next, the family budgie and two goldfish died. Babysitters were too scared to stay. Neighbours were told to "Come right on in," even though the family didn't invite them, hadn't even heard a knock.

Finally, someone told the family about the late Beatrice Simms and her desire to return. Upon searching, the Saunders family found some of Beatrice's books and papers in the attic. After that, they had a friendlier attitude to whoever - or whatever - was in their house. 

The haunting stopped suddenly in February 1968. 

Hervey's main reference, listed at the back of her book, was a London Free Press article written by reporter Joe McClelland published on June 21, 1969. Knowing the London Room librarians used to keep clipping files, I emailed LPL to ask for a copy of McClelland's article. The library found it and sent it to me via email. Joe's article repeated the story of Beatrice, who so loved her family home that she vowed to return to it after she died.  The article also gave the real names of the couple who owned the haunted house - Kenneth and Eleanor Davis. Their address was at 921 Colborne Street, just a few lots to the south of me on the opposite side. 

Digging online, I found a 1969 London city directory that confirmed that the young couple at that address were Kenneth and Eleanor Davis. Ken was an accountant. 

Then I decided to look for a grave marker for Beatrice on Find A Grave, and that's where I hit pay dirt. Beatrice Lindley Sims was born in 1890 but actually died on July 25, 1962, not 1967 as sources claimed. Hmm. Seems it took her spirit a while to find its way back to Colborne Street. 

And Beatrice, according to articles posted on Find A Grave, was an accomplished Christian woman. The phrase "religious spinster" doesn't really do her justice. Beatrice became a nurse and missionary in Africa in about 1919. Upon returning home, she joined the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada and began a teaching ministry across the country. She taught at Ontario Bible College in Toronto, lectured in various churches, and worked as a nurse here in London. She died of a heart attack and is buried in an unmarked grave in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto. 

Update - October 31, 6:35 pm:

Since posting the above, I've received more facts from readers:

Beatrice grew up with her family in Toronto, but the Sims family moved to London in the 1920s. Her father, Frederick Sims (note spelling difference), died in 1930, aged 71, at 477 Colborne Street. The Sims family was renting, not owning, the house. Afterward, the widowed Mrs. Sims, Beatrice, and her siblings moved to an apartment. They apparently never lived at 921 Colborne. 

Hmm. 

There are questions here I can't answer:

1. Why did McClelland think Beatrice had died in 1967, not 1962? Is this just a Free Press typo?

2. Why did he think she lived at 921 Colborne? 

3. If Beatrice didn't live at 921, did Ken and Eleanor really find her belongings in their attic?

4. Which house is she haunting? 

Last week I marched down the street and knocked on the door of no. 921. When the owner answered, I asked him if his house was haunted. Yes, he replied. His son had seen the ghosts, but they were friendly.

"Ghosts." Oh dear. Beatrice brought a friend. And to the wrong house, apparently. 

921 Colborne, where Beatrice didn't live.

477 Colborne, where she apparently did. Can ghosts become lost?

Thanks to Eleanor Rath for updates.